What Variables Effect a Ricochet?

K

kel

New member
I know, another topic that will have all kinds of directions and such.

I shoot a lot of things down in the lake. Sometimes it's with the .22, .22 mag, and even the 22-250 when the need arises. There is clear land beyond where I shoot with the exception of a house being about a 1/2 mile distance so the .22 is used for those type of shots in that direction. The only time I audibly here a ricochet off of the water is when I use the .22 or sometimes the .22 mag. Is it because of velocity? I imagine all bullets have the capability of ricocheting but does speed effect either the actual ricochet or the audible sound of the ricochet?

I know the Mythbusters did an episode where they shot a .45 at concrete and I believe the test result was the bullet ricoched about half the angle it was fired from.

Also wondering how much if any velocity the bullet loses from skipping off of the water. I have been told the high speed bullets tend to break up instead of ricocheting but I'm not sure I believe that.

The only .22 bullets I've fired where I did not hear any ricochet was the CCI TNT's. They have a huge hole up front which I guess anchors it to the water once it hits.

Who's got the info? I'm just wanting to have a good idea what the bullets are going to do.
 
I would think the single biggest factor would be the ANGLE that a bullet hits the water. Second I think would be velocity.

You can make a BB out of a Red Rider skip across water if you start it out close to parallel with the surface.
 
I agree with the smaller angle. I guess the bullet would travel faster on a ricochet at that angle but maybe not as far since it would be in a lower trajectory and normal bullet drop would bring it to the ground sooner.
 
I think type of bullet makes a difference too. FMJ vs. BT for instance, I think you have a higher probability of the FMJ ricocheting where the BT might disintegrate into a mass that doesn't carry any concern-able distance.
 
Velocity, bullet shape and approach angle has an effect. A .22 is round nosed with less power to penetrate the water surface at certain angles and therefore more likely to ricochet if shooting at a slight angle from the water. A .22-250 would be less likely to ricochet at the same angle due to the pointed tip as well as it possessing enough force to penetrate the water surface enough for the water to "restrain" the bullet. You can visualize displaced water as a blob trying to grab and slow the projectile. As long as the bullet is inside the body of water, it is being slowed and constrained. But if the object enters the water just briefly and re-emerges from the water surfaces it is free to do as gravity and inertia allows.

The follow figures are fictional to illustrate, with words, an example. For example a .22 shot from angle “x” makes a ½” indention in the water surface and ricochets off. A .22-250 shot from the same angle makes a 2” indention and is forced to travel into the “wall” of the water indention therefore it does not simply ricochet into air. It essentially ricochets into the body of water. The .22 might have to pass thru a ripple of water before it is freed back into air where the .22-250 did not get that same freedom because the initial force of impact created a crater in the water deep enough to truly “trap” the projectile.

I would imagine the only sound would come from a bullet toppling and whizzing thru the air. This noise is not present in all ricochet scenarios, therefore the lack of a sound is not a true indicator for the presence of a ricochet.
 
Last edited:
I read one study that chronoed a .22 long bullet just before and just after it ricocheted off the water at a low angle. The bullet only lost 50 fps! That would place your neighbors house well within range. Be careful out there.
 
Almost any time you fire a weapon at a 30 degree angle or less, you run the high risk of a ricochet...The steeper the angle the less the risk..The only time I will shoot at anything in the water is if the target is very close to the opposite bank where a ricochet will most likely hit the bank instead of passing over the edge of it..

I used to do demonstrations in Firearms Training with more solid objects than water, using shotgun rounds as well as handgun rounds and most of the time the bullet that was fired at a vertical brick/concrete wall or flat pavement at approximately 30 degrees would exit the surface at approximately 18" from it and then continue on a path that closely matched the surface...Try it some time and place an inflated balloon at the end of the wall or pavement..
 
firing across water is prohibited in most hunting regulations unless its a shotgun hunting waterfowl.

In CA the law exist for ricochet but also because game shot on an opposite side of a water body you may not be able to recover it if you can't get across.

Only time I could see shooting something on the water with a rifle is gator hunting. Isn't there laws against it in your state?
 
I've watched 22 bullets skip 3 and 4 times, going ~1/2 mile after hitting the first time, while shooting p dogs. The bigger guns sometimes skip that fat someones don't. I've never really shot a rifle at/toward water because I've never really had much reason to and was always told it would ricochet, so I don't have any experience in that exact situation but I would say that house is still WELL within range
 
Originally Posted By: bhkI read one study that chronoed a .22 long bullet just before and just after it ricocheted off the water at a low angle. The bullet only lost 50 fps! That would place your neighbors house well within range. Be careful out there.

Yep and it keep loosing. It was proly starting to tumble too.
 
Originally Posted By: TripleDeuce660firing across water is prohibited in most hunting regulations unless its a shotgun hunting waterfowl.

In CA the law exist for ricochet but also because game shot on an opposite side of a water body you may not be able to recover it if you can't get across.

Only time I could see shooting something on the water with a rifle is gator hunting. Isn't there laws against it in your state?

Actually beaver, snakes, turtles. As long as the turtle isn't endangered and the snake is venomous it's legal all year long. Can't shoot across a road but have read the regs and did a file search of the regs and couldn't find anything about not shooting across water. You can't hunt game from a boat. Actually gator hunting is legal with a tag.

If you've ever owned your own dam you would know that beavers will tear one up real quick by digging dens in the wall. Had a complete failure 15 years ago. They've dug into it again to where it may cost another 10 grand to have it repaired. And Snakes, enough said there. Turtles? Most people don't realize they love fish to eat. Although they also like small snakes so it's a balancing act.

I'd like to see somebody do a complete test with how much the velocity drop off after a ricochet. If it's only 50 fps that's eye opening. I'd figured after a ricochet the .22 would only go maybe 400-500 yards.
 
With a little web research and a high school physics book, you can calculate the critical angle of approach for deflection of a given projectile at a given velocity, however, the answer is pretty simple...

Any relatively flat shot CAN ricochet, whether it's off dirt, rocks, water, sand, etc. Use caution, and don't shoot in the general direction of things you don't want to put a bullet into.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top