Pistol - harmful range

[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.

[Hsing-ee]

Any kind of shot, apart from maybe shooting vertically at pigeons roosting, should have a safe back-stop of earth or similar. Those YouTube videos of Americans shooting masses of rounds in the woods and just across fields gives me the hebejebies...

[Rickenbacker]

Well quite. Take Quigley (who is a bit of a hero around here):



Note that 'Whitey' drops the bucket on the blind crest of a dirt road. There's no way I'd take that shot. If there happens to be a rambler walking towards us from beyond the crest, the first bit of him we're going to see is his hat (containing his head), at bucket-level.

I have performed the same shot (simulated, to scale, with a pellet gun) myself, at Mick's range - in much safer circumstances. As have many others.

[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.