Calculator
Atmosphere & angle
Air 1.2211 kg/m³ · sound 340.8 m/s · muzzle Mach 2.49 · SD 0.222 · form factor i(G7) 1.087
Drop & trajectory
| Range (m) | Path (cm) | Come-up (mrad) | Velocity (m/s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | -0.6 | 0.13 | 812 |
| 100 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 775 |
| 150 | -3.4 | 0.23 | 739 |
| 200 | -11.4 | 0.57 | 704 |
| 250 | -24.3 | 0.97 | 670 |
| 300 | -42.6 | 1.42 | 637 |
| 350 | -67.1 | 1.92 | 605 |
| 400 | -98.2 | 2.45 | 573 |
| 450 | -136.8 | 3.04 | 543 |
| 500 | -183.7 | 3.67 | 513 |
| 550 | -240.0 | 4.36 | 484 |
| 600 | -306.8 | 5.11 | 455 |
| 650 | -385.4 | 5.93 | 428 |
| 700 | -477.4 | 6.82 | 401 |
| 750 | -584.8 | 7.80 | 375 |
| 800 | -709.5 | 8.87 | 351 |
| 850 | -854.2 | 10.05 | 331 |
| 900 | -1021.2 | 11.35 | 319 |
| 950 | -1212.4 | 12.76 | 310 |
| 1000 | -1429.0 | 14.29 | 303 |
Highest point 0.2 cm above the line of sight at 84 m. Point-blank window (±7.5 cm): 0–176 m.
This bullet goes transonic at 685 m
The shaded band on the chart is the transonic zone, Mach 1.2 down to Mach 0.8. Your bullet enters it at 685 m and crosses Mach 1 at 823 m.
In that band the shock wave sitting on the bullet’s nose detaches and moves rearwards. The centre of pressure shifts, drag rises steeply, and the yaw-damping that keeps a spinning bullet pointed forwards weakens. Groups open up — not because the calculation is wrong, but because the bullet itself stops behaving predictably. Treat drop numbers past this range as an estimate, and expect more vertical dispersion than the trajectory suggests.
MOA vs mrad — and why 1 MOA is not 3 cm
1 mrad = 0.001 radian exactly, so it subtends exactly 10 cm at 100 m, 20 cm at 200 m, and so on. That is why metric shooters like it: the arithmetic is decimal.
1 MOA = 1/60 degree = π/10800 radian, which is 2.908 cm at 100 m and 1.047 inch at 100 yd — not 3 cm and not 1 inch. The “1 inch at 100 yards” shortcut is 4.7 % off, which is 2.4 inches of error at 500 yards. This calculator uses the exact definitions throughout and rounds only once, in click space, at the end.
One click on your turret is 0.1 mrad (1 cm @ 100 m). Because a turret can only move in whole clicks, there is always a leftover — shown above as a residual in cm at the target.
G1 or G7 — which drag model fits this bullet?
A ballistic coefficient is not a property of the bullet alone; it is a comparison against a reference projectile. G1 is a short, flat-based 19th-century shape. G7 is a long boat-tail. A modern match bullet resembles G7 far more than G1.
The practical consequence: a G1 BC quoted for a boat-tail bullet is not constant with speed — catalogues often publish banded values (one BC above 800 m/s, another below). A G7 BC for the same bullet stays nearly constant, so a single number carries the whole trajectory. If a G7 figure exists for your bullet, use it. G7 BCs are numerically about half the G1 value for the same bullet — that is expected, not a typo.
No small arm is hypersonic
Hypersonic conventionally begins at Mach 5 — about 1700 m/s at sea level. This load leaves the muzzle at Mach 2.49. The fastest commercial rifle cartridges (.220 Swift, .22-250) top out near Mach 3.5, and tank APFSDS rounds reach roughly Mach 5 — small arms do not. Anything you read about “hypersonic bullets” from a rifle is marketing.
Reference
Cartridges
7.62×51 NATO / .308 Winchester
The default full-power rifle cartridge of the West: a short-action .30 calibre that shoots everything from 147 gr ball to 200 gr subsonic, and the reference case for understanding transonic limits.
5.56×45 NATO / .223 Remington
The small-calibre high-velocity standard: light bullets at over 900 m/s, a twist-rate history that explains more about ballistics than any other cartridge, and a very short supersonic life.
6.5×55 SE
The Nordic classic since 1894: mild recoil, long slender bullets, and still one of the most common moose-and-deer calibres in Finland and Sweden.
.30-06 Springfield
The all-round cartridge of the century: introduced 1906 as the US service round, now loaded with practically every hunting bullet from 8 to 13 grams.
9.3×62
The heavy European forest cartridge of 1905: 15–18.5 gram bullets at moderate velocity — a moose and bear calibre that works in close cover.
6.5 Creedmoor
The 2007 precision-shooting favourite that crossed over into hunting: 6.5×55 ballistics in a short action with modern bullets.
.300 Winchester Magnum
The American magnum of 1963: .30-calibre bullets at 880 m/s — a flat trajectory and a large energy reserve, paid for in recoil and barrel wear.
.222 Remington
The 1950 benchrest legend, still a popular Finnish fox and small-predator cartridge: quiet, accurate and light-recoiling.
7mm Remington Magnum
The 1962 magnum that pairs slender 7 mm bullets with magnum velocity: a flat trajectory and good wind resistance for open-country hunting.
.22-250 Remington
The fastest commonly sold .22 centerfire: over 1100 m/s at the muzzle, essentially no holdover to 300 m — a specialist tool for small predators and corvids.
.22 Long Rifle
The world's most produced cartridge, born 1887: the tool for practice and the smallest game — with legal limits in hunting use that are worth knowing precisely.
Physics, plainly
Concepts
Ballistic coefficient, and G1 vs G7
What a BC actually measures, why the same bullet has two different numbers, and when a G1 figure quietly stops being true.
The sound barrier and transonic instability
Why groups open up when a bullet slows through Mach 1, what the transonic band actually is, and why subsonic loads behave differently.
MOA, mrad and scope clicks
Exact definitions, the two shortcuts that are wrong, and how click rounding leaves a residual error you can calculate in advance.
Sectional density
Mass divided by frontal area — the part of the ballistic coefficient that comes from the bullet's proportions rather than its shape.
Bullet construction types
FMJ, soft point, hollow point, boat tail, open-tip match, monolithic — what the labels mean and which parts of them affect the flight path.
Twist rate basics
Why rifling is measured in inches per turn, how the Miller rule estimates whether a bullet will stabilise, and what over- and under-stabilisation do.