Yoda
Member
In another thread, I mentioned that an acquaintance had driven some potential looters away with a shotgun blast into the air. Another poster noted that a shotgun fired into the air consitituted a "warning shot," and the falling shot posed a threat to third parties.
I am well aware that "warning shots" are generally a bad idea, and I explain why when teaching my concealed carry classes. Rather than start another re-hash of the wisdom of "warning shots," I'd like to ask different question:
Does falling shot pose the same threat as falling bullets?
I admit ignorance on this issue. I always thought that shot decelerated rather quickly, but then, shot is just a smaller version of a musket ball, and I suspect those were lethal at far greater ranges than they were accurate. It seems to me that steel or lead shot, dropped from a high altitude, would reach some terminal velocity, and this velocity may not be lethal. On the other hand, I think I've read that kids who used to drop marbles from high-rise apartments could kill a pedestrian on the sidewalks below, and marbles aren't as dense as metal shot. (Gee, do kids even have marbles anymore? Probably not: Choking hazard.)
So again, is falling shot a hazard? Does it matter whether it's double-ought buck or birdshot? (Let's not discuss slugs. I think those are a different issue.)
(And again, the question isn't about the wisdom or legality of shotgun blasts into the air.)
- - - Yoda
I am well aware that "warning shots" are generally a bad idea, and I explain why when teaching my concealed carry classes. Rather than start another re-hash of the wisdom of "warning shots," I'd like to ask different question:
Does falling shot pose the same threat as falling bullets?
I admit ignorance on this issue. I always thought that shot decelerated rather quickly, but then, shot is just a smaller version of a musket ball, and I suspect those were lethal at far greater ranges than they were accurate. It seems to me that steel or lead shot, dropped from a high altitude, would reach some terminal velocity, and this velocity may not be lethal. On the other hand, I think I've read that kids who used to drop marbles from high-rise apartments could kill a pedestrian on the sidewalks below, and marbles aren't as dense as metal shot. (Gee, do kids even have marbles anymore? Probably not: Choking hazard.)
So again, is falling shot a hazard? Does it matter whether it's double-ought buck or birdshot? (Let's not discuss slugs. I think those are a different issue.)
(And again, the question isn't about the wisdom or legality of shotgun blasts into the air.)
- - - Yoda