Pistol - harmful range

[Turriking]

Learned Folk,

just acquired a new little Beretta CO2 blowback pistol 8 shot bb , reversable magazine.
I read the pamphlet that came with it & it says danger of harm to 360m. I know this has probably been asked before but what do they base this distance on?

It is great fun & fully digests lots of CO2 !!!

[Benelli B76]

Any firearm fired with the barrel at about 20 degrees to the horizontal will send its projectile at an extended range and can still do damage. With a CO2 pistol there are a lot of variables especially temperature so I suppose the manufacturers are just covering themselves with 360 metres. The bb could still cause eye damage as an incoming at a fair distance.

Baz

[Paul SE]

Although rather more powerful than BB firing pistols, I use my Steyr LP10 to shoot water filled balloons at 50M

With the muzzle velocity around 525fps, there's Plenty of poke at that range to burst the balloons using RWS 7.0grn match pellets

[Benelli B76]

Colonel Julian Hatcher of the U.S. Army did a lot of studies with ballistics firing various weapons at different angles even vertically. He said the humble .455 Webley could carry for over 1300 yards when fired at a 20 degree elevation. There are many instances of accidental killings from long range shots taken beyond the line of sight of the shooter, especially .22 rimfire.

Baz

[Phil Russell]

I always thought that the angle for maximum distance was around 45 degrees? Am I missing a trick?
Cheers, Phil

[Turnup]

I always thought that the angle for maximum distance was around 45 degrees? Am I missing a trick?
Cheers, Phil

This would be true on level ground but for the decrease in velocity caused by drag. They come down steeper than they went up, for all angles greater than horizontal and less than vertical.

[whipsaw]

According to Chairgun; an 8 grain BB fired at 400 fps would still be doing 90 fps at 190 yards but you'd need to aim 160 feet above your target to hit it!

[Black Beard]

Below a a certain speed the pellets bounce off the skin. They might still take out an eye but that is it. I'd be more worried about someone getting scared and calling out the armed response unit.

[Spray1Mark]

Learned Folk,

just acquired a new little Beretta CO2 blowback pistol 8 shot bb , reversable magazine.
I read the pamphlet that came with it & it says danger of harm to 360m. I know this has probably been asked before but what do they base this distance on?

It is great fun & fully digests lots of CO2 !!!

The Beretta would be very dangerous at 360m if you fired it out of a cannon! excepting that I suppose throwing it at someone!

[Rickenbacker]

And at 75 yards we use a much smaller bucket.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AjS7Usvz0Vk

Fantastic!

Tinbum reckons he's hit it with a pistol - but I don't believe him.

Those were the good old days, a friend driving through France had a bullet go through the window of his car, upon visiting the Police station he was told that he should drive more carefully through a well known hunting area!

Hahaha.

[Geezer]

This is in part a lawyer thing. Especially in the US, if you don't at least slightly overstate the muzzle velocity and dangerous range of your product, you are, as a manufacturer, in deep trouble if someone gets hurts with one that is over your figures.

On the other hand, people in general tend to underestimate the maximum nasty range of guns (like the idea that .22LR is potentially dangerous to a mile, which is true, but surprises many).

For example, I recall that back in the 80s there was a case when UK Police officers were firing 9mmP from semi-auto SMGs (Sterlings, I think), and a round went awry, killing or badly wounding someone at 1600 or so yards/metres. A lot of people would not think that a 9x19mm could go that far, let alone do damage - and I can recall being told by an instructor in the 80s that 9mm from an SMG would not penetrate a Bergen at 100 paces. Oddly, he didn't accept my offer of shooting him, wearing a Bergen, at that distance. Probably a good idea all round.

Key point: most airguns remain dangerous over longer ranges than many people think. Recognise that and adapt to it. Basically, use a good backstop at any distance. Do not rely on distance alone. Sermon over.

[Hsing-ee]

For example, I recall that back in the 80s there was a case when UK Police officers were firing 9mmP from semi-auto SMGs (Sterlings, I think), and a round went awry, killing or badly wounding someone at 1600 or so yards/metres. A lot of people would not think that a 9x19mm could go that far, let alone do damage - and I can recall being told by an instructor in the 80s that 9mm from an SMG would not penetrate a Bergen at 100 paces. Oddly, he didn't accept my offer of shooting him, wearing a Bergen, at that distance. Probably a good idea all round.
.

Those SMG loads for 9mm Parabellum are monstrously hot aren't they? The 'Bergen' story sounds alot like the WW2 'greatcoat' story, which is where the Army instructor takes an issue greatcoat and soaks it in water, hangs it on a line 75 yards downrange and then fires a couple of bursts from a Sten gun at it. The bullets hit but do not penetrate both sides of the coat. Wow, amazing. Possibly it's because the coat weighs about 150lbs with all that water in it and sways about absorbing the energy OR story is actually also bollocks. Why would you want to show your soldiers that their armament is a wussy ninny-hammer of less use that a cricket ball? Not going to encourage them is it? If I was one of the soldiers I'd be throwing the Sten away and asking for an SMLE. There are other stories about .30 calibre M1 carbine rounds not going through Chinese soldiers' frozen padded coats in the Korean war - those things have about 900 fpe so even at 100 yards its going to cut flesh. I think its more people just MISSING THE TARGET, something that is easy to do with a semi-auto or automatic gun fired rapidly.

[NewPaul]

Fantastic!

Tinbum reckons he's hit it with a pistol - but I don't believe him.

Hahaha.

He actually did Phil, I saw him walk the 75 yards over to it and hit that bucket squarely in the face with the pistol

[TonyL]

He actually did Phil, I saw him walk the 75 yards over to it and hit that bucket squarely in the face with the pistol

Wot? With those lickle legs?

Now I know you're fibbing!

[Rickenbacker]

225 of his little paces each way? I guess it's possible...