I’ve been through half a dozen major homicide investigation and officer-involved shooting investigation courses and several shorter ones. In many of those, forensic pathologists showed us pictures of corpses made dead by bullets that “fell from the sky.” Some cultures, including some subcultures in the US unfortunately, shoot joyously into the air in what is known as “celebratory gunfire.” The Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve are particular spike points for this sort of reckless stupidity.
From the Mythbuster’s TV show to General Julian Hatcher in the past tests have been done which purport to show that the falling bullets don’t have the power to kill.
Unfortunately, no one ever told the bullets. Thanks to Greg Ellifretz, one of the great self-defense trainers of our time, for calling our attention to this.
It is true that a bullet fired STRAIGHT UP will come back down at its terminal velocity (at which air drag matches the force of gravity) which will typically be somewhere around 200 to 300 ft/sec. Once the bullet has finished its upward climb, its velocity is zero (aside from minor wind drift). It’s also typically no longer spin-stabilized, and just falls like any other object. If you took the bullet up in a helicopter to the same height where it ended its ascent and simply dropped it to the ground, the effect would be exactly the same. About the only way it could kill someone is if they were looking up and it happened to hit them in the eye.
Any projectile fired off vertical is going to be a completely different matter. Even firing at a 45° angle that thing is going to hit with some, and probably lethal, retained velocity. Ellfretz is referencing “stray bullets”, not “bullets fired vertically”.
I just wanted to clarify the difference between the two things. That being said, “celebratory gunfire” is still a completely asinine thing to do for obvious reasons.
I would think that even among bullets fired vertically, which would only reach terminal velocity on the descent, the shape, type, and mass of the bullet would make a difference.
Sure, a normal 9mm FMJ bullet may not penetrate, but it has a round nose. But which weight of bullet did they test — 115-gr or 147-gr — and would it change the outcome? (Terminal velocity would be about the same, but ~28% more mass == ~28% more kinetic force.) Would a Spitzer bullet like a 5.56mm/.223 or 7.62mm/.30 rifle bullet penetrate, with its significantly sharper point (assuming it flipped or tumbled and struck point-first)?
On that note, would a boat-tail rifle round have a higher terminal velocity? (Probably, a little.) And would it be enough of a difference to make a difference? (Don’t know.)
I’m thinking that even with the sharper point, the lighter (say, 55-gr) 5.56/.223 might not have the mass to to penetrate enough be fatal, but a heavier (180-gr) 7.62/.30 might because of its increased inertia/momentum.
Nor that I’ve ever had the urge to stand under one, but I have to admit I’ve always wondered what the terminal velocity of a falling bullet might be. OK, it’s going to vary somewhat, due to shape and distance falling. I’ve forgotten the formula to calculate the acceleration of gravity and that wouldn’t factor in drag.
I’ve always presumed that many serious training facilities are located in the middle of miles and miles of empty space (or surrounded by substantial hills) for good reason.
I found the formula and did the math. Ignoring drag, a bullet falling from the claimed 9000 feet would be traveling at 537 f/s at ground level. That’d be ~97 ft lbs of energy for a 150 gr bullet. The ancient military spec for wounding capability is 65 ft lbs. I suspect most deaths happen from bullets fired at lesser angles.
Further down there’s mention of 3/4 plywood as roofing underlayment. Not around here. I re-roofed the house and stable. If true, must be hellacious snow load.
Power factor of a 115 gr projectile at terminal velocity will be similar to standard power .22 Long rifle ( 1000fps x 37gr; approx 37PF). A more potent 22 (1200fps x 40gr) has a power factor of 48
I worked at an Airline and one of the Secretaries became pretty famous for getting hit in the head with a bullet while partying in New Orleans. Bloodied her head but no stitches.
A toddler, here in Georgia had a bullet come through the roof of a church and killed him, so it can happen.
.45 vs 9mm debate is over. 9mm lethal up to 3+ miles.
I may be misunderstanding something in the data presented, but if 81% of bullet deaths (64% urban + 17% large suburban) occur amongst 274 million people and 19% (small town and rural) occur amongst 57.5 million people, then the small town + rural folks have a slightly higher incidence per capita of bullet deaths compared to urban + large suburban dwellers.
Regardless, celebratory gunfire is irresponsible, as are “warning shots” fired into the air. It is to be strongly discouraged by all responsible gunowners. Also to be discouraged is the practice of confirming that a gun is unloaded by pointing the gun skyward and pulling the trigger. If you must drop the hammer on a gun you have personally confirmed to be unloaded, do so with the gun pointed at a berm or other barrier that can absorb and contain any bullet from the gun. Dry firing likewise should only be towards a bullet-absorbing surface–just in case.
Virtually any shot that is not exactly straight up will retain some velocity in addition to the “terminal velocity” that would be calculated for that bullet dropped from the apex of its flight falling straight down through air.
A fellow from a nearby neighborhood relates that he once noticed a funny little copper-colored object protruding from his ceiling. Investigation revealed it to be the very tip of a rifle bullet that had penetrated his asphalt roofing shingles, the underlying 3/4″ plywood and come to rest in his drywall ceiling material. His house is many miles from any legal hunting areas in the middle of an urban/large-suburban area. The nearest range is 10 miles away and has concrete baffles over the firing line that block all access to the sky to a level below the top of the berm…and faces the wrong way.
More pertinent resource info than you ever wanted to read. Endlessly interesting, IMO.
http://www.nennstiel-ruprecht.de/bullfly/
thanks!!
Handled 3 separate incidents as a Leo with people struck by falling slugs. 2 on New Years and 1on July 4. None were serious but recovered a “bullet” in each case. One recovered slug actually got matched to a later arrest. It does happen
This is probably more common than you think. A couple years ago, I noticed a small area of damage to the corner molding on the exterior of my house. Looking closer, it is obvious that a bullet had hit the corner. The bullet punched a hole through the side of the vinyl molding and then hit a steel bracket that holds the gutter downspout (on that corner of the house) in place. The bullet put a big dent in the steel bracket but failed to pierce it.
I looked underneath to see if I could recover the bullet but I did not find it. So, I can’t say for sure what caliber weapon caused the damage. However, in looking at the size of the hole in the molding and the size of the dent in the bracket, I would judge that this damage was caused by the ever-popular 9mm luger round.
Note that this was not a bullet, “falling from the sky”, that caused this particular damage. The bullet was moving horizontally. Therefore, I judge that it must have been fired from no great distance. Likely less than a quarter mile away..
Luckily, I was not standing in my back yard at the moment the bullet came flying by. It was moving at just about head-height to a tall man.
Note that I live in an urban residential area. There are hundreds of houses with a mile radius of my house.
Re: “Once the bullet has finished its upward climb, its velocity is zero (aside from minor wind drift). It’s also typically no longer spin-stabilized,”
I suspect that a vertical shot runs out of forward (upward) velocity a lot sooner than it runs out of spin.
I also suggest that everyone read Hatcher’s book.
Attention Businessmen: Advertise how dangerous celebratory gunfire is. Then, offer blanks as the solution. Maybe someone can make some money, while at the same time making the world a little bit safer, and gun-friendly. Anyone firing up in the air surely makes gun owners look bad. I remember Saddam Hussein used to fire his rifle up in the air, in Baghdad, while making a public speech.