one of those mystery writer question ....

[pam123]

If you were going to shoot someone with a nail gun how much range would you have ?
4 ft ? 10 ft ?

[HAL9000]

Depends electric (are there electric?) or pneumatic which would depend on the air pressure.

[pam123]

I was thinking something along the lines of a pneumatic nailer unless you can put a nail through someone with and electrical one (Yes there are and they can be charged and carried around as portable but I'm not sure they have much power, not that you should get your hand in the way to check.).

[rjfvillarosa]

Why not a Hilti gun?
Shooting someone witha Hilti gun would give them an extremely bad day. Hilti guns are used to shoot nails into concrete and steel so, unobstructed by concrete or steel I should imagine they would fire the nail a great distance.

[pam123]

My, my, never heard of them but certainly a possibility.
Thanks RJ I'll check them out.

[Lespaul20]

The pneumatic guns I'll used could easily stick into you from 10 feet. I caught a ricochet from about 10 foot. I was wearing a Carhart so it didn't really hurt but I sure felt it. The pneumatic gun usually operate around 90-120 psi. Now the thing rjfvillarosa is talking about use a modified .22 cartridge and they are pretty loud, especially in an enclosed space.

[pam123]

Hadn't thought about the noise angle.
Thanks.

[rjfvillarosa]

University College Cardiff is made up of very old Victorian buildings and is part of what is known as Cardiff Civic Centre (all old Victorian stone built buildings).
After the Second World War there was obviously shortages of materials and skilled labour, so in order to accomodate the expanding University, some temporary buildings were errected in part of the car park. These temporary buildings were known as "The Black Box" and even though they were only made of wood and possible thin metal skins they lasted well into the 1970's.
One day my ex Father inlaw (God rest his soul) who was senior chemistry lecturer at the time was in a meeting in one of the rooms of the "Black Box" when a colleague let out a fair old scream as he put it. Some renovation work was being carried out on the National Museum next door and it seems that a nail from a Hilti gun had missed it's target, traveled across the compound, penetrated the wall of the "Black Box" (wood or thin sheet metal) and not penetrated, but gone through the leg of one of his colleagues..

[pam123]

Originally Posted by rjfvillarosa University College Cardiff is made up of very old Victorian buildings and is part of what is known as Cardiff Civic Centre (all old Victorian stone built buildings). After the Second World War there was obviously shortages of materials and skilled labour, so in order to accomodate the expanding University, some temporary buildings were errected in part of the car park. These temporary buildings were known as "The Black Box" and even though they were only made of wood and possible thin metal skins they lasted well into the 1970's. One day my ex Father inlaw (God rest his soul) who was senior chemistry lecturer at the time was in a meeting in one of the rooms of the "Black Box" when a colleague let out a fair old scream as he put it. Some renovation work was being carried out on the National Museum next door and it seems that a nail from a Hilti gun had missed it's target, traveled across the compound, penetrated the wall of the "Black Box" (wood or thin sheet metal) and not penetrated, but gone through the leg of one of his colleagues..

Ouch!

I have a high ambient noise level, it's a construction sight after all, but I think a rifle crack followed by a scream would be noticed.
On the other hand, with the Hilti gun head shots become possible from the next room and through the wall.
The question becomes accuracy.
RJ's wall was thin but if it goes through concrete support pilings ....
How far away could you be to be sure you hit who you aimed at ?

[rjfvillarosa]

What type of assassin are we looking at?
Highly trained and motivated killer?
Jilted ex-wife who just wanted to scare?
Opportunist thief?

You mention noise so I am guessing this is premeditated.

[pam123]

This is where the mystery writer grins and says, possibly.
Our building contractor walks around a corner of a noisy site, generally out of view but not out of hearing, of most people on the job.
A few hours later, when no one can get him on his cell phone, someone goes looking for him ....
He was widely disliked .

[rjfvillarosa]

oooohh! excellent. the thick plotens.
So we are looking for a murder that looks like an accident, hence the idea of the nail gun, giving the assassin chance to make a hasty getaway.

[MaxRat]

Depends on the Brand of the nail gun as well as air pressure and the build quality of the gun...

I have a Senco gun that will throw nails out about 10ft-15ft...and they flip all over the place...

Now I also had a Pasloade gun that would stick 16d sinkers in a wall from 25ft away with 110# psi....

I have tested a few different nailers and staplers in my day...

[Lespaul20]

Originally Posted by MaxRat Now I also had a Pasloade gun that would stick 16d sinkers in a wall from 25ft away with 110# psi....

Pasloade's are the one's I've dealt with. I'll verify that claim also. They can shoot 100+ feet but aren't lethal to that distance.

Pasloades are also made in a town close to where I grew up.