How Far Can a Bullet Travel? Maximum Range by Caliber (2026)

Last Updated on November 4, 2026 by Logan Reeves

A bullet can travel far beyond the distance at which anyone could aim it. That gap between how far a round can fly and how far it is useful is the most important safety fact in shooting. This hub compares the maximum travel distance of the most common calibers, from .22 LR and 9mm to .30-06 and 12-gauge shotgun loads, using published range-safety data, hunter-education figures and manufacturer specifications.

Each caliber row links to our detailed guide for that round. The figures are for understanding danger zones and choosing safe backstops. They are not targets or shooting distances.

Maximum Range vs Effective Range

SAAMI, the US ammunition industry’s standards body, defines maximum range as “the greatest distance a projectile can travel when fired at the optimum angle of elevation of the gun barrel.” For most small-arms bullets that angle is around 30 degrees above horizontal, not 45 degrees as in a vacuum, because air drag changes the ideal arc. This is the distance that matters for safety. It answers the question of how far away someone could be hurt by a stray or missed shot.

Effective range is a completely different measure: the distance at which a shooter can reliably hit an intended target and, for hunting, deliver enough energy for a clean kill. It depends on the shooter, the firearm, the sights and the load. For handguns it is usually measured in tens of yards. For hunting rifles it is a few hundred yards for most hunters.

The gap is huge. A handgun that is hard to shoot accurately beyond 50 yards can still send a bullet more than a mile. That is why hunter-education courses describe the full flight distance as the “dangerous range”, the maximum distance a bullet will travel when fired at the optimum angle.

How Far a Bullet Travels by Caliber: Comparison Table

Figures below come from US military range-safety tables (the “Distance X” maximum-range values used to design firing ranges), government firing tables, published ballistic calculations and hunter-education material. Real-world distances vary with the specific load, barrel length, altitude, temperature and wind, so treat each figure as approximate.

Hunter-education programs often publish rounder, more conservative numbers for teaching. HUNTINGsmart, for example, says a .22 bullet can travel more than 1½ miles, centerfire bullets several miles, small shot 200–350 yards, larger shot over 600 yards and slugs over 800 yards. When figures differ, plan your safety zone around the larger one.

Handgun Calibers: 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W and .45 ACP

Handgun bullets are short, relatively blunt and slower than rifle bullets, so they slow down quickly. Even so, every common handgun round can travel about a mile when fired at the optimum angle.

9mm (including the Glock 45)

The 9mm is the most common handgun cartridge in the US. Military range-safety tables list a maximum distance of 1,800 meters (about 1,970 yards, or 1.1 miles) for standard 9mm ball ammunition. Searches for “Glock 45” often assume a .45 caliber, but Glock’s G45 is a 9mm pistol: Glock describes the G45 V as chambered in 9mm Luger. Its bullets therefore follow 9mm figures, not .45 ACP. Read more in our 9mm bullet drop and travel guide.

.38 Special

Standard .38 Special loads are slow by modern standards. Factory 158-grain lead round-nose ammunition is rated at about 755 feet per second (Remington UMC) to 770 fps (Federal American Eagle) at the muzzle. A heavier +P load is calculated to travel roughly 1,780 yards at the optimum angle. Our .38 Special guide covers velocity and drop in more detail.

.40 S&W and frangible ammunition

A 180-grain .40 S&W bullet is calculated to travel about 1,800 yards. Frangible training rounds, designed to break apart on hard targets, behave differently. See our guide to .40 caliber frangible ammo range and the main .40 cal travel guide.

.45 ACP

Government firing tables put the maximum range of the 230-grain .45 ACP ball round at about 1,850 yards, roughly 1,690 meters or just over a mile. That answers the common questions about how far a .45 caliber bullet can travel and how many meters a .45 reaches. Despite its reputation as a short-range pistol cartridge, a missed .45 shot can still land more than a mile away. Details are in our .45 ACP range guide.

Rifle Calibers: .223/5.56, .30-06 and 6.5 Creedmoor

.223 Remington and 5.56 NATO (AR-15)

Military range-safety tables list maximum distances of 3,100 meters for M193 ball and 3,437 meters for M855 ball, roughly 1.9 to 2.1 miles. Civilian .223 loads vary with bullet weight and shape. The AR-15 is the rifle most often chambered for these rounds, and our AR-15 round distance guide, .223 guide and 5.56 guide break the numbers down further.

.30-06 Springfield

The .30-06 is one of the longest-reaching common hunting cartridges. A 180-grain bullet is calculated to travel about 5,300 yards, roughly 3 miles. The NSSF’s safety rules make the same point plainly: a high-velocity cartridge such as a .30-06 can send its bullet more than 3 miles. That applies to any .30-06 rifle, including the Remington models many hunters ask about, because travel distance depends on the cartridge and load, not the brand of rifle. See our .30-06 range guide.

6.5 Creedmoor

The 6.5 Creedmoor fires long, sleek bullets with high ballistic coefficients that hold velocity well. Hornady’s 140-grain ELD Match load, for example, is rated at 2,710 fps from a 24-inch test barrel. We could not find a standardized published maximum-range figure, so treat it like other centerfire rifle rounds, with a danger zone of several miles. Effective and maximum ranges are covered in our 6.5 Creedmoor range guide.

12-Gauge Shotgun: Birdshot, Buckshot and Slugs

Shotgun pellets are small spheres that lose speed quickly, so their reach is short compared with bullets. A long-standing rule of thumb, Journée’s formula, estimates maximum pellet travel in yards as about 2,200 times the pellet diameter in inches. Ballistics references using it give about 209 yards for #7½ shot and 726 yards for 00 buckshot. #8 shot, at 0.09 inch, works out to about 198 yards. Military range-safety rules set a 275-meter (about 300-yard) shotfall danger zone for #7½–#9 lead shot on trap and skeet ranges.

How far will #8 shot travel when breaking clays?

#8 shot is a standard trap and skeet load. Clay targets are broken at close range, but the pellets keep going, falling out to roughly 200–300 yards. That is why clay fields keep a large clear shotfall zone downrange. For hunting and clay distances, see our 12-gauge birdshot range guide.

Buckshot and slugs

Larger pellets and single projectiles travel much farther. New Jersey’s hunter-education material lists about 1,800 feet for 00 buckshot and about 3,600 feet for a shotgun slug when fired at the optimum angle, and military tables list 1,073 meters for 12-gauge slugs. A slug can therefore travel more than half a mile.

Why Published Maximum Ranges Differ

• Bullet shape and weight: long, pointed, heavy bullets with high ballistic coefficients lose speed slowly and fly farther.
• Muzzle velocity and barrel length: a rifle-length barrel adds velocity compared with a carbine or pistol firing the same cartridge.
• Launch angle: maximum distance comes near 30 degrees. Fired straight up, a bullet falls back near the shooter, still fast enough to injure.
• Air density: high altitude and warm, thin air reduce drag and add distance.
• Wind: a following wind can stretch the distance considerably.
• Ricochets: bullets glancing off water, rock or hard ground can change direction and travel unpredictably. New Jersey’s hunter-education guide warns that a projectile can ricochet even farther.

The ballistics reference cited above cautions that conditions can create variances of 15% or more, so no single table should be treated as exact for range planning.

Firearm Safety: Backstops, Danger Zones and Never Shooting Into the Air

• Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. NSSF’s fourth safety rule says to be sure your bullet will not injure anyone or anything beyond your target, because no one can call a shot back.
• Use a proper backstop. Shoot only where a solid earthen berm or engineered backstop will stop every round, including misses. A hillside you cannot see over is not a guaranteed backstop.
• Avoid water and flat, hard surfaces. Bullets and pellets can ricochet off water, rock and frozen ground.
• Know the danger zone. Use the maximum-range figures above to judge whether homes, roads, trails or livestock could be within reach.
• Follow local laws. Many states set minimum distances from occupied buildings. New Jersey’s hunter-education guide describes its 450-foot safety zone as “not a ballistic cloak, but just a small buffer,” which is a useful reminder that legal minimums are far shorter than bullet travel distances.
• Prefer established ranges. Public and club ranges are designed with berms, baffles and shotfall zones sized for the ammunition allowed.

If you shoot at a range, a well-organized range bag keeps eye and ear protection with you. Hunters who need accurate distances to targets can compare our tested rangefinder binoculars, which help confirm what lies beyond the target before you take a shot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. SAAMI – Glossary: Maximum Range – definition of maximum range at the optimum barrel elevation.
2. Bucks County, PA – NSSF Firearm Safety Rules – “be sure of your target and what’s beyond”; .30-06 more than 3 miles.
3. U.S. Marine Corps, MCB Quantico Range Management – Range Safety Pocket Guide (2017) – maximum-range values for 9mm, 5.56mm and 12-gauge slug and shot.
4. HUNTINGsmart! USA – Bullet range lesson – dangerous range vs effective range; hunter-education distances.
5. New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife – Firearms hunter education supplement – .22, slug, buckshot and fine-shot distances; ricochet warning.
6. Frfrogspad – Miscellaneous ballistics: maximum range table – government firing-table and calculated maximum ranges by cartridge; Journée’s rule.
7. Gun Digest – Brief Discussion on the Extreme Range of .22 Ammunition – SAAMI and historical .22 LR maximum-range figures.