I always really liked the episode of Mythbusters in which they made a setup to show how a bullet fired from a (zero elevation) gun will take the same amount of time to hit the ground as a bullet simply dropped from the same height. It was an excellent demonstration of both a basic physics/ballistics concept, and of how mind-bogglingly fast a bullet travels. This just made me think of that.
This is similar to naval gunnery concept of danger space. Basically where you'd still hit the target ship, even if misestimating the range, due to the size of that ship -- and just like with rifles a faster, flatter firing, shell creates a larger danger space.
The shooting manuals of the Victorian era are specific about this. They constantly refer to the "margin" (another name for danger space) which is the distance between "first catch," the distance at which a bullet will strike the head of a target and the "first graze," or the distance at which the round will hit the feet of a target. All of the British musketry manuals of the period have charts showing the margin for the rifle covered by that manual at various ranges, so, for example, when the sights on a Snider-Enfield rifle are set for 300 yards, and you aim at the waist of a target, the first catch is at 220 yards, the point blank is (of course) at 300 yards, and the first graze is at 355 yards, for a margin, or danger space, of 135 yards. The margin gets smaller as you increase the range since bullets drop off more quickly at longer ranges.
@@Schlachtschule They're related, but not the same. "Point blank" is a specific form of margin: namely, one where the bullet strikes the desired target area from the muzzle out to the maximum possible range. So while you might be able to set your sights for 300 yards and attain hits from 220 to 355 yards, this is margin but not point blank. If you set your sights for 150 yards and attain hits from muzzle to 250 yards, that IS point blank AND margin.
@@bronco5334 Not quite, but I won't use my own words, I'll use a manual of the period: "[P]oint-blank (V) is the second intersection of the trajectory (T K), or curve, with the line of sight." (Heth, Henry. A System of Target Practice for the use of Troops. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862. p. 17.) I believe you may be confusing point blank and point blank range. Margin is the range over which you will hit *somewhere* on your opponent, from first catch to first graze. Look at any of the Musketry Manuals, it's right there. They show the exact number of yards for each (well, not exact, rounded to five yards for easier memorization, as the books say).
This is also basically what people are talking about when they refer to how "flat shooting" a firearm - or really, a cartridge - is. The "flatter" a cartridge shoots, the more distance a bullet travels before it's dropped low enough (due to ever-present gravity) that you would "miss" your target (i.e. hitting too low - whether missing the target entirely, or just hitting too low on the target for good effect.) In other words, a "flatter-shooting" cartridge helps stretch that "point blank" range further out.
I already knew that because you mentioned it in a previous episode. But its nice that you put it out there in a much more concise and accecible video. Love clips!
Point blank is actually an artillery term, dating back half a millennium. Emperor Maximilian I reputedly invented the gunner’s quadrant circa 1500. The gunner’s quadrant has one side longer than the other and incorporates a plumb-bob. The longer end is placed inside the muzzle of a cannon and the position of the plumb bob line on the quadrant scale is noted. Gunners marked off points, NOT degrees, according to personal (or possibly unit) preference. When the plumb bob aligned exactly with the shorter leg of the quadrant i.e., when the cannon bore was horizontal to the ground, the reading was ‘point blank’. My reference source is: A History of Artillery by Ian V. Hogg, with Special Artwork by John Batchelor published by Hamlin in 1974. ISBN 0 600 31314 X. Ian Hogg needs no introduction and John Batchelor is famous for his illustrations that appeared in the World at War books, amongst other titles.
We I was younger most gun writers of the day, said sighting in your rifle at 25 yards was the easiest way to get point blank range from most hunting cartridges. Due to the bullet path most shot stayed within a 8 inch window out to 300 yards give or take a few yards.
MPBR, maximum point blank range, is still often talked about with hunting rifles, you zero your scope for MPBR and that's the range where you can hold dead on and your bullet will stay in the vital zone of a game animal, never higher or lower than 4" of your point of aim, with most hunting cartridges it's usually somewhere around 200-250 yards, zero at that distance and you can hold dead on most animals for a clean kill out to almost 300
In Spanish we have the phrase "a quema ropa" ( "at Burning clothes distance") to depict the shot done at very close distance (because that clothes are burnt with the powder and gases from the shot, or stained or, in some cases, it may catche a small fire).
Thanks for that quick tutorial Does ur friend have a name? Maybe ammo, cartridge or war were declared? Shirt idea picture of ur little friend and war were declared logo Keep up the excellent channels and pass the ammunition
"[P]oint-blank (V) is the second intersection of the trajectory (T K), or curve, with the line of sight." (Heth, Henry. A System of Target Practice for the use of Troops. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862. p. 17.)
As far as law enforcement is concerned, point blank is the range at which one can hit a target, highly likely striking it, without using sights. The distance can vary, based on experience and situation, but is generally within 6 feet from the target.
@0:51The illustration and your explanation should be expanded upon in another video. I've met many new gun owners recently that don't know about bullet trajectory or how sights work. They think the sights are just always aligned perfectly at all distances.
Similar to "First Catch, Last Graze" wherein it's the range you can expect to hit a human body at all, Point Blank Range is the range you can expect to be a bit more effective. :)
now i read magazines a few books some of the reloading manual info and mainly listen to others and until now after a good 40 years i do understand point blank having not given it much thought in the past thanks J. Schell
So, like in boot camp they told us we have to hit a man size target at 500 yards with peep sights. Or in other words, a man size torso is what the target was. Of course the difference between 1982 and now is that the man size torso is a lot wider.
I've watched your collabs with The Great War a few times and never understood the concept when explained there, but this finally cleared it up for me. Thanks a lot! Btw, who is the lil' fella on the desk? c:
.276 Pedersen was a 7mm experimental intermediate combat round that showed promise, but was scrapped. Its performance would be below the modern 7mm-08, but that is a great commercial cartridge, and it can reliably take almost all large game in the lower 48 states, except perhaps the big grizzlies.
In many places around the world, it's common to sight in your hunting rifle at point blank, because that will open up the kill box the widest at usual hunting ranges. Point blank for my .308 loads out of a 20' / 51 cm barrel, for example, is around 154 m. At 100 m, I'll shoot around 4 cm high, which is perfectly acceptable, even when hunting small European Roe Deer. This works out for almost all of the .30 caliber full power rifle cartridges.
"Point blank" is can you aim at the chest of a person about 5.5 feet tall, and get a kill hit. This would be from the eyes down to the bellybutton, about 2 feet. Depending on the cartage the zero would be around 200 yards, for kill zone hits from like 50 yards to 300 yards, without having to adjust the sights
Believe it or not, I used to think that point blank range means putting the gun on the target and pull the trigger. In other words, put the gun in the enemy head and pull the trigger. Thanks to you, now I know what point blank range is
I think that started with courtroom dramas like _Perry Mason_ where it sounds really grim if the murder victim was shot at “point blank range.” Truth be told, almost anyone who dies by gunshot (especially from a handgun) is going to be at point blank range.
@@CountArtha - it's not just the dramas. Some of the crime novels and stories are also guilty of this myth. Shows like CSI just spread it further. Thanks to Mr.othias, I now know what point blank range is.
Sort of, but not exactly. Point blank, in modern definition, is the distance at which, if you zero to an optimal range, the bullet will never be more than a specified distance above nor below the aimpoint at any range from the muzzle to that distance. Generally, for hunters, this is considered to be 4" high or low, which allows one to zero most modern rifles firing modern cartridges to about 170-220 meters and expect to hit within the 4" vitals area of any game animal within about 250-300 meters without any need to adjust sights or hold over the target. (exact ranges differing by cartridge ballistics) Etymologically, "point blank" is actually derived from "punto bianco", which basically mean the same thing: the white spot. It refers to medieval cannonry, and references the range within which a cannon would hit a target without need for any superelevation: they could aim the cannon by looking down the barrel and lining the "white spot" (the practice target) up with the top edge of the cannon barrel. Targets BEYOND "punto bianco" range required superelevation, which meant that they would have to use a gunner's tangent to determine the correct angle to set the gun to... and they would not be able to see the target over the top of the barrel, because the barrel would be aiming significantly above the target. It definitely does not mean what Hollywood and the MSM seem to think it means, at any rate. They always misuse it to mean "targets within spitting and/or punching distance"
We were taught that point blank is the distance you can hit a target without moving your sights from zero ( the lowest setting on iron sights) its different on scopes.
That was informative. But now I can't help but wonder if "point blank range" has changed much over the centuries. For example, would a soldier using a Kar98 have a very different point blank range than a modern soldier using ... I dunno, a G3?
It did, but not on your specific examples. The G3 and the 98 series use broadly similar, modern style 'full power rifle' cartridges in the 7-8mm range and won't differ too much as a result. Go back like another 10-15 years to before smokeless powder though and you'll see a significant drop in point blank range, which was part of why its introduction was such a big deal.
7.92x57 aka 8mm Mauser from a K 98 has a longer point blanc range than a 7.62x51 aka 7.62 Nato fired from a G 3. By the way the FAL has a slight better trajectory than the G 3.
In law Enforcement, we often, improperly I guess, referred to point-blank as being so close that gun powder debris (or powder burning) was visibly present around the point of impact.
I think that comes from the old pocket Derringers. They were so inaccurate the target had to be that close. Therefore 2.5 feet or as you said close enough to get powder burnt. So when investigating those shootings the term was correct. The term just didn't evolve with the tech, and was also applied to long rifles and shotguns which would by definition really have a longer point blank range. ?
You are correct, CSI. That is an incorrect usage of the term. Popular and common, but incorrect. Just the way many people equate the terms (verb) 'arrest' and 'convict'. However, with some folks, reality has little connection with usage.
@@OldManMontgomery I've been thinking and reading about this more and I guess it could be argued it is acceptable. After all, there are two point-blank ranges, the minimum, and the maximum. Most shooters only talk about the maximum. and both are really only approximate distances due to variables. if you are talking about a rule of thumb for identifying a shot fired that struck its target at a distance between the muzzle and the minimum point-blank range of a pistol. Which is normally what law enforcement has to deal with. It could be acceptable. But close range would be a better description. If you test fire the suspect weapon at a white target at one-foot progressive intervals from the muzzle you can compare the pattern sizes with the pattern on the evidence and determine the distance the weapon was from the evidence when it was shot. We often use this to eliminate the possibility of suicide in a shooting case.
@@csipawpaw7921 Actually the misconception of 'point blank' and 'real close' is commonly confused and misunderstood. But people are often confused about Quantum Mechanics and the nature of God as well. No amount of confusion changes the underlying reality. You mention a 'minimum' point blank range? That is pretty simple, it's the end of the muzzle for all intents and purposes. Certainly for medium and large game and human adversaries. An M16 (or variant thereof) has the biggest difference between muzzle and sight 'line' of which I'm aware. (Some few telescopically scoped rifles have large displacements in that regard as well, but they aren't very common.) The difference at the muzzle of an M16 (et al) rifle between sights and muzzle is not more than three inches. So at contact range, the strike of the bullet is (at most) three inches lower than the sights indicate. On a human adversary, that makes no difference at all. On a game animal larger than a rabbit, little difference. I suggest you left out the phrase "powder burn" or 'powder marking' in the last two sentences you wrote. That is, to differentiate from 'shot pattern'. For the record, that set of facts has no bearing at all on the matter under discussion. Yes. I'm overly precise. Old habit.
This is one of those videos where someone unfamiliar with the concept being discussed should REALLY listen to Othais, and not so much some of the comments….
I have known this at least since 1969 (boot camp). The concept was worded as "The maximum range at which a ...[belligerent] (I cannot remember the exact word, it may be vulgar) ... can be expected to be hit without adjusting the sights." The same as the video indicated. My OCD mind and vocabulary is offended when so many nitwits refer to 'point blank' range as a shot impossible to miss.
I always really liked the episode of Mythbusters in which they made a setup to show how a bullet fired from a (zero elevation) gun will take the same amount of time to hit the ground as a bullet simply dropped from the same height. It was an excellent demonstration of both a basic physics/ballistics concept, and of how mind-bogglingly fast a bullet travels. This just made me think of that.
In QI, they did it with a Nerf gun and the results showed on camera. I think we all understand the concept but it's still mind boggling to see happen
This is similar to naval gunnery concept of danger space. Basically where you'd still hit the target ship, even if misestimating the range, due to the size of that ship -- and just like with rifles a faster, flatter firing, shell creates a larger danger space.
Danger space is a way cooler name for it.
And we were taught that Carrier Pilots used Danger Zone. With a highway to get there.
The shooting manuals of the Victorian era are specific about this. They constantly refer to the "margin" (another name for danger space) which is the distance between "first catch," the distance at which a bullet will strike the head of a target and the "first graze," or the distance at which the round will hit the feet of a target. All of the British musketry manuals of the period have charts showing the margin for the rifle covered by that manual at various ranges, so, for example, when the sights on a Snider-Enfield rifle are set for 300 yards, and you aim at the waist of a target, the first catch is at 220 yards, the point blank is (of course) at 300 yards, and the first graze is at 355 yards, for a margin, or danger space, of 135 yards. The margin gets smaller as you increase the range since bullets drop off more quickly at longer ranges.
@@Schlachtschule They're related, but not the same. "Point blank" is a specific form of margin: namely, one where the bullet strikes the desired target area from the muzzle out to the maximum possible range. So while you might be able to set your sights for 300 yards and attain hits from 220 to 355 yards, this is margin but not point blank. If you set your sights for 150 yards and attain hits from muzzle to 250 yards, that IS point blank AND margin.
@@bronco5334 Not quite, but I won't use my own words, I'll use a manual of the period: "[P]oint-blank (V) is the second intersection of the trajectory (T K), or curve, with the line of sight." (Heth, Henry. A System of Target Practice for the use of Troops. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862. p. 17.) I believe you may be confusing point blank and point blank range. Margin is the range over which you will hit *somewhere* on your opponent, from first catch to first graze. Look at any of the Musketry Manuals, it's right there. They show the exact number of yards for each (well, not exact, rounded to five yards for easier memorization, as the books say).
I've heard this explanation before, but it makes so much more sense with the cow plush.
This is also basically what people are talking about when they refer to how "flat shooting" a firearm - or really, a cartridge - is.
The "flatter" a cartridge shoots, the more distance a bullet travels before it's dropped low enough (due to ever-present gravity) that you would "miss" your target (i.e. hitting too low - whether missing the target entirely, or just hitting too low on the target for good effect.)
In other words, a "flatter-shooting" cartridge helps stretch that "point blank" range further out.
I already knew that because you mentioned it in a previous episode. But its nice that you put it out there in a much more concise and accecible video. Love clips!
as the Description says: ;) This is a quick review of facts or factoids taken from our more in depth videos. ;)
In Portuguese, the colloquial version of point blank is "queima-roupa", literally "clothes-burning".
Point blank is actually an artillery term, dating back half a millennium. Emperor Maximilian I reputedly invented the gunner’s quadrant circa 1500. The gunner’s quadrant has one side longer than the other and incorporates a plumb-bob. The longer end is placed inside the muzzle of a cannon and the position of the plumb bob line on the quadrant scale is noted. Gunners marked off points, NOT degrees, according to personal (or possibly unit) preference. When the plumb bob aligned exactly with the shorter leg of the quadrant i.e., when the cannon bore was horizontal to the ground, the reading was ‘point blank’.
My reference source is:
A History of Artillery by Ian V. Hogg, with Special Artwork by John Batchelor published by Hamlin in 1974. ISBN 0 600 31314 X.
Ian Hogg needs no introduction and John Batchelor is famous for his illustrations that appeared in the World at War books, amongst other titles.
This channel taught me the definition of point blank. I don’t know if I’ve heard it discussed anywhere else.
I hope to see the cow in more videos!
Moo
I *think* it might be a guinea pig plush toy...?
@@christopherreed4723 No, it's a Cow. It was featured in the previous Primer episode when they discussed the Colt 1905.
@@Westcoastblackpowder Yup. Further research disproved the guinea pig hypothesis.
We I was younger most gun writers of the day, said sighting in your rifle at 25 yards was the easiest way to get point blank range from most hunting cartridges. Due to the bullet path most shot stayed within a 8 inch window out to 300 yards give or take a few yards.
MPBR, maximum point blank range, is still often talked about with hunting rifles, you zero your scope for MPBR and that's the range where you can hold dead on and your bullet will stay in the vital zone of a game animal, never higher or lower than 4" of your point of aim, with most hunting cartridges it's usually somewhere around 200-250 yards, zero at that distance and you can hold dead on most animals for a clean kill out to almost 300
Correctamundo! Essentially the same thing.
The big fluffy on the desk is very sad that you didn't draw our attention to it.
In Spanish we have the phrase "a quema ropa" ( "at Burning clothes distance") to depict the shot done at very close distance (because that clothes are burnt with the powder and gases from the shot, or stained or, in some cases, it may catche a small fire).
Thanks for your time and efforts on a brilliant, entertaining and informative short video. Cheers.
I really hope these clips episodes are boosting engagement because I love them
Thanks for that quick tutorial
Does ur friend have a name?
Maybe ammo, cartridge or war were declared?
Shirt idea picture of ur little friend and war were declared logo
Keep up the excellent channels and pass the ammunition
Othias: "a topic we've mentioned a few times in our episodes"
Me: "well it ain't the siege of plevna then."
"[P]oint-blank (V) is the second intersection of the trajectory (T K), or curve, with the line of sight." (Heth, Henry. A System of Target Practice for the use of Troops. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862. p. 17.)
As far as law enforcement is concerned, point blank is the range at which one can hit a target, highly likely striking it, without using sights. The distance can vary, based on experience and situation, but is generally within 6 feet from the target.
@0:51The illustration and your explanation should be expanded upon in another video. I've met many new gun owners recently that don't know about bullet trajectory or how sights work. They think the sights are just always aligned perfectly at all distances.
Hit like for the cow, stayed for the knowledge
Similar to "First Catch, Last Graze" wherein it's the range you can expect to hit a human body at all, Point Blank Range is the range you can expect to be a bit more effective. :)
now i read magazines a few books some of the reloading manual info and mainly listen to others and until now after a good 40 years i do understand point blank having not given it much thought in the past thanks J. Schell
Good clarification - I’ve seen y’all use the term conversationally incorrectly and it is good to see acknowledgment. Love your content!
So, like in boot camp they told us we have to hit a man size target at 500 yards with peep sights. Or in other words, a man size torso is what the target was. Of course the difference between 1982 and now is that the man size torso is a lot wider.
Excellent description, thanks.
It was great to learn something new. Thanks!
I've watched your collabs with The Great War a few times and never understood the concept when explained there, but this finally cleared it up for me. Thanks a lot!
Btw, who is the lil' fella on the desk? c:
You are amazing explaining the difference.
Got my MooCow! My cat was wary for a few days.
This is why i always felt .270 would be a great combat round. The PBR on my handloads are 324 which is really awesome for hunting
How many deer do you take hiding behind sandbags?
@@SlavicCelery just a few smart ones.
.276 Pedersen was a 7mm experimental intermediate combat round that showed promise, but was scrapped. Its performance would be below the modern 7mm-08, but that is a great commercial cartridge, and it can reliably take almost all large game in the lower 48 states, except perhaps the big grizzlies.
In many places around the world, it's common to sight in your hunting rifle at point blank, because that will open up the kill box the widest at usual hunting ranges.
Point blank for my .308 loads out of a 20' / 51 cm barrel, for example, is around 154 m. At 100 m, I'll shoot around 4 cm high, which is perfectly acceptable, even when hunting small European Roe Deer.
This works out for almost all of the .30 caliber full power rifle cartridges.
Nicely put!
Snipped into a clip! Love it!
From muzzle loading naval artillery. The range at which one could expect to hit the enemy ship on the blank (zero) elevation setting.
Thank you!
I did learn something. Thank you!
Extremeling informative!!!
I have now learned something today. Thank you.👍
Making learning something new interesting.
"Point blank" is can you aim at the chest of a person about 5.5 feet tall, and get a kill hit. This would be from the eyes down to the bellybutton, about 2 feet. Depending on the cartage the zero would be around 200 yards, for kill zone hits from like 50 yards to 300 yards, without having to adjust the sights
Thanks I needed that
I didn't learn anything today, but I still enjoyed it.
Believe it or not, I used to think that point blank range means putting the gun on the target and pull the trigger. In other words, put the gun in the enemy head and pull the trigger. Thanks to you, now I know what point blank range is
That is the common parlance. Or at least close enough that aiming is an afterthought
I think that started with courtroom dramas like _Perry Mason_ where it sounds really grim if the murder victim was shot at “point blank range.” Truth be told, almost anyone who dies by gunshot (especially from a handgun) is going to be at point blank range.
@@CountArtha - it's not just the dramas. Some of the crime novels and stories are also guilty of this myth. Shows like CSI just spread it further. Thanks to Mr.othias, I now know what point blank range is.
I would define what you described as "contact distance", meaning you could literally reach out and touch the target.
I thought Point Blank was that movie with Minnie Driver & John Cusack... 🥳
Good info
Nice one. Thanks.
Yes I did and thank you!!!!!
I learned something today
I'm going to share this with my family then my friends then myself.
That’s pretty neat!
Is the fluffy thing going to end up as Croziers Stunt Dummy?
That cow is algorithmic
In many states point blank is defined any distance 8 to 12 feet away or close enough to leave powder residue.
I have one of those moo-cows now! Rest assured she will live a life free of military or medical experiments.
Moo
It's ponderous, man...... ponderous.
shooting with fixed bayonet and without it - is there any difference for accuracy ?
I wish you would have talked about pistol point blank range which is within a few feet.
Now that you've covered "point blank", how about taking on "all day long"?
Watch this blow up over time as ppl google the definition of “Point blank”
You might want to explain the relationship between point blank range and battle sight zero.
Well Point Blank was released in 2019, so it's about 3 years away in the past.
Just a quick question, and pardon my ignorance, but what is a factoid?
Sort of, but not exactly. Point blank, in modern definition, is the distance at which, if you zero to an optimal range, the bullet will never be more than a specified distance above nor below the aimpoint at any range from the muzzle to that distance. Generally, for hunters, this is considered to be 4" high or low, which allows one to zero most modern rifles firing modern cartridges to about 170-220 meters and expect to hit within the 4" vitals area of any game animal within about 250-300 meters without any need to adjust sights or hold over the target. (exact ranges differing by cartridge ballistics)
Etymologically, "point blank" is actually derived from "punto bianco", which basically mean the same thing: the white spot. It refers to medieval cannonry, and references the range within which a cannon would hit a target without need for any superelevation: they could aim the cannon by looking down the barrel and lining the "white spot" (the practice target) up with the top edge of the cannon barrel. Targets BEYOND "punto bianco" range required superelevation, which meant that they would have to use a gunner's tangent to determine the correct angle to set the gun to... and they would not be able to see the target over the top of the barrel, because the barrel would be aiming significantly above the target.
It definitely does not mean what Hollywood and the MSM seem to think it means, at any rate. They always misuse it to mean "targets within spitting and/or punching distance"
I've thought of "Point Black Range" as close enough for "facial powder burns."
So is Point Blank sonmanus with effective range then?
We were taught that point blank is the distance you can hit a target without moving your sights from zero ( the lowest setting on iron sights) its different on scopes.
That was informative. But now I can't help but wonder if "point blank range" has changed much over the centuries.
For example, would a soldier using a Kar98 have a very different point blank range than a modern soldier using ... I dunno, a G3?
It did, but not on your specific examples. The G3 and the 98 series use broadly similar, modern style 'full power rifle' cartridges in the 7-8mm range and won't differ too much as a result. Go back like another 10-15 years to before smokeless powder though and you'll see a significant drop in point blank range, which was part of why its introduction was such a big deal.
@@DepressivesBrot quite right - it's almost totally a function of muzzle velocity, although the ballistic coefficient can affect it a bit I guess?
7.92x57 aka 8mm Mauser from a K 98 has a longer point blanc range than a 7.62x51 aka 7.62 Nato fired from a G 3. By the way the FAL has a slight better trajectory than the G 3.
so do you still use point blank to describe within reach?
Not sure if this will disappoint or please you ......... didn't learn a thing. Good lesson though and well presented!
Elegancko :D
Why does this discussion make me think of Point no Point?
But what about Lee Marvin's 1967 movie?
when I first whatched this it had no audio and thought it was an early April fool's joke.
What do we call closer distances? Gross point blank? Bad breath distance?
Point blank is whatever your battle sight is set for and under with a rifle.
Where’s the guinea pig!!
Nice cow
Thought we were gonna talk about the movie.
Soo...
within 20 feet?
Moo moo!
And here I thought point blank range had something to do when bullets start to drop.
In law Enforcement, we often, improperly I guess, referred to point-blank as being so close that gun powder debris (or powder burning) was visibly present around the point of impact.
I think that comes from the old pocket Derringers. They were so inaccurate the target had to be that close. Therefore 2.5 feet or as you said close enough to get powder burnt. So when investigating those shootings the term was correct. The term just didn't evolve with the tech, and was also applied to long rifles and shotguns which would by definition really have a longer point blank range. ?
You are correct, CSI. That is an incorrect usage of the term. Popular and common, but incorrect. Just the way many people equate the terms (verb) 'arrest' and 'convict'. However, with some folks, reality has little connection with usage.
@@OldManMontgomery I've been thinking and reading about this more and I guess it could be argued it is acceptable. After all, there are two point-blank ranges, the minimum, and the maximum. Most shooters only talk about the maximum. and both are really only approximate distances due to variables. if you are talking about a rule of thumb for identifying a shot fired that struck its target at a distance between the muzzle and the minimum point-blank range of a pistol. Which is normally what law enforcement has to deal with. It could be acceptable. But close range would be a better description. If you test fire the suspect weapon at a white target at one-foot progressive intervals from the muzzle you can compare the pattern sizes with the pattern on the evidence and determine the distance the weapon was from the evidence when it was shot. We often use this to eliminate the possibility of suicide in a shooting case.
@@csipawpaw7921 Actually the misconception of 'point blank' and 'real close' is commonly confused and misunderstood. But people are often confused about Quantum Mechanics and the nature of God as well. No amount of confusion changes the underlying reality.
You mention a 'minimum' point blank range? That is pretty simple, it's the end of the muzzle for all intents and purposes. Certainly for medium and large game and human adversaries. An M16 (or variant thereof) has the biggest difference between muzzle and sight 'line' of which I'm aware. (Some few telescopically scoped rifles have large displacements in that regard as well, but they aren't very common.) The difference at the muzzle of an M16 (et al) rifle between sights and muzzle is not more than three inches. So at contact range, the strike of the bullet is (at most) three inches lower than the sights indicate. On a human adversary, that makes no difference at all. On a game animal larger than a rabbit, little difference.
I suggest you left out the phrase "powder burn" or 'powder marking' in the last two sentences you wrote. That is, to differentiate from 'shot pattern'. For the record, that set of facts has no bearing at all on the matter under discussion.
Yes. I'm overly precise. Old habit.
So that means that point blank range for most rifles is about 200 yards.
close enough
only knew this because you told me before 🧐 keep 'em straight lol
👍👍👍
I have not learned anything today. In fact I am actively forgetting the 3rd Century BC as we speak.
But by that logic, ALL hits are 'point blank.' Except maybe for indirect fire?
This is one of those videos where someone unfamiliar with the concept being discussed should REALLY listen to Othais, and not so much some of the comments….
I have known this at least since 1969 (boot camp). The concept was worded as "The maximum range at which a ...[belligerent] (I cannot remember the exact word, it may be vulgar) ... can be expected to be hit without adjusting the sights." The same as the video indicated.
My OCD mind and vocabulary is offended when so many nitwits refer to 'point blank' range as a shot impossible to miss.
Blank
Moo
So why is it call "blank"? What is the blank referring too?
Naaa, that's an interpretation, not the true definition.
I gotta admit I dont like this terminology and the coloquial Point Blank seems to make more sense but thanks for the explanation
Available adult male. Not anymore 😳
I'll have you know I didn't learn a damn thing. I choose to remain willfully ignorant.
i love you mae ; )
45th