comment: >
  
  You might get something like 10,000ft give or take out of a .30-06. The balloon is at something like 65,000ft if I remember right.
context: Funniest line / most realistic part from Independence Day: a quick pan across a TV newscast announcing "Police are once again asking residents not to shoot at the alien aircraft." >
  
  if I recall the graphic was a hand gun too. Like that's gonna make it up there. >
  
  A 9mm is probably going to shoot at a maximum of around 4000 feet.  A far cry of the height here.  As well a hand gun's bullets are a bit less stable than a rifle and that roughly 4000 is a perfect system weight / energy calculation.  Probably not over 1500 feet altitude with instability and angle being much less than 90 degrees. >
  
  Hand guns aside. What about hunting rifle type ammo I'm sure that's what someone would more likely use.