Theory: Bullet drop

[exLupo]

Originally Posted by Sirisian

That doesn't make sense. Rifling stabilizes the bullets straight flight. There is no force that would cause the bullet to go down then come back up. I've taken a few physics courses and know a bit about guns. The rotation is only for stability. It doesn't spin fast enough to actually impart any force like a hop-up would. Thus there's no force acting on the bullet when it leaves the gun that would cause it to dip down or raise up against gravity. It's just not possible.

To back up this post, I'll take a quote from the same page with the stats link earlier.

Starting with:

One of the more pervasive myths associated with bullet trajectory is that "bullets always rise right after they leave the barrel." In general, bullets do rise after leaving the barrel, and they immediately begin to drop. This is not a contradiction, and the explanation is not difficult to understand.

Source

The gyrojets mentioned in a previous thread could possibly exhibit a wave but that's because they accelerate after firing so, in theory, could propel themselves above the exit tube's axis. However, that's additional propulsion and projectile angle. Missiles, jets off a carrier, etc. The only time you get dip and rise is with a self propelled article.