Nail Gun

[outerlimits]

Yesterday the local SWAT team was called in to confront some idiot that discharged his nail gun at a couple duty types. I'm curious what the effective range is for a nail gun? I'm sure there will be a 15 day wait to buy them soon.

[kimel]

Depends a LOT on the nail gun, type of nail being used, etc.

Don't ask how I know this but a framing nail gun with cut head nails will effectively disable a radio/cassette player spewing annoying music on a job site from 10 - 15 feet once the safety is disabled. As I recall, it only took a half-dozen "shots" once windage and elevation was dialed in. Of course this was 20+ years ago. They may have improved this aspect of nail guns since that time.

The nail itself is not ballistically stable in the first place so to get it to do much in terms of "sticking in" pointy end first at any distance is really based a lot on luck. Finish nails seemed, in limited testing long ago, to be more stable than nails with a "head" on them...as one might suspect.

[wi shooter]

Roofing nails will ALWAYS put a hole in a co-workers soda can up to around 30 feet

[AlamoShooter]

The nails to wory about are the Framing nails =3" If you have the foam 3/4" foil wrap on a home the nail will completely penetrate ( if it enters) near strait on from over 30 feet away . If the nail hits sideways the nail will not.

some of the gas fired guns use Butane and a igniter to power the gun. most use an air hose.

Its kind of easy to back up out of Air hose range. But I suppose a nail to the neck could make you bleed out and to the eye would be bad.

Its not uncommon for the plunger safety to be disconnected on a framing gun

The back of the nail with the head weighs more than the tip = so it tumbles in flight if it flys more than a few feet

From 20 feet away with cheep sun glasses , I would not feel in danger.

Edited May 18, 2010 by AlamoShooter

[Brian Gonsalves]

I know that an 1 1/2" finish nail can fly 50 feet with a serious result!

23 years ago while working at a cabinet shop, a co-worker shot a finish nail at me from a distance of 50 feet. I was in the process of unloading the tools from my truck, just as I turned to walk into the shop the nail struck my right eye. After 10 surguries the vision in that eye is 20/400, I'm basicly blind in my right eye. Once in a while someone will notice when I shoot 3-gun that i shoot my handgun right-handed and longguns left-handed.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Brian Gonsalves

[mlmiller1]

Finish nails will travel fairly stable a long ways. They quite often stick point first in whatever they hit. Unless it is something very soft, like an eyeball for example, they don't stick deep or penetrate much at all. Like others say, framing nails are very unstable. You can "launch" or mortar them in from across an empty lot but that is just a shot in the dark, so to speak. Once upon a time, way back, we took a Hilti tool which shoots a nail from wood into concrete or into steel & pulled the safety back, fired it across two empty lots & it hit a fence picket hard enough to break a hole in it. It is also an unstable projectile but it uses a powder charge for quite a lot of power, this one used a .27 cal blank to fire a 3" nail.

These were all what I consider very dangerous things I did back when I was younger & dumber. It would scare me for fear of an eyeball accident like Brian above or ...........who knows what so I don't do that crazy stuff anymore. Just glad we made it through unscathed way back then.

I've also seen plenty of accidents with nail guns. One through a knee, one into an eye--fortunately did no permanent damage, several into hands & fingers & even a shoe--missed the foot. Even talked with a guy who nailed his hand into a ridge board with a gun, hanging him up on the roof of a second story house. He was working by himself, had to drop the nail gun through the rafters, reach his hammer with his offhand & use it to pry the nail out of his hand. Then drag himself down two ladders, to the doctor. Dangerous tools but I can't hardly do without them anymore.

MLM

[smokshwn]

Hang in the ER for a while. I can tell you at contact distance the ballistics can get pretty impressive

[JimmyZip]

I was in the construction business in the late 80s before MADD ended tailgaiting after work, and have worked off and on in a cabinet/furniture/fab shop since then along with other varied things. I still work with both finish and framing nailers, hand to gun staplers, and various other nailing/screwing devices. As has been stated, finish nails are the most potent for distance. But, I have seen more psople nail themselves to things or just plain nailed period with your typical Hitachi/Senco framing nailer than anything else. Contact with something while the trigger is bepressed is the #1 reason. Luckily though I have yet to see a serious injury that was life changing. Did see a guy wet himself though.

[Caspian_45]

Ground squirrel @ 30 feet DRT. He ran, but died tired. Took better than half a clip of nails (60 nails to a clip). Our Senco Frame Pro 600 will shoot real fast. The problem with flying nails is they start tumbling real quick. They will fly a longggggggg way but always tumbling. If you shoot enough of them you can get one to stick in wood at 30+ feet.