What does it sound like to get shot at?

[chopinbloc]

I placed a camera about 30 feet to the side of some water jug targets at 150 yards and shot at them with unsuppressed and suppressed .223 and .22lr. This allows you to hear the difference in time when various components of the sound of a gunshot arrive at the target. The 3,000 fps muzzle velocity of the .223 is nearly three times the speed of sound so you hear a ballistic crack and the sound of the bullet impact roughly simultaneously, then you hear the sound of the shot a moment later. When the silencer is attached, you can still hear the sound of the shot, just barely, but it is very difficult to detect. The reverse is true for the .22lr. Although the bullet starts out with a muzzle velocity just below the speed of sound, it slows down quite a bit on the way, arriving at about 850 fps. The speed of sound is about 1,100 fps at sea level. This means that the sound of the shot precedes the bullet at the target by a fraction of a second. You hear the shot, then the bullet passing through the air, then the impact. With the silencer attached, you still hear the shot, but very faintly.

 

[Elkins45]

Do it with a supersonic rifle at 200 yards. You hear the bullet first.

 

[chopinbloc]

Like I said, I did it with both supersonic and subsonic bullets at 150 yards and yes, you're right, you can hear the crack of the supersonic bullet before the report of the shot.

 

[illinoisburt]

Take a turn working the pit at the rifle club during a match. All the bullets impact and crack above you slightly before you hear the boom of the guns at the line. First shot was scary since was unexpected.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I heard Darth Vader and laser blasts

 

[chopinbloc]

Pew.

 

[Elkins45]

I was sitting on a hill in very open country looking over the valley below during deer season. In the very quiet November air you would occasionally hear the report of a shot at varying distances. I will never forget the very distinctive "Zzzzzz" sound of a bullet whizzing by overhead. I don't recall if I ever associated a distant report with the bullet, but I do distinctly recall thinking that I almost was the victim of unbelievably random bad luck.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Interesting. I'd have shot past the mic to get the dual Doppler effect (the sound of getting shot at rather than the sound of getting shot)

Your videos are great and I really appreciate you doing this in the heat rather than wait for Fall as I would

Mike

 

[chopinbloc]

LOL, you should have seen my fat ass chasing the cattle off those hills. I wish I had thought to get that recorded.

 

[FL-NC]

You did it the easy way.

 

[matrem]

Having one place to shoot 200-400 yds with a tall steep bank twenty or so feet from target is as close as I've come.

Hearing whistle, impact and muzzle blast later is as close as I ever hope to come.

Never forget the first time, buddy with a .270 blowing up dirt twenty feet away before a guy could have a clue a shot was fired.
Hat is certainly off to anyone experiencing it in real situations.

 

[FL-NC]

As far as I can tell, I've been shot at (or had pass within very close vicinity) by numerous pistol rounds, 5.56, 7.62 (ours and theirs), 50 caliber, and RPG's. And I'm sure others that I didn't get the license tag of. It just depends- what they are using, distance, surroundings (in the open, in a building, in a vehicle), if you are wearing hearing protection (peltor com-tac headset often won't give you a "full appreciation" of just how much stuff is flying around you) and other factors.
In urban combat (real and training) friendly rounds routinely pass within 1 meter or less of you, inside a room.

 

[CDW4ME]

Like the sound of someone soiling their pants.

 

[entropy]

You'll never forget the sound of Goose loads whistling by you...

 

[Jimster]

Like a hummingbird.

 

[Ignition Override]

Has anybody there ever stood (behind) and below a target on pulleys at 200 yards?

MSSA has at least one of these. The bullets sounded like a fairly high-pitched 'crack', or such, i.e. "Keesh, keesh". Use your own onamotapeoia. It has been about two years.

 

[Jim Watson]

Shot AT as by criminals or foreigners? No.
Shot OVER on a range, sure.
You will want ear protection in rifle range pits. The shockwave of a passing supersonic bullet is loud and sharp. At short and midrange, the muzzle blast is still loud.

Even 600 yard BPCR is loud enough for earplugs in the pits.
A friend's .40-65 had a distinct "Zip" going by, something I have not heard from anything else.

 

[dirtman]

"Like a hummingbird." oh ya Jimster.... but for me seemd kinda v 1 buzz bomb sound and when really close would make a snapping sound.....

 

[WestKentucky]

The most interesting shot I have ever heard is a high school buddy's 20ga dove loads coming out of his Topper single shot. Best way I can describe it is a dull thud followed by a cat in heat followed by a second much smaller dull thud of a bird hitting the ground. It's kinda like da---yeeeeaaaaawwwwwww "hey guys I got (thud) another one" he can't find a miss.

And a high powered rifle up close and personal hitting the branch above my head when fired from a trespassers rifle sounds like me heading to the truck and calling the sheriff.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

In the Infantry, we used to teach the "Crack-thump" method. The supersonic CRACK! is the first thing you hear when you're under fire, and it's confusing, because the CRACK! seems to come from the closest point of approach of the bullet. For example, if the bullet passes you on the right, the sound will come from the right.

So troops are trained to be alerted by the CRACK! and listen for the thump to locate the enemy.

 

[rodregier]

For those that haven't experienced it, the crack of the supersonic bullet going by is very similar to the supersonic sound of a whip cracking.

Fortunately my experience with such has been limited to many sessions of
scoring targets in rifle butts locally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq84UBMNNIk

 

[FL-NC]

Vern- I remember that class. Every time I got shot at, no one could remember to use that method. Especially when we were wearing out com-tacs.

 

[jmorris]

This is what a subsonic bullet sounds like passing by.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs3uiXHK9TY

 

[Merle1]

As far as I can tell, I've been shot at (or had pass within very close vicinity) by numerous pistol rounds, 5.56, 7.62 (ours and theirs), 50 caliber, and RPG's. And I'm sure others that I didn't get the license tag of. It just depends- what they are using, distance, surroundings (in the open, in a building, in a vehicle), if you are wearing hearing protection (peltor com-tac headset often won't give you a "full appreciation" of just how much stuff is flying around you) and other factors.
In urban combat (real and training) friendly rounds routinely pass within 1 meter or less of you, inside a room.

This - plus the bonus light show if they are using tracers!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I remember one young lieutenant who was all hot with me for refusing him permission to return fire:

"There are tracers flying through my position!"

"What color are the tracers?"

"Red! Lots of them!"

"Be advised the enemy uses green. Permission denied. Now stay off the radio while I try to get this other guy to cease fire."