Where Do Bullets Go When Guns Are Fired Straight Up Into The Air?

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Firing off gunshots into the air can be extremely dangerous to bystanders. AleksandarGeorgiev/Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Bullets fired straight up into the sky pose a perplexing question regarding their trajectory, altitude, and eventual landing spot, with limited data available on this practice as it's not commonly done by professionals.
  • U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Julian Hatcher's experiments in the 1940s found that a standard .30 caliber bullet fired straight up could reach an altitude of 9,000 feet (2,743.2 meters) and return to Earth at a speed of 300 feet (91.4 meters) per second during its descent.
  • The altitude a bullet can reach when fired vertically varies based on the weapon and ammunition type, with a .22 rifle bullet not reaching as high as a .30-06 rifle bullet, which could ascend to 10,105 feet (3,080 meters).

The saying "What goes up must come down" is an appropriate starting point. If you fire a gun into the air, the bullet will travel up to a mile high (depending on the angle of the shot and the power of the gun). Once it reaches its apogee, the bullet will fall. Air resistance limits its speed, but bullets are designed to be fairly aerodynamic, so the speed is still quite lethal if the bullet happens to hit someone.

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In rural areas, the chance of hitting someone is remote because the number of people is low. In crowded cities, however, the probability rises dramatically, and people get killed quite often by stray bullets.

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