Damn thieving little jackasses!

[wmccall]

There are many rules regarding gun safety, and if they are all followed carefully, mishaps can be avoided.

I consder these the big 4-

1.  Treat all guns as if they are always loaded.  
 

#1 is the definitive answer, but I'd add a 1a, Know your weapon

I get so tired of hearing stories where its reported a person shoots themselves  while cleaning what they thought was an unloaded weapon.

I probably know about 1/3 about firearms as many of you, but there isn't a civilian weapon made that I can not determine within 30 seconds if it is loaded or unloaded.  That said, even though I know beyond any doubt that a weapon is unloaded, I still adhere to rule #1.  Even to the point if I crack open a break apart shot gun, I will only look down the barrel from the chamber end.

[Brewman]

Good point, Bill, and I toned down the wording of rule #1.  What I usually say instead is

ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.

Read any gun owners manual, and where the instructions for stripping and cleaning you'll find repeated, ad nauseum in some cases-

 Check the chamber and verify that the gun is unloaded before proceeding-
or something similar.

I'm not very sympathetic when it comes to gun oopses.  I consider someone who shoots themselves because they're not being careful just a way to thing the heard.
 It's when they harm others that bothers me even more.

But it's all simple common sense. None of it requires a masters degree.

[wmccall]

Anybody see mythbusters? If you shoot a bullet into the air once it looses its rotation from the rifling and turns towords the ground. It will only pick up speed based on it's weight and will not even penetrate the skin if it hits someone.

That episode airs tonight on Discovery

[dkersten]

Anybody see mythbusters? If you shoot a bullet into the air once it looses its rotation from the rifling and turns towords the ground. It will only pick up speed based on it's weight and will not even penetrate the skin if it hits someone.

To an extent that is correct as any object dropped from zero velocity will accelerate at 9.8 meters per second per second, and stop accelerating when the wind resistance provides enough force to counter the force of gravitational acceleration on the mass of the bullet.  For a human, which is less dense than a lead bullet (more surface area to create air friction), the terminal velocity is somewhere around 120 miles per hour.  The terminal velocity of a bullet has got to be a little higher since it is more dense, and creates less friction per the mass of the bullet.

So disregarding all the variables such as temperature of the air, wind, humidity, and air pressure, and variables such as if the bullet is a rifle round or a pistol slug, and whether the bullet travels in an arc or goes straight up, then you have at the very least a bullet travelling at around 120-150 mph.  Now, I dont know about you, but I would NOT want a small chunk of lead beaning me in the head at 150 miles per hour, regardless of what the mythbusters said.  

I did miss that episode, and I would like to see how they got their results.. did they actually shoot a bullet into the air and try to hit some ballistics gel as it came down?  or did they use simple math to come up with a terminal velocity then shoot a bullet down at some ballistics gel at that speed?  The problem with mythbusters is they do tend to get hooked on one example of a myth and push in one direction to prove or disprove it.  While I love the show, there are times when I would like to argue a point with them.

I read a news article about the cinco de mayo in Mexico where they celebrated by shooting into the air, and some police patrols had to park under bridges and such because bullets were raining down and punching through the roofs and shattering windshields.  

Shoot in an arc, and the bullet will still have some horizontal velocity as well as still be spinning which will give it better aerodynamics which will increase the terminal falling velocity as well.

There are a lot of physics in play when it comes to bullets, and a lot of myths about what a bullet can and cant do.  Bottom line, I dont want to get hit in the head with a bullet that was shot up in the air.

[wmccall]

  While I love the show, there are times when I would like to argue a point with them.

I

They frequently acknowledge that and seem to enjoy getting email about it, there is a lot on their website.

[Brewman]

They shot bullets into the air, at least for one type of test.  It was fun watching them look for the bullets in the ground- and they found many of them.
 
They often have follow up shows because of people who challenge their findings.
I've seen several episodes like that.

I think it would be a blast to work on that show as a tester, especially if you got to hang around Kari.

[dkersten]

I think it would be a blast to work on that show as a tester, especially if you got to hang around Kari.

LOL.. definately..