fire?

[sparky241]

So the "how many rounds do you have" thread really got me thinking. What do you do if there is a fire and rounds start going off? What would happen if a neighbor or fire fighter got hit? Would you be charged with anything?

[freakshow10mm]

Ammunition doesn't explode like in Hollywood. The NRA Book of Firearm Facts has a story in it where they threw a few cases of ammo in a bonfire. The observers were within 15ft and were not hit nor harmed by any way.

My father was a fireman for 34 years. He was more afraid of the 20# LP tank in the garage than a million rounds of ammo.

The only thing he told me they asked was if there were any loaded firearms in the house. If a round cooked off, it would be like you pulled the trigger and pressure would build like normal and exit the barrel. In a fire, the bullet just pops out of the case and tumbles around.

Loose ammo= no concern.
Loaded firearm= big concern.

[Helms]

Ammunition doesn't explode like in Hollywood. The NRA Book of Firearm Facts has a story in it where they threw a few cases of ammo in a bonfire. The observers were within 15ft and were not hit nor harmed by any way.

My father was a fireman for 34 years. He was more afraid of the 20# LP tank in the garage than a million rounds of ammo.

The only thing he told me they asked was if there were any loaded firearms in the house. If a round cooked off, it would be like you pulled the trigger and pressure would build like normal and exit the barrel. In a fire, the bullet just pops out of the case and tumbles around.

Loose ammo= no concern.
Loaded firearm= big concern.

I can verify. One of our ammo trucks was struck by an F-15 fighter during the invasion of Iraq in a fratricide incident. Aside from some hand grenades there was several thousand rounds of 5.56, 7.62 and 50 cal ammo. They sounded like fireworks, but no projectiles or shrapnel came out from the rounds cooking off. The truck burnt completely to the ground leaving only a frame behind. I was about 50 feet away from the burning ammo, and nothing besides the grenades scared me, but the colors, sounds and heat were interesting.

I dont think you have any real risk of being struck by a bullet, but all the gun powder would certainly act like an accelerant, making a more aggressive and hot fire, which could spread faster or do more damage before help could arrive.

[craig110]

When I was a teenager shooting at a local range, some of the older guys there would occasionally toss a .22LR into the fire. It just pops. Think of all that pressure that has to build up in the chamber to get the bullet flying and compare that with how weak brass is. When an unchambered round is ignited, the sides of the brass are going to split very quickly as the pressure starts to rise. Those splits would let the gas out and keep the pressures from rising anywhere near what occurs in the chamber.

Now, for fun, lets ponder what would happen if you made a brass case so strong that it could actually contain the pressure. The length of the gun's barrel effects the muzzle velocity since the longer the barrel, the longer the bullet can be accelerated by the pressure contained behind it. Once the bullet leaves the barrel, it starts slowing down since the gas is expanding in all directions and is no longer just pushing against the bullet. As a real generalization, a long barrel gives high velocity, a medium barrel gives medium velocity, and a short barrel gives low velocity. What would happen if the gun barrel's length is zero? As soon as there was enough pressure to push the bullet out of the case, the bullet would be essentially done accelerating since the gas is now expanding in all directions. A brass case that is so strong as to contain the pressure is basically the same as putting the bullet into a traditional chamber that has no barrel. I'm not sure how fast the bullet would be moving when it comes off the case, but it sure isn't going to have a lot of speed / energy with it.

Putting both of these notions together - weak brass case and low bullet MV from a zero-length barrel - I would not be afraid of bullets if I was fighting a fire.

[sparky241]

you know that makes alot of sense really.i never thought of it that way. thanks guys

[918v]

What you should worry about is your gunpowder exploding.

[MakeMineaP99]

What you should worry about is your gunpowder exploding.

How? Smokeless powder doesn't explode, but burns rapidly, if and only if, containment exists.

[918v]

It's contained inside the containers, isn't it?

[Oreo]

They're designed to burst, venting preassure before it gets dangerous. That's why powder should always be stored in it's original factory supplied container & never glass or metal containers.

Mythbusters did a thing with .22lr rounds & setting them off with electricity. There was no significant harm possible, but the case was more likely to break the skin then the bullet. It makes sense if you think about the physics involved. Every action has an equal & opposite reaction, conservation of energy, etc. If I were to stand between a fat kid & a skinny kid & push outward on both of them, I'll impart the same amount of energy to both of them but because the skinny kid (the case) is so much lighter he's going to fly faster & further. So, in this instance, the case actually becomes the projectile.

The difference between an unchambered round going off & a chambered round going off however is much different. In an unchambered round as soon as the bullet clears the case any remaining preassure & unburnt powder just vents & isn't imparting any more energy or speed to the bullet or case. In a chambered round however, the skinny kid becomes more like a brick wall & the preassure is contained & channeling all the power of the powder into the speed of the bullet. This is why longer barrels usually mean faster bullets.

[kidcop]

Black is a whole 'nother story. Most of my smokless powder is in cardboard or mostly plastic containers now days anyways. I do still have a couple of old IMR cans though. I think these would open up at about 5 psi.

[Charly]

but primers do explode.

what with those several K's of primers we all have around ?

I for one must have over the 30K of primers with my reloading components (L pistol L rifle S pistol S rifle S benchrest).