I now feel I have become one with the gun lol!

[Hollywood22]

Randomly went coon hunting last night and took my 15-22 with my newly installed and sighted in bushnell trs 25. I have been fairly accurate with it since the installment of the red dot but I blew my friends as well as myself away last night. We spotted a coon about 60 yards out and about 60 ish feet up in a tree. Obviously it was dark outside so I could make out only the silhouette of the coon due to the quality of out lights. There was a 20 foot wide creek in between us an the tree he was in. This guy says, "you talked about how badass that red dot is. Lets see it! You hit that coon with one shot ill swim that creek and get it." It was like 40 degrees out last night. Not thinking I would really hit it I pull that gun up spent about 1-2 seconds acquiring my target and then pull the trigger.... Droooooooooped that thing one shot. It was amazing. I didn't have faith in the red dot at that distance since I haven't had much practice. Man do I believe now. Awesome night!

 

[Dikinalaska]

Nice shooting. Congrats. Personally I'd be a little weary of shooting at an upwards angle just because I've heard how far a .22 can travel. But I don't know your situation. Either way, feels good when you surprise yourself eh?

 

[Dikinalaska]

And did you make him keep good on his word and swim the creek?

 

[Hollywood22]

Yes that's true. I was weary but lots of thickness behind where I was aiming plus we are in rural west tn there were no houses for miles and miles! Funny thing, I just played it off like I was completely unimpressed by my shot.

 

[Hollywood22]

Yea sir I did. He just looked over at me, nodded his head and commenced to jump in.

 

[Dikinalaska]

Priceless. Ya it's usually when someone else's pride is on the line that I shoot the best haha.

 

[les strat]

Awesome story and shooting!

 

[FrikkinWeen]

Personally I'd be a little weary of shooting at an upwards angle just because I've heard how far a .22 can travel. But I don't know your situation.

So why mention it then?


Anyways, to the OP...nice shot man!

 

[Dikinalaska]

So why mention it then?

I was trying to bring awareness of how dangerous it is to shoot into the air. After I typed it though, I realized it could be construed as criticizing him for doing it, so added that I didn't know his situation. He could be by open water, or a mountainside or something. I was just trying not to sound like I was preaching.

 

[gun1]

I was trying to bring awareness of how dangerous it is to shoot into the air. After I typed it though, I realized it could be construed as criticizing him for doing it, so added that I didn't know his situation. He could be by open water, or a mountainside or something. I was just trying not to sound like I was preaching.

Agreed. I am not much for hunting, but any time I am target practicing I like to have a nice stop behind the target. A few of the places I go have hills behind the targets, no worries there. The last place I was at we were shooting about 100 yards across a corn field in to a woods. I didn't much care for that, but I didn't know the area and my buddy has been shooting there for 25 years so I didn't worry about it. Shooting up in the air? I don't know that I could bring myself to do that, at least around here. I'd like to know how far a .22 could go at different angles, though. I will have to look in to that. When I was real little we used to shoot pine cones out of a tree on my grandpas property out in the country. They had neighbors, but we were way in the back of the lot shooting away from them and I can't remember what all was back in the direction we were shooting. The surrounding land was all farmed. Either way, I'm sure that wasn't real smart.

 

[Maddmax]

I was trying to bring awareness of how dangerous it is to shoot into the air. After I typed it though, I realized it could be construed as criticizing him for doing it, so added that I didn't know his situation. He could be by open water, or a mountainside or something. I was just trying not to sound like I was preaching.

Never took it as preaching in your post. They were my thoughts also. Some people don't check back ground,they just shoot first. A few years back,some farmers were painting COW & PIG on their livestock so "city slickers" wouldn't mistake them for Deer.

I figured it wasn't their first hunt and knew the area well. Great shot though.

 

[Beuford T. Rimfire]

I'd like to know how far a .22 could go at different angles, though. I will have to look in to that.

More importantly, how much energy does that bullet have after traveling the proverbial mile? Probably not much. I'm sure someone can prove that a 1/4" piece of lead with 9 ft-lbs of energy is MORE than enough to put your eye out. But if I get hit in the eye from some guy a mile away on accident, with wind factoring into it, etc. Lets face it. Fate just wasn't on my side.

Of course not saying that it's perfectly safe to randomly shoot into the air. Just playing devil's advocate as to just how hazardous it could be. Then there are inanimate objects to think about, too. No one wants their car window broken out by mystery objects.

 

[Dikinalaska]

I don't have the specifics on exact distances, but in physics class we did a great section on trajectories. From somewhere around 20 degrees up to about 60 degrees, a bullet will actually speed up to a point because it has the velocity pushing it forward, as well as gravity pulling it down. Of course terminal velocity comes into play after that, because after around 60 degrees you're now shooting against gravity so the bullet will slow down until it reaches the top of its trajectory arc than keep a somewhat constant until it hits the ground. That's why shooting directly into the air(directly at 90 degrees) doesn't USUALLY have enough force to kill. That's also why the only stories you hear of people being hit and killed by bullets are shot into the air are always a good distance away, never in the direct vicinity of the shooter. Now it's been a while since physics so I could be a little off on the specifics, but I'll try and find the chart we used.

 

[MESA PLAYER]

From somewhere around 20 degrees up to about 60 degrees, a bullet will actually speed up to a point because it has the velocity pushing it forward, as well as gravity pulling it down. Of course terminal velocity comes into play after that, because after around 60 degrees you're now shooting against gravity so the bullet will slow down until it reaches the top of its trajectory arc than keep a somewhat constant until it hits the ground.

Not exactly.


When ever any object is unsupported, i.e the instant the bullet leaves the barrel, it begins to drop due to gravity at the rate of 9.8 meters /sec (@sea level,,not factoring in air resistance). after 1 second it has dropped 9.8 meters, after 2 seconds 19.6 meters and so on.
To compensate for this drop, we elevate the barrel to compensate, trading some horizontal force for an upward vertical force .
?we sight in @ 50 yards,100 or ?instead of point blank?. it averages the flight so accuracy is tighter over a wider range. say we sight in at 100 yards, the bullet rises then falls to hit the 100 yard.At 50 yards (100 yard sight-in) you will hit higher than you aim, 150 yards (100 yard sight in) will hit lower
Initial speed of the round has the greatest influence on how much/little it drops/we compensate since flight time to impact will shorten with a faster speed.
Gravity works in the down direction, while air resistance imposes itself against you in any direction. when working against gravity till they are equal, this is "terminal velocity", a fraction of the speed which typically exist when the bullet leaves the barrel. air resistance varies on bullet shape, and whether tumbling or stable).I'm leaving some other stuff out.

So if you shoot straight up in the air, the moment it leaves the barrel it begins to slow! down (since the expanding gases no longer push the bullet); due to gravity ( a constant downward force) and air resistance (which is greatest at the highest velocity) till it runs out of inertia (at the apex) then starts to accelerate back down due to gravity, with air resistance becoming a growing factor working against gravity till the two equal (terminal velocity) .
lethality depends on impact velocity and mass( kinetic energy)


I wouldn't want to be hit by any size bullet from any angle at any speed. especially me noggin.

 

[Dattebayo]

What an awesome story! Great shot and good hunting.

 

[telero]

Not exactly.


When ever any object is unsupported, i.e the instant the bullet leaves the barrel, it begins to drop due to gravity at the rate of 9.8 meters /sec (@sea level,,not factoring in air resistance). after 1 second it has dropped 9.8 meters, after 2 seconds 19.6 meters and so on.

It actually starts accelerating at 9.8m/s, per second. From rest after 1 second it would drop 9.8m, and after 2 seconds it would be falling at 19.6m per second, and so on. And that's not even actually correct that it would fall 9.8m in the first second, it would be less as it takes time to work up to that 9.8m/s (plus wind resistence etc.). There is a formula for it, but I can't recall it off the top of my head (and I'm too lazy to google it).

 

[MESA PLAYER]

It actually starts accelerating at 9.8m/s, per second. From rest after 1 second it would drop 9.8m, and after 2 seconds it would be falling at 19.6m per second, and so on. And that's not even actually correct that it would fall 9.8m in the first second, it would be less as it takes time to work up to that 9.8m/s (plus wind resistence etc.). There is a formula for it, but I can't recall it off the top of my head (and I'm too lazy to google it).[/the QUOTE]

i concur the per "second/second" and my fuzzy memory was confusing distance with instantaneous velocity as well. in 1 second it will fall a distance of 4.9 meters ; at 2 seconds it would have fallen 19.6 meters,3 seconds 44.1 meters. in a vacuum.

d=1/2*g*t*t

I erred.

 

[OldEagleEars]

On the range of a .22 LR bullet; I believe the last word on that was given by my Grandfather one day as I headed out to plink in the pasture of the farm. "Watch close where you point that thing," he said. "Cause one of them Angus is worth a hell of a lot more to me than a stupid grandson." When I loaded up the tube on the Springfield I noticed the ammo box read "Caution: this ammunition may travel in excess of one mile." With that information and my Grandfather's warning I had all the ballistic data I needed for the rest of my life!

 

[Dezfan]

As we say in Vegas! No pics, no proof!