Here’s Why You Can’t Shoot Down A Chinese Spy Balloon, Even In Texas

Some people like to wear their idiocy like a ten-gallon hat.

I have already seen people write something to the effect of, "If one of dem goldarn Chinese spy balloons comes' 'round here I'll shoot it my own damn self". No. Actually, you won't.

Let's start here. The Chinese  Balloon (yeah, probably a spy balloon, but let's wait for some facts) was 60,000 feet in the air. That's over eleven miles in the air (11.36 and change).

I'm going to assume off the bat that the type of person who would try to do something this dumb would have the most common firearm, a 9mm handgun.  Here's where things get fun, according to Texas Concealed Carry, a 9mm handgun bullet only goes 2400 yards which is a mile and a third (1.36 and change). That leaves you about ten miles short of your target buckaroo.

Now, let's talk about your really rockin' the equipment. You might want to consider that the world record for a sniper shot is 4.4 miles. Now, this was to hit the target, it's safe to say that the bullet would have traveled much farther, but I promise you, it's still not going to go over eleven miles, and still hit its target.

Let's wrap this up with the fact that it's hard to see eleven miles up even on the best of days and that you're also assuming that your measly little bullet would be enough to tear a hole of any consequence in the balloon. You're just not downing a balloon today or any day cowboy, so sit down before you hurt somebody. Let's let the proud men and women of the U.S. Military handle this one.