Originally Posted By: VarminterrorOriginally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: Ridgeline17The wobble would translate from the direction of the lands. And if you go to the Redfield site there is a video in slow motion of them testing the Accurange reticle, firing from 100-500 yds. In the video you can actually see some of this wobble in the vapor trail.
The vapor trail does not show wobble - it is showing the turbulence of air once the bullet has passed. Think of the smoke trails of rockets a few seconds after the rocket has passed - the trail is not straight, it is wobbley. When you see something with bullets, it is very important to make sure that you understand what you are seeing - other wise, new "wives tales" are created.
The mass of a bullet cannot wobble while it travels - the gyroscopic momentum will not allow that kind of motion.
IF, a crown is bad (very very rare) and it launches a bullet off the axis, then THAT is the direction of the bullet, and there is nothing that can be done, nor is there any difference in it's path. It will behave like any other bullet shot in any other direction.
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The wobble in a vapor trail, agreeably, is NOT bullet wobble.
What you're seeing is known as "alternating boundary layer separation", or "vortex shedding" (also known as "oscillating Karman Vortex Wake" in certain textbooks). It's the same reason a flag whips back and forth in the wind, and why you sometimes feel a side to side "buffering" if you follow a semi-trailer too closely on the highway (incredibly dangerous for those of us that ride motorcycles). Check out case C below, the vortices are alternating off of the object's tail edge...
Basically, the boundary layer of air long the surface of the rocket in this case is separating at the rear, in an alternating pattern. It builds on one side then sloughs when it gets to large, and builds on the other side, and back and forth and back and forth...
Wikipedia: Karman Vortex shedding
In certain cases, it's thought that Karman vortex shedding can cause destabilizing forces on the leading object, but to what extent, that's debatable. Some people believe it's a contributor to high speed wobble in racecars and motorcycles as well. Either way, it's a real thing, and that's what's happening in rocket vapor trails...
And why some suspension bridges and tall smokestacks fail in pretty spectacular fashion?