Now just what the heck?

I'm sure someone will be along to discuss the physics of it, but I'm pretty sure this is actually true and possible.

If the angle is shallow enough.

I'm not sure how shallow of an angle that would be though. Not sure if it's the same angle you need to skip stones.

Just my .02.

Keep the change.

It was taught in our safety course that you should never fire into water because of the chance of ricochet. If its shot at a VERY sharp angle to the water then there is a chance, kinda like skipping a stone. Seems like the faster you hit water the harder it seems to be, if that makes any sense to you.

Have you never skipped pebbles across a lake? What do you think bullets are going to do? (The Sheriff is right......)

depends on the round and the angle at which it was shot.. but I can say that rounds shot in the water rarely go more than a foot at any sort of actual velocity (into the water).... that said.. a somewhat shallow angle to the surface of the water could easily result in a ricochet...Easily seen while shooting turtles with a .22... same concept with larger calibers...

Never observed it myself, but I've been advised the same as sbarkowski in safety courses. I sometimes plink around water; just make sure there's a high bank on the other side of the river in case it happens.

Sure they can ricochet like crazy!

Water is one of the funnest things to shoot IMO... I have even set up targets on the other side of my pond just to hit them with ricochets! Only played with 22 solids before though... it wont work with hollow points, at least not well. I'm sure a .223 FMJ would ricochet...

As far as being arrested though?.... thats kind of pushing it.

You bet bullets will ricochet off the surface of the water -- I've seen it happen.

When I was a lad, we used to shoot snapping turtles in the pond. It was not uncommon to fire a shot at a turtle's head, and see a sudden puff of dust on the pond dam.

I remember an old travel film showing somewhere in Germany where they held matches shooting across a damed river, using those old Schutzen looking rifles. The only thing was that they had to skip the bullet off the surface of the water and into the target.

jkingrph,

I have seen footage of that too, so this is possible.

Not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

I grew up on the water, and sent many a .22 and .223 round skipping across the bay (in the winter, when no one is out there). I'd say that if you're shooting within 10 degrees of parallel with the surface, chances are it'll skip.

we used to count the skips, i seem to recall the record being 18; and yes, they would always change course from the original direction.

A big slow moveing round like .45 ACP is an easy one to "skip" just like a stone. I'd say a high speed round at the right angle could cause some havoc....

Law enforcement training should be covering this. Marine Corp. boot camp did. Grandpa did.
Think about it, as stated above, "..ever skip a stone.."

Just about anything will bounce off the surface of the water under the right conditions. During WWII, this technique was used to destroy hydroelectric dams in Germany, using specially modified equipment (planes, bombs, sighting devices).

My grandfather lived near, (2200 yds), From Old Hickory Lake. There was a wide area with a bluff on the far side. There were NO other houses in the area. I took my .22 and held it very close and level with the water surface...and skipped a bullet twice before it hit the far bank. Only did it one time...kind of surprised me.

Mark

Also, the shooters were drunk.

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That alone 'splains a lot of the stupidity of the LEOs in question. If nothing else they should be charged with criminal stupidity. Firearms and firewater DO NOT mix.

Water does act like concrete when hit at certain speeds and angles.

It's known as "planing", very simple stuff. Might wanna read up about surface tension too.

Saw some vids of a Coast Guard guy try to demonstrate how to properly jump into water (from a helicopter atleast). Very low angle and high speed... he bounced like a pebble on a pond. Broke dozens of bones.

Along with most metals, water is something I tend to not shoot (unless in a jug or something similar).

Idiots.... They deserve what they get if they were in fact intoxicated, and shooting in a populated area.

I use to skip 38spl tracers down the canals. My friend did a full mag of tracers from an M14 in the special position. We found that only a couple skipped cause we made the water ripple and the bullet would not skip

The chief said their rounds could ricochet off the water's surface just like they might concrete.

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Absolutly possible!
Not shooting at water at a high oblique angle is a known safety precaution.
A esoteric historic example:
General George Armstrong Custer, during his Plains Indian Wars campaigns, once was entertaining foreign dignataries (A Russian Czar or Duke or someone...don't recall precisely). They were camped on the edge of a lake, and Custer was engaged in a bit of a riflery competition. They were shooting at ducks. The Duke would take a shot and *POP!* a duck out there in the lake would lose its head. Custer took a shot, and would miss, the Duke took his shot and another duck was morphed into a politician ... and so on. After awhile someone from the camp came over and asked them to stop shooting, as someone's rounds were skipping off the water and landing in the camp!
Uh, yeah ... wasn't the guy who was actually hitting the ducks! Ooooooooooops!


So, yeah.... don't shoot the water, guys!