State study says shotguns can be as risky as rifles

[Drizzt]

State study says shotguns can be as risky as rifles
The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. --Requiring Lehigh Valley hunters to use shotguns instead of rifles would not necessarily make the area safer during deer season, according to a state-sponsored study released Wednesday.

The study by MountainTop Technologies was ordered following a November 2004 accident in which a pregnant, 18-year-old Lehigh County woman sitting in a car in her driveway was struck in the head by a stray bullet from the rifle of a hunter a half-mile away.

The study, commissioned by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, compared the ranges of rifles and shotguns, including the distance that the projectiles traveled after ricocheting off the ground.

While rifle bullets traveled farther than shotgun slugs when the guns were fired at an upward angle, the shotgun slugs went farther when the guns were fired parallel to level ground, the study found.

Rifle bullets tend to tumble after they strike the ground, slowing their velocity when they ricochet, while the shotgun slugs maintained more energy and aerodynamic properties, according to the study.

Authors of the study recommended that state officials consider requiring the use of reduced-ricochet projectiles as an alternative to a rifle ban as a means of managing risk in areas with special hunting regulations.

Some legislators had pressed for a ban on deer rifles in the densely populated Lehigh Valley region following the 2004 shooting of Casey Burns.

Burns has short-term memory loss and other problems, but had a healthy baby in February 2005. The following month, hunter Craig T. Wetzel pleaded guilty to violating state game rules and was sentenced to six months of probation and a five-year hunting ban.

http://www.centredaily.com/129/story/53706.html

 

[Fn-P9]

So a guy plead guilty after breaking some laws. The solution is obviously more laws. I AGREE!:banghead:

 

[Chongosuerte]

I need

Somebody that didn't flunk calculus twice 'splain this to me:

While rifle bullets traveled farther than shotgun slugs when the guns were fired at an upward angle, the shotgun slugs went farther when the guns were fired parallel to level ground, the study found.

Wouldn't a 1 oz slug fall faster than a 1/2 oz 30.06 round in both cases?

***?

 

[shield20]

They added in "ricochet" - the projecticles must bounce up again after hitting the ground.

 

[12GA00buck]

Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.
No need for senseless expensive laws, people just need to practice the four rules.

 

[General Geoff]

Freak occurance.


Hey, let's ban elevators because as we all know, there's a 1 in a billion chance that the door will close on you while you're boarding and cut you in half!


Granted the hunter could have been more careful on his shot placement, but the principle still stands. Life without risk is little better than waiting for death.

 

[mhuard]

Wouldn't a 1 oz slug fall faster than a 1/2 oz 30.06 round in both cases?

Actually, weight does not matter. Gravity is a constant no matter what the weight/mass of a given item. SHape will play a small roll as it relates to friction but it wouldn't make that much of a difference in this case...I don't believe.

 

[October]

Wouldn't a 1 oz slug fall faster than a 1/2 oz 30.06 round in both cases?

Actually, weight does not matter. Gravity is a constant no matter what the weight/mass of a given item. SHape will play a small roll as it relates to friction but it wouldn't make that much of a difference in this case...I don't believe.

This is correct. What does matter is the velocity of the round. Since they both fall to the ground in about the same amount of time, the one with the higher velocity will travel farther before doing so, giving it a longer range.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

Yea, but a shotgun slug travels faster than a .30-'06? (2700 fps).

 

[El Tejon]

Thank you for posting this!

Indiana is kicking around the idea of permitting some centerfire rifle (pistol-calibre carbines) for deer. The good ol' boys [insert banjo music here] think shotguns are somehow "safer".

They offer imaginary tales of rifles killing everything within a 100 mile radius if used for deer even though Hoosiers now use centerfire rifles for predation deer hunting, varmiting and other hunting. Somehow if a rifle is aimed at a deer in regular firearms season it become uberdeadly.

 

[ProjectMayhem]

I remember when this happened, big deal for a little while like everything else.


It doesn't make much sense to me, considering the article states he was charged with not following pre-existing guidelines in the first place...not to mention outlawing rifles to hunt deer is borderline ridiculous especially becuase of a freak accident like this, at least from my point of view.

 

[GigaBuist]

Yea, but a shotgun slug travels faster than a .30-'06? (2700 fps).

Heh, no. You're looking at about 1150fps with a regular slug, maybe in the 1800-1900 range for a .50 cal sabot round.

They're saying that the shotgun slugs are going further because the rifle rounds are stopped by random crap in the way and don't ricochet off the ground like a shotgun slug might.

 

[Geronimo45]

The lighter the bullet, the more air resistance/brush/etc will mess it up. The heavier the bullet, the less the effect of air resistance/brush/etc. Throw a ping-pong ball. Then a baseball. You'll probably get more distance with the baseball, despite it being larger and therefore having more surface area to be hit with air. It's heavy enough that, once it gets started (conservation of momentum, methinks) it takes a lot of resistance to slow it down.
Bullet shape may be an issue, too. Back in the late 1800s, I seem to recall some Russian versus Turk war or other when the Russkies fired a rifle volley a few degrees above eye level, giving the bullet more range than a a straight shot.