I have actually seen this here in the US. We had a person come into the
hospital a few years back who was struck on New Years. What happens is that
the bullet has less energy than directly from the gun. It still has plenty
of energy though to cause damage. Whereas the high energy of a direct shot
tends to cause the bullet to fragment and cause an excessive amount of
adjacent damage as it dissipates it energy, the lower velocity of a falling
bullet can still penetrate the body ( including the skull) but the bullet
tends to stay intact and the amount of adjacent damage is significantly less
as there is less energy to dissipate. It may cause minor or major damage
depending on where it strikes. If it hits non-critical soft tissues then
extent of the injury is not significant. However, if it hits a critical
structure such as a major artery or critical brain structure, the
consequences can be severe. Luckily, we don't see much of that here in the
US.


Barry



"Dean" wrote in message
...
This is sort of metalwork - it involves lead. I was watching the Iraqies
celebrating the capture of Saddam by firing their rifles and guns into the
air. How dangerous are the bullets coming down ? I know they fall back
much
slower than they leave the gun barrel, but they must still be doing a fair
clip. They said 4 people so far have been killed by this but I guess in
Iraq
its hard to know which bullets came from where. As a few of you know about
guns I thought I'd ask here.

Dean.

( I notice they said Saddam was found in a rat infested hidey hole. I bet
the rats are glad he's moved out of the neighbourhood ! )