Quote Originally Posted by mklotz View Post
The Mythbusters proved that, if you must shoot into the air, probably the safest direction is straight up.

They showed that after the bullet reaches apogee and begins to descend it turns on its side and falls in that attitude. Its drag coefficient in that attitude is such that its terminal velocity is far less than its muzzle velocity when it hits the ground. If hit by one you would be injured but it would be unlikely to kill you.

Shooting at an angle off vertical is very bad since, depending on the launch angle, the round could reach the ground with enough energy to kill.

This is certainly not to suggest that shooting into the air is a good way to celebrate; however it does suggest that the myth of the straight-up bullet regaining its muzzle velocity on return to earth is false.
This might be one of those studies that works better in a controlled environment than in reality. First, it would be unlikely if not nearly impossible to actually shoot exactly straight up. Secondly, unstable rounds can do as much damage or more than stable rounds even at less than muzzle velocity. But reaching killing velocity and stability can certainly happen, my brother in law's neighbor shot a few shots what he considered straight up. After a couple rains my BIL's noticed his roof was leaking. There was hole in the roof and not an unstable keyhole. The bullet penetrated shingles, 3/4" of plywood on an angled roof, and embedded in a attic board 4 feet directly below the hole. That would certainly penetrate skull or shoulder and is enough for lethal damage. That was only 9mm as I remember