Re: Bullet fired into air...

"Karl Hungus" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Joe Halbleib" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> > > I seem to recall a thread from about a year or so ago on this subject,
> and
> > > that someone was arguing that a bullet fired straight up into the air
> > could
> > > not inflict a serious injury upon its return to earth.
> >
> > I have not done the experiment but it seems to me that any compact mass,
> of
> > an even slightly aerodynamic shape, will reach a rather high terminal
> > velocity when dropped from a decent height.  A bullet fired into the air
> > meets this description.
> >
> > A web search on the subject suggests that sky divers can reach terminal
> > velocities of 120 to 170 mph.  That's 176 to 249 fps.  A human's drag
> > coefficient is much higher than a bullet's.  Bullets should get up to
200
> to
> > 500 mph or 293 to 733 fps.
> >
> > Serious injury or death is likely for heavy bullets shot straight up.
> Shot
> > on a low trajectory, they would retain a large amount of the original
> muzzle
> > velocity's horizontal component and still be lethal for sure.
> >
> > Lighter bullets might just sting alot and create a heck of a knot
> depending
> > on what part of the body they struck and what face of the bullet was
> facing
> > forward (sideways slows the bullet more) on the vertical drop.  They
might
> > also still maim or kill.  Low trajectory shots are still very dangerous.
> >
> > Don't do it.  Straight up is bad.  Angling away from straight up is even
> > worse for whomever is located where the bullet strikes the ground again
as
> > some horizontal component of muzzle velocity is also present in addition
> to
> > a vertical component from dropping the bullet from its highest point of
> > flight.
> >
> > Check out the following results from google to a query of bullet
terminal
> > velocity...
>
> On New Year's of 1990, I had a bullet land in the street about 30 feet
from
> where I was standing.  The thing whistled as it fell.  If something
whistles
> as it falls, you don't want to be under it when it lands.
>
> When we found it the next morning, its nose was nicely flattened.  That
> requires considerable velocity.
>
<snip>

On Jan 1 you put the for sale sign up?