Maybe they can prove it from the land/groove information? Seems like the dimensions of that ought to be fairly specific.

But they should be able to zero in on the area, at least within a couple hundred yards maybe. They have the impact point, the entry on the roof, that's two points, if it's an AK-17, you have general speed too. I've seen this done on "Forensic Files", incredibly, they found a bullet in a field than had been shot upwards, through a roof. (and a guys head I think)

People doing this are just so stupid. I'd like to fire a round, like a tracer up in the air, but not knowing it's going to come down somewhere where it might hit a populated area. But no matter what, I just don't feel like firing off guns on New Years. Just doesn't do it for me.

Poor kid. Just sitting there minding his own business. Poor mother too.


http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/boy-most ... 64997.html


The 4-year-old boy shot and killed while in church, apparently by New Year’s Eve revelers, most likely was hit by a bullet fired from a rifle, said a firearms expert Saturday.

“I would suspect this was a rifle. An AK-47. That’s the most prolific [weapon found] downtown,â€

How hard is it to shoot down?

They can know it is 7.62x39 really easily and then just assume it is an AK because over 99% of 7.62x29 is from an AK.

Shooting guns in the air for celebration seems to be a tradition in South American and Central American countries.

This is super tragic. Unbearable.

I cannot imagine keeping a four year old up at midnight but that is another point and I don't mean to say there is any blame on the mother.

The middle eastern countries seem to be really up on this sort of thing. I guess they're not into buying fireworks much. Noise is noise I guess they see it.


Sucks when you can't even sit inside a building and not worry about getting shot.


She was one of the few mothers really trying to bring her kid up the right way too, keep him out of gangs and stuff. Just really sucks.

I think this will be one of the few I make a donation too.

Well, I feel bedtime is bedtime and night-time parties are for adults.

We always wanted to stay up for New Years. Hardly ever made it.

And don't forget, she was at a church service, not a "party" really.

This seems to happen a lot in Atlanta. I don't think we have the concept in the North East.

Seems like LA, Miami, Dallas, and Atlanta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire

I have two stray bullets that wizzed by me and hit the ground by my feet when I was guarding a prison in iraq. One 7.62x39 one 7.62x51.
Had a prisioner get hit by one in the shoulder. A few stuck in the roof of one of the cells. My buddy also had one land near him

they celebrate every thing by shooting into the air

rsilvers wrote:This seems to happen a lot in Atlanta. I don't think we have the concept in the North East.

Seems like LA, Miami, Dallas, and Atlanta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire

I'm from the North East but the first time that I heard about celebratory gunfire I was in the Detroit area, New Years Eve in 1988 or 89, and there were warnings everywhere about the bullets coming back down! I stayed indoors that night!

Well, it is not statistically necessary to stay indoors for that. At most 1 or 2 people in the USA will get hit on New Years from that. On any day 113 people will die in car accidents. So you should be 100 times more afraid to drive in a car on any given day.

What is it with people and noise around the holidays, three weeks before Christmas a fireworks stand opened on the road leading out of town here and some people were shooting them for Christmas and then of course for New Years.
With people getting hit by stray rounds from shooting in the air you'd think they would put articles in the newspapers ahead of time to warn folks against it, I remember years back in so. conn.a few folks would get hit or find bullet holes in there homes and the paper ran the articles before each holiday along with passing laws against shooting inside city limits and that stopped it. (about 60 or so years back)

Why are people so stupid/irresponsible shooting guns in the air.

I feel bad for the parents.

They should just ban more guns.

rsilvers wrote:Shooting guns in the air for celebration seems to be a tradition in South American and Central American countries.

Very true, and unfortunate. It took me quite a while to convince my dad and my bodyguards to shoot at a proper backstop or the ground on these occasions. But fortunately they listened after we found a bullet that had pierced the sheet-metal roof of our garage last Christmas or so. They finally realized that a bullet does come down hard enough to kill.

LavaRed wrote:

rsilvers wrote:Shooting guns in the air for celebration seems to be a tradition in South American and Central American countries.

Very true, and unfortunate. It took me quite a while to convince my dad and my bodyguards to shoot at a proper backstop or the ground on these occasions. But fortunately they listened after we found a bullet that had pierced the sheet-metal roof of our garage last Christmas or so. They finally realized that a bullet does come down hard enough to kill.

Bodyguards. They just don't listen.

Here in America, you can buy Ramset blanks at any hardware store. Put them into a 22 revolver and blast them into the midnight sky for entertainment.

No reason for this tragedy. I have a 4 year old son. Reading this makes me fell things not easily articulable.

I have never understood the shooting skyward at midnight on New Years either. I guess the cost of ammo was always an issue with me.
I was at a friends house one time when they all decided to shoot at midnight but nothing went into the sky. The bullet back stop at his little range caught every bullet.........

I often shoot on New Years, Christmas, and the 4th of July. But I go to the range and shoot normally.

[quote="MicroGuy"]
“I would suspect this was a rifle. An AK-47. That’s the most prolific [weapon found] downtown,â€

In the media, there is no difference between an AK-47 and any gun that looks like an AK, but operates in a semi-auto fashion. An AR-15 is just a different name for an M16. So you're probably right, but in the media's own way, they're right too.

On the plus side, is it possible that because of the media's technical error AK-47s will be regulated by the ATF? Maybe driving up their costs a little bit and limiting their availability, but making it safer to be outside?

Joking aside, I'd love it if it miraculously turned out to be a bolt-action. For whatever reason the concept a shooting a scoped bolt-action up into the air for celebration reasons is funny to me. Do you even aim? I have a 4.5-14 on my .17 HMR, do I aim at a particular astral body? I don't even think it would matter since my .17 is zeroed at 100 yards and not 2 million light years. I'll never be able to hit an astral body because of that. What's the hold-over for 2 million light years anyway? The only wind is in our atmosphere, so I'll hold 2 inches to the left, and seventy-eight billion miles high.

An AR15 is just a different name for an M16.

That is what it was called before the military issued an M number to it.

Just like M9 vs Beretta 92.

I get that. However, I can't go to Academy sports stores and buy an M16 - but I can buy an AR-15.

Why are you being difficult about this anyway?

I am being difficult because while I have a problem with calling a semi auto AK an assault rifle, I don't have a problem with calling a semi auto AK an AK.

But yes, I would never call a semi auto AR15 or even a fully-auto AR15 an M16.

So the question is - am I just wrong and should re-adjust my thinking, or can I keep on calling my semi auto AKs AKs?

I feel like the anti-gunners are forcing me to adjust my loose terminology. I have relied on context rather than words to convey that a semi auto AK is different than a fully auto AK and suddenly I have to be more precise.

If a semi-auto AK is not an AK, what is it?