Bullet Drop Calculator
Gravity drop over a horizontal shot distance
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Need a fast answer on gravity drop over a horizontal shot distance? Bullet Drop Calculator answers with the steps beside it. Fill in Horizontal Distance (m) and Muzzle Velocity (m/s) on Bullet Drop and read your answer immediately. Bullet Drop displays each intermediate figure as well. Bullet Drop replaces guesswork. Bullet Drop runs in your browser. Science data stays in the tab. Bullet Drop handles bullet drop calculator trajectory gravity shooting the same way as free online bullet drop calculator — one of the Science tools on CalcProMaster. Run Bullet Drop twice to find the driving input. Bullet Drop answers the next Science question you meet.
How far does a bullet drop?
Bullet drop is how far the projectile falls below the sight line over a given distance. The page works it out from muzzle velocity, ballistic coefficient, sight height and zero distance, and reports the drop at each range together with the time of flight and the energy left.
It covers the distance in 0.25 seconds, and gravity pulls it down by ½ × 9.81 × 0.25² — about 31 cm — in that time.
The formula
Horizontal and vertical motion are independent. Time of flight:
t = distance ÷ velocity, and drop: d = ½ × g × t².
100 ÷ 400 = 0.25 s; ½ × 9.81 × 0.0625 = 0.3066 m = 30.7 cm.
Worked examples
100 m at 400 m/s → 30.7 cm
200 m at 400 m/s → 122.6 cm
100 m at 800 m/s → 7.7 cm
300 m at 900 m/s → 53.4 cm
Why doubling the distance quadruples the drop
Time of flight doubles, and drop depends on the square of time. That quadratic relationship is why long-range shooting needs elevation adjustments that grow much faster than range — and why a sight zeroed at 100 m is far from flat at 300 m.
What a real trajectory adds
- Aerodynamic drag. A bullet slows as it flies, so the real time of flight is longer than distance ÷ muzzle velocity and the drop is larger.
- Sight height. The line of sight sits above the bore, so the barrel is already angled slightly upward at the zero distance.
- Angle of fire. Shooting uphill or downhill reduces the effective gravity component along the line of sight.
- Spin drift and wind. Both move the bullet sideways, and a crosswind can dwarf the vertical drop at long range.
This page isolates the gravity component so the arithmetic is visible. Treat the figure as a physics demonstration, not a firing solution.
The drop is a geometry problem before it is a ballistics one: the bullet leaves the bore line and gravity pulls it down for exactly as long as it is in flight. Doubling the distance doubles the flight time, and because drop grows with the square of time it quadruples — 100 m gives 30.7 cm, while 200 m gives about 1.23 m. Real trajectories add drag, which slows the bullet and increases drop further, and sight height explains why a rifle is zeroed at a distance rather than pointed flat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a bullet drop over 100 m?
At 400 m/s, about 30.7 cm in a vacuum — the time of flight is 0.25 s, and gravity acts for all of it.
Why is real drop larger than this?
Because drag slows the bullet, so it takes longer to arrive and gravity has more time to act. Real trajectories also start with the barrel angled up to meet the sight line.
Does a faster bullet drop less?
Yes, sharply. Doubling the velocity cuts the time of flight in half and the drop to a quarter, before drag effects are considered.
Does the bullet weight matter?
Not directly in the gravity-only model, where a 55 grain and a 62 grain bullet at the same 400 m/s drop the same 30.7 cm over 100 m. Weight matters through drag and retained velocity.
What about shooting downhill?
The effective drop along the line of sight is smaller, because only the component of gravity perpendicular to the trajectory acts on it. This is the classic "aim low" rule for angled shots.
Is this a firing solution?
No. It is a vacuum calculation for education. Real elevation data must come from a ballistic solver and verified range data.
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