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AndyC wrote:

WildBill wrote:In that case you could design a mortar type weapon using a four foot section of pipe and a tack. Just drop the cartridge down the tube and "boom." I find this hard to believe that this is physically possible.

Um...

Ok, all I will say is "Yes, it is"

Sounds like the voice of experience....

WildBill wrote:Since this thread has been resurrected, I shall add my two cents. If I am reading the post correctly, after falling four feet, the gun discharged solely from the energy of the firing pin striking the primer.

I don't know the weight of a steel or titanium firing pin, but this seems impossible. I would think that a loaded .22LR cartridge would weigh much more that a 1911 firing pin. That would mean that you could set off a .22LR cartridge by dropping it four feet onto the tip of a piece of metal shaped like a firing pin. In that case you could design a mortar type weapon using a four foot section of pipe and a tack. Just drop the cartridge down the tube and "boom." I find this hard to believe that this is physically possible.

Well, I can verify that it's physically possible with a .38.

Some years ago while I was cleaning a revolver, one of the rounds I had removed from the cylinder rolled off the workbench. I wasn't concerned when I saw it falling, but, since Murphy rules the universe, it landed base down - with the primer exactly on top of a 1/4 inch long x .115 inch diameter lock pin that was lying on the floor in that exact spot where it had fallen while I was rekeying some pin tumbler cylinders. The weight and momentum of the falling loaded round were in fact sufficient to cause the lock pin to indent the primer and crush the primer pellet, thereby causing the primer to explode and the powder in the cartridge to ignite.

I was more than a little surprised when the round discharged with a loud "bang." The projectile hit my leg, leaving a small bruise (since the cartridge wasn't confined in a gun's chamber when it fired, the projectile just popped out of the cartridge case instead of being accelerated down a barrel). The slug bounced around a bit and landed somewhere under the workbench.

So - I have the dubious distinction of being responsible for a negligent discharge in which I managed to shoot myself in the leg - with a cartridge alone, without use of a gun and with no significant injury to anything beyond my estimation of my knowledge of what can and can't happen around firearms.

So - I can answer Wild Bill's question unequivocally and with total certainty - yes, this stuff can and does happen.

So, In light of recent events, I revise the warning:

If you drop your gun, for any reason, LET IT FALL. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.
If you drop a round, for any reason, TRY TO CATCH IT!!!



Glad to hear that all that was injured was your pride, Excal

So that proves it.. Bare Rounds are more likely to shoot themselves when they hit the ground than they are when they are inside of a gun!
Yet another reason to Always keep your guns loaded!

dicion wrote:So, In light of recent events, I revise the warning:

If you drop your gun, for any reason, LET IT FALL. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.
If you drop a round, for any reason, TRY TO CATCH IT!!!

dicion wrote: Glad to hear that all that was injured was your pride, Excal

Excaliber wrote:Well, I can verify that it's physically possible with a .38.

So - I can answer Wild Bill's question unequivocally and with total certainty - yes, this stuff can and does happen.

I stand corrected. I won't argue with empirical data such as this. Those little buggers are more sensitive than I imagined. Some of those guns with light strike issues must have awful weak springs.

dicion wrote:So, In light of recent events, I revise the warning:

If you drop your gun, for any reason, LET IT FALL. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.
If you drop a round, for any reason, TRY TO CATCH IT!!!



Glad to hear that all that was injured was your pride, Excal

So that proves it.. Bare Rounds are more likely to shoot themselves when they hit the ground than they are when they are inside of a gun!
Yet another reason to Always keep your guns loaded!

I'm pretty careful about where and how I put rounds on my workbench these days.

You don't have much to worry about if your floor is really, really clean or if you're standing on a rug - but if there's any doubt, I second going for the round catch attempt.