Bullet out of chamber truths and Myths

[ClarkEMyers]

The death happened long after Hatcher wrote

ClarkEMyers:

(I)

Quote:
Say cartridge and read Hatcher's Notebook.

Notice at least one person has been killed by the case with the bullet going nowhere - in very unusual circumstances.

I don't recall reading that in Hatcher. What I do remember is an old lady got hit in the chest and died from a fragment of a detonator which was left in a shovel of coal she threw into her coal-fired furnace.

Can you give me a page number?

The death happened long after Hatcher wrote.

The very unusual circumstance was a hot loaded tight necked bench rest cartridge loaded so the bullet jammed into the lands on a benchrest rifle - then not fired and the extractor failed to pull the cartridge out - then the rifle was left rested pointing down range while the bolt was pulled - usually makes the rig safer but not this time - and the bullet driven backwards with a rod - with the intent of clearing the chamber.

Similar things have happened in the field with cases that had longer necks than chambers (missed necessary trimming) and so in effect crimped the bullet extra strong in the throat - mostly this gives an over-pressure cartridge and nobody notices until the cartridge is fired and maybe not then.

Sadly, although I gather it wasn't noticed on the spot, this meant the cartridge was confined and the rifle was effectively pointed up-range and the danger zone was behind the firing line. Hammer hit the rod, rod hit the bullet, bullet presumably scraped some powder, powder ignited with the bullet path blocked by the rod and the hammer and the case shot backward into what would normally have been a safety zone and in another fluke hit a weak spot just right

- about as likely as the 5 hear old killed by a pellet gun because the child was reaching up for the paper target from the side and so both exposed his heart and spread his ribs to allow penetration - or the rangemaster in Illinois long ago who stepped onto the range for an instant - no intention of shooting and so neglected safety glasses and lost his eye to a bounceback that would have bounced off his forehead but in this case hit him just so.

- moral - don't stand in line with the bore in front or behind - somebody may be shooting a Ross with a bad bolt or who knows what.

 

[roscoe]

You will notice that about 75% of the time it is a 13 year old boy causing all the trouble. I can't beleve I am alive today.

 

[VARifleman]

I put a .223 round in the fire and stepped quite a ways away, pop, and the bullet was no longer in the case. Brass is strong, the crimp is the weak spot, although neigther the bullet or the case is going to go anywhere in a hurry.

 

[WinchesterAA]

I remember quite well the butt whooping I got for putting a 12 gauge shell (minus the pellets!) in the gap between two posts in our fence, and shot it with my BB gun.

My dad made me mow everyone's lawn that'd let me to earn the money to buy new wood. He'd only let the people I mowed for pay me 5$ though, then sit and watch him as he fixed it.

 

[superhornet]

And in answer to your question.......After you do all that, they take you into a rubber room for an ink blot testing..

 

[ilbob]

-What happens if you hold a bullet and light a lighter under it? How much realistic danger is it to do this?

-What happens if a box of ammo is thrown on a campfire? How much danger can this pose? Will it be dangerous for those sitting around the camp fire?

It will go off if heated hot enough. There is considerable danger, both from brass fragments, and from the case striking someone. My guess is the bullet itself is unlikely to achieve a high enough velocity to be a serious hazard, but I have no way of being sure of that guess.

-What would happen if you held a 30-30 cartridge in your hand and struck the primer with something? Would you get hurt? (assuming of course, that you were able to set it off)

Most likely you would incur some unpleasant damage.

-I noticed some kid shot himself in another post by sticking a bullet in a vice and striking the primer. I thought the shell would burst first rather than firing the bullet. How come it ejected the bullet instead of bursting the casing if the bullet is the heaviest link in the chain?

Who knows if the story was true or not, or if the details as given were true.

-Does anyone have any un-chambered bullets going off stories?

Stories - yes. True stories - who knows?

-What is the likelihood of a bullet getting fired from carrying it in your pocket full of change and keys for a day or two?

-Can a bullet realistically go off from being thrown or dropped on the floor and again what kind of damage can this cause?

It takes a pretty good strike on the primer to detonate. Chances are neither would cause a detonation.

-Can bullets be handled with "roughness" or should they be handled with extreme care? I've been somewhat careful with them but wonder if I should be more gentle and careful in handling them.

They are pretty robust.

-Can a box of ammo go off sitting in a scorching hot desert sun?

Highly unlikely IMO.

 

[hjames000]

At about 13 years old I was curious about primers.

I took a shotgun shell and removed the shot and powder. I then put the brass in a bench vise and using a finishing nail and a hammer I detonated the primer. The sound was almost identical to a full round going off. The head of the finishing nail penetrated by skin and hung there (from my chest, I was not wearing a shirt).

I assumed my parents would have no interest in this story so I never told them.

 

[Wes Janson]

About a month ago we burned several hundred rounds of various calibers, rifle shotgun and handgun, dumped amidst a pile of burning garbage. I don't know whether the projectiles leaving the pile were casings or bullets, but I do know that a few of them achieved what I would consider to be respectable velocity. The three of us watching were standing abreast about fifty feet away, when we heard a whistling noise. One guy was standing right next to me, and he instinctively turned left at the same time that I looked right. The noise was right about at the level of our heads, and between the bad lighting and the speed of the object, we never saw it. We definitely heard, however, multiple "pings" off of a metal-sided trailer about 100-150 feet away.

As far as I'm concerned, after that experience I'd say that standing behind solid cover is advisable whenever burning ammo.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I have the answer to your first four questions.

Assuming these actions are done by an adult, instead of a 13 year old, the Stupid Police immediately arrest you and perform an involuntary sterilization before you can procreate.

Then they brand a big red "S" on your forehead so others will know to give you a safe clearance.

At least, that's what would happen if I were Emperor.

 

[akanotken]

My experiences

Here's what I've personally done to date (in order)

cut all of the shotshell away but the rim, put in a tree, set it off with .22 from distance. Sometimes hard to tell if it went off (plenty of near misses along with the "hits"). I was a kid on the farm, this was fun, shotshell never went anywhere.

College days - walked into a heated argument between two roomies. Turn to me (so called expert) and asked what would happen if they set a .357 off outside of a gun. I nanchelantly said nothing, one called BS other looked vindicated. I said "got one"? Yup! So I grabbed some safety goggles (lab class from chemistry) and we went out in the back yard, with a hammer and pliers and a single round. Working on a table, I put a board down, put a concrete block in front of board, grasped the round with the pliers, held it over the block (block stood between it and me) pointed down at the board. Struck the bullet with the hammer (we taped something to the primer, but I can't remember what, pebble, bb or ???). Bullet basically fell out of the case and hit the board with no force. There was no dent. Case did not split (surprised me).

I've thrown one primer into the campfire, I was VERY surprised at the amount of noise and scattering of coals. I expected very little to happen, and while it wasn't "bad" I had to scrape the coals back into the pit so there was no firehazard.

Recently, I had a drain pipe from my AC that was a little clogged. It was 5 ft long, then took a turn. I was in a hurry (heading to work, wife looking at a hot and miserable day if I don't get it fixed). I stuck a 12ga primed case from my reloading bench. Fit was snug. I took a hammer and nail, safety glasses and tried to clear the pipe (looked like a quick fix). I punctured a couple of primers using heavy and light hits. Never could get it to go off. Decided to try something else (rather than look for a blunt punch of some sort). Didn't consider myself in danger, would try it again if same situation arose.


There are lots of other stories with gunpowder, fireworks, pressurized cans, and guns to my childhood. Still got all of my fingers and toes ...