No, the casing that is ejected is usually brass of some sort, the bullet is sometimes clad in copper like this one. Utterly frightening story, glad no one was injured
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I guess you found out what was up.
Sorry my posting of the Wasssuuup Grannies yesterday lead you to this event.
Glad all is well.
To be specific , what came through your skylight was probably a 230 grain (about 1/2 an ounce) FMJ (full metal jacket) round. Most of the weight is lead with a copper jacket around the rear of the slug. Most of the fishing weights I have used were about 2 ounces so four of these things would be equal to a fishing weight. Terminal velocity (the fastest these things move falling straight down) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 to 170 miles per hour. The Mythbusters thing if I recall correctly was done with coins. Coins are flatter , lighter and have a much lower terminal velocity. As seen by the damage to your floor ,if this thing had hit someone it could have had very bad results. Thank goodness that you and Mrs. Columbo , er uh I mean Mrs. Slobake are OK. There are some real idiots in this world and apparently your house encountered one of them.
There are lighter rounds in this caliber but they are more expensive and since this was most likely some real yahoo that did this he was probably shooting the cheapest thing he could get his hands on.
There are lighter rounds in this caliber but they are more expensive and since this was most likely some real yahoo that did this he was probably shooting the cheapest thing he could get his hands on.
Wow, what a story. Glad you're both ok!
As for skylight shattering, my guess is that skylights have to be made out of something that's not going to shatter. I know my bathroom window (which is in my shower surround) was required to be made out of tempered glass, like automotive glass. It's the same sort of safety issue, although I guess I generally move faster in a car than in my shower, but on the other hand I'm seldom wet and naked in my car. Just in case you were wondering.
Idiots fire up into the air. Unfortunately we have a lot of idiots around.
If that slug took a chunk out of an oak stair, I'd hate to stop one with my noggin. I suppose that most bullets falling to earth may be at non-fatal velocities, but .45 ACP bullets are usually 180-250 grains in weight, with most of them in the 200+ grain range. That's enough sheer weight that gravity would have it make a pretty stout impact when it hits.
A typical .22 bullet is around 40 grains, and 9MM bullets are often about 110-115 grains, so by comparison most .45 bullets are twice as heavy as a 9MM bullet. If it was copper jacketed (likely from the description) then it would likely be 230-250 grains.
That's plenty to break a window, puncture a normal metal roof, or penetrate someone's cranium.
If that slug took a chunk out of an oak stair, I'd hate to stop one with my noggin. I suppose that most bullets falling to earth may be at non-fatal velocities, but .45 ACP bullets are usually 180-250 grains in weight, with most of them in the 200+ grain range. That's enough sheer weight that gravity would have it make a pretty stout impact when it hits.
A typical .22 bullet is around 40 grains, and 9MM bullets are often about 110-115 grains, so by comparison most .45 bullets are twice as heavy as a 9MM bullet. If it was copper jacketed (likely from the description) then it would likely be 230-250 grains.
That's plenty to break a window, puncture a normal metal roof, or penetrate someone's cranium.
Sometime in the not to distant future the SFPD will contact you to let you know they ID'd the prints on the .45 slug and they are yours.
That was me! I was merely making a hatch to lower TNC in case of emergency.
I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in to stop my mind from wondering...
Seriously, glad you and your wife are OK.
Seriously, glad you and your wife are OK.
Wait..what?
Tempered glass will take lots of "push" flex pressure....but if you hit it with a hard object it will shatter into a thousand pieces.
Auto front windshield glass has a special layer in it that prevents random explosive shatter.
Do they put that layer in tempered shower glass?
If I'm wrong then correct me, TB glass gurus..
Glad you and your lady are o.k. Slobake...
Mythbusters did another shot at the falling bullet thing by firing upwards in the dessert and finding the bullets. Measuring the meagre penetration they deduced their upwards airstream testing of bullets was not wrong.
They were also at pains to point out that partially horizontally fired bullets retain their rifling spin and bulletlike speed.
There are some parts of the country where it's very likely that a homeowners first response to an event such as this would be to immediately return fire.
My niece, who I know does not own a handgun, (but her husband does own hunting firearms) was making her first trip to The Republic of Texas. I asked her if she was taking her passport and a pistol. She did not understand my facetious query. I assured her that at the point of entry, after confirming she had no commie tendencies, they would issue her a loaner pistol to carry during her stay.
My niece, who I know does not own a handgun, (but her husband does own hunting firearms) was making her first trip to The Republic of Texas. I asked her if she was taking her passport and a pistol. She did not understand my facetious query. I assured her that at the point of entry, after confirming she had no commie tendencies, they would issue her a loaner pistol to carry during her stay.
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Wait..what?
Tempered glass will take lots of "push" flex pressure....but if you hit it with a hard object it will shatter into a thousand pieces.
Auto front windshield glass has a special layer in it that prevents random explosive shatter.
Do they put that layer in tempered shower glass?
If I'm wrong then correct me, TB glass gurus..
Glad you and your lady are o.k. Slobake...
Good point. But if it shatters it goes into not-sharp pieces, yes? So this is why the window in my shower is required to have it - so if I thrash around with a sharp object (while wet and naked) and manage to break the window, the neighbors will get an eyefull but I won't bleed out in my warm wet shower?
That's exactly what I was thinking. A new skylight is expensive, but a single perforation in a shingled roof, might be difficult to find, and go undetected while causing a lot of damage, and deterioration. The water might leak into your living space some distance from the source. Now is the time to buy a newer, and better skylight than the existing one.
Every New Year some idiot shoots his shotgun in the air and the shot comes raining down on us in the backyard. I end up getting on him to stop, then it happens all over the next year. Not as dangerous as a bullet, but still ignorant.
Most every holiday here in north Alabama is preceded by a cautionary article in the paper about shooting guns into the air in celebration, especially the fourth and new year's eve.
They actually say if you are to shoot guns into the air as celebration of the 4th you should use blanks so there is no actual projectiles but most ppl are kinda morons. I am a big pro 2nd ammendment guy but a lot of ppl have no idea of physics at all lol.