Shooting causing brush fires?

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In 1977 (I believe) there was a brush/forest fire in California that was started by a black powder shooter who used improper procedure in loading his weapon. He used kleenex as wadding, and it caught fire and spread the fire when he took the shot.

However, it is not very likely with modern arms, or when correct loading and firing protocall are followed with 'primitive arms'.
 
it happened to me. about 2 years back, i was shooting with a friend in the desert. we were shooting paper targets sighting in our new ak47's, and seeing how they'd group. at the end of the session, we did a quick fire mag empty each into the target. right away, a bush behind the target began smoldering, and suddenly burst into flames. we both immediatly ran over to the bush stomping and kicking dirt over it. luckily, we were able to extinguish the fire. we stuck around for a while afterwards to ensure it didnt restart. anyhow, the risk is real and it can happen. be careful.
 
shermacman said,
As far as sparks, that is Hollywood. Bullets that are copper clad or straight lead will not spark against anything. Ever.
Click to expand...

You apparently have not shot against steel or maybe with a unique definition of what is or is not a spark. A copper jacketed lead round impacting steal will produce sparks. I have seen it with pistol ammo and with rifle. The lead can superheat on impact, hot enough to glow. Glowing parts of hot lead can be seen fragmenting off in various directions.

I have shot rocks at night that produced similar effects.

With rifle rounds, the effect is even more amazing.

Just because you can't see the sparks in daytime shooting doesn't mean they are not there.

Iron is simply a very reactive metal, much more so than copper or lead when it comes to friction or heat sparks.
 
Copper projectiles can be made to spark easily. I used to amuse myself at night by sparking BBs of the street in front of my house.

Still, I think the chances of starting a fire with gunfire is very low if you do not use tracer ammunition. My friends and I have put many thousands of rounds into the forest and desert of California, often shooting at junk metal at the height of fire season, for 20 years, and have never started any fire or smoldering whatsoever.

However, I still always carry a shovel and several gallons of water just in case. Maybe a fire extinguisher would be good too.

It might be a waste of time to clear brush, though it can't hurt. I think the important thing carry a shovel/water/fire extinguisher, and be ready to sprint downrage with it if something happens.
 
Your BB's are steel. They're just plated with copper. If you don't believe me, grab a magnet.

Even still, copper hitting steel can spark. The copper isn't the part that sparks readily - The steel is. Also, the material like molten copper or lead splattering around doesn't have to be glowing as a visible spark to be able to set dry brush, paper, &c. alight.

If your bullets are just expending their range and falling in the dirt I think your chances are nil. But if you start hitting rocks, bottles, metal debris, target stands, and suchlike your chances begin to increase.
 
Your BB's are steel. They're just plated with copper. If you don't believe me, grab a magnet.
Click to expand...

You know, just after I posted that, I wondered to myself, hmm, I wonder if those were really copper-coated steel. I was a kid back then and just bought the "Copperhead" brand BBs and never thought about it.

I should also add that I have seen a few sparks when shooting rocks at dusk, but still never any smoke or flames.
 
I saw it happen on a very dry hot fall day at Knob Creek, but it was because of the use of tracer ammunitoin.

I would not expect an ejected casing to start a fire since the temperature of the casing is below the ignition temperature of materials you would expect to encounter in the field or at the range.
 
I'm in the National Guard and when we where at the range shooting the SAWs (Squad Automatic Weapon). We burned up about 10 acres. Of course there are tracer rounds in the belts soooo....... Range control said it happens all the time and we just kept shooting until the fire dept showed up.
 
i remember awhile back reading the column"coopers corner"where chairman jeff mentioned commie steel jackets starting a fire.ever since that i watch closely.

did have to beat out a tracer fire once 06 from a garand took just a second and whoosh.
 
Absolutely possible here in the Southeast. The army keeps us running right regularly at times putting out fires on the ranges and in the training areas. Most are caused by training aids (flares, simulators, smoke grenades, etc.). Range fires often result from tracers (had several today, and after 3" of rain over the weekend), but there are ones that can be blamed on regular ball ammo - no tracers in use at the time. Ricochetes off backstops, hard targets, rocks, steel plate (protecting poles), anything that can create a spark. Grasses, pine needles, fine leaf litter don't require much time to dry enough to light easily. Combine dry fine fuels, low humidity, and a breeze with a spark, and you too can experience the joys of chasing fire.
 
Saw it happen once at a public range in Monroe, La. Don't know what caused it, but from point of origin of fire it looked as though someone missed target by a large margin as fire started about 50 feet in front of backstop.
 
It has happened at one of the ranges I shoot at in Shedd,Oregon.IN fact they shut the range down on days that it is considered too hot...I forget the exact termperature that they use as a guidlein.
their 'berm' is a very tall and very rocky 'small mountain',and because of the danger they keep their own fire truck on hand.
 
Yes, it is possible to start a brush fire while shooting a rifle with steel core bullets(ammo) when the temperature is in the triple digits.

Have a good day.

:)
 
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