Al, Effin may also be referring to the fact that bullets (mostly) go supersonic and thats a big component of the BANG you hear when a gun fires. So ripping the air is not exactly correct but, as he said, apt.
Sorry chief, but "uh-uh" re the "
big component of the BANG you hear when a gun fires"
Guns have gone bang ever since the world began, and early rounds
weren't supersonic, that's a relatively recent technological advance, the largest component of the "bang" is the detonation of the propellant itself.
Which is also why subsonic rounds are preferable for use with suppressors
Granted for a supersonic round the sonic boom does make the "bang" sound louder.
https://shoot-on.com/supersonic-vs-subsonic/
"Suppressors reduce the sound of shot by an average of about 30 dB(decibels), but they do nothing to reduce the sonic boom that a bullet makes as it flies through the air.
The only practical way to eliminate the boom is to use subsonic ammo."
But in fact you wouldn't hear the sonic boom of the round itself until it was
passing you, it's not emanating from the barrel of the weapon, it's emanating from the tip of the round.
But ALL bullets do in fact "punch a hole" in the air leaving a low pressure area behind them (which is almost immediately filled again but I'm not saying this causes sonic boom), but that's what I meant by "ripping".
(insert conciliatory smile emoticon here)
:smile: