Stupid people on new years

[peanut]

About 10 years ago in Houston they(police) made an anouncement on the news asking people, if they were going to shoot guns off to atleast shoot them into the ground. This after years of trying to get people to stop shooting guns off on new years and other holidays, and someone supposedly got killed by a falling bullet.

When I lived in Wagoner county I use to wait till the party died down by my property and walk over right behind the party house and let off a couple dozen rounds of 12 ga off into the ground at about 2 or 3 am after they started going to sleep. They use to keep a party going over there about 6 days a week till about 2 am. That gets old real quick especially when they walk up and down your driveway drinking, hollering and raising heck.

 

[PUMPKIN]

Sissies.

 

[ez bake]

does anybody have an issue with this scenario? I don't, but I'm curious about what others think.

If its a solid round, you run the risk of hitting a rock or other solid object and causing a ricochet. Truth be told, physics dictates that a shot straight into the air will do little damage as a bullet falling at terminal velocity doesn't really have that much energy. The real problem is if you fire it more than just a few degrees off of 90 - then you start running the risk of it still being in its ballistic-path and hitting someone with serious force.

Now, I'm not for shooting a gun into the air - its obviously stupid (so is drinking and getting out the guns), but a lot of folks think that a falling bullet will kill you - it won't according to science.

 

[Boatcephus]

Alalalalalalalalalalalalalal!!!!!!!!

 

[ch1966]

Now, I'm not for shooting a gun into the air - its obviously stupid (so is drinking and getting out the guns), but a lot of folks think that a falling bullet will kill you - it won't according to science.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/01/us/florida-celebratory-gunfire/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

 

[SPDguns]

I shot blanks in the air with a silencer. On my own land. Did I get all the bases covered????

 

[ez bake]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/01/us/florida-celebratory-gunfire/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

That enforces exactly what I said.

if you fire it more than just a few degrees off of 90 - then you start running the risk of it still being in its ballistic-path and hitting someone with serious force.

 

[criticalbass]

I don't know what terminal velocity is for a bullet. Shape of bullet would affect it a little bit, but I suspect it's not a lot different form a hailstone. While those hurt like de debbil, they won't kill you unless they are real big.

As I theorized on a related thread, the unfortunate boy in Florida could have inclined his head and been hit in the top of his head by a bullet fired from a considerable distance. Since no shot was heard, this is almost certainly the case if it was a 90 degree penetration or anything near that.

I lived in Snyder, OK for many years. One of our local police officers (long gone now) was convinced that any bullet or pellet fired into the air would come down at original muzzle velocity. He was the sort you don't want to contradict, so I didn't try to get into a physics discussion with him. He had a very busy hour or so at New Years.

 

[criticalbass]

I shot blanks in the air with a silencer. On my own land. Did I get all the bases covered????

Almost. How big is your property? Are you sure the gun was vertical? Was it a silenced shotgun? What is the potential of the wad causinging injury to some innocent creature? (Wiseass mode off for a moment, I haven't seen anything on OSA about the dangers of blank ammo. I know it's not the subject of this post, so I guess I'll start one and see what shows up.)

I really like your idea about blanks with a silencer.

 

[PUMPKIN]

Next year we should talk these people into shooting bow and arrows into the sky, they are much quieter.