Saturday at the Movies: Firearms Science Series — 7 Smart Videos

NRA Media offers a series of informative videos about the Science of Shooting, covering a wide range of topics, from eye dominance to long-range ballistics. These videos feature high production values, with super-slow motion segments, as well as helpful computer graphics to illustrate the principles covered.

The videos are narrated by Jessie Harrison, a top action pistol shooter (and the first women ever to achieve USPSA Grand Master status). Jessie is assisted by talented shooters such as Top Shot Season 4 Champion Chris Cheng. There are 40 videos in the Firearm Science Video Series. Here are seven good NRA science videos, with links to others below.

CLICK HERE to Access All 40 NRA Firearm Science Videos »

BULLET TRAJECTORY — Factors at Play and Zeroing Strategies

Host Jessie Harrison (formerly Jessie Duff) and Veteran Air Force Sniper and Long Range Expert George Reinas help us understand the factors behind bullet trajectory. NOTE: There are some exaggerations in the graphics in the videos, and inconsistent terminology use, but it’s still a helpful basic primer on the subject of trajectories. This popular video has over 1 million YouTube views.

SHOOTING POSITIONS — Prone, Standing, Sitting, Kneeling

Olympic Gold Medalist Jamie Gray demonstrates the four positions used by competition shooters: Prone, Standing, Sitting, and Kneeling. Helpful overlay graphics show how the human skeleton aligns in each of these positions. This video should help hunters as well as competitive position shooters. If you shoot silhouette, definitely watch this video!

INTERNAL Ballistics — Cartridge Ignition and Bullet in Barrel

What happens inside the barrel of your gun when you pull the trigger? In this edition of Firearm Science, Jessie Harrison goes over internal ballistics, which studies the combustion of propellant, the pressure developed, and the motion of the bullet along the bore of the barrel. There are some good 3D animations showing how the powder charge ignites and the bullet moves through the barrel.

CHOKE TUBES and Shot Patterns — Shotgun Science

With over 2 million YouTube views, this shotgun-centric video is the most popular of all the NRA Firearms Science series videos. Here Olympic trap shooter Corey Cogdell explains how choke tubes affect a shotgun’s shot pattern in this edition of Firearm Science. We recommend that all Shotgun hunters watch this video — it explains the effect of choke tubes very well.

ZEROING RIFLES for Long Range — Tech Tips

The process of zeroing rifles for long range is covered in this Firearm Science video featuring George Reinas, a veteran Air Force sniper. George demonstrates how to adjust his scope to compensate for bullet drop at long range. Our friend Dennis Santiago was involved in the making of this video, which was filmed at the Burbank Rifle & Revolver Club in Southern California.

CHRONOGRAPHS — Calculating the Speed of a Bullet

This video shows a conventional chronograph with front and rear light sensors. The bullet first trips the front sensor and then the rear sensor as it flies over the unit. The difference in sensor time is used to calculate bullet speed. This is not the only kind of chrono in common use today. The popular MagnetoSpeed chrono works by tracking the bullet as it passes over two magnetic sensors mounted on a bayonet-style fixture on the barrel.

The high-tech LabRadar chronograph employs Doppler Radar to measure the speed of a bullet without the need to send the round directly over sensors. No need to set up tripods down-range. Just set the unit near your rifle’s muzzle, on the side. There is also an inertial trigger accessory for LabRadars. Interestingly, this video also explains how, in the days before electric lamps, digital processors, and radar, scientists used a mechanical “Ballistic Pendulum” to calculate bullet velocity using Newtonian physics. The Ballistic Pendulum (shown at right) was first used in the mid 1700s.

EYE DOMINANCE — How to Determine Which Eye is Dominant

Host Jessie Duff and longtime shooter Krystie Messenger demonstrate how eye dominance affects aim and teach you how to determine your dominant eye in this edition of Firearm Science. There are very simple tests you can do to determine your eye dominance. This Editor is right-handed but left-eye dominant. All competitive shooters should check for eye dominance. If you are cross-dominant, you can alter your head position or put a paper patch on one frame of your shooting glasses.

Other NRA Firearm Science Videos

⏺ Firearm Science: Using Mil-Dots to Estimate Range

⏺ Firearm Science: Trigger Control (Pistol)