Why do bullets make a zing sound in movies?

PAUL FROM NC, VIA EMAIL

Bullets from real guns only ‘zing’ if they ricochet off something hard at a fairly shallow angle. This causes them to tumble very rapidly and the turbulence of this motion as they fly off sounds like a high pitched whine that fades into the distance. TV shows and movies overused this sound effect so much in the past that we have now come to expect it. LV

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