water and ricochets

[22-rimfire]

Bullets will definitely ricochet at low angles consistantly. Can't say what the angle is, but I would guess that you are okay with an angle over about 25 degrees if shooting in water. Do pay attention to the frequency of ricochets if you choose to shoot on water. Standing on a boat and shoot at longer ranges (like 50 yds) will bounce them almost every time. Not a good thing to do. But as a kid, we frequently shot plastic jugs and so forth floating down a creek (at fairly high angles) during flood periods. Doesn't make is safe or something I would recommend.

 

['Card]

When I was a teenager me and some friends used to sit on a deck fairly high above the river and shoot muskies (big, ugly, reptile-lookin' fish) that would lay on the shallow sandbars and sun themselves on warm days. We'd sit out there and drink beer and watch the river until we saw one worth shooting at. If we hit one, we'd get in a rowboat, paddle out to the sandbars and bring him in. Other than the beer, it was a safer activity than it sounds like. Big river, with nothing on the other side but a near-vertical, empty mountain.

I think the most common gun we used was a scoped .308 one of my friends owned. I remember a pretty fair amount of ricochets, but I also remember that angle had a lot to do with it. On our side of the river where the angle was pretty steep, they were rare. Shooting at the far side of the river where the angle was lower caused a lot more bouncing bullets.

Just another bit of anecdotal evidence, of limited value - but thanks for asking the question. I haven't thought about that in years... and that sure was good beer.

 

[Vairochana]

Naval Ricochets

Back in the days of blackpowder and cannoballs, think Battle of Trafalgar, naval artillerists would skip the balls off the water in order to get low shots on the ememy hull.

 

[LAK]

Little point in removing the gun from the boy for a month as one poster suggests; since his mentor had not instructed and forbid him in the first place.

As to water and ricochets it certainly is fact, and the mechanics involve variables such as the bullet shape, angle of the shot and the smoothness of the water surface etc.

I read a story in Reader's Digest a very long time ago where a woman was killed on a highway near the ocean in Florida. A neat hole behind the ear and a rifle bullet in the brain. Turned out someone had been shooting at floating targets or sharks or something from a boat offshore - and the bullet in question struck the water at just the right angle, travelled a great distance to shore, and entered her open window as she was cruising along at the gov mandated 55 or so on the highway. IIRC it was a .303.

My own opinion on shooting at water is use your intellect and reason. Some places and in particular ways it is not dangerous per se. But if you do not know and understand the mechanics of it and the area around I would advise against it.

------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org

 

[Mal H]

Vairochana - you remind me of one of the other famous events in war history when that effect was put to good use.

During WWII, the British devised a scheme to use Lancasters to drop round bombs which would bounce several times on the water and into the sides of dams on various German rivers because it was found that aerial bombs weren't very effective. It worked as designed. As I recall, Lord Nelson's discovery of the effect and his use of it during the Battle of Trafalgar was the inspiration for the British engineers.

The movie "Dam Busters" is a classic and depicts the story well.

 

[lbmii]

Way back in my Navy days, when firing 40-mm at surface targets we would often see a shell hit the water 2 or 3 times as it receded into the distance.

My Dad speaks of the same when he was in the Korean War. They would skip 40s into small boats along the shore.

 

[Working Man]

During WWII, the British devised a scheme to use Lancasters to drop round bombs which would bounce several times on the water and into the sides of dams on various German rivers because it was found that aerial bombs weren't very effective.

Mal H, I saw a special on that on PBS some time ago. They had to come
in at a very specific angle (dropped at a certain altitude) and at a specific
speed. They were also spun prior to release at a specific RPM.

 

[outofbattery]

Skip bombing with normal bombs was commonly used against ships in WWII.Fighter pilots in Typhoons and Thunderbolts etc tried to skip their rockets into the bellies or suspension of panzers in Europe as well.

Regarding the girl killed by a ricochet:it was Long Island Sound and 2 guys were shooting a .303 from a boat at things in the water.The bullet travelled a considerable distance,crossed 2 lanes of traffic and entered the open wing window of her Camaro before striking her.It was a mystery as to how she had been shot until the men came forward that they had been plinking as the windows of her car were otherwise up and the police couldn't figure out how she had been shot.

 

[engineer151515]

Personally know a man who fired a 22lr which ricocheted off a pond's surface, ricocheted again off a tree limb and struck a farmer in the back as he was driving his tractor in the field. Farmer initially thought it was a bee sting.

Sheriff showed up. Years ago, this was dropped as an accident with no real harm done and a warning.

Not sure how it would go over today.