When a bullet is shot into the sky where does it go?

Question

Does it fall hard enough to wound someone?

Answer 1

Watch the show mythbusters!! They will tell you everything you need to know about shooting a bullet up in the air. (the bullet comes back to the earth only falling at about 135 miles an hour, not enough to kill anyone, but it will hurt a little)

Answer 2

The bullet comes back down but no longer with the same speed when it was first shot, and yes it can fall hard enough to wound someone.
In one instance, a bullet that was fired during new year's eve came down and punched a hole through a house via the roof which was made of galvanized iron. It made its way through the ceiling and punctured the pillow next to a sleeping baby. Although the child escaped death, this kind of impact (and misbehavior in the shooter's part) proves to be truly potentially fatal.

Did this give you more peace of mind?
withhe1d

Answer 3

ok for the guy that said that it gains speed coming down is an idiot. If that was the case during wars wouldnt we just drop a whole bunch of bullets without any of the casing? No because terminal velocity is falling at 9.8 meters/second. A bullet leaving an average size rifle is at about 2880 ft/second. So you do the math. Or i could shoot you, and you could drop a bullet from a helicopter and well see what does more damage.

Answer 4

"What goes up, must come down."
And yes, a bullet shot straight up into the air has been known to come back down with enough force to penetrate someone's skull.

It's for this reason that so many cities have banned the firing of live ammunition on New Year's Eve...people think it's safe to fire their weapons into the air, not realizing that when the bullet comes back down to earth someone could be in it's path.

You've heard of "terminal velocity"?
what's known as terminal velocity is when a bullet fired straight up will slow down, stop, then fall to earth again, accelerating until it reaches a point where its weight equals the resistance of the air. That's its terminal velocity.
A .30 caliber bullet will perforate the skin at only 124 feet per second.
But, one falling at 300 feet per second could kill you, especially if it struck you in the head.

Answer 5

Hi,

depending on the calibre and velocity of the bullet (e.g. a .22 rifle bullet, which is a very small one, can travel more than a mile straight up when fired) when it stops rising and begins to fall it will accelerate at a rate of 32' per second, per second. (this means that it will travel 32 feet in the first second, 64 feet in the second second and so on)

If you imagine a piece of lead (sometimes weighing a couple of ounces) falling on your head after falling for a mile I think you'd agree it could do you some damage.

All in all, if you want to test your firearm you would be better served (and you and your neighbours would be safer) to fire AT something, and not fire it straight up in the air.

Good luck (and wear a safety helmet)

BobSpain

Answer 6

If fired straight up, it can injure someone coming down, although its maximum speed in freefall will be limited by air resistance.

The real danger is a bullet which is fired at a shallow angle into the air, allowing it to retain much of the horizontal component of its velocity. These are the the celebratory shots which are most capable of killing someone.

Answer 7

It definitely depends on the velocity and the angle at which it has been projected . Air friction also plays an important role . when the air friction is high then the velocity of the bullet gets reduced and it will fall down. If it had reached great height,then it may come down fast and hurt someone

Answer 8

If it reaches escape velocity (no gun we have can do that, but we have rockets that can) it enters space. If it doesn't, the gravity of the Earth pulls it back to the ground. Remember, however, that it is falling at a rate of zero plus the distance multiplied by the rate of decent, which is going to be far below the origional speed of the bullet. It will probably hurt, but I doubt it would be enough to kill you

Answer 9

What goes up, must come down.
A bullet shot straight up into the air has been known to come back down with enough force to penetrate someone's skull. However, in guns used for races, they point the gun up, but are not shooting a bullet. They are using blanks, and it just makes the sound.

Answer 10

It depends on where you aim it and how much gun powder is in the round to push it. A .22 can go over a mile in a straight line. In Iraq a bullet from a sniper rifle can travel almost 1500 meters. So different distances for different bullets used. Also you have to take in the account for wind and gravity. but it should come down a ways from where you initially fired the gun.