Yeah, Hatcher's Notebook has some words on that matter. One dark night I fired a couple of .357s straight up on the Grasslands, relying on P<scary.
Finally heard one coming down with an oscillating whirring sound, then a faint plop. Don't remember for sure what the time was. Seems like it was less than a minute. Went back to my camper to finish my beer.
Checked by daylight, no holes in roof.
I've also fired an ounce of birdshot ( 6, 7-1/2 ? ) straight up. Sounded like a brief rain coming down through the trees. We heard at least one pellet hitting my buddy's truck but we never found a mark on it. That one was pretty safe, but I'm not sure I'd want to pull it off with a load of buckshot.
As far as I know, Hatcher never put any of his extensive Ordnance Dept experiments on you tube, and neither have I, so I reckon replications of these experiments in front of a camera are worthwhile.
Terry