WARNING! WARNING!

[Grapeshot]

For those of you out there who store your ammo in plastic, zip lock bags.  Stop and desist.  I had a bag of .45 Colt loaded with Goex Pinacle and 250 grain LRN bullets.  I Dropped the bag on my linoleum floor and one of the rounds detonated. Wether the primer was hit by one of the rims of the other cartridges or by the slightly pointed nose of the bullets, (Lyman 454190) but the round went BOOM.

I am usually very careful when handling ammo, but I tried to carry one thing to many and I scared the living daylights out of my wife, the cats, and myself.  My ears were ringing for 30 minutes and the hallway was filled with smoke.  I hope that this confession prevents someone else from having a similar experience.  No one was hurt, thank the LORD for that.

[Fox Creek Kid]

Relax. Calm down & change your BVD's. Uncontained as in a chamber there is no danger of the bullet penetrating anything, i.e., no pressure 

[Mako]

Captain,
You were an officer in the US military weren't you?  Have you ever seen what we do with small arms ammunition?  Drop?  How about throw, sling, crush, run over, bounce, burn, over heat, freeze, drown and every other imaginable means of abusing ammunition known to man.

I still don't know how it happened, I'm not doubting you.  I've seen ammo dropped from all kinds heights and onto tarmac and concrete by the shovelful.

The Fox Creek Kid is right, it's actually pretty benign when it goes off.  The shell is actually more dangerous than the bullet.  There was or is a standard for fire fighters coats to resist the hit from a .30-06 shell.  Not the bullet, the cartridge case.

I hope you have a much less exciting evening...

Best regards,
Mako

[Professor Marvel]

Ah My Dear Grapeshot -

A very good reason to utilize that newfangled invention, the paperboard cartridge box! 

All funnin' aside, if I acquire a "bag o' cartridges" from elsewhere, as soon as I arrive at the domicile I spend some quality time over coffee fondling the pretty shinies as I transfer them to either plastic, foam or paperboard cartridge boxes.  Remarkably, they stack much better and take up less space as well. I am fortunate in that nearly all our local ranges have large drums for trash, that are almost always filled with a variety of discarded cartridges boxes and dividers, and the Proprietors do not mind my scrounging :-)

yhs
prof marvel

[wildman1]

Ah My Dear Grapeshot -

A very good reason to utilize that newfangled invention, the paperboard cartridge box! 

All funnin' aside, if I acquire a "bag o' cartridges" from elsewhere, as soon as I arrive at the domicile I spend some quality time over coffee fondling the pretty shinies as I transfer them to either plastic, foam or paperboard cartridge boxes.  Remarkably, they stack much better and take up less space as well. I am fortunate in that nearly all our local ranges have large drums for trash, that are almost always filled with a variety of discarded cartridges boxes and dividers, and the Proprietors do not mind my scrounging :-)

yhs
prof marvel

Ah, Prof M that must be you gettin ta those empty cartridge cases before I can get my grubby little mits on em.  WM

[Dick Dastardly]

I must assume that same WARNING applies to live ammo carried in used canvas shot bags?  I've done it, but I never liked it much.  My preferred transport is a 50 Cal. Government issue ammo can.  Seems most of my trays, both scattergun and pistol, fit in them very well.

DD-DLoS

[TwoWalks Baldridge]

The Fox Creek Kid is right, it's actually pretty benign when it goes off.  The shell is actually more dangerous than the bullet.  There was or is a standard for fire fighters coats to resist the hit from a .30-06 shell.  Not the bullet, the cartridge case.

Sort of reminds me of a time long, long ago:  Family hunting trip in Eastern Oregon.  Uncles Winnebago caught fire (a story about dumb things for another time) with 7 or 8 family members rifles and ammo inside.  There I was grabbing large pots of water to throw on surrounding bushes and trees, when that ammo began to pop.  Dang it sounded like a war zone and being just about dark it sort of looked like the fourth of July.  Found a great use for that big old cook pot - made one heck of a helmet.  Yes Gracie, those rifle casing smart when they bounce off your cranium.

[rickk]

I was at a steel plate shoot one day. We were all wearing hearing protection. I was talking with two other guys. One of the other two dropped a .45 ACP full moon clip on the pavement under our feet. One round went off. The three of us all saw it happen, so we all knew that it happened. No one else around us was even aware of it. The bullet just popped off and the powder mostly blew out unburned.

[Montana Slim]

Very likely no personal injury would take place, provided you were not struck by the bullet r cartridge case in the eye....But,  Expect some BP residue staining on the floor, carpet or your workbench. The bullet or case can have enough power to dent sheetrock, penetrate light insulation, etc. & WILL fly across the room. Lots of smoke of course & it will be rather loud.    For those that disagree, please feel free to touch a round off in YOUR basement using a tap hammer, pair of pliers or such. No earplugs or fire extinguisher handy. I trust you will not care to repeat the experience.

Summary. There is much more effect from a BP cartridge initiated outside a chamber than a smokeless one. But, lets not discuss results with more powerful cartridges like the .50 BMG.....and hope never to have one go off in your hand.  I've had to investigate matters like that.

Regards,
Slim

[sail32]

The NRA did some tests with cartridges and bars of soap. Using a rifle cartridge with an electronic primer, it was detonated on top of a bar of soap. The result was a dimple in the soap. The conclusion was that the explosion of the cartridge would have caused a burse. The danger was a possible piece of flying brass in the eye. However most of the brass case just peeled open.

[yeti76620]

The NRA did some tests with cartridges and bars of soap. Using a rifle cartridge with an electronic primer, it was detonated on top of a bar of soap. The result was a dimple in the soap. The conclusion was that the explosion of the cartridge would have caused a burse. The danger was a possible piece of flying brass in the eye. However most of the brass case just peeled open.

Yep.....It's all fun-n-games 'till someone looses an eye!

[Montana Slim]

If you have any doubt, toss a few smokeless rounds into your next backyard BBQ....then repeat with some BP cartridges

It's not uncommon for shooters to drop ejected rounds, with dented primers, etc into the trash, which is routinely dumped into the burn barrel & lit-up after our local CAS matches. While the scores are being read, jokes, etc, we occassionally hear the puff-pop of cartridges going off. No big deal. Last year I dropped a 44 Russian somewhere on the course & never found it. I knew where it was when the trash barrel made a muffled KaBOOM...some ashes went into the air & folks nearby made tracks. This is apretty weak cartridge at that, only 18 grains of powder & 200 grain lead.

Slim

[Cookie]

Yep.....It's all fun-n-games 'till someone looses an eye!

When that happens, they call it a 'sport'.

[Will Ketchum]

I was at a gun show standing next to a guy when we all heard a POP.  The guy next to let out a yowl.  Seems he had dropped a 22 RF into his shirt pocket along with a 9 volt battery.  The round must have bridged the positive and negative terminals, over heated enough to set the round off.  It hardly drew blood where pieces of the brass case punctured his skin.  But it scared the heck out of him

Will Ketchum