The shock wave doesn't actually touch the bullet on the sides though so it doesn't provide meaningful lift. Look closely at the schlieren the high pressure regi

The shock wave doesn't actually touch the bullet on the sides though so it doesn't provide meaningful lift. Look closely at the schlieren the high pressure region isn't against the sides of the bullet at all. Air is already quite dense at sea level equivalent to ~194 dB sound pressure so the sonic boom pictured which is 130-160 dB is not a significant increase in the density/pressure of the air.