If you shoot a handgun straight up, when would the bullet start to tip
and can it really come down with enough force to harm someone?

Dear barbara53-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. Falling bullets can indeed cause harm ? even death. The
bullet velocity required for skin penetration is between 45 and 60
meters per second, which is well within the velocity range of a
falling bullet. A .22 caliber rifle, for example has a maximum range
of about 1 mile so even though the projectile is small you can imagine
what effect a small lead ball dropped from a height of one mile might
do to a victim if it were to strike them (depending, as you pointed
out, on how the bullet ?tips? ? base first or point first). Likewise a
.44 magnum bullet can reach a maximum altitude of 1377 meters and a
terminal velocity of 76 meters per second falling base first. A .30-06
bullet (which is much larger) will reach an altitude of 3080 meters
with a terminal velocity of 99 meters per second. These speeds can
definitely prove fatal.

While statistics on such incidents is practically nonexistent, there
are a number of credible sources that have discussed the issues of
injuries from falling bullets, particularly in cultures where random
celebratory firing of guns is commonplace.

DR. KARL
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/homework/s95523.htm

New Years' Eve Gunfire Can Be Deadly
http://www.mymotherlode.com/News/article/kvml/news7969

Doctor?s casebook: Monrovia
http://msf.org.au/stories/twfeature/2003/diary_liberia.shtml

Falling bullet hits 11-month-old girl
http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_3907024,00.html

As a long time member of law enforcement myself and a veteran of the
US Army I can personally attest to the fact that a falling bullet can
injure someone. In larger metropolitan areas for example law
enforcement officials even run some PR campaigns before New Years Eve
and the Fourth of July to warn residents of the dangers of shooting
into the air or finding yourself exposed out in the open when
celebratory shooting orccurs.

On a personal note I can even relate to you an incident I witnessed
personally when I was younger when my brother fired into the air and
struck a man a half mile away who was attending his wife?s funeral, no
less. It hit the man in the shoulder and knocked him down but did not
injure him otherwise.

I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


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The answer was good, but took a few read throughs to comprehend.  The
sentence beginning "A .22 caliber rifle. . ." might be divided into
two sentences for ease of understanding.  The point I was looking for
was in the answer, though:  how fast would a bullet shot into the air
fall (76-99 mps) and what speed is necessary to cause injury (45-60
mps).   Thank you, tutuzdad.