Interesting discussion. I would like to clarify what seems to be a common misconception however.
A bullet fired straight up in the air will be just as lethal on its return to earth. I learned this in high school physics. It may lose velocity fast, but the power it had initially will send it high enough so that its acceleration due to gravity matches its initial velocity. (think about terminal velocity, except that a bullet has much higher terminal velocity than a gun can provide). Think of a ball. The higher you throw it (more power) the harder it falls. The air resistance also is not a factor because it experiences the same resistance on the way up. Theoretically the same physics apply to a bullet traveling in an arc (fired beyond parallel to the ground) but in this case wind resistance would slow the bullets forward velocity (but its vertical velocity would be the same at the end).
Anyway that is how I understood it, I didn't mean to misinterpret anything anyone said, but I do want to stress that firing bullets into the air is a bad idea.
A bullet fired straight up in the air will be just as lethal on its return to earth. I learned this in high school physics. It may lose velocity fast, but the power it had initially will send it high enough so that its acceleration due to gravity matches its initial velocity. (think about terminal velocity, except that a bullet has much higher terminal velocity than a gun can provide). Think of a ball. The higher you throw it (more power) the harder it falls. The air resistance also is not a factor because it experiences the same resistance on the way up. Theoretically the same physics apply to a bullet traveling in an arc (fired beyond parallel to the ground) but in this case wind resistance would slow the bullets forward velocity (but its vertical velocity would be the same at the end).
Anyway that is how I understood it, I didn't mean to misinterpret anything anyone said, but I do want to stress that firing bullets into the air is a bad idea.