Is that the bullet leaving the barrel?

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

I pulled some still pictures off of a video I'm working on. It looks like I can see the bullet exiting the muzzle, but maybe I'm just seeing the muzzle hole itself. What do you think?

http://i.imgur.com/GBXnN.jpg

[hellgate]

What all is being fired out the barrel? It looks like a projectile shadow but is asymmetrical. A bullet ought to be concentric. A wad could be flying irratically. I'm thinking bullet if there is no wad used but the shape is odd.

[Billy Bristol]

I could be wrong but I would think that whatever it was it was just ahead of the flash or you would not see it. My guess would be the bullet. Would not look perfectly symetrical only because of the flash and smoke.

[dusty texian]

I agree I think it is the bullet in front of the flash.Anyhow made me want to duck!.....Dusty.

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

It is a .44 caliber 1851 Navy loaded with a wad and a round ball.

[Cliff Fendley]

It's a cool pic regardless of what we are seeing.

[hellgate]

Then my answer is that it is the deformed and/or swirling wad.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

It's a cool pic regardless of what we are seeing.

Agreed.

As to the asymmetrical shape, the extraordinary amount of light produced by the firing - the flash - could make a perfectly round shape look odd in the "eye" of the camera.  The flash could "overload" the film/lens/ etc..


Do you load a wad in FRONT of the ball, Mike?  I didn't think so!  The wad (if loaded behind the ball, like many of us do,) would NOT get ahead of the bullet.

Just sayin' !

[paledun]

I'm thinking it should be fairly easy to find out.  Dig it out of the camera!!!!   

[Southpaw]

Thats probably the last thing many people saw...........

[w44wcf]

Mike,
Neat photo!!
I think that is the end of the barrel because by the time that amount of flame is visible, the projectile is heading downrange.

w44wcf