For nearly a century, bullet performance (ballistics) has been measured by chronograph, usually at the muzzle — 100 yards, 200 yards, and further depending upon the round. This standard measure allowed engineers and savvy shooters to compare the performance of a particular bullet and make decision based on that data. However, the staff at Hornady noticed that their bullets seemed to behave in a puzzling manner. When they tested their ballistic tip bullets against others, the same anomaly occurred. To investigate the matter further, they used Doppler radar to track bullets and solved the puzzle. I hunted with Hornady employees Judd Jarzynka and Emily Miceau who filled me in on the findings.
“Hornady has developed ELD-X (extremely low drag expanding) bullets and offer them in the Precision Hunter Ammunition line,” said Jarzynka. “We use Doppler radar, which traces a bullet’s performance every one to two feet up to a mile.”
“Traditional ballistic tips showed rapidly increased drag from muzzle to 300 yards, which shouldn’t happen,” said Mierau. “We found that polymer tips were softening and deforming in flight. We tested the bullets of other manufacturers and found the same result. Our ELD-X bullets have been built to withstand and resist aerodynamic heating and provide some of the best ballistics on the market.”
And I thought Doppler radar was just for The Weather Channel! For more information on this interesting research, visit hornady.com.
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