Cartridge falls on ground; detonates

[Ian]

I'd never heard of this happening before, but I was only about 5 feet away when it took place at a match yesterday. Two people were talking while one loaded an AR mag. The guy loading fumbled a round and dropped it on the ground, where is landed primer-first on a pebble and detonated. There was a nice loud POP like a firecracker, and a bit of smoke, and everyone around immediately turned to see what had happened - I was fully expecting to see someone holding a gun and white-faced. Well, there were no guns being handled, and there on the ground was the back 2/3 of a .223 casing, clearly blown in half. Yow!

 

[Jim Watson]

That is the second such case I have heard of. The first was an IPSC shooter who ejected his last pistol round and had it land on a rock and pop. Much less hazardous than the habit of holding your hand over the ejection port and the primer hitting the ejector.

 

[CZ223]

I saw the same thing happen

with a 12 gauge shell at a Cowboy match. Fortunately the Cowboy dropped the shell into his empty cart and, Bang, it went off. The cart contained any shrapnel. Since I had just built the cart, I knew there were no screws or nail sticking up. It had apparently fallen on some small pebble or something.

 

[rodregier]

It's low probability, but not impossible. Primers will take a lot of abuse without activating, but a centered on-axis solid hit with something pointy will set them off.

Theoretically it could also happen with rifle cartridges being dumped as loose bulk into an ammo can. FMJ projectiles "might" be pointy and hard enough to set off a primer under just the "right" circumstances. Dumping for a larger height would increase the odds.

 

[jmr40]

It is much more common with 22 RF. I've known of several, but this is the 1st time I've known of a centerfire doing it. If the rim gets hit just right it will fire. The possibility of serious injury is small, but a piece of shrapnel in the eye could be bad.

 

[Scrubber3]

In any extent, an event like this poses little danger as there isn't anything to direct the blast. About as dangerous as a fire cracker.

 

[IBEWBULL]

1 time I herd this one but>>>>

I have herd of a .22 round going off in a guys pocket.

DO NOT CARRY AMMO CLOSE TO A 9 VOLT BATTERY. IT COULD BE BAD.

That was not me but I have had a 9 volt battery contact coins and the pocket got pretty warm.

So safety first and wear your safety glasses please. We call it PPE personal protection equipment.

Be safe.

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

http://www.saami.org/videos/sporting_ammunition_and_the_firefighter.cfm

 

[FuzzyBunny]

I have a friend who was at the range with hiis wife shooting. He had a box of .40 cal open with the styrofoam holes. The guy next to him fired and the ejected case hit the open box of .40 on a primer and set one off. He had holes in him and some blood. Paramedics took him to the hospital and he got some bandaids. Could have been worst than his hand arm and face if he was not wearing safety glasses.

I know its a one in a million chance but it happened and I have pics but will not post without his permission. Bullet pointed down in a styrofoam pack gave the case and primer enough energy to do some damage!

Hard story to swallow but if I did not know him and did not see the pics I would find it hard to believe. I would have ask the paramedics to stop at a 7/11 so I could get a lottery ticket. Just being around ammo and firearms I wear safety glasses also when cleaning with some strong solvents.

 

[herrwalther]

Wow that is the first time I have heard that going off. I would tell the guy to buy a lottery ticket. Because dropping a round on a rock directly on the primer with enough force to set it off would be like getting hit with a meteor and lightning at the same time, probability wise.

 

[morcey2]

One of my brothers and I wasted about an hour and a half and a couple of boxes of 22LR waiting for a tractor to get fixed when we were growing up trying to get one to detonate on the pavement of the road next to where we were supposed to be working. We were smart enough to throw them in the air so they would land quite a ways away from us. We got a couple of them to go off, but we also heard at least two go off when my uncle (our employer) drove over to check on us.

I forgot to mention that we were supposed to be fixing the tractor, thus we were waiting on ourselves. We didn't get fired, but it probably would have been less painful if we had. He discovered that he had 2 granaries that needed cleaning out. If you've never done that in the middle of the summer, I can't even explain it to you.

Matt

 

[Stevie-Ray]

This is the reason that if I have a misfire, I drop the mag into my hand and slowly eject the live round, onto the tray in front of me, if inside, or on table if outside, after waiting the proper time for hang-fire possibilities. Maybe overkill, but this possibility always scared the crap outta me. Likely in matches though, nobody is thinking like that-it's all about time and, TRB is the norm.

 

[forindooruseonly]

Happened to my pops in the reloading room with a .45 after a loaded round fell out of the tray, bullet bruised his thigh and a jagged piece of the case head went into his foot which had to be surgically removed.

So, it's certainly possible, if really rare.

 

[dubbleA]

I once saw a 12ga shotshell detonate in a guys hand while shooting sporting clays. I was about 10 yards away and looking directly at him when he closed the bolt on his Beretta 391 with a loaded shell. I watched him do it many times before but this time the primer must have hit the bolt release button just right.

The shell made a pretty good pop, maybe like a 22 short, there was a small orange flash and a puff of black smoke. The guy dropped the shot shell at the report and turned white as a ghost as he realized what had just happened. I quickly reached him to see if he needed medical attention but he did not. It basically turned his hand red but did not break any skin. and he was ok but shaken up a little.

The AA shotshell was split open end to end with black smokey residue on it.

I think ol Matt saved that hull and quit closing the bolt using a live shell to do so.

 

[caribou]

I once saw a guy reach into his pocket for some shells to reload and his Bic lighter fell out and exploded next to his foot. He didnt get hurt, but it untied his shoe.......Im sure anything struck 'right' is bound to create havoc.

 

[frankenstein406]

One of my brothers and I wasted about an hour and a half and a couple of boxes of 22LR waiting for a tractor to get fixed when we were growing up trying to get one to detonate on the pavement of the road next to where we were supposed to be working. We were smart enough to throw them in the air so they would land quite a ways away from us. We got a couple of them to go off, but we also heard at least two go off when my uncle (our employer) drove over to check on us.

I forgot to mention that we were supposed to be fixing the tractor, thus we were waiting on ourselves. We didn't get fired, but it probably would have been less painful if we had. He discovered that he had 2 granaries that needed cleaning out. If you've never done that in the middle of the summer, I can't even explain it to you.

Matt

I could have sworn I read a story where kids took 22s then put them in straws and threw them in the air. One went off and went through the kids leg.

 

[tarosean]

I could have sworn I read a story where kids took 22s then put them in straws and threw them in the air. One went off and went through the kids leg.

Its been proven that the case is the actual projectile while the heavier bullet remains when rounds are set off in a like manner.

 

[leadcounsel]

Bullets do weird things

Don't recall why, but on one of my deployments I tossed a live 5.56 round to my NCO.

The toss came up short and the 5.56 round struck, and stuck, into the flooring material. I had a camera in my pocket and since it was really unusual I had the presence of mind to snap a picture.

It was really odd. Probably couldn't make that happen with a thousand, or a million tosses.

Another funny story. I was camping with a group of people including this red headed girl I really liked. She was fun, and a bit clumsy and easy to embarrass. Everyone was sitting around the campfire and drinking, and she was handling some of my ammo. She got to fumbling with a round and as she grabbed for it, like in a comedy, it went airborne and her grasps almost seemed to make it fly into the fire - just like some slapstick comedy. Of course, nobody knows what's going to happen with a loaded round in the firepit on the coals, so people were shouting and getting down and taking cover! I poured water or beer on it and snagged it out of the coals and put it in a cut of water before anything happened. She never lived that story down!

 

[btg3]

For perspective, I've received 1000 rd bulk packs of 9mm and .223 (the pointy ones) shipped from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to me (and to thousands and thousands of others).

The conditions to set off a loose round much be so improbable as for the industry to deem it negligible risk?

 

[Sentryau2]

Hey leadcounsel is the tip of that 5.56 round painted black or just the photo?

 

[Trent]

Looks green to me.

From time to time I worry about loose rifle rounds in a can going off if I were to drop the can, or handle it roughly. I know it won't chain reaction but the thought of hitting a bump in the road and having a round go off in the back seat or trunk of my car while driving, might make me need a change of underwear.

One of my old fiends with a Dillon press used to (probably still does) let the rounds drop in to a coffee can. He had a 45 round go off one time. Must have hit something just right when it went in to the can. He'd reloaded tens of thousands of rounds that way and never had it happen before or since. Just a fluke; overly sensitive primer, maybe wasn't seated far enough, who knows. Didn't hurt any of the other ammo in the can it fell in to.

Another person I know used to push 22LR in to the end of a straw and toss it up in the air in a parking lot behind his house for fun. They'd go off fairly reliably when they hit. Few pickles short of a full jar, that one. He also dropped a 12 ga shell in to another guy's muffler for a gag once. Guy drove off, muffler got hot enough.. he ended up having to replace the muffler.

 

[Bikewer]

Pedantic mode....

"Detonation" is confined to high explosives. Small-arms ammo may "go off", "fire", "cook off", or go Bang!....But not detonate.

Or if it does, inside a firearm, it's normally catastrophic destruction of same.

 

[CarolinaChuck]

I had an assortment of reloaded rounds in plastic bags, all placed in a paper bag. The bottom of the paper bag gave out and they fell on the hard tile in the foyer as I was walking outside. A base of a .44 mag found the primer of another .44 mag and it discharged.

I had on shorts and a bit of case was impaled in my leg. The round went between my legs and bounced off the dry-wall ceiling and laid on the carpet in the hall. No, the brass didn't have to be surgically removed; nor would the projectile have had the energy to penetrate the skin had it hit me or someone else.

You story tellers out there need to keep in mind that some of us know a bit about physics; and yes, these things can and do occur from time to time. One has better odds of hitting the lottery then being seriously injured by such a mishap.

When the primer goes off and the case comes apart, 99% of the powder charge is hurled harmlessly out into space un-burnt. There wasn't even enough energy to scatter the other .44 mag rounds in the plastic bag. All that was left was a hole in the bag; 49 other .44 mag reloads; and a bunch of un-burnt powder. A firecracker placed under the bag would have more energy than that.

I guess, if you wanted to, you could play around with different cartridges and see if one was more prone to cause injury. Even if you say, drill a hole in a 2x4, and keep the case from rupturing; my guess is that 98% of the powder charge would still go un-burnt.

It would surly have hurt; and scared my dog who was in front of me. That dog ran off and wasn't seen back at home for 3 hours.

My mother took it in stride, as we were all leaving her house. Her foyer was lined with 16 inch wide beveled an smoked mirror panels running from floor to ceiling; replacing one would have been a challenge. The only one hurt slightly was my nephew, who was run over by that bloody dog beat'n feet for the hills...

On to the next Caper,
CarolinaChuck

 

[wally]

When the primer goes off and the case comes apart, 99% of the powder charge is hurled harmlessly out into space un-burnt.

Not always, I had a "sideways" primer go off in a 45ACP reload when I tossed it, impressive fireball but little else, although the primers fly out with the force of a pellet or BB gun. I was happy a fire didn't start, but some Mythbusters episodes suggest gunshots are a poor ignition source for even a room full of natural gas.

My case didn't rupture and was near pristine, so I reloaded it again

 

[Trent]

Pedantic mode....

"Detonation" is confined to high explosives. Small-arms ammo may "go off", "fire", "cook off", or go Bang!....But not detonate.

Or if it does, inside a firearm, it's normally catastrophic destruction of same.

I'm going to nitpick.

Smokeless powder burns. This is true. However primer compounds are most certainly explosives. Primary ones, at that! (Albeit little bitty ones.)

When the firing pin strikes a primer, the primer *detonates*, and causes the powder to *burn*.

So yes, there was a detonation of a primary explosive, albeit, a very, very small one. Which then made the powder burn (maybe; probably the entire episode was nothing more than the primer blowing up - detonating - while the smokeless powder and projectile were simply ejected without burning anything else).

To whit - put a primer in a 45 ACP casing. Fill it with Unique. Shove a paper towel in the end. Shoot the thing in to your toilet.

There will be a bunch of unburnt smokeless powder ejected in to your toilet bowl.

The only thing that happened was a primer detonating. Very little, if any, powder will actually burn.