Whereas other practical firearm discussions have involved matters relating to personal choice in the utilization of certain firearms for certain applications, this discussion pertains to more hypothetical matters. Are there circumstances under which a projectile would never withstand being discharged, and actually disintegrate after leaving the barrel of the firearm, but before it physically struck the intended target?
Yes. Lightweight projectiles fired at high velocity in barrels with rifling twists too fast for the projectile. 22-250 in 40 gr are typically used in barrels with 1:12 or slower. Use a 1:7 barrel and the bullet will spin too fast and come apart in flight
Interesting story: a college friend of mine grew up part of the ranching culture in the southwest, and he developed a passion for long range precision shooting through the need to eliminate vermin on the ranch such as prairie dogs and coyotes. He was so into it he had a shooting bench built into the back of his truck, and he loved to play with 6mm wildcat cartridges in custom rifles. He would even make his own bullets, trying to create ultra light projectiles with sectioned jackets; the idea being that the projectile, pushed at high velocity, would be barely maintaining its structural integrity as it passed through the air, and when it struck something solid - like a prairie dog - it would immediately disintegrate, dumping all of its ballistic energy inside the target. The end result was the prairie dog simply vanishing in a red mist upon impact; but the problem was that bullets would sometimes fail in flight. I was with him one day as he was testing such a rifle, and I was spotting for him as he was sighting in his optic. At one point he pulled the trigger, and there was this odd gray puff that appeared in the air about thirty yards away; my friend said, "bullet blew up..." and he simply worked the bolt and chambered a new round and tried again.
If it has a defect of some sort, sure. No projectile designed to reliably discharge would do so, under normal use.
This is messing with the ragged edge to get that last 0.01% of performance. Have him try Berger VLD match rounds - high sectional density, great ballistics and a thin jacket. Pure target rounds, they typically explode when they hit something other than paper. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...diameter-105-grain-vld-hollow-point-boat-tail Ballistic Coefficient 0.532
Oh, this story goes back to the early 1990's. My friend's married with three kids and still works the ranch that's been in his family since the 1880's. But he does still enjoy popping prairie dogs from 500 yards and more in his free time...
