Air
Density
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| Source: http://spectre23.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/sw-22a-shoots-like-a-champ/ |
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Distance
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Bullet
Spin |
Wind
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Air
density covers many different factors of ballistics
including moisture in the air (humidity), temperature,
and wind (which has been discussed). Since the affect of
wind has already been shown and explained, moisture and
temperature will be discussed.  Temperature may increase or
decrease the air density which can cause more or less
air resistance on a bullet as it travels through the
air. Hot temperatures cause air to be thinner which
makes the air less dense causing less drag on a bullet. Cold
temperatures cause air to be thicker which makes
the air dense causing more drag on a bullet.
It has been tested and found that bullets fired in
warmer temperatures tend to travel farther and hit
harder than bullets fired in colder temperatures.
Temperature does more than just increase the surrounding air density, as temperatures rise the temperature of the barrel of a gun rises as well. The higher barrel temperatures may cause "baking" to occur on the barrel severely decreasing accuracy. The colder the barrel of a gun is the more it can be fired without fear of overheating it and causing a decrease in accuracy as well as damage to the gun. Source:http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140930235319/r2d/images/2/21/Bullet-vector--bullet-in-fire_27-72.jpg  Humidity also
has many affects on the path of a bullet through the
air. It is well known that humidity has a serious impact
on accuracy. The reason for this is that air containing
a high degree of moisture is more dense than dry air,
this is because a water molecule weighs less than a dry
air molecule. It is true that a high degree of moisture
in the air does allow a barrel to be shot more often
without worry of overheating than on a hot, dry day. The
drawback of high humidity is that it easily rusts a gun,
causing massive decreases in accuracy as the barrel and
chamber foul and get warped. Causing the bullet to not
rotate properly through the rifling and tumble instead
of spin, as well as a possible muzzle velocity decrease
caused by rusting to the compression chamber of a gun. Source: http://thearmsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Vertical-featured-620x350.jpg |