You have to love knee-jerk reactions coming out of the Opposition:
The article they mention is from our favorite Anti-Gun Gome Pyle, Lt. Col. Robert Bateman. As usual he does not make a whole lot of sense and raves up and down so I will save you the effort and say he does not like the law, the NRA, you, me and probably Moon Pies either.
At the Florida Legislature, both houses have versions of the Defensive Display of a Firearm on their desks. It simply states that you can display your gun without having to shoot the criminal to stop a forcible felony instead of being sent to prison for it. This law is basically intended to curb idiotic and anti-gun prosecutors from filing charges on obvious cases where a bit of common sense indicates that having nobody bleeding is a much better choice than having to call the morgue truck. But it seems this obvious detail is hard to process for a Gun Control Advocate.
And as usual, the comment pouring out of the Brady followers are enlightening on their own. Apparently the idea that a warning shot must be done vertically and up is firmly planted in their heads…. must be prime time TV and all those action movies they swear they never watch:
Carolyn Purdue and install a bullet-proof roof on your house. What goes up must come down…somewhere.
Kenneth Keith They are pushing for revolution because a black man is in “their” White House!Meg Rose-Petersen Dumb f’n Florida! I hate this state!! Do they not get that what bullet goes up, must come down? I can’t wait to see how many cars, homes, bldgs, etc have bullets stuck in them. POS, DB, NRA and it’s penisless bought off legislators and extremists.John Lemieux Why? In Florida you can just shoot someone dead and say they were attacking you, why bother with warning shots?Q Tracy Rogers Now that is another example of “responsible” gun owners huh? No concern that, the bullet has to land somewhere? A small part of hope for the future should be noted- when the bullet lands, if it hurts anyone or property another gun owner becomes a felon and not allowed to own anymore. (and I say without joy, they usually hit themselves or a family member).
mmmmm… Moon Pies.
They are indeed a bunch of knee-jerk maroons, but it does seem to me that warning shots are a seriously bad farking idea.
Oh yes… mmmmm… Moon Pies.
unless it is with a shotgun as per the VP instructions!
The law is not just a warning shot but mostly covers the display of a firearms in what it be considered a threatening manner by an overzealous idiotic prosecutor that needs a public win for whatever reason.
Ah, display is a whole ‘nother matter. Not so much of a problem with that. Unless I see the VP displaying, then I’m I’m heading for the bunker.
Here is the bill as proposed:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0089c1.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0089&Session=2014
I like how they also buy into the idea that a bullet falling back to earth under the power of gravity is still travelling at the same speed with which it left the barrel.
Basically, they don’t even believe reality. But I didn’t need to tell ya that!
While a bullet fired into the air will lose a degree of its initial velocity to wind resistance, they often do still fall to earth carrying plenty of energy to injure or kill anyone they may hit. “Don’t fire into the air” is just another of the basic rules of gun safety.
Dirt is much better. Nothing stops bullets like dirt.
Mythbusters did an episode shooting straight up and the bullets fell back without enough energy to do any serious harm. Shooting up at an angle? Dangerous.
Here’s a rule of thumb: shooting straight up will go half as high as the longest range you can get with the weapon, by firing it at a 45 degree elevation. That was most accurate for short-range muzzle-loading cannon, where air resistance didn’t matter in comparison with the mass of the ball. Air resistance will modify that for any modern firearm, and a lot in the case of a small high velocity round, but it’s a starting point. It implies that a bullet going straight up and down will pass through about as much air as if you fired off a random shot at 45 degrees, and more than any shot where you can aim a piece without artillery sights.
So I expect it depends on the gun and especially the cartridge. I’m pretty sure .22LR from a handgun or a rifle will lose most of it’s velocity and energy and just leave a small bruise, considering how much the penetration drops off if you fire at targets more than 100 yards away. A .45 pistol round will come back down a lot harder; I doubt it would penetrate, but a lead ball that size falling from a few hundred feet would certainly _hurt_, and a cracked skull is possible.
Start playing games like that with a .45-90 rifle, and I’ll be running and looking for something to provide cover from the top. A 30-06 would be nearly as bad, but it gives you longer to find cover. As for .223, I recall when a bunch of cops got to playing around on a shooting range (the range let them provide their own safety officer!) and put a few rifle rounds over the berm. Someone was injured a mile down range. Straight up and down would lose more velocity, but I wouldn’t bet your life it would lose enough.
So I figure the best rule about shooting straight up is DON’T.