Warnings about "celebratory gunfire"

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I notice you're all assuming that everyone's firing into the air. I know quite a few people that rang in the new year by firing into a sand bucket or a (safe) backstop.
 
Why do idiots have to shoot into the air (I know the answer; hence idiot)... there is this great stuff all over the place called "dirt" that stops bullets.

In my city we had all sorts of warnings about using illegal fireworks and shooting guns on new years yet, when 12:00 hit the town sounded like a warzone. I heard way more gun shots than fireworks; people are going to do it whether it is illegal or not. they might as well sell blank rounds at gas stations or the sheriff might as well rent a back hoe make some berms & set up designated shooting areas so people can safely go bang off a few then go home. Or they should at least advise that "if you do it" go buy a barrel & fill it with dirt or sand & shoot at that.

Sure it's not ideal as there would probably be drunk people shooting at the "designated ares" but they can always have a deputy with a breathalyzer going around; it is better than drunk people shooting wildly into the air. Besides with the amount of gunshots I heard last night it is impossible to enforce the law; you would need a few cops with patty wagons on every single street!

Not that I am condoning the practice: but instead of just saying dont do it; they should at least advise how to do it safely so others will not get hurt by the masses of people who do shoot.
 
I laid in bed, hearing all the popping and cracking of all manner of noise-makers, including people obviously shooting. I was going to get up, get warm clothes on and take the 12 gauge out where I have a berm in my lawn that I was going to shoot against.

Then I remembered how the lady just two houses away gets all freaked out, and I thought "why waste my ammo just for that?"

Then I thought of my 500 Magnum (4" barrel), with some W296 loads I have worked up. The thing will shoot a ball of light the size of a small car! Then I thought "naaah, my shoulders and chest were sore already, why make them worse?"

So, for about 40 minutes (20 each side of midnight), I got to hear the people all making noise. I told my wife that thirty years ago, you might have heard one or two people shooting or setting something off, sometimes none! Thirty years later and there must be an awful lot more people than thirty years ago as the banging was far and close and was non-stop!

I agree, shooting a rifle, handgun or shotgun on an angled-shot into the air is a recipe for distaster.
 
trex1310 said:
When our police chief was on the local news condemning this
practice one of our African American city council members
responded that it was cultural practice and he saw no reason
to heed the police chiefs warning. :uhoh:
Click to expand...

This is an example of the worst kind of stupid: Condoning a crime as a "cultural practice". It put's a seemingly official okay on a negligent criminal act. In addition, it undermines police creditability.

Chuck
 
As a kid growing up in Chicago, there seemed to be a distinct difference in what you'd hear between the 4th of July and New Year's Eve: fireworks on the former, gunfire on the latter. (Despite Chicago's fireworks ban, it sounded like D-Day all evening - and much of the afternoon - on the 4th.) I remember seeing tracers arcing over the city on New Year's. :eek:

Firing a shotgun with small birdshot into the air is a minor hazard; I mean, it has NO place in an urban environment, but small birdshot will only go a couple of hundred yards at most and will shed so much velocity it will be harmless unless it hits someone in the eye. (Which CAN happen in a crowded city, especially with people looking up to see what's going on.)

Falling bullets, on the other hand, can be quite deadly - especially if they're not fired straight up. Look at most news footage of people shooting guns in the air, and you'll see that frequently they're at a 45 degree angle - or less. Definitely deadly when they come down - which makes it criminally negligent behavior.
 
I can't believe that this is so common where a lot of you are from. Fireworks I am totally fine with, but if my neighbor started popping rounds off into the air or otherwise I would be pissed. Maybe I would send some "celebratory" gunfire their way... :evil: For all of the safety nazis, that was joke.
 
I posted my warning poster on several gun forums, best I could do. When I went outside at midnight, I heard some firecrackers, which we legalized in 2010, and very, very few gunshots.
"Joy bullets" may be a "custom" in some other countries; here in AZ it will get you prison time.
 
I frankly don't care how "safe" you make it (dirt-filled barrels, berms etc.); to me, "celebration" is under no circumstances a valid reason to discharge a firearm.

The only valid reasons should be:
A) Practice/Training/Shooting Sports/Competition
B) Hunting/Varmint control
C) Defense
D) Signaling (e.g. when help is needed)

There's a mindset that says that "unless we're buzzed/drunk and playing music deafeningly loud (or otherwise making lots of noise) we're not really having fun". Maybe it's just 'cause I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but I neither subscribe to- nor sympathize with that mindset.
 
People always save some fireworks for New Year's and WA state allows pretty big ones. One of our neighbors has been doing a pretty good show every NY for 10 years. We have a newer neighbor up the block who started shooting for the first time (he's lived here for about 5 years now). I don't know if he was shooting into the air or into the ground and wasn't about to go discuss it with him. :rolleyes: And yeah, he's definitely the guy who brings down everyone else's property value.
 
HOLY CR@P!!! Where do some of you live? Ill put them on my list of "places not to move to". Around here if you hear a gun shot someone is usally dead. I can't say I've never done that ( celebratory shooting) but it was in western wisconsin on acreage and NEVER into the air.
 
It was my intentions that if I was up around midnight to let loose about 100 rounds of 7.62 x 39 BLANKS. Back a few months ago I ordered what was suppose to be 100 rounds and with my dyslectic in full force wound up with 1000 rounds. No problem grand kids have a ball with them. But true to form when the NEW YEAR came around I was already sawing logs. Firing up into the air is about as dumb as re electing our current president.
 
I wouldn't shoot blanks either.

While safe, others do not know they are blanks and it adds to the apparent acceptance of firing into the air.
Which encourages others to bring out live ammo and join you, then or in a following year/holiday because you helped make it appear to be a normal thing to do.

It increases the overall number of apparent shooters, adding both apparent acceptance of the act and anonymity for those firing real rounds into the air.


So your safe or blank firing are encouraging the moron that wants to shoot their gun to do so, without any of the safety precautions you may have taken. Giving them confidence to just join the apparent crowd of shooters.
 
Local news article had a story about a bullet landing through someone's roof and going through their ceiling. While probably not deadly at that point, it's still a PITA factor of having to patch the holes.


Guess the next time it rains, I'll find out if any bullets landed through my roof... :rolleyes:
 
Most of these rounds aren't fired at a perfect 90 degree angle from the earth.
Click to expand...

The mythbusters show did a huge disservice to society with their conclusion. I views based on its conclusion repeated over and over.


Not all bullets tumble when falling when shot straight up, many retain spin stabilization and fall base first with a much higher terminal velocity and are actually still dangerous even shot at a 90 degree angle.


Heavier bullets are even more dangerous because they retain more momentum and energy, a shotgun slug fired straight up, and large bullet weight pistol and rifle calibers fall with deadly force even shot at a 90 degree angle. Its only the lighter bullets that don't retain enough energy while tumbling back down to be real dangerous.


Finally many people firing rapid fire at a '90 degree' angle will have several rounds let loose at something other than a 90 degree angle as recoil causes muzzle climb and/or they are casually compensating for recoil and the muzzle direction varies.
 
Haven't watched that show in a good number of years... but also true. Most of the naysayers tend to scream "terminal velocity" as gospel to claim that a falling bullet would bounce harmlessly off of someone. The truth is almost no round will be fired at a flawless perpendicular to the plane of the earth.

My usual example is the 45-70 round and the Rainbow trajectory. Insane drop, and people still were staying on target once they were sighted in.
 
Birmingham, AL Police answered over 2,000 calls; mostly for celebratory
gunfire from 1500 hrs 12-31-11 to 0600 01-01-2012; but only 9 arrest
were made, and 9 guns confiscated. Sorry, but there is something WRONG
with this picture. A dude up the street from me aired out his Taurus 454
Casull; but he still owns the weapon~!
 
gunfire

I can shoot the shotgun and not hit any houses as the nearest one is over 700 feet away over a hill. Yippeeee, yahooooo. Happy New year. No I am not drunk!
Click to expand...

You don't believe that a shotgun has a range of two hundred and three yards?

About the AK-47's in the Bronx and the Police ignoring them......Have you ever been in the Bronx? On the Grand Concourse? Along Westchester Ave? In Morrisania? Any part of the Bronx?
I have no trouble believing that there are people stupid enough to shoot illegal weapons in to the air but an order to ignore?
I have a lot of trouble believing that what your friend told you is true.
Pete
 
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