Bullets in a fire

[Lloyd Smale]

yes it was. don't know how that would make a difference though.

[KCSO]

Steel case is tougher and offers more resistance. I know that the primers fly harder and farther from a unchambered cartridge. I will try and test one this week for penetration and let you know.

[Omega]

Steel case is tougher and offers more resistance. I know that the primers fly harder and farther from a unchambered cartridge. I will try and test one this week for penetration and let you know.

I don't think that will make a noticeable difference. The only thing I can think of is if a case at the middle of a heavy pile went off and there was enough around it to hold the case down allowing the bullet to fly out. But even then, I don't think it would penetrate steel, maybe the holes were already there and were not noticed until after the fire.

[Lloyd Smale]

sorry the barn was less then 10 years old and didn't have a bunch of holes in wall. maybe cyborg mice came and ate perfectly round little holes in it before the metal cooled????

I don't think that will make a noticeable difference. The only thing I can think of is if a case at the middle of a heavy pile went off and there was enough around it to hold the case down allowing the bullet to fly out. But even then, I don't think it would penetrate steel, maybe the holes were already there and were not noticed until after the fire.

[Tom W.]

Well, in case anyone wonders what happens when you put a shotgun shell on a stump and shoot said shell with a shotgun and a load if #8 shot wonder no longer. The primer comes back at the shooter in a rapid
motion and the powder charge burns up. The shot charge stays where it is and the case mouth doesn't open. Of course, I only tried it once .......

[rbuck351]

I wonder if the roof steel was really hot, possibly white hot and very soft.

[Omega]

I wonder if the roof steel was really hot, possibly white hot and very soft.

That too is a possibility.

Speaking of dumb things, we used to wedge live .22 and shotgun shells into branches and shoot at them with bb guns. I'm surprised we didn't hurt ourselves with some of the stunts we pulled.

[RED BEAR]

actually saw it on myth busters they set different caliber ammo on fire with plywood around it a few feet away. no bullets but some of the brass stuck into the plywood mostly large caliber like 50 cal bmg. it didn't really penetrate but did stick into it. the bullet being heavier than the brass its the brass that moves.

[Tom W.]

When one is young one just has to try it and see...

[fatelk]

Well, in case anyone wonders what happens when you put a shotgun shell on a stump and shoot said shell with a shotgun and a load if #8 shot wonder no longer. The primer comes back at the shooter in a rapid
motion and the powder charge burns up. The shot charge stays where it is and the case mouth doesn't open. Of course, I only tried it once .......

I believe you. Long ago one of my grandfather's friends for some reason decided to put a 12ga shell on a fence post and shoot it with a BB gun. He then had to go to the emergency room to have the primer surgically removed from his arm. It came back and penetrated his forearm, traveling up through his arm to his elbow, as I recall.

[Lloyd Smale]

that's a possibility that I never thought of. I wasn't there to actually see the fire until it was almost out. I had gone to town to do banking and by the time I returned less then an hour later it was already a pile of rubble. Ammo was still cooking off but the walls (the little left of them) were already on the ground. Most of the walls and roof were actually melted. Had a 4 wheeler parked in there and all that was left of it was the frame crank and jug and some gears. The piston was even melted. Tried to recover as much lead as I could but built over it and poured a concrete floor and often wonder how much lead is still under that cement. I doubt I got half of what was there. You think smelting ww is bad try lead with gravel and sand impregnated in it.

I wonder if the roof steel was really hot, possibly white hot and very soft.

[Geraldo]

I believe it was in the Miami area that a loaded M1 carbine cooked off a few rounds in a house fire. It was lying on a shelf in a closet and the op rod cycled a few rounds. No one hurt and it's definitely an outlier.

From personal experience, if you're throwing empty cartridge boxes in a burn barrel and include a full box, 9mm FMJ doesn't penetrate the steel barrel.

Guns, ammo, powder, and primers were the least of my worries fighting fires. In fact, I didn't worry much about hazardous substances. Building construction, fire conditions, and getting lost/trapped are what will kill you.

[merlin101]

When one is young one just has to try it and see...

Ever notice the words "young and dumb" just seem to go together?

[GONRA]

Waaay back Lloyd Smale sez: "We did find pieces of pole barn steel that had holes in it from bullets cooking off....."
GONRA finds it Extremely Difficult to believe these Are Real Live BULLET HOLES?
Methinks its from some OTHER exploding consumer stuff? ???
OR - from the original Pole Barn Construction Crew screwups? ???
>>> One way or anoher - we'll Never Really No! <<<

[Omega]

that's a possibility that I never thought of. I wasn't there to actually see the fire until it was almost out. I had gone to town to do banking and by the time I returned less then an hour later it was already a pile of rubble. Ammo was still cooking off but the walls (the little left of them) were already on the ground. Most of the walls and roof were actually melted. Had a 4 wheeler parked in there and all that was left of it was the frame crank and jug and some gears. The piston was even melted. Tried to recover as much lead as I could but built over it and poured a concrete floor and often wonder how much lead is still under that cement. I doubt I got half of what was there. You think smelting ww is bad try lead with gravel and sand impregnated in it.

Oh heck no, I know for a fact rocks and gravel hold moisture, that may not end well.

[frankenfab]

Bill Cosby: "Who put the bullet in the furnace?" !

Anybody remember ?

[Mal Paso]

You think smelting ww is bad try lead with gravel and sand impregnated in it.

Been there, glass and aluminum too. The dross was excessive.

[dbarry1]

Primer can become the projectile. Comes out with enough force to go thru a t-shirt and lodge in the skin (that requires tweezers to pull out).
Ask me how I know... :O)