The TRUTH About Bullet Stability ~ Rex Reviews

Are the currently employed stability equations infallibile? Watch this video for a great discussion on the details. Over the years we have paid close attention to twist rates and their relation to the remaining dynamic stability of bullets through the descending leg of ultra long-range shots. At the last RX3000 ELR course we did at HDMR in west TX, we saw a much more prevalent trend of folks running what many would call 'very slow' twist rates for the bullets being run. As we explained many years ago in the old SNIPER 101 online video tutorials, dynamic bullet stability is a more complex issue than gyroscopic stability in which there is no consistently reliable formula to predict real-world performances at various distances. Last month, we demonstrated again with our Rex Defense observers downrange, that it is quite easy to use audio indicators and other simple observations to distinguish stable bullets (very slick air displacement and higher impact velocities) from unstable bullets (spinning AOT ass-over-teakettle with an obviously choppy helicopter-like air displacement). Conventional conversation on the matter and the general rule of thumb used in the industry for a long time has been to opt for a bullet, MV, and twist rate that yields a Miller stability factor of 1.4 or higher. After playing this unique ULR game for almost two decades, I can respectfully beg to differ with the dogmatic veracity of that quantitative assumption. Such stability calculations may indeed give a reliable assessment of the projectile's gyroscopic stability, but do not consistently represent the reality of the bullets dynamic stability at ultra long distances. For example, at the last RX 3000 ELR we again observed that there is no common denominator linking a higher miller stability numbers to better dynamic stability. Approximately half of the rifles set up to deliver a healthy spin on their bullets were partially or fully unstable at 3K. The other half of the test group did fine. Interestingly for some, all of the rifles with 'very slow' twist rates shooting long and heavy VLD contour projectiles did incredibly well at 3K, both in terms of precision as well as remaining dynamic stability. Their time of arrival and impact velocity was qualitatively better as well, which is not surprising for those that have studied our old tutorials posted back in 2013. So, what is going on?

Tractability and dynamic stability is an issue that has been studied for a very long time in the field artillery and naval gunnery world. It took a long time for this set of knowledge to be transposed into the precision rifle shooting world as ULR shooting with extreme angles of descent at the end of the leg has long been quite uncommon. Not to say challenging conventional tradition on these matters have been welcomed with open arms by everyone, ha ha ha. Many have argued and some have fought tooth and nail against the notion when we shared this years ago. However, as we have been detailing for a long time, the empirical observations that we can make very easily in field testing are king (REX). Truth of the matter seems to be that dynamic stability beyond the transonic is a very complex issue in which a variety of internal and transitional ballistics issues can completely change the external ballistic behavior of the bullet as it is sent on its journey to the target. To participate in the detailed discussion on these matters come visit us at a Rex Defense RX Seminar. To observe the reality yourself, join us afterwards for the RX 3000 live fire ELR course! Peace.

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The music at the end of this video was a remix of the Adobe score edited by TiborasaurusRex, an unsigned artist.

Song Title: City Lights
Reorchestrated by: TiborasaurusRex