I'm pretty familiar with all you discuss, and I give you that accuracy in wording.
What you're discussing is when the bullet passes you at beyond the speed of sound. As it was with working the rifle range as a scorer.
But is the perceived loudness the same when the bullet does not pass you? (If it were stopped by the berm...)
Now I gotta give you one.
I've been in the pits when the shooter shoots a few feet low and hits the berm about 10 feet behind me. It isn't nearly as loud as the crack when it passes overhead.
