Hacker News Reader

Comment by sthlm | Hacker News Reader

Isn't shooting in the air potentially dangerous, since the bullet (assuming straight up in an empty space) will return to the ground with the same velocity it was fired at?

View on HN

No, terminal velocity will limit the fall speed to be much less

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1199/can-a-bullet-f...

That link does not say that it's not dangerous. It is less dangerous than a bullet fired at close range, and it is not as likely to be lethal, but it still can be lethal, or cause serious bodily harm, and therefore it is still very dangerous.

Furthermore not all warning shots fired into the air are fired at high enough angles that the bullets decelerate to terminal velocity before hitting something.

Even if it reaches terminal velocity and doesn't hit anyone, in an urban area it can easily hit someone's property and cause property damage to roofs windows or walls.

True, but a bullet falling at terminal velocity may still kill:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540094_1_a...

Edit: this particular bullet would have been on a ballistic trajectory and would have retained a significant amount of its original velocity.

Only in a vacuum, otherwise it's the terminal velocity IIRC it's much less than the firing speed for bullets.

Still somewhat dangerous, and the reason why celebratory gunfire, which is rather customary in some countries, is now frowned upon by the authorities.

"In the case of a bullet fired at sufficiently close to a vertical angle to result in a non-ballistic trajectory, the bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on impact (the Busted rating). However, if a bullet is fired at a lower angle allowing for a ballistic trajectory (a far more likely case), it will maintain its spin and will retain enough energy to be lethal on impact (the Plausible rating). Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in most U.S. states, and even in the states where it is legal, it is not recommended by the police. Also the MythBusters were able to identify two people who had been injured by falling bullets (fired from approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) away, and hence at a lower angle), one of them fatally (the Confirmed rating). To date, this is the only myth to receive all three ratings at the same time." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2006_season)#Episo...

Yes, it is dangerous, and totally breaks basic firearm safety rules.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com