Celebratory gunfire - a potential safety hazard!

[penpusher]

penpusher - since you've been around since the Yahoo group days, wonder if you read the link that I'd posted (on the Yahoo group) to the study conducted by the US military on this subject. IIRC the genesis of the study was to figure out if they could (potentially and effectively) fire machine guns in the air at an angle, with the view of raining bullets on the enemy - causing enough damage/ injury to the soldiers on the other side.

Does look like something that only a General could dream up.Do remember that discussion.A falling objects velocity would depend upon the distance that it would fall and that weight of the object.This would in turn decide how lethal it would be.I am sure falling coconuts are more dangerous than falling bullets.People are killed by the former every year.

penpusher

[snIPer]

Falling coconuts yes i can assure you that they will kill - i had one fall on me 7 years back - a very big one fell from a very tall tree on my back which left me bed ridden for 3 months and with a broken rib which is yet to heal fully - the only reason I was told that im still walking around was that the coconut landed on my hip and not back bone - but believe me - its like being hit by a truck - or in our terms should i say a 600 Nitro Express

[MoA]

Dig up and read the white sands testing with the .45-70 Govt cartridge. Shot at an angle of about 30 degrees the 1 oz/500 grain soft lead bullet still penentrated 3 inches of wood and buried itself about ten inches intot he sand at 2500 yards.
Shooting into the air with anything other than blanks or flares is a dangerous activity..

[axe]

here in India,during marriages and other parties lot of people are seen firing in air, other than hitting directly, falling bullet is also dangerous?
http://www.goaskgrandpa.com/sample13.htm

is same true for shot guns also?

[xl_target]

Firing any projectile up into the air is extremely dangerous and very stupid (sorry that is the only word I can think of right now that fits).
What goes up must come down. A falling projectile/s can wound or kill another human being.

See: http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=1635

[goodboy_mentor]

is same true for shot guns also?

Yes it is. If you fire a cartridge with slug towards the sky, obviously it will be lethal while falling back from sky. If you fire a cartridge with small pellets, the damage they will do will be comparatively less. Nobody will like a "shower" of pellets landing on him from the sky.

[dr.jayakumar]

yep i agree with all that,but what happens to the bullet when its rotary movement upwards do continue the same way or just drop.i feel it drops, without the rotary movement and it makes the bullet less penetrative and dangerous.!!!

[TwoRivers]

The rotary movement imparted by the rifling does in no way increase penetration. I may possible affect a tendency to tumble upon impact, and so decrease penetration.

[xl_target]

The "rotary movement" stabilizes the bullet. The speed at which the bullet is travelling and the angle at which it impacts an object will determine penetration. Spent bullets dropping from the sky are pretty much travelling straight down. If you get hit on the top of the head by such a bullet (say a bullet from a .30-06), whether rotating or not, whether the point is up or down, I'm pretty sure it is going to penetrate your skull, with all the attendant complications that may arise from that. In a case like that it doesn't have to penetrate much to cause severe, if not fatal, damage.

[willys1971]

these celebratory or jalwa firing as is known here is a real menace. i lost a good friend when some drunken idiot let loose in an marriage procession started firing with a 12 bore dbbl. it missed me by the whiskers(my one good suit at that time-i was 21, was damaged on the shoulder)it should be totally banned & enforced.

[Priyan]

I don't know much about this matter as I never saw a someone firing a gun in real life but this may interest you guys http://science.howstuffworks.com/question281.htm

[peterdk]

i remember quite a few years ago, that a wedding ended badly when a person shot into the air to celebrate, sadly he forgot that the party was held in a basement and the concrete ceiling was not a very good back stop, the bullet came back and killed the grooms mother, this was in denmark of all places, but the wedding party was of middle eastern origin.
made quite a few headlines when it happened.

never point a loaded gun at anything you dont want to destroy.......

besides that i thought you guy's had enough problems getting ammunition as it were, without wasting it, shooting up in the air

could one make a decent selfdefence case in court, if you shot back at the other shooters

best

peter

[bandukbhandar]

In future, firing in air on celebratory moments could decrease, since MHA says, the licences in India are mostly issued for self protection.

The licencee, will have to keep a record of use of ammo, i.e. date, time, place and intention of use of ammo and will have to show, that when he fired there was a need of self protection at that moment.

Moreover, in M.P., the licencee will also have to return used empty shells, or else he couldn't purchase fresh ammo.

Kezar Husen Bandukwala

[dr.jayakumar]

this celebratory shooting is not seen down south of india.i had once attended a marriage in patna muzzafarpur,and was shocked to see the number of rifle carried around the wedding hall.hope people can take advice and learn from others.

In future, firing in air on celebratory moments could decrease, since MHA says, the licences in India are mostly issued for self protection.

The licencee, will have to keep a record of use of ammo, i.e. date, time, place and intention of use of ammo and will have to show, that when he fired there was a need of self protection at that moment.

Moreover, in M.P., the licencee will also have to return used empty shells, or else he couldn't purchase fresh ammo.

Kezar Husen Bandukwala

thank god i don't live in m.p.

[hellfire_m16]

New Delhi: A 30-year-old man died after he was hit by a stray bullet allegedly during celebratory firing at a wedding ceremony in North West Delhi, police said today.

The incident occurred last night when the victim, Ranbir Singh, along with a large number of guests was walking up to the bride's house in a procession at Nathupura village when
one of the revellers fired a celebratory shot, they said.

Singh was hit on the forehead.

"The victim was taken to Saroj Hospital in Rohini where he was declared brought dead. The hospital authorities informed the police about the incident," a senior police officer said, adding that the reveller is yet to be identified.

Singh, a farmer of Tajpur village, was a relative of the bridegroom.

Police said the guests at the ceremony are being questioned and the video footage of the ceremony is being scrutinised to establish the identity of the culprit.

"As there were a few people carrying firearms during the wedding ceremony, it would not be long before we identify the culprit," they said.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/man- ... -cities&cp