Have been in the pits during many target rifle matches, and if a bullet coming over your head sounds anything like a bumble bee or humming bird , if it hits the target is likely to leave either an egg shaped hole, a full side profile. Most of the time it'll be a miss.
In midrange you'll hear the shot about the same time as the bullet gets there. In long range/Creedmoor you'll hear the swish of the bullet and see the bullet impact before you hear the shot, If you hear the shot.
That said shooting steel at 1000 yards about the most you'll find from a bullet that hits the target is the base of the bullet about the size of a dime. So even at that range a hit to flesh is definitely not going to bounce off. A 44 or 45 caliber heavy bullet will cut the 2x4 of the target frame in two especially if it hits a knot.
Dang, i missed this post Ranch, maybe i got the sound of the bullet wording wrong, now i trusted Bagwell and he trusted me, i asked to go squat down behind/beside his 300 meter berm, iirc he said it was 327 yards, i got his flip phone set on speaker so we could talk, before i left he said, "Look Here"......."I want you to see i have my 400 yard sight setting on"
Got down to the berm and was watching as he fired at the 400 meter turkey right beside and slightly over me, i saw the puff of smoke, then heard the whizzzzzzz/buzzzzzzz of the bullet passing by, then heard the bullet strike, then the boom of the rifle, it was the coolest chit i've done in awhile, he was laughing into the speaker, i had him do it again, great fun to get to see these rifles work, he was firing my 45-70 paper patch load, 1.335" bullet length from an 18 twist rifle, plenty stable, load clocks 1244 fps, 16 to 1 alloy, what a smack on the steel.
