Firearm Distances

Question
Hello,
My friend and I are discussing death from single bullets, and rate of speed at which the bullet must travel to kill(or penetrate the skin). The true question is at further distances can a pistol shot kill someone. I'm not sure of how far a pistol bullet would travel, for instance USP .45, but my guess is that if you were to get hit with a shot from it from over 500 yards away it would not do much damage to you. His theory is that no matter how far the distance if a bullet hits you it will have enough speed/momentum to penetrate the skin.
Any information you have on the subject would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeremy

Answer
Every year around the 4th of July people are killed around Miami from people firing guns into the air. When they've been able to the solve these, the distances are astounding.

A projectile fired straight up it the air will reach the end of its travel and its ballistic integrity will degrade as it falls back to earth at less than 200 fps. This would not be lethal.

However, any deviation from straight up will cause the projectile to maintain a ballistic integrity. The maximum distance will be achieved if the gun is fired at exactly a 45 degree angle. At pistol in .45 ACP fired at that angle would travel more than 500 yards, and depending on where it hit a person, yes, it could be lethal. And yes, if it's still airborn it will penetrate the skin.