The Encyclopedia is a project of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights launched on 2 December 2013. The Enyclopedia aims to provide accurate, up-to-date information on weapons, the effects of their use, and their regulation under public international law, in a format that is accessible to non-specialists.
+ Find out moreSporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) Glossary, http://www.saami.org/Glossary/. Yaw happens because a bullet on exiting a weapon may have residual contact with the barrel on one side, thus tending to distort its straight flight. This will temporarily be magnified because the bullet surface will not have been presented symmetrically to the aerodynamic effect of air friction. As a consequence, for a certain distance the bullet will have a vortex or spiralling action known as yaw. After a few metres the spin from the rifling stabilises the yaw until the bullet reaches its target. However yaw again happens when the bullet enters denser tissue.
Last updated on: 08 February 2014