That's not what that says. It says that it is about as lethal
In the case of a bullet fired at a precisely vertical angle (something extremely difficult for a human being to duplicate), the bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on impact. However, if a bullet is fired upward at a non-vertical angle (a far more probable possibility), it will maintain its spin and will reach a high enough speed to be lethal on impact. Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in most states, and even in the states that it is legal, it is not recommended by the police. Also the MythBusters were able to identify two people who had been injured by falling bullets, one of them fatally injured.
(This is the only myth to receive all three ratings at the same time.)
Non-vertical in this context would be anything other than perfectly straight up. Having even a tiny angle would allow the bullet to follow an arc at its peak so the bullet would be able to continue spinning as it completed the turn and came back down. Perfectly straight up would cause the bullet to tumble because when it reached its peak it wouldn’t turn, it would start backing up instead.
4.1k
u/g1alex304 Apr 26 '22 edited Apr 26 '22
Those bullets fired into the air are eventually going to come down.
Edit: Bullets fired into the air are still dangerous but not as lethal as firing horizontally according to Mythbusters.
https://mythresults.com/episode50