How Many Yards Until No Longer Lethal

[Goofycat]

One mile is 5,280 feet (1760 yards), and it seems logical that the lethality at those ranges (or beyond) of bullets is really a moot point since I doubt that many shooters would be accurate at those ranges and would think twice about wasting rounds due to the extreme ranges---especially in windy conditions, and with varmint-appropriate calibers.

 

[Grey Goast]

As I read your questions little lady, I ponder are you seeking to drop a animal at long distance or one man's life.

 

[Small Lady]

After a hard days work and a couple drinks, we tend to do strange things for entertainment. But it's still better than watching a reality show.

We live in the countryside, not exactly a hotbed of nightlife out here
We did prove that bullets thrown as hard as we 4 can throw, don't even break the skin. So bullets still in flight, do for sure come to a point of being nonlethal, before they hit they ground.
Safer than the night we recently got bored and tied kayaks to ATVS and towed them around a course we made racing each other. That was a lot of fun, but not without some bumps and bruises.

 

[shaughn]

Sounds like our former neighbours before they relocated their house...by means of detonation.....except they used crazy carpets and horses....that's a whole different lot of alcohol infused crazy....roll out a little more tangle foot and barbwire....

 

[Small Lady]

As I read your questions little lady, I ponder are you seeking to drop a animal at long distance or one man's life.

Neither

The chat between us got started because I mentioned a story about some Ukrainian soldier 'claiming' that he had shot a Russian soldier at 2.36 miles away, which is over 4100 yards.
Despite my personal feelings that its yet another lie from the BS war over there, it brought up an extra point of discussion, which is would it kill him anyway even if it did hit, after going so far. Many soldiers wear some protective gear, but then we decided to remove them from our chat, which is how the average person walks around, not wearing a helmet, bulletproof vest and such.
So if we were shot, hit in the torso, at what range is it not going to kill us.
Last night even more joined into the conversation, i think there was 13 of us at one point talking about it.
Ken, said he would be our test dummy to throw bullets at, so we did.

 

[Small Lady]

Sounds like our former neighbours before they relocated their house...by means of detonation.....except they used crazy carpets and horses....that's a whole different lot of alcohol infused crazy....roll out a little more tangle foot and barbwire....

I do these things sober.

 

[Bob Milek]

Can a 22 lr hitting the average adult male in the stomach be lethal at 1500 yards for example?

Or same scenario but a 6.5 creed at 4500 yards?

There's got to be a point where even if it does hit them, all it would do is **** them off.

In regards to the 22lr, it would probably be a better question as to whether you could hit a man in the stomach at that range. The arc that would have to be put on the round to cover that distance would mean the bullet was traveling at an acute angle on the down side of the arc that it would probably have to pass through the face or chest to hit the abdomen. However, theoretically it would probably gain enough momentum on the fall to penetrate the abdomen if it did hit only there. 22 can be fickle however. We had a family friend shot in the side of the head through an open car window from about 5' in downtown Denver years ago. The bullet traveled up along the skull and came back out through the skin about 2/3 of the way across the top of his head. Go figure.

 

[del2les]

For various calibers, bullets, and such, when approximately do they no longer have the energy left to be lethal?
This is a very general question I'm aware.
Not looking for very specific answers, but in general, using regular ammunition, and if you were to actually hit a person, would it no longer kill them. Again hitting them say mid mass, not perfectly in the eye and entering their brain.

Just want your guesses is all, for everything from say a regular 22 long rifle, up to 50 caliber.
Again lets not get to stuck on the perfect answers.

And could even a 50 cal kill an average adult male at over 4100 yards, even if not wearing anything protective like say a vest.

There is no general answer to such a broad range of variables, but to your last question of a 50BMG killing at 4100yds, the answer is a resounding YES. Even at that range, it still impacts with the muzzle energy of a 357mag, and while I am not a pure proponent of energy, it retains sufficient momentum to penetrate and cause substantial tissue damage.

 

[jessej]

I do these things sober.

For your adventurous friends…..

 

[shaughn]

Then there is jousting for those of the equestrian bent who like to know what it feels like to be a sardine...or want to pretend they are a the tin man from the wizard of oz...

 

[Sealesniper]

If you run your ballistics on your load, I will not shoot at a deer sized game animal at ranges where my energy is under 850 foot pounds. Honestly I don't shoot when I am less than 1100 foot pounds, but conventional wisdom and ethics seem to say that 850 is the absolute bottom.

 

[model 700]

For various calibers, bullets, and such, when approximately do they no longer have the energy left to be lethal?
This is a very general question I'm aware.
Not looking for very specific answers, but in general, using regular ammunition, and if you were to actually hit a person, would it no longer kill them. Again hitting them say mid mass, not perfectly in the eye and entering their brain.

Just want your guesses is all, for everything from say a regular 22 long rifle, up to 50 caliber.
Again lets not get to stuck on the perfect answers.

And could even a 50 cal kill an average adult male at over 4100 yards, even if not wearing anything protective like say a vest.

I read that an ethically killed deer is roughly and minimally 800 lbs. of kinetic energy. Now that said no matter what rifle or bullet, just check your ballistics. Like my 7mm Mag. Shooting a 139 gr. bullet it shows at just over 600yds. I have around 900 lbs. of ethical killing power give or take. So I guess you can do the same with your rifle and loads and see what the minimum is. Just a thought

 

[epags]

When they bounce off a leather jacket.

But I live in California and all we wear here are shorts and tee shirts.

 

[Small Lady]

So at least it is plausible that a 50 cal from more than 4100 yards, could kill a human.
So while personally I don't think that soldier actually hit the other soldier, if he had, it could plausibly be lethal if not just an arm or leg shot.
For those asking me if I plan to super long range hunt animals, the answer is no.
I will never be attempting a 2 plus mile shot at anything.
Actually won't be trying a 1 mile shot at anything alive, possibly in the future, just for fun, maybe an old sheet of plywood.
We all have our own definition of long range shooting, and for me that number is currently 300 yards. Someday that may change, and I may feel long range is 400 yards, even 500.
But for now, anything past 300 yards i call long range shooting.
I've practiced as far out as 1000 yards, lets just say no squirrels that I were to ever intentionally hunt, need worry if they are 1000 yards away.
No I don't hunt squirrels, or anything else at 1000 yards, that was a joke.
I can on a 0 wind day hit about 25% of the beer cans I shoot at from 800 yards.
My goal is 20 beers, with 20 shots, at 800 yards, I'm not even close to reaching that goal yet.
Right now if shooting my 7 prc, on a fairly calm wind day, I feel 100% confident hunting up to 400 yards. Meaning that I would squeeze the trigger at any legal moose, deer, bison, I went hunting at that distance. My goal is quick kills, not wounding them, to run away.