Why You Don't Fire A Gun in the Air....Ever

[GeeBee]

Even a "warning shot" is dangerous.

 

What goes up, must come down. In this case at KLGC it went through the hangar roof, through the top of a C-172, headliner and stopped on the carpet.

 

 

[Marc_B]

Yikes!  I remember a few years ago this happened to Steveo Kinevo...

 

[varlajo]

Curious. My celebratory gunfire invariably hits my hangar buddy's Cirrus... 

[Skyland]

I'll add to this.  Some 20 years ago at KRHV I found a bullet on the ground under a hole in my hangar roof that just missed my Mooney wing.

More recently at neighboring KPAO a bullet went through my friend's Eagle wing walk.  Probably the best location as the repair is invisible now.

[N201MKTurbo]

I don’t think we are the right audience for preaching about recklessly firing a gun into the air. I doubt anyone on here is that irresponsible. 

[Pilot Guy]

This happened not too long ago at KGYR in AZ. Came through the roof of a covered tie-down, but luckily didn't hit a plane (the plane I was about to fly). It was close though

[pmccand123]

There is a long understanding that if you take off on 16 or land from the south from KHKS, you run the risk of being shot at.  KHKS is the home of the famous Jackson, "Gun and Knife Show" sponsored by downtown Jackson thugs every Thursday through Sunday.  Several planes have landed with mysterious holes in them...at least several years ago.  

[pmccand123]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I don’t think we are the right audience for preaching about recklessly firing a gun into the air. I doubt anyone on here is that irresponsible. 

It ain't necessarily reckless firing into the air.   At least, the local pilots believe it is intentional mischief or target practice where we live.  See my post above.

Edited June 5 by Phil McCandless

[Utah20Gflyer]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I don’t think we are the right audience for preaching about recklessly firing a gun into the air. I doubt anyone on here is that irresponsible. 

Good point, Here at Mooneyspace we only responsibly fire out guns in the air!  

[Pinecone]

This was tested on AVSIG.  If you fire close to straight up, the terminal velocity of the bullet is about the same as a stable spread eagle sky diver.  In fact, one of the members took a handful of various caliber bullets and released them in free fall and they just stayed in formation with him.

If it penetrated a hangar and a wing, it was still streamlined and spinning, so fired a moderate angle.

[N201MKTurbo]

Maybe we need a new chart symbol, a thug holding a handgun sideways.

[Marc_B]

It’s obvious this guy was shooting an approach. Looks like he was right on the centerline! 

[Hector]

My home airport is next to an outdoor gun range. To my knowledge, I’ve never heard of any incidents of a plane getting shot or a bullet coming down and hitting an airplane on the ramp or in a hangar. May have to ask some of the old timers at the airport and see if it’s ever happened.


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[MikeOH]

52 minutes ago, Hector said:

My home airport is next to an outdoor gun range. To my knowledge, I’ve never heard of any incidents of a plane getting shot or a bullet coming down and hitting an airplane on the ramp or in a hangar. May have to ask some of the old timers at the airport and see if it’s ever happened.


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My experience is that people that go to gun ranges are very responsible.

These random 'fall out of the sky' bullet holes are caused by trigger happy idiots in their backyards. JMO.

[exM20K]

8 hours ago, MikeOH said:

My experience is that people that go to gun ranges are very responsible.

These random 'fall out of the sky' bullet holes are caused by trigger happy idiots in their backyards. JMO.

Sadly, it only takes one…. 

https://youtu.be/5ldTsqbwZm0

a lot of the free-fall danger relates to bullet size and shape.  Falling birdshot is harmless.  Evidently a 60+ grain bullet falling at terminal velocity isn’t.
-dan

[mike_elliott]

On 6/5/2025 at 3:21 PM, varlajo said:

Curious. My celebratory gunfire invariably hits my hangar buddy's Cirrus... 

no harm....

[Jeff Uphoff]

I recall back in the 90s the feds going after someone for deliberately shooting at planes around KSHD.

Around the same time and just across the ridge at KCHO, I found a stray bullet on the ramp that had landed right next to the Cessna I was preflighting.

--Up.

[Hank]

Guns aren't the only thing that's dangerous to shoot up into the air.

Ya'll be careful out there!

[exM20K]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Guns aren't the only thing that's dangerous to shoot up into the air.

Ya'll be careful out there!

Perhaps the Apaches were triggered by the overflight?

[GeeBee]

On 6/5/2025 at 5:46 PM, N201MKTurbo said:

I don’t think we are the right audience for preaching about recklessly firing a gun into the air. I doubt anyone on here is that irresponsible. 

I never under estimate human stupidity when it comes to fire arms. To do so would be like assuming the gun is unloaded. 

We have even had elected leaders encourage discharging firearms into the air, one reached the highest office in the land.

[N201MKTurbo]

50 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

I never under estimate human stupidity when it comes to fire arms. To do so would be like assuming the gun is unloaded. 

We have even had elected leaders encourage discharging firearms into the air, one reached the highest office in the land.

Come on man, that was a shotgun. No worse than dove hunting out at the Gila River. When I go out there I ware goggles, a hard hat and a thick jacket.

[GeeBee]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Come on man, that was a shotgun. No worse than dove hunting out at the Gila River. When I go out there I ware goggles, a hard hat and a thick jacket.

Dove is small shot size. Shoot a shotgun off in the air with 00 Buck (0.33") which is not uncommon in defense and someone could hurt badly. Even worse with some of the new shot shapes and alloys in home defense rounds.

[201Steve]

4th rule of the Universal firearm safety rules: 4) Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. 
 

I’ve spent a fair amount of time at a high level training facility, with lots of LEO that came in thinking they were kings of firearms, just for the SF instructors to prove to them they have no clue what they are doing. Public ranges or in the woods with “experienced hunters” and “I’ve been shooting guns since I was 6 I know what I’m doing” types, my takeaway is the vast majority (easily the simple m), A) don’t know what they are doing, b) have never had formal training of any type c) are generally unsafe. Although they really didn’t think so.  To echo @GeeBee sentiment. 

[Echo]

Nice shot?  Myself with a SAW and ten others were given 120 rounds each of ammunition.  We fired prone supported at a six feet wingspan RC that was doing lazy eights about 100 yard out at aboy 50' of altitude.  We didn't put one hole in it...Now had we coordinated a wall of fire in front...Maybe.  Tough to hit an aircraft with small arms.

[Echo]

We did NOT have tracers.