BLOWN UP HAND!!!

19 October 2008, 13:35

Edmond

BLOWN UP HAND!!!

quote:
Originally posted by D Humbarger:
quote:
8mm Lebel round dated around 1900 that fired after 15 seconds

Were you able to stay on target that long Edmond?

No, I stood on target for 2 or 3 seconds then laid the rifle on the table.
The first time I shot centerfire rifles was with a collector who shot only old Lebel and Berthier rifles and carbines, I never forgot the rounds he dug out on battlefields that were duds or hangfires.

20 October 2008, 20:27

swampshooter

I personally have a friend that has a .38 spec. bullet lodged next to his heart. The round was thrown in a campfire by some 6 year old children who didn't know any better. I hope some of you aren't able to pass this belief on, that cooked off rounds won't even penetrate paper. I can't believe there are people who consider themselves experienced shooters that aren't any smarter than a first grader.

24 October 2008, 22:30

Doubless

quote:
I personally have a friend that has a .38 spec. bullet lodged next to his heart. The round was thrown in a campfire by some 6 year old children who didn't know any better. I hope some of you aren't able to pass this belief on, that cooked off rounds won't even penetrate paper. I can't believe there are people who consider themselves experienced shooters that aren't any smarter than a first grader.

That is a very interesting post... I am not about to tell you it can't happen, but what you are talking about defies physics.

I just weighed a .38 Special case, and it weighs right at 68 grains... If you figure the lightest projectile you can get for a .38 weighs 110 grains, there is a definite mis-match: almost a 2:1 weight difference. It appears to me that there is more inertia to be overcome for the projectile to move than the case. Having said that, I have to wonder how the bullet flew out of the fire and hit your friend in the chest, when the case is much lighter and would be more easily propelled than the bullet. And that doesn't take into account that the overwhelming majority of handgun brass is just that: brass. Pretty soft metal...

Again: not saying it didn't happen, just wondering how, when it seems to me to defy the laws of physics.

25 October 2008, 06:20

elathe

quote:
Originally posted by swampshooter:
I personally have a friend that has a .38 spec. bullet lodged next to his heart. The round was thrown in a campfire by some 6 year old children who didn't know any better. I hope some of you aren't able to pass this belief on, that cooked off rounds won't even penetrate paper. I can't believe there are people who consider themselves experienced shooters that aren't any smarter than a first grader.

That is the official story. You need to ask what the real story is. Unless someone has repealed the laws of physics he has something else stuck in his chest or it was fired out of a gun.

25 October 2008, 23:30

El Deguello

quote:
Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
quote:
Originally posted by steve box:
The range master said he pulled the triger, nothing happened, he opened the bolt, shell roles out in his hand and blows up his hand big time!!!.

I would have to say I believe the range-master is probably mistaken about the sequence of events.

I can understand his hand being severely damaged if the round went off just as the shooter got the bolt to the unlocked position but had not extracted it from the chamber yet.

At that point the cartridge would still be confined and the ignition of the cartridge could drive the Russian rifle's stubby little bolt handle back with enough force to literally tear his thumb almost off.

But the round in his hand? Not gonna explode. Not sufficiently confined. Test it yourself. Put a cartridge in a saucepan, cover the sucepan with a sheet of paper. Set the saucepan over a fire and jump behind a tree. Wait til the heat fires the cartridge. It won't even penetrate the paper, nor will it sound like a cartridge firing....more like a big hiss as the powder burns, the case neck expands a little, and the gas pressure escapes, all simultaneously.

I'm not actually suggesting you try that, but exactly that and similar "cook-off" tests have been conducted by both the NRA and the ammo manufacturers to meet government info requirements. The cartridges do NOT penetrate even thin paper. Not the bullet or any other part of them. That's why they can be shipped without having to pay hazmat fees.

Now, maybe if the Russians loaded the ammo with C-4 especially for some insurgents to steal and use.......

I agree! Unconfined, the round will first make a projectile out of the cartridge case. The bullet will just lie there. Then the rest of the powder charge will burn, just as if a case full of powder were to be dumped in an ashtray and lit with a match. Only if a round were loaded with BLACK POWDER or a high explosive would it actually burst a cartridge case AFTER being completely removed from the chamber... Unless there's something mighty unusual about that ammunition!! Like the C-4 as mentioned above....

05 November 2008, 05:13

700varmint

It won't even penetrate the paper, nor will it sound like a cartridge firing....more like a big hiss as the powder burns, the case neck expands a little, and the gas pressure escapes, all simultaneously.

Must be why firefighters dont get shot when fighting a house fire and ammo cooks off. i agree 100%

23 November 2008, 19:16

Oddbod

.22rf inside a thin aluminium beer can goes of with a "crack" when thrown onto a fire but doesn't penetrate the can.
7.62x51 makes a louder noise & the case makes a bigger dent in the can than the bullet does.

I can vouch for this personally because sometimes I did some (potentially) dumb things.