Whether you’re looking to purchase your first gun or you’re curious about the speed of bullets, you’ve come to the right place. This article will tell you about the basic mechanics of guns and help you learn about how fast a 9mm bullet travels to reach its target.
To understand how fast a 9mm bullet can travel, you first need to understand how guns fire bullets in the first place. In the most simple form – which, if you’re reading this, you probably already understand – is that a bullet is loaded into a barrel, which is then connected to a firing pin. When the firing pin is released, it strikes an explosive charge at the base of the bullet, which then ignites the gunpowder inside the bullet’s shell casing. This then forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun (and out of its casing).
How does that help you understand how fast a 9mm bullet can travel?
Well, understanding how a gun works will help you understand that bullet speed varies depending on a number of factors. For example, the gun used to fire the bullet can impact the speed, as well as the barrel length, and the twist. Additionally, the actual material of the bullet can also impact the speed, as well as the way the gun is used and the gun manufacturer.
How is bullet-speed measured, you ask? It’s measured in muzzle velocity, meaning the speed at which the round travels when it actually leaves the gun. This is done in how many feet per second (FPS) the bullet travels through the air.
What is grain and why is it important?
Grain is a unit of measure – not the amount of powder in the shell casing. It’s the small unit of measure referring to the whole weight of the bullet. Grain can impact how fast a bullet travels, as the weight of the round will determine how much the bullet is impacted by gravity. The heavier the bullet, the more impacted by gravity it will be, and the slower it will go. Therefore, a heavier bullet requires more power to go as fast as lighter rounds do. As firearms vary, so do the grains. However, there are three common weights:
- 115 grain (the most common)
- 124 grain
- 147 grain
So, how fast can a 9mm bullet travel?
Now you’re clued up on how many variables can impact how fast a bullet can travel, you can understand the standard range of speed that a 9mm bullet can travel in. It’s commonly known that for most manufacturers, the bullet speed is around 900 to 1500 FPS, depending on grain.
The general velocity for each weight of bullet that’s understood as ‘standard’ is as follows:
- The speed is 1250 FPS for a 115 grain round,
- For 124 grains it’s 1150 FPS
- It’s 950 FPS for a 147 grain
And there we have it! Hopefully this article will have explained how fast a 9mm bullet travels, but a little more on the workings of guns.
