Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A-10

What's the deal with the depleated uranium round ammunition? How depleated is it? Does it remain minimally radioactive?

Raeford, those routes are pre-approved tracks along the ground for military planes to do low-altitude practice bombing or reconnaissance missions. They are published on aeronautic charts so other pilots (in bug smashers) can avoid them. Not that they all do. There's a low-level route that ends at a canyon mouth only a mile from my house. In addition to the F-16s and now F-35s that scream out of that pass regularly, lots of Cessna and helicopter drivers fly down that canyon, too.

When Pugs says he flew them at 500 feet and 500 knots, that's 500 nautical miles per hour, or 575 of the statute miles per hour you're used to. In other words, he was down in the grass, haulin' ass.

I know of one route we used to fly out of Oceana that took us south along the mountain ridge towards Christiansburg before turning east. I recall it because we had a large part fall off during a turn where we cut through a gap in the mountain ridge. Oops... Some hunter or farmer probably found it one day and wondered what the hell it was!

Thanks Rocky,
While we are in the mountains we sure don't have canyons over on this side of the country.
Our house is 3/4's of the way down a mountain facing SE. I love it when they come flying over[low & fast].
We'll get about a 1-2 second warning and by the time I can look up they're overhead and then gone. They are usually low enough to make the house rattle.

Thanks to all of you guys for doing what you do or have done!

I live in Christiansburg, work in Radford[by the river].
Thanks

Nice My daughter went to Radford and now lives in Riner. I'm down there often.

I think it was VR-043. Can't be certain though.

https://www.milais.org/flipdvd/1701/planningdocs/MTR/EASTERN%20CHART%20(NORTHERN%20AREA)%205%20JAN%202017.pdf

Yes, several routes through there. Often through WV then left through VA to NC.

I've been used as practice by several A10's as I drive across Ga 94 southeast of Moody AFB . They drop down into the clearcuts and pop up over the plantation tree line and drop the nose on me for a second. It would be terrible to be the real thing ! Never in sight for more than a couple of seconds before they find some cover to hide themselves. It has to be fun flying them and practicing sneaking around on the deck and surprising targets.

DU is extremely dense, so it penetrates like a mofo. It is mildly radioactive but it's greatest health risk is that it's a toxic heavy metal.

From wiki: Depleted uranium is favored for the penetrator because it is self-sharpening and flammable. On impact with a hard target, such as an armored vehicle, the nose of the rod fractures in such a way that it remains sharp. The impact and subsequent release of heat energy causes it to ignite. When a DU penetrator reaches the interior of an armored vehicle, it catches fire, often igniting ammunition and fuel, killing the crew and possibly causing the vehicle to explode

I am betting those on the ground would love it even a little more if instead of trying to kill it, the brass and others would support enhancing some ground support capabilities.

I think some dislike it because the A-10 driver can to get in there fairly quickly and when needed and mix it up.

Thanks 458

I'm in a C-130 unit in Charlotte, we fly up to Virginia often. I'm from that area and many times Intruders and Hornet's buzzed us while fishing on the New River. Radford University had to ask them to stop using the dorms as a target.