Gunshots heard all around HPP lastnight

[AlohaSteven]

SkyDaver on Mythbusters examination of falling bullets:

They're testing the basic bullets in the air myth.

They're going to try to determine if a bullet, falling vertically at terminal velocity, can kill. I'll write comments as the show broadcasts.

They determined that a 9mm FMJ bullet falls at about 100mph (but it was tumbling)

A .30-06 was also at about 100 mph.

The stable falling position was wobbly, and sideways. Again, no spin though.

Then, they built a rig to shoot the bullets at the appropriate terminal velocity.

This, though, isn't going to have the bullet going sideways, but will be tip first.

Then, they fired these bullets into a pig skull, and determined that it was not lethal.

So far, they haven't addressed that the fired bullets are spinning (which will change the way the bullets fall), and they still don't have a clue that firing into the air does NOT equal firing straight up.

A bullet fired non-vertical will maintain its point first attitude during flight, and it's terminal velocity will not be as slow as a tumbling bullet.

Also, they have not addressed the fact that non-vertically fired bullet will keep some amount of its horizontal vector as well as the vertical vector.

It would be pretty difficult to measure the velocity of a bullet fired at 45 degrees, for example, at the end of its flight.

There are certainly cases where bullets fired from long distance are lethal.

Ah, finally, they got the clue that if a bullet hits someone from a great distance, then the bullet isn't going to lose so much velocity that it isn't potentially lethal.

Now, they're going to try literally firing bullets straight up.

They found two 9mm bullets, fired straight up, about 330 ft from the firing point (carried by the wind, obviously) The depth of penetration indicated that it was falling sideways when they hit. Still, these were fired straight up, not at any measurable angle. (added on edit) Obviously, they don't have any telemetry from the path, but even if the bullet is still spinning at apogee, it appears to start falling backwards, and losing stability, rather than nosing over.

They couldn't find any .30 cal bullets, fired from a Garand.

Then, they lofted a bunch of bullets with a balloon to about 400 feet, and dropped them. Sure enough, the .30 cal bullets at unstable terminal velocity were non-lethal. They did a good job of calculating that bullets falling vertically were non-lethal.

They closed by emphasising that it is almost impossible to fire straight up, and if you've got any angle at all, the bullet will maintain its nose first attitude, and WILL be coming to earth at lethal velocity. They also emphasised that one should NEVER fire a firearm into the air...

[ http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index...96026.html ]

They also emphasized that one should NEVER fire a firearm into the air... and I'd add, especially not at night, in a residential neighborhood, with apparently malicious intent.


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Vienna Teng in Düsseldorf, "Soon love soon."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8-mIouMbqM

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