Sheriff: Ohio man cleaning gun killed Amish girl

Mott the Hoople said:
No, I said "standard atmospheric conditions". If the atmospheric conditions stay the same then 45 degrees would still be the optimal angle.
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Again, I don't think that is correct. That is the theoretical best angle when there is no atmosphere, so shoot up at 45 degrees, the projectile rises to an apogee then falls in a return angle of 45 degrees. In the real world with air dragging at the projectile with a force proportional to the square of its speed, upon return the projectile has lost speed so the path is much steeper. So 45 degrees aiming results in a shorter overall distance. I don't know what the optimum angle is, but I'd guess that it is lower than 45 degrees, perhaps 30 or so.
 
DamnYankee said:
Again, I don't think that is correct. That is the theoretical best angle when there is no atmosphere, so shoot up at 45 degrees, the projectile rises to an apogee then falls in a return angle of 45 degrees. In the real world with air dragging at the projectile with a force proportional to the square of its speed, upon return the projectile has lost speed so the path is much steeper. So 45 degrees aiming results in a shorter overall distance. I don't know what the optimum angle is, but I'd guess that it is lower than 45 degrees, perhaps 30 or so.
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You may be right. That would be interesting to resarch.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Well obviously atmospheric conditions would very but yes, 45 degrees is the opitmal theoretical angle.
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actually it is between 30 and 35 degrees

intuition says 45 degrees but i was told by a ballistics type that it is (i forget the exact angle) between 30 and 35 degrees

the drop off is a function of loss of velocity
 
Something that everyone seems to be forgetting; is that once the projectile loses it's initial velocity, gravity takes over, and at that point it begins to fall.

Myth busters had an entire show regarding this and proved that while it might be a possibility, it is an imporbability.
I'm not saying that there aren't other variables that might come into play and they may not have covered; but after a mile and a half, I would think that almost all of the initial velocity would have disappeared and it would basically be falling in an arc.

Edit: This is odd.
When I go to edit and try to take out the second "velocity", in the first sentence, it doesn't appear.!!
 
Ok. A typical muzzle loader projectile is .54 caliber and around 265 grains in weight. They average about 1200fps for velocity. It would take a fucking HUGE powder charge to propel the such a projectile that far, especially since the 1.5 miles is actually as the crow flies straight, not the total length of the ballistic path. At a 40 degree angle....I think that would about about another 1/4 mile total on the distance traveled.

In short this story is almost certainly BS. The size and weight of the projectile make it near impossible to retain a lethal velocity at that range.
 
What a bunch of ass clown wannabee gun experts. How mant other muzzle loaders were around being fired. Hillarious GED banter!
 
The Dude said:
What a bunch of ass clown wannabee gun experts. How mant other muzzle loaders were around being fired. Hillarious GED banter!
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Yeah Top, I forgot you're an expert in ballistics. Oh woe is me for my use of facts. Never again shall I make such an attempt against an intellect such as yours.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
Something that everyone seems to be forgetting; is that once the projectile loses it's initial velocity, gravity takes over, and at that point it begins to fall.

Myth busters had an entire show regarding this and proved that while it might be a possibility, it is an imporbability.
I'm not saying that there aren't other variables that might come into play and they may not have covered; but after a mile and a half, I would think that almost all of the initial velocity would have disappeared and it would basically be falling in an arc.

Edit: This is odd.
When I go to edit and try to take out the second "velocity", in the first sentence, it doesn't appear.!!
Click to expand...

Its reacting to gravity as soon as it leaves the muzzle. Shot on a horizontal path, a projectile will hit the ground at the same time that a similar object dropped from the same height hits the ground.
 
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