The distance it will travel is a product of the height it rises to and the velocity.
They did some forensic testing of HANDGUN bullets at our crime lab, and they would only rise to 30" height regardless of the caliber and at various angles. This has forensic value in telling if a bullet ricocheted or was direct fire, and may have some value in determining how high a rifle bullet rises, I don't know.
I also was taught a technique as follows: If you're recieving fire from a position at the end of a wall (like an alley, for example) you can take out the assailant by holding the shotgun at arms length and firing down the wall and the shot (buckshot) will hug the wall more or less. You can return effective fire without exposing yourself.
I don't think a rifle round will go a long way, and the deformed bullet will reduce velocity quickly, but that's just an instinct. You lose a LOT of velocity every time your bullet strikes something and glances off. Depending on the deformed shape of the bullet, which relies on the original construction of the bullet. I think about 50% each time from watching an episode of Mythbusters, which did some ricochet shots to test lethality of myths.
I know this: back a LONG time ago, I was shooting with a buddy wiht a .38 Special, 158 gr. RN, Chief Special 2". I shot at a knot in a dead tree. The bullet apparently hit the knot and came amost straight back, hitting my buddy in the leg, but not with enough velocity to do more than sting a bit. IIRC, he picked up the bullet and kept it. It was smeared at the side of the bullet where it had (again, apparently) hit the side of the knot and then turned almost 180 degrees.
