• this_1_is_mine@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Not to be nit picky but point blank is “within lethal range”. If it can kill you it is within point blank range. You could be half a mile away and still be within point blank range.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      According to Oxford Dictionary (via Google), point blank means “very close”. This would be the layman’s definition.

      The official definition (per Wikipedia) is close enough to not have to compensate for the effects of gravity on the bullet when aiming.

      So no, it’s not “within lethal range”.

      • this_1_is_mine@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        https://www.hunter-ed.com/muzzleloader/studyGuide/Understanding-Maximum-Point-Blank-Range/222099_88863/

        I dont give a flying fuck about popluar usage since litereally can mean literally not literally.

        https://www.quora.com/How-far-is-point-blank-range

        Taking something I didn’t write to extrapolate on the words.

        "Defined, point blank range is the range at which you don’t need to aim high or low to hit your aiming point. Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) is simply the farthest end of that distance.

        Point-blank range will vary by a weapon’s external ballistic characteristics and target chosen. A weapon with a flatter trajectory will permit a longer maximum point-blank range for a given target size, while a larger target will allow a longer point-blank range for a given weapon. In popular usage, point-blank range has come to mean extremely close range with a firearm, yet not close enough to be a contact shot.

        For instance, “point blank range” for a handgun may be up to 25 yards if the gun has been sighted in to hit the target at that range when aimed. For a hunting rifle, that distance may be 100 yards or 200 yards, depending on which distance the rifle’s sights are adjusted.

        Bullets typically fly in an arc from the muzzle and descend to their target due to air resistance and gravity. The chart below shows the trajectory of a .30–30 cartridge where the rifle is “zeroed” to hit at 200 yards. Note the point of impact is higher at 100 yards and falls off rapidly after 200 yards. If you wanted to hit a target at 300 yards, you’d have to aim about 17.4″ high with the gun sighted in for 200 yards.

        The “rise” at 100 yards isn’t huge, so if you’re just trying to hit an 8″ diameter target at 100 yards you could do so without aiming high or low (point blank). But if your target is small, about 2–3″ across, your “point blank” range narrows to a zone that is at 200 yards ±10–15 yards.

        In terms of popular usage, however, it means you’re shooting a weapon at a distance were you almost “can’t miss” but the distance is greater than a contact shot.

        For a large gun, like the Rheinmetall Rh-120 (US M256), a 120mm smoothbore anti-tank gun with an effective range of up to 8000 meters, point blank may be on the order of 1000–1100 meters if bore-sighted to a large target like a building."

        So… You could be with in 2 feet or 200 feet depending on sighting already calibrated… You could be 10 feet from a air rifle… You could be 100 With a handgun and 500 with a rifle. And have it still be “qualified” as point blank. Its a sensationalist use of the phrase. Try using different ones. That mean what your trying to convey. Like murdered from close enough to have touched.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Hey folks, not that y’all seem to need it with the way the votes are. But your friendly local Combat Vet here confirming this guy and Quora are once again, full of shit. The aim point definition is for the closer of the two points in a ballistic trajectory. Most Western militaries zero their rifles at about 25 meters and have a corresponding point at about 300/400 meters. The far end of the arc is in no way point blank and most soldiers will have trouble hitting it. 25 meters is point blank and if you can’t properly identify people at 25 meters then you need to be removed from the military.

      • this_1_is_mine@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Who’s defending what now. I just want people to use the correct wording. Stop using words you think you know. Keep it simpler. I’m so tired of reading trigger words just because they help the Luddites.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Point blank by civilian definition is barrel close enough to the skin for the flash to burn it. By military definition it’s about 25 meters. You’re the one fucking with semantics to defend war crimes.

    • Bazoogle@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      “Not to be nit picky” proceeds to nit pick and be wrong about the subject you’re nit picking…

      • Merrium Webster: a: marked by no appreciable drop below initial horizontal line of flight; b: so close to a target that a missile fired will travel in a straight line to the mark

      • Cambridge: aimed or fired directly at from a close position

      • Dictionary.com: aimed or fired straight at the mark especially from close range; direct.

      Imagine a journalist using a dictionary.