[Ant Mod]

My friends and I went shooting on Saturday. We set up targets a ways out and were doing some long range shooting. I decide to see if I can hit any of these targets with my S&W 681 revolver. After missing a few times, I think "well I saw a guy in a movie rest his revolver on his arm for a long range shot." I then procedd to bend my left arm and place the revolver barrel at the elbow where my arm is bent. If you can imagine my arm was at an agnle like this ^ and the revolver barrel placed at the tip.

I then pull the trigger and experience instant pain. Not only from the concussion that hits my face from being so close, but also on my arm. I look at my arm and there are two wholes in my sweatshirt. One hole on the upper part and one large hole on the botoom half. I pull up the sweatshirt and I am bleeding bad. Siince my upper and lower arm where next to the cylinder, the gases blew/burned out and through my sweatshirt and then burned me. Now I have a deep burn on my left forearm. Here are the pictures

[Ant Mod]

ANother one, and there are black pellets from the powder impregnated in my skin that I couldnt get out.

If we ever convert the files you can see the video of me doing it.

[Thumper]

Nice!

[Preacherman]

OUCH!

[Greg L]

:what:

A good story is always more memorable than a good time :D

[Triad]

Yeah, that's nice. The important thing is did you hit the target?

[who me]

Originally posted by Preacherman
OUCH!

ditto

[zahc]

I hate revolvers. They are so crude and inefficent.

[cool45auto]

:what: Dude!

[QuarterBoreGunner]

The second I read "well I saw a guy in a movie rest his revolver on his arm for a long range shot" I could see it coming... I feel for you brother; I've burnt myself plenty of times from cylinder gap flash, but never like that.

[WhoKnowsWho]

I had the same thing happen to my finger, but only with a .22 LR

Just scrub that part after it heals a bit, and the impregnated stuff will come out as the skin replaces itself.

[Standing Wolf]

Hollyweird gets the facts all wrong again—still.

[manwithoutahome]

I knew what was coming when the following words were used:

Saw
Guy
Movie
Gun

:D

There is only one thing that I do when I "saw some guy in a movie with a gun".. IGNORE IT.

But, there was that one time that I... errr.. never mind :D

M

[WonderNine]

Arg, reminds me of my "gun twirl" attempt while "under the influence". I should have saved those pictures, but it's too embarrassing now. :D

I got a little scar from it, probably from picking the scab off too early. The bullet grazed me on the right side and embedded itself in the wall.

[Ant Mod]

A good story is always more memorable than a good time

This is for sure. Expecially since we have it on video. When I pull the trip you hear me go "ohhhhh" in the most pathetic hurt voice. Then you hear my freind say "B is officially an idiot." Its a good laugh now.

[Nightcrawler]

I hate revolvers. They are so crude and inefficent.

The revolver is an elegant weapon, from a more civilized era....

But I'm glad you feel that way. The more people that are into polymer framed "tactical pistols", and look at revolvers with disdain, the more great deals on used revolvers there'll be out there....:evil:

[45Badger]

Do I hear a nomination for "honorable mention" at the next Darwin Awards?

Been (close to) there, (almost) done that, (did not) got the tee shirt (with the bun hole in it:D

YIKES, that musta hurt!

[SASS#23149]

Exactly why I caution cowboy shooters at the loading table to NOT support the cylinder with their lef hand while lowering the hammer to half-cock on colt-type revos.Some get it ,some dont......

Dude,here's yur sign!! :)

[Absolut]

lmao! :p

[Mike Irwin]

You'll likely carry those black flecks for the rest of your life.

I saw a guy cup his hand around the front of the cylinder on a .44 Mag and touch it off before anyone could say anything to him.

His hand looked as if it had been laid open with a filleting knife.

[TonyB]

Some lessons I'm glad others learn for me......:D

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Well, you always wanted a tattoo, didn't you?

At least you learned from the experience and passed on your findings to the uninitiated.


Just remember, stupid lessons are free, but painful. I know you'll exercise better judgement in all your future endeavors, correct?

(ahem...say 'yes, Rabbit' now.)

Glad it wasn't worse. Looks like the worst you're going to suffer is pain for a few more weeks as the dermis regenerates and a nice dark peppery scar to remind you of your youthful indiscretion.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[SnWnMe]

The cyclist in me is telling me to tell you to proudly wear the shooting equivalent of trail rash!

OTOH, as a fellow shooter, I am glad to know that you are otherwise OK.

[gunsmith]

Thanks for letting us know so we can avoid
dangerous situations

[ChickenHawk]

Doh!

[BluesBear]

Now you know why the revolving rifle never really caught on.

[uglymofo]

Ant,

Ya got moxy for even signin' your name to it. I mean, ya didn't say "I saw this guy....."

But damn, boy, I'm still laffin'.:D

[Camel]

I dont know about anyone else but that seems like something I would do. Now Ill remember not to. Thanks for saving me from myself. :D

[Billmanweh]

my advice is to stay away from John Woo movies

:neener:

[Ant Mod]

my advice is to stay away from John Woo movies

You know I think it was a movie with Keifer Sutherland in which he picks up runaways to do his dirty work then shoots them. One of them was running away from hima nd he rested the gun on his arm and shot her.

[Ryder]

I tried one of those long range reclining positions where you lay back on the ground and rest the pistol on your ankle once. Let me emphasize that... ONCE.

Shredded the crap out of my jeans. Burned through the socks a lilttle and it did hurt, but left no mark.

The last girl I taught to shoot tried holding the cylinder of a 22 cal single-six after reloading from her first 6 shots. Lucky for her I was paying good attention. I'd had already warned her about the cylinder gap before the shooting began. She didn't make that mistake the rest of the session. My bark is pretty serious when I am responsible for someone elses safety. :D

[achadwick]

Ant,

That looks bad but it could have been much worse. My brother was shooting his SRH 454 Casull last spring and got his left thumb too close to the cylinder gap. He knew better but got distracted while hunting. Blew the whole front of his thumb off except for a small piece at the nail. He got to the hospital after a 2 hour drive and the doctors sewed his thumb back on. It's still badly discolored and numb at the tip.

[rayjay]

OUCH.....Son of a B%*^&$ that must of hurt. I'm glad you're ok. Reminds of the time I was practicing shooting from the hip with an auto and had the gun too close to my hip....BAM.....OUCH!!! The slide cycled back hard into my hip bone(not a doctor guys). I was holding my side and cursing a blue streak while my buddies were rolling on the ground laughing. :cuss:

Like I said before I glad you're ok and don't worry, we've all made mistakes too.;)

[Wildalaska]

Hey Ant did ya see in "jackass, the Movie", how they used their, hmm lower orifices to launch bottle rockets...

Iwould have been far more impr4essed if life had imitated that art

WildstilllaughingAlaska

[Daniel Watters]

Everyone warns about the effects of barrel porting, but most blithely ignore a revolver's cylinder gap.

[MrPink]

Was once out shooting with a friend and his Colt 1911. A guy we know stops by to talk and my friend offers him to try the Colt. This guy was a good ol boy - hunted with rifles but not much use of handguns. Proceeds to take up a two handed grip, with you guessed it, the left thumb crossed over the right hand. Takes a quick shot before we can say anything and was promptly rewarded with a large bleeding flesh wound.

[HankB]

Just be glad it wasn't a .44, a .454, or something bigger. :rolleyes:

[Hazwaste]

Is this the same Hollywood that says a hit from a 9mm will throw a man back 30 feet through a plate glass window? :rolleyes:

Mr. Pink, my son did that same thing to himself last weekend. I told him to move that thumb away, but did he listen to Dad? Do they ever??? :banghead:

[ysr_racer]

Why would you do ANYTHING you saw on TV. It's make-believe.

[OEF_VET]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one of us who earned himself a dumba$$ award this weekend. Glad to hear you're ok.

Rabbit, stupid lessons aren't always free. I'm dreading the ER bill for my lesson this Sunday. At least insurance will cover most of it.

Frank

[Larry Ashcraft]

I tried one of those long range reclining positions where you lay back on the ground and rest the pistol on your ankle once. Let me emphasize that... ONCE.
When I used to shoot silhouette, I tried that position for a while with my Super Blackhawk (BTW, it's called the Creedmore position). But you'lll notice that the guys who use it will have a shield on their leg. I used a layer of inner tube and two layers of leather from boot tops.

It still felt like someone was hitting me in the leg with a hammer, so I gave it up and went back to prone.

[bogie]

A few years back on Usenet or WWIVnet (maybe 10-12...) there was a fellow who insisted that the absolute best firearm was the Single Action Army in .45LC...

But he insisted that the ammo HAD to be of the lead round nose variety.

We pushed, and we pushed, and we finally got the story.

Turns out he liked to play fast draw.

And he'd shot himself in the foot or the leg.

Twice.

His theory was that a hollow point woulda hurt more.

Doof.

[Mike Kerr]

I am glad you are not hurt seriously. Guns can hurt from several angles besides being in front of the muzzle . Stay safe.

[12-34hom]

Wow, what some people will do to gain a little attention...;)

12-34hom.

[Sunray]

"...I saw a guy in a movie..." Geezuz, were your parents cousins? How many times do you need to be told the stuff you see in movies is not real. Nor is any technique real. It's a movie. Second and Third degree burns are not fun. And why if hell would you tell the world about your foray into stupidity? If nobody sees it, it doesn' t count. Until you brag about it.

[Ant Mod]

And why if hell would you tell the world about your foray into stupidity? If nobody sees it, it doesn' t count. Until you brag about it.

Its humorous that it happened, it was stupid what I did, it doesnt make me stupid, maybe someone will learn from it, and finallymy freinds where there to see it and we have it on tape. Brag about it? Only to the girls I meet..........

[Hazwaste]

"Geezuz, were your parents cousins?"

I'm appreciative of the original poster; it took a lot of guts to admit doing something stupid. Mentioning it on a board that has newbie gun enthusiasts could prevent others from hurting themselves.

Pretty low road to insult the fellow and his parents. :fire:

[Mute]

Hmmmm......I smell a good lawsuit against the movie makers for encouraging an unsafe gun handling move. :D

[Penforhire]

Ouch! I can easily imagine doing that. I often think about ways to improve standing shooting stability (such as support-arm on opposite shoulder). Would work with an autoloader (and a no-brainer with pellet guns) but the habit would net me the same injuries you have when I switched to my wheelgun.

Nice cautionary tale.

[TheeBadOne]

A million years ago I was running a tactical shooting course with a 4" .357 Mag revolver with full house loads at night. I've never been recoil shy and couldn't understand people who said the .357 Mag "kicked", and had a lot of "muzzle blast".
One part of the course had me taking cover tight against a car and shooting. Well, after each pull of the trigger I got a "WhoP" on the side of the face. The revolvers muzzle blast was very close to the car body and was bouncing off the car's side and directing back into the side of my face. It was hard not to flinch as I completed that station. I suddenly gained an appreciation for "muzzle blast". :what:

[manwithoutahome]

Sunray, no need for that. We all do stupid things, it's called "being human". Most of the folks first thoughts would have been, well, that was a stupid thing to do until we look at our past (with anything that we've done stupid) and then thank the original poster for bringing these things to our attention in case we have a "brain fart" when we see it.

M

[Jack19]

Look at it this way. You survived, without death, major injury or great bodily harm, your "Darwin Experience." Lots of people don't.

Famous last words, usually uttered after a beer or six,."Hey guys, watch this..."

Nice burn though.

[Missouri Mule]

Wow...that took some huge cajones to admit that !
:what:

[Ron L]

Well, good to see you weren't more seriously injured. Seems like it could have hurt a lot worse than it did. This is partly why I run a very tight B/C gap on my Dan Wesson.

Famous last words, usually uttered after a beer or six,."Hey guys, watch this..."
Ah, the typical AIS (Alcohol Induced Syndrome). I've proven my theory many times over. At one point, someone who's had a few too many will come up with a "brilliant" idea. To which, someone who's B/A% is even higher agrees with said idea. Something like this:
Subject #1: "You know, I can't see straight or even think for that matter, but I think it'd be a cool idea if we......"
Subject #2: "Hey, you're right, that would be really cool. We should!"

So now that you've 'fessed up, let the embellishment begin! :D Yeah, let the grandkids gather around and hear the story about when you singlehandedly took down a neighborhood gang with your bear hands and only received a small scar on your arm to show for it. :p

[Country Boy]

To demonstrate the dangers of the cylinder gap (without using your appendages), get a sheet of paper, fold it in half, and place the fold along the barrel, so the rest of the paper drapes on either side. You won't be able to see your sights, but touch off a round in a safe direction and watch what happens. I was taught that at an NRA Instructor course, and it makes an impact.

[Azrael256]

Philistines! The proper term is "Hey Y'ALL, watch this!"

[Ant Mod]

To demonstrate the dangers of the cylinder gap (without using your appendages), get a sheet of paper, fold it in half, and place the fold along the barrel, so the rest of the paper drapes on either side. You won't be able to see your sights, but touch off a round in a safe direction and watch what happens. I was taught that at an NRA Instructor course, and it makes an impact.

Or just look at the whole in my sweatshirt and the burn. Its a think sweatshirt.

[Jack19]

Philistines! The proper term is "Hey Y'ALL, watch this!"

Hey, I'm a Yankee...we don't say "Ya'll." :neener: :neener: :neener:

[foghornl]

Not quite as painful as yours, but I learned a LOOOOONG time back not to try any stuff you see on tv/big screen.

Tried "The Rifleman" twirl to eject last empty from my Marlin .30-30...Promptly smacked self in face.

Tried the old west revolver "fake surrender" method... i.e hand over gun, butt first with finger indside trigger guard, swoosh handgun around, and 'snap shoot'. Had my .357 Blackhawk loaded with shotshells. Only required a new picture frame, a LARGE can of spackle, and a gallon of paint to fix the wall.

Oh, yeah, before I forget....the gap on a Single-Six with the .22Mag cylinder throws an impressive amount of flame, too. Never mind how I know, I just know.


Something about demo-ing this fact with only 3 sheets of newspaper between gap and bare hand..............................

[robear]

The Waco Kid did it to set off the dynamite in the fake Rock Ridge!! It MUST be possible!!

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=654536

[El Tejon]

The Whacko Kid! I remember him.:D

Ant, get thee to gun school. No, right now, go.:eek:

[keyhole]

signature line says it all.
:D

[sendec]

Now if you did this without spilling your beer, that'd be something;)

At least now you can show the babes the scar from your gunshot wound.

[gulogulo1970]

Every scar has a story.

[manwithoutahome]

foghornl

Tried "The Rifleman" twirl to eject last empty from my Marlin .30-30...Promptly smacked self in face.

Thanks friend, I'm at work and needed a good belly chuckle and that one did it for me... I can just picture it :D

M

[Monkeyleg]

Ant Mod, I have to commend you for having the guts to tell your story. Even though I know about the dreaded cylinder gap, it's never occurred to me while watching a movie that using the arm as a rest just isn't a good idea. Thank you for the education. ;)

Lots of us here have done dumb things. Witness the popularity of "negligent discharge" threads.

[Ant Mod]

Um, no wonder I was burned, look at the cylinder flash....

http://www.bedford.net/design/shoot/jb_shoot/454_flash.jpg

[GD]

Reminds me of when my friend put his Ruger .22 semiautomatic up to his eye and fired. I wish I could have gotten the words out of my mouth faster. Hard knocks is not the best way to learn but the lesson is usually learned the 1st time.

[Mil Novecientos Once]

http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/emoticons/missle3.gif

[LoneStranger]

To ask the obvious question, Are you going to do it again just to prove that it wasn't a good idea the first time?

Remember to try and never make the same mistake twice!

[homeka45]

Took some cojones to share your story and help educate others, there's members with varying levels of experience and expertise, thanks.

[fiVe]

Learn from the mistakes of others. You don't have time to make them all yourself.

It took guts to shared this. Glad you're ok. Thanks for hopefully saving us all a little time.

Regards, fiVe

[Ant Mod]

Just thought I would bring this up in regards to believing what you see in movies.

[Kendra Pacelli]

Dumb @ss!!! :neener: When I read how you were going to shoot it...Burn came to my mind instantly. Dude, I hope you learned a valuable lesson. Ouch is right. Man, I hope you're alright. Hell, I am starting to sound like a grown up. Oops :eek: :p

[shep854]

Dare ya to try it again. The first time was probably a fluke.:evil:

[sharpie613]

It took guts to fest up the first time. To bump it after 6 months shows a real desire to help others in addition to guts. Bravo, sir...


On a related note, has that bullet wound you received from drug dealers while you were saving puppies, kittens and babies been impressing anyone pretty? Come on, you can tell us. :evil:

[Clean97GTI]

Lets see, my favorite firearms related injury (other than closing a Glock slide on my finger...in the ejection port no less) would have to be standing in the wrong place while shooting skeet. I was standing to the right of the launcher, which had been chucking low shots all day. Well, I gave the pull command without thinking about line of fire of the launcher...sure enough, I caught a clay disc square in the back. I wore that bruise for a week.

[entropy]

Ant Mod, I had an AD with a Python with similar results.:eek: So I salute you for posting it, and the cool pic of your 686 with the fireball! If even one person reads it and avoids that situation, your temporary humiliation (and ill-treatment by some Low Roaders in this thread) will be worth it. Not to mention the neat story you'll be telling the rest of your life!:p http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=838279

[BigG]

Experience is the best teacher, as you can now attest. :neener:

[halvey]

Ouch. And I thought TV has no influence on people! :)

[Persnickety]

Just what, exactly, is a cylinder gap? Is it just that tolerance between the cylinder and the rest of the gun, when the cylinder is closed?

[Ant Mod]

Just what, exactly, is a cylinder gap? Is it just that tolerance between the cylinder and the rest of the gun, when the cylinder is closed?

The gap between the cylinder and the barrel when the cylinder is closed.

[shermacman]

Persnickety: Yup. When the cylinder is closed there is a gap between the face of the cylinder and the breech. A percentage of the burning gases will take the path of least resistance and blow out through the gap instead of helping the bullet on down the barrel. We are talking hot, high pressure and full of as yet unburnt powder.
Luckily I learned this with a S&W .22 revolver. Cupped the pistol with my left had near the cyclinder and got a nasty burn out of it!:eek:

[Ant Mod]

Also the reason why a revolver cannot be silenced contrary to popular hollywood myths.

[Persnickety]

Thanks!

[moa]

Is not the forcing cone between the cylinder and the barrel?

Anyway, I have been painfully hit in the hand by debris from a fired revolver .357 rounds. Apparently bits of unburned powder and bullet residue blast out and about.

[shermacman]

The forcing cone is the first part of the barrel. It is designed to 'catch' the bullet as it rips loose from the cartridge. The bullet at the start of its journey is larger in diameter than the rifled part of the barrel, so the forcing cone squishes the copper or lead down in diameter, this keeps the pressure from the burning gases sealed behind the bullet. After the forcing cone the bullet enters the rifled part of the barrel where it starts to spin.

[moa]

Shermacman, thanks for the explanation.

I seem to recall that the heavier 158 grain .357 Mag seem more of a problem than lighter rounds. And, I am talking about using conventional one and two hand grip holds, and still getting pelted with debris on occasion.

[bogie]

Hey, somebody hold my beer, and watch me do this!

[Zundfolge]

Night photos of a wheelgun going off really show what happened.

http://www.bedford.net/design/shoot/jb_shoot/454_flash.jpg

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50079

[Treylis]

Also the reason why a revolver cannot be silenced contrary to popular hollywood myths.

Not entirely true. There are gas-locked revolvers like Nagants upon which suppressors can be mounted and used successfully.

[Matt G]

Yes, but they're rare.

Another emphasis of the Barrel Cylinder Gap. (Where did that great pic come from, BTW?)
Notice how the bright gases are seen flourescing far outside the BSG, in the top of the red circle.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1065028

[Ant Mod]

Not entirely true. There are gas-locked revolvers like Nagants upon which suppressors can be mounted and used successfully.

Yes your right. There is an exception if you count one revolver that was obsolete over 60 years ago and was never considered a great success besides being an ingenious design.

And smoking causes lung cancer then you die early, except for George Burns he smoked stogies his whole life and lived into his 90's so the statement about smoking is not entirely true.

[Little Loudmouth]

Ouch. That's gonna hurt.....

BTW, nice flashy revolver pics!

[standingbear]

thats just gotta hurt....I saw a guy shoot a 12 gauge buckshot load 1 handed by bracing the buttstock partway in an unforgiving area of his hip- imatating an early bronson flick.he got the message to never try that one again.glad youre ok aside some minor injuries.I did that one too with a long barreled h&r western revolver..bracing it against a tree and holding the barrel just front of the cylinder for steadiness.chaulk it up as an experience point.

[BluesBear]

That great "flash" photo posted above is our own illustrious P95Carry firing his .454 Taurus Raging Lunatic.


As for the Russian Nagant gas sealing revolver...
The cylinder moves forward so the brass cartridge case, which completely encloses the bullet and also protrudes out of the front of the cylinder, can enter into the barrel so there is no barrel cylider gap.

The down side is that the cylinder movement is limited. If it moved too much you'd have excess headspace on the back end of the cylinder.
Thus the Nagant design is limited to moderate pressure ammunition.

[redneck2]

that the picture of the revolver would make an excellent background for my icons

Now, a question from the totally computer illiterate...is there some easy way to load that into the computer and use it???

and to Ant...thanks for the info. If everybody were as smart as they should be, the hospital emergency rooms would be empty and life would be less interesting

[molonlabe]

I treated a dentist who rested a .357 in his hands for stability. He laid both sides (thumb and forefinger) open from the pressure wave coming out of the cyl/bbl gap. I always carry first aid supplies to the range. I still love revolvers though. I get my best accuracy from them.

[X-out]

Funny stuff guys! "Hold my beer..." hee hee hee.

To those of you who think this speaks poorly of revolvers, can we hear some of what has happened to you before someone warned you to not hold your off hand on the back of the slide of an autoloader while firing? I've been accidentially bit a couple of times from that boneheaded move, but never been burned at the gap.

Best be careful of that hole in the front of the gun as well! Them there bees coming out of it can be nasty critters.

Who says this discussion group is losing its flavor?

[R.H. Lee]

heh.

If you've ever stood next to someone firing a revolver, especially a magnum revolver, at a range you know how much hot gas, concussion and lead splash comes out sideways. Its annoying.

[2nd Amendment]

Right click the pic, redneck2, then select "set as background" from the pop-up menu. Viola, instant background.

Ya know, I have shot revolvers off and on for 25 years and never once actually thought about this. I hate the cylinder gap blast and am obviously aware of it but not once did I ever consider what would happen if I put a hand or other body part too close. Never thought it through. Fortunately I also never did it... *whew*

[sturmruger]

OUCH that doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I hope your arm feels better in the future. I have tried a few of those movie things in the past. So far none of them worked even remotely like they were supposed to.

[Jim March]

Done that - with some success. Carthart jacket and a 38Spl snubbie with a tight .002" gap meant there were no problems at all...black jacket was undamaged physically or cosmetically.

Accuracy was pretty decent, too.

[DonNikmare]

I'm just glad you had a sweat shirt on. Dang. I have to remember this one.