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How dangerous is firing a gun into the air?

12K views 52 replies 37 participants last post by  Saber 
#1 ·
BBC News - Who, What, Why: How dangerous is firing a gun into the air?

Libyan rebels have celebrated their advance into Tripoli by firing guns in the air. How hazardous is this?

It is, unarguably, an emphatic way to display one's jubilation.

Shooting an automatic weapon into the sky to signal an occasion one welcomes is a popular practice in much of the world, as the footage of Libyan anti-Gaddafi forces seizing the main square of the capital city has demonstrated.

But it is a potentially fatal activity, which regularly results in the deaths of bystanders.

"These bullets go a long way up when they're fired," says ballistics expert David Dyson. "But you don't know where they're going to land - there's always a chance of them causing serious harm or death."

Examples of fatalities due to celebratory gunfire abound.

Three people in the Philippines died due to stray bullets fired to welcome the arrival of the new year 2011.

In 2010 a Turkish bridegroom killed three relatives when he fired an AK-47 at his own wedding. In the same year, Jordan's King Abdullah II ordered his country's authorities to clamp down on the practice after two people were killed and 13 more injured in one incident.

When the Iraqi football team defeated Vietnam in 2007's Asia Cup, three people were killed in Baghdad amid widespread gunshots as fans celebrated. Celebratory gunfire in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in 1991 was blamed for 20 deaths.

The practice is not restricted to Asia and the Middle East. A US study found that 118 people were treated for random "falling-bullet injuries" at one Los Angeles medical centre between 1985 and 1992, resulting in the deaths of 38.

Additionally, the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia also ran a poster campaign with the slogan "Bullets Are Not Greeting Cards - Celebrate Without Weapons". In 2005, Serbian authorities warned their citizens that "every bullet that is fired up must come down" ahead of New Year's Eve.

Studies suggest that, although the velocity of a falling bullet is lower than that of one which has just been fired, it is still sufficient to be fatal.

According to a 1962 study, .30 calibre rounds can reach terminal velocities of 300 feet (91m) per second as they fall. More recent research has indicated that 200 feet (61m) per second is enough to penetrate the skull.

As a result, a number of US states including California, Texas, Arizona and Ohio outlaw firing a gun into the air. In Minnesota, it is specifically forbidden in cemeteries.

Prof Peter Squires, an expert in gun crime and gun culture at the University of Brighton, says it is possible that the practice stems from cultural assumptions linking weapons with masculinity and ego.

But, additionally, he suggests that the common practice of firing 21-gun salutes or deploying firing parties at military funerals - albeit equipped with blanks - may have been somehow appropriated.

"There's an association with fireworks," he says. "Firing a gun is an effective way or making a loud bang. It's tied up with a state of carnivalesque abandon.

"But obviously what goes up must come down again."
 
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#2 ·
In the 1940s Gen Julian Hatcher conducted test using the 30/06 and found that when fired at an upward angle of 30 degrees the rounds would travel more than 5 miles and impact with sufficient velocity to be lethal.
 
#4 ·
If you could fire a weapon perfectly straight up with no wind the bullet may fall back to earth and not have enough velocity to kill but I still would not want to catch that bullet with any part of my body. In my neck of the woods we worry about guns fired into the air during New Years and other various special occasions, I could be wrong but I think it is mostly people from south of America, but we also have some people around here whose necks are extraordinarily red.
 
#5 ·
I feel morally responsible to know the resting place of every bullet I fire. As far as celebratory fire in the ME, if that's their cultural thing, it's a self correcting problem.
 
#30 ·
I feel morally responsible to know the resting place of every bullet I fire.
+10

Obviously, knowing the resting place of a bullet is impossible, but if you're out hunting you hope that the bullet hits where you intend, if you're at the range, it's the backstop, if it's SD - the perp. The simple act of firing a gun involves a bit of risk the bullet won't ricochet, hit the wrong target, and not cause unintended harm. To fire chaotically, without care is morally reprehensible, imo. Unfortunately, it's actually more the norm than directed fire. 'Spray and Pray' in Viet Nam, War (in general), drive-by shootings (they just shoot and don't even have a target), celebrations, kids just being careless shooting birds with a .22, hunters hitting dwellings and each other. Sometimes you wonder why more people aren't killed from this. :(
 
#7 ·
How dangerous is firing into the air? Let me ask this differently. Do you think you would NOT go to jail if you fired into the air and the falling ball hit someone inflicting harm or death?

Instead of relying on a mythbuster program, use good sense and care.
 
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#9 ·
Actually Mythbusters proved how nearly impossible it is to fire straight up, but if you could, the falling bullet is traveling at terminal velocity, which is basically harmless. Oddly, the show is one of the most responsible, and unbiased on TV that shows guns being used.
 
#8 ·
Well, doing so, at any angle, means you don't know what's beyond your target. A violation of one of the basic gun safety rules.

It's not something I would do. It's also something I would, if safe to, try and stop other people from doing as well.
 
#10 ·
Back during the 2001 New Year, I was in Peurto Rico on a Mission trip. There was an apartment complex right behind the church that we were staying at. There were people in the parking lot celebrating and shooting AK-47's and hand guns into the air. Amazed no one got hurt or killed.

Sent from my PB99400 using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
There are annual reminders to people in several cities to NOT fire guns in the air to celebrate New Year's

Over the years, I've done a report or two about people actually hit by falling projectiles. Many years ago, some bonehead fired a rifle out in rural Pierce County, WA and put the bullet through four walls of my grandfather's house, with the last stop in the kitchen, right where he would have been sitting had it been dinner time. We never could figure out just where that bullet came from, but it had to travel a heckuva long way to get to where it landed!

Everything that goes up MUST come down, and bullets come down with often nasty consequences. Perhaps Libyans haven't figured this out just yet.
 
#16 ·
Each July 4th and New Years, the ghetto erupts with gunfire. Thousands of rounds fired in the course of about an hour. Most of these come from 380's, 9mm's, and AK's (the weapons of choice, and availability, for our local bangers) These rounds penetrate car windshields, leave nasty dents in car hoods, and can take a nice chunk out of your wood patio. Defenitely would not want to be on the receiving end of one of those things. That said, even though there are thousands of rounds fired (most in the air, but who knows) we dont get a whole lot of "incidents" (injury, property damage etc...). I think the odds are slim of a falling bullet doing any real damage, but its still reckless and stupid.
 
#31 ·
Glad we can in SC.

Had to shoot 3 rounds from my G29 for a veteran last week. He didn't qualify for full honors so we offered to fire three volleys for the family. The 10mm double tap rounds got the nod since they would be louder than the bossmans .38.

They were shot into the ground by the way.
 
#18 ·
I've been bird hunting enough to experience BBs from a 12 gauge bird shot rain down on my head and also witness the rain on a parked truck. No damage. Noting that I've always assumed firing bullets in the air would not cause fatalities. I still think its a very bad idea, you are breaking rule #4 and eventually have to explain to the police why you're drinking beer and shooting guns in a residential area. Fireworks are a much better option.
 
#22 ·
Statistically?:
Lets say that it is a .38.
An area of ~ .1134"
If it could come down into a 2500 foot diameter area (just under 1/2 mile).
It would be like playing Russian roulette with a 264,657 cylinder revolver.
Your odds are pretty good surviving 6 rounds. YMMV :)
 
#23 ·
The odds may be statistically high but if on hits you you are in a heap of trouble.

Some of you are acting like this is an urban myth or something. It's not. It's a fact. It has happened and people have been killed.
 
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#25 ·
It's been about 50 years, now, and I've told this story many times since then. A friend of mine and I were talking after school one day. I was on the sidewalk and she was on the steps leading to her porch. All of a sudden she lurched to the side a little bit and said, "Ouch," or "Ow," something like that, and clasped her left shoulder. She said that "Something hit me on (the top side) of my shoulder." We looked around on the ground and spotted a bullet lying on the side walk. I didn't know at the time what caliber it was, but from memory and the knowledge I posses now, I believe that it was probably a .45. She wasn't hurt and said it felt like a rock had hit her. I also remember that the Vietnamese used to fire in the air a lot. ('Course the U.S. paid for the ammo!)
 
#29 ·
Alright, I'm not advocating firing into the air...but, I majored in science in college and am currently in grad school for the same. So, here is the breakdown from what I have learned. This was actually a question on one of my physics tests, and the end of the question asked us whether or not we thought the falling bullet could kill someone....we were obviously not graded on that part b/c it wasn't med school, but still an interesting thought.

Here is how we should think of this:

Energy before the shot = energy after the shot

So, the initial energy is all 'potential' energy (P.E.) because the gunpowder has not been ignited and the bullet at rest. The equation for this is P.E.=(mass)(force of gravity)(height), or 'mgh'.

The energy after the shot is all kinetic energy because the bullet is actually in motion downwards after it changes directions at the top of its flight. So, this side of the equation is (1/2)(mass)(velocity)^2.

The equation we get from this is mgh = (1/2)mv^2. Do some algebra and rearrange the equation to solve for velocity. This leaves us with the equation of velocity = square root[(2)(force of gravity)(height)].

So mass plays no factor at all since it is on both sides of the equation....this is why a penny and a bowling ball will hit the earth at the same rate of speed in a perfect world with no drag and no wind, etc.

So, I'm not really sure how far up a bullet will travel, and don't want to do the calculations, but lets just assume its 500m. The final velocity when it returns to earth will be 98.99 m/s, or roughtly 222 mph. The energy upon impact will be 36.5 Joules, or 26.9 foot-pounds.

For comparison, your tipical pellet gun from Walmart can deliver between 15 and 30 foot pounds of force.

So, there it is laid out in a 'perfect world' where we could technically shoot straight up in the air (or in a vacuum for any physicists out there).

Sorry this was long, really long...and very far on the nerdy side. BUT, if a pellet gun can kill a squirrel, could a falling bullet do the same if it hit in the right place and the right time? My answer was yes on the test given in my undergrad years, and I won't be firing into the air anytime soon!
 
#35 ·
How dangerous is it to fire into the air.....

Personally I have no idea, as I'e never done it. If I fire my handgun or any gun, it's into a safe backstop period....

As to the argument that it's practically harmless, tell that to the mother of this little boy who was sitting in church when he was struck in the head by a bullet fired into the air and entered through the ceiling of the church... She as well as myself will tell ya that, at least on that day it proved to be deadly for the poor little guy.Stray Bullet Kills 4-year-old Boy | FOX 5 Atlanta | myfoxatlanta.com , but hey, YMMV
 
#41 · (Edited)
As to the argument that it's practically harmless, tell that to the mother of this little boy who was sitting in church when he was struck in the head by a bullet fired into the air and entered through the ceiling of the church... She as well as myself will tell ya that, at least on that day it proved to be deadly for the poor little guy.
Now wait a minute. The story claims that a bullet was fired in the air, reached it's maximum height, then fell to earth, (terminal velocity being about 120 mph) and had enough energy to go through the roof,then the ceiling and kill someone?
"Police said they did not know where the bullet came from". More likely, the bullet was fired AT the church itself, and the poor kid was hit by a ricochet.

Terminal velocity would be 2-300 mph , that would be a bullet fired vertical to stall,then falling to earth...more likely is substantial ballistic carryover...dangerous for 10-15000 feet around the shooters....MYth Busters did a thing in the middle of a salt lake ..bullet fire into the air..they were diggin down as much as 10".to recover.....so you want cover from the 'festivitys"....and you dont want to drink the water.... just sayn
You must have seen a different show than I did.
Terminal velocity is never 2-300 mph, for anything, including bullets. Sure you didn't hear, "2-300 feet per second"? The concept that a bullet fired straight up would then fall in an area as far as 15,000 ft (3 miles) away is a big stretch, unless they fired it during a hurricane. And the one's I saw them dig out of a dry lake bed had penetrated into the dirt, about 3". After calculating the terminal velocity, they fired bullets at that velocity using compressed air into a pig carcass and it barely broke the skin. During the fall, the bullets would lay sideways, they're not spinning like when they are fired.
I'll bet they got a lot of mail on that show!

And now to test your hypotheses, do I have any volunteers? Anyone? The prosecution rests, your honor.
That's your proof?

I haven't found anyone willing to be shot with a .22, so by that logic, a .22 is an effective defensive round.

Some toothless florida hick fired a weapon in air 4 july a year or so back .
That's right. So I you have no teeth, and live in Florida, don't shoot in the air.:wall:


Disclaimer: I have never fired a gun in the air, and I don't plan to.
But:
Gravity, it's the law.
 
#36 ·
And now to test your hypotheses, do I have any volunteers? Anyone? The prosecution rests, your honor.
 
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#37 ·
Raised hand.
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Let me know when your iron umbrella is ready. :)
 
#38 ·
I remember an Israeli-Egyptian war a way back where the Egyptians celebrated the beginning of their march to Israel by a massive, extensive, and prolonged firing into the air -- and then they ran into trouble later with ammo shortages when the shooting began for real. Also seem to recall that they had no real maps and had to rely on "gas station" type maps of the area.
 
#40 ·
Terminal velocity would be 2-300 mph , that would be a bullet fired vertical to stall,then falling to earth...more likely is substantial ballistic carryover...dangerous for 10-15000 feet around the shooters....MYth Busters did a thing in the middle of a salt lake ..bullet fire into the air..they were diggin down as much as 10".to recover.....so you want cover from the 'festivitys"....and you dont want to drink the water.... just sayn
 
#42 ·
I just can't believe how many people here don't see the harm in it. It's a clear violation of knowing your target and beyond. All you have is a large area of beyond with who knows what that will get hit. That's right, not may be hit, something will be hit.

I'm unaware of any rounds that can escape Earth's gravitational field, so, what goes up must come down.
 
#43 ·
I just can't believe how many people here don't see the harm in it. It's a clear violation of knowing your target and beyond. All you have is a large area of beyond with who knows what that will get hit. That's right, not may be hit, something will be hit.
I haven't seen anyone recommending that you shoot in the air.
Others, including me, have tried to dispel the myth and provide evidence.
As far as I know, the laws of physics have not been overturned.
 
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