Results probably would be different if it was not on a solid piece of metal forcing upward thrust of shot.
Would like to see one where shell is fired just hanging in the air.

 

I see what you mean. You can see how the blast goes in an upward motion.

 

A guy I used to work with had a teenage son killed while small game hunting by an ejected misfired shell..the boy pulled the trigger..gun did not go off. .dad says wait 10 sec then eject it..the shell went off while airborne & pellets hit him in the chest..boy died in the woods

 

When and where was this? I would like to read the story.

 

A true hangfire, the base would be the projectile as the lead shot is heavier than the base.

 

Results probably would be different if it was not on a solid piece of metal forcing upward thrust of shot.
Would like to see one where shell is fired just hanging in the air.

I agree!

 

As kids we'd tape a shotgun shell to the end of out BB guns, hold it above out heads and pull the trigger.
About the same results as the video, little bang and a shower of powder and shot.

 

you rascal!

 

Herb Parsons would take the barrel off his Model 12 and fire a shell.
He would catch the lead in his hat just in front of the shell.

Its All Good
West

 

An old neighbor of mine won many a beer bet with his model 12. He would bet he could catch every pellet from a fired trap load in his hat. Then load his model 12, remove the barrel, then pull the trigger. The shell would burn in half and drop the shot charge in his hat. Some of his "victims" did not see the humor in it.

 

West, you beat me to it.

 

Bighoss

Might need to bring out the old Model 12.
Always enjoy a free beverage.

Its All Good

West

 

showmeshooter posted a great article, well worth reading.

 

We used to shoot .22s at 12 ga shells end on - try to hit the primer. Poor man's [kids'] Tannerite :09:

Experiment is easy to reproduce as a 'cook off' with a shell suspended above a bed of coals etc. Just lay a shell on an inverted tin foil pie plate; push a fold in the pan to keep the shell oriented toward target etc. Put over some hot charcoal and wait. Might be a tiny bit different without the primer ignition but don't think it would change much.

 

One of my buddies, as a kid, found some single projectile ammo in a house. So he removed the lead , poured out the powder, and reinserted the lead. Then he would place the bullets upright in a frying pan and turn on the heat. Apparently, heat would ignite the shell. He stated his mother was not amused.
Same guy put alligator in his mother's yard. Again, she was not impressed.

 

I have never in my life seen a hangfire where the primer did not ignite right away. I have however had a very scary incident myself when my Release trigger did not allow the hook to slide off the notch in the hammer. I had set the trigger as usual and the sear definitely disengaged when I let the trigger off but the hook just hung there for a few seconds and did not release the hammer until I tried to open the gun. I polished the hammer notch with emory paper and I now make sure to use a little dab of grease on the hammer notch to prevent this from happening again.

 

I have a few hundred rounds of 8mm Steyr ammo from 1939-40 swastika marked. About 1 in 3-4 shots there would be a 1/4 second ignition delay.

 

Nonsense.

Busted here MythBusters Episode 214: Bullet Baloney

 

So how many of you who are disputing Jacks story are willing to stand in front of the shell while it went off?

The thing about something like this is you NEVER KNOW EXACTLY what is going to happen.

 

So how many of you who are disputing Jacks story are willing to stand in front of the shell while it went off?

The thing about something like this is you NEVER KNOW EXACTLY what is going to happen.

I'll happily stand in front of an airborne shell (that was the story) all day. Pay me and I'll stand there all year.

First, how you gonna make it go off?

Second, assuming you could (a very fine wire carrying a spark to the primer would be the best way) the only danger would be to an eye.

The "thing about something like this" is that in the absence of a container (such as the chamber of a shotgun) to contain the pressure, the shell will rupture with the lightest components being expelled first.

Physics can be a bitch, but it doesn't lie.

 

I popped the primer on an empty 50 cal with a nail, primer crawled up the nail and cut my thumb and finger.
Never did that again.
Lesson was learned.

 

So how many of you who are disputing Jacks story are willing to stand in front of the shell while it went off?

The thing about something like this is you NEVER KNOW EXACTLY what is going to happen.

With a shell in that condition there is no "front." How are you gonna get it to "went off?"
.

 

Herb Parsons would take the barrel off his Model 12 and fire a shell.
He would catch the lead in his hat just in front of the shell.

Its All Good
West

An old neighbor of mine won many a beer bet with his model 12. He would bet he could catch every pellet from a fired trap load in his hat. Then load his model 12, remove the barrel, then pull the trigger. The shell would burn in half and drop the shot charge in his hat. Some of his "victims" did not see the humor in it.

If memory serves, you stepped off 12 paces to where that hat was placed with using a 3dr - 1.125 oz AA of the 70's-80's.
I haven't done it since then.

 

I have heard of a lot of fishy firearm related deaths/injuries. Here in MN there was a cop that got shot in the stomach by a "ricochet" at a training range, or so that was the official version. I know a woman that swears that her dad had a revolver on a bedroom shelf that "just went off by itself" after being there untouched for years, and nobody was even in the room. I have seen both a 20 gauge and .308 thrown into a fire by accident, red hot coals that burn through a sleeping bag was the only danger.

I think in the old days there were a lot of "accidents" that would not fly in today's standards of investigation.

 

Folks don't always tell the truth about "accidents" like described in the story of the unfortunate dead teen.

First. The kid was probably shot by the father or the kid accidentally shot himself ... maybe even a suicide.

Insurance companies don't pay off in suicides and you can't blame the ammunition company or the gun company unless you can prove that the accident was caused by a faulty firearm or ammunition. The lure of a big payoff sometimes make criminals out of folks.

 

Insurance companies don't pay off in suicides.

That's an old wives tale, not true in all cases. You had a good line of thought going tho.

 

My NRA Training Instructor long ago had a hand-held, spring-loaded device, very much like the one in the video, for demonstrations. He would load a shotshell in it, hang a borrowed hat or ball cap over the shotshell and "fire" it. No hats were ever damaged in the demonstrations.

I was present the last time he did the demo. The only shell he had was a high-brass hunting load. Unfortunately, the brass split, peeled back and sliced open his index finger. Took 5 stitches to close up his finger.

It's always fun... until someone gets hurt.

 

A variation on the theme...

Years ago I kept a box on the floor next to the loader. Shells with bad crimps got tossed in the box. When there was enough, I'd shoot a round of practice.

One day I tossed a shell in the box and it's primer hit something - I assume the rim of another shell - and fired. The ejecta all stayed in box. The brass put a dent in the cardboard. The shot didn't even make a mark. The only damage was to my skivvies.

 

I had one go off in the drop box outta the loader. BFD.

A variation on the theme...

Years ago I kept a box on the floor next to the loader. Shells with bad crimps got tossed in the box. When there was enough, I'd shoot a round of practice.

One day I tossed a shell in the box and it's primer hit something - I assume the rim of another shell - and fired. The ejecta all stayed in box. The brass put a dent in the cardboard. The shot didn't even make a mark. The only damage was to my skivvies.

 

I use old shells to test function of firearms

A couple of times after pulling the trigger and nothing happened after opening the action the powder burn happened

The darndest screech and once it opened the crimp but didn't push the wad out

The other burnt through, burned a finger pretty good but nothing else happened

Once had What was left of a box of overloaded reloads. Laid them out on the ground and shot them. The hull was the most likely to do anything. The impact of a 22 or load of shot would tip the shell and if the primer was hit the hull danced a little bit but was really disappointing!

If in the test there had been something with the weight of a human head I don't think it would have been moved at all! I also don't think that a watermelon skin would be penetrated with that test. If the triggering device was not anchored in place the shot is not likely to move, much and will not if it is only the weight of the hull if it was a true hang fire. The hull on the other hand would move.