Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 42
  1. #21
    User
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Western Cape
    Posts
    3,403

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Quote Originally Posted by Al Capone View Post
    Point taken. Although if I fired a warning shot in the air and it could potentially hit a child on a playground on its way down, or a motorist while they're driving, it would be really kak. That being said, each situation is different and has to be assessed accordingly.


    "Guns don't kill people, criminals kill people"
    Do you think this is more likely than a ricochet?

  2. #22
    User
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Uitenhage, EC
    Age
    46
    Posts
    114

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Quote Originally Posted by Meteor View Post
    Do you think this is more likely than a ricochet?
    No I don't. In fact, both are very likely and equally dangerous and one has to choose the safest option for the situation at hand.


    "Guns don't kill people, criminals kill people"

  3. #23
    User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Pretoria, South Africa
    Age
    34
    Posts
    12,547

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    I think a bullet into the ground/tree is the best bet. You know what your target is then. Firing into the air - you don't even have a target and have no idea what's behind it.

  4. #24
    User
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Age
    37
    Posts
    3,277

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Quote Originally Posted by Toxxyc View Post
    I think a bullet into the ground/tree is the best bet. You know what your target is then. Firing into the air - you don't even have a target and have no idea what's behind it.
    I know of a guy who killed an intruder in his yard after his bullet ricocheted of the ground and into the bg's face. Needless to say the bg was armed so it came out fine for him.

  5. #25
    User
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Age
    51
    Posts
    3,654

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Just for interest sake, at what speed does a bullet fall to the ground? I am sure the speed is the same no matter the caliber and weight of the bullet?

  6. #26
    Moderator Skaaphaas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Elsewhere
    Posts
    18,528

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PCfanatic View Post
    Just for interest sake, at what speed does a bullet fall to the ground? I am sure the speed is the same no matter the caliber and weight of the bullet?
    There are quite a lot of variables at play. Even terminal velocity would vary depending on whether or not the bullet tumbles, and even if not, different bullets with differing BCs will have differing terminal velocities.
    Sent electronically, thus not signed.

  7. #27
    User
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Age
    37
    Posts
    3,277

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Quote Originally Posted by Skaaphaas View Post
    There are quite a lot of variables at play. Even terminal velocity would vary depending on whether or not the bullet tumbles, and even if not, different bullets with differing BCs will have differing terminal velocities.
    The difference in speed will be negligible though. Since gravity is the only factor causing it to fall to the ground, speed here will be pretty much the same because the difference in the drag force between say a .22LR and a .577 isn't that critical at said speed.

  8. #28
    User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Pretoria, South Africa
    Age
    34
    Posts
    12,547

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    The problem is not the speed at which the bullet comes down, it's the speed at which it moves in a horizontal direction. Remember the issues at SWAT Shooting a few years ago?

  9. #29
    User
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Western Cape, Cape Town
    Age
    41
    Posts
    2,476

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    Quote Originally Posted by PCfanatic View Post
    Just for interest sake, at what speed does a bullet fall to the ground? I am sure the speed is the same no matter the caliber and weight of the bullet?
    Acceleration due to gravity stays the same regardless of weight (the 2 falling objects of relatively low height experiment).

    Terminal velocity in the same medium how ever increases with weight, decreases with increase of area and turbulence, increases with reduction of drag coefficient.

    Fired straight up with no cross wind bullets will reach 0m/s and tumble back to earth, smaller bullets like those from handgun is very unlikely to reach a velocity to be lethal bigger rifle bullets fall into that grey zone where it is possible to reach a lethal velocity. It is very likely however that a bullet fired into the air will be fired at enough of an angle of the vertical or cross winds push it so that the bullet crests retains some rotational stability and fall back to earth point first in which case almost all bullets will reach a lethal velocity.

  10. #30
    User
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Age
    51
    Posts
    3,654

    Default Re: Armed passerby stops knife attack with warning shot

    I've read for 9mm bullets you can expect around 150-250 feet per second. Is that enough to be lethal? I do not know. I will rather shoot into the ground than in the air if the situation allows.

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •