Electronic ignition of ammo

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larry_minn

New member
Prob a dumb question but here it goes. Was out in the county checking out a report and had to cross a electric fence. It was dead where I went in but when I came out I found a live wire. :( I have been shocked many times in my youth but was wondering. Could the shock be enough to set off the ammo in my gun or spare mags??? This is high voltage but very low amps. Anybody have any info on this??? How about a arc welder? "long as I'm asking" Could either of these cause rounds to cook off?? Thanks.
 
I don't know but it's an interesting question. Since thousands of farmers, hunters and cowboys have crossed electric fences while carrying guns and I haven't heard of an AD occurring due to the electricity, it seems unlikely. Also, if there were a good way to use electricity to ignite conventionally-primed ammo, I think we'd see a lot of guns with electronic triggers.
 
Electric current applied momentarily will not ignite cartridges. Only HEAT and PERCUSSION will cause ignition.
To ignite a cartridge with electricity, you need an internal element like that in a glow plug. Extensive experiments were conducted in the field of electric ignition in the late 30's and were reported on in Popular Mechanics Magazine about 1938.
Hatcher also tried some experiments (See Hatcher's Notebook, revised edition) for details. He used a carbon arc torch.
 
Thanks for the info. Just something I thought of after jumping "being thrown" off the wire. Would hate to have rounds cooking off. Might even have had to check into a plastic gun. "insulation don't you know"

[This message has been edited by larry_minn (edited January 04, 2000).]
 
This is something that I was messing around with a little while ago. Static electricity WILL set off a primer, there are warnings all over the boxes they come in, so I got to wondering just like you did.

The thing is, it doesn't seem to happen if the primer is mounted in a casing, the only reason I can think of for this is some type of electrical conduction through the case itself. Static doesn't seem to fire ammo by itself, at least not at the kind of levels I could obtain.

Fooling around with some really foolish experiments with expendable firearms that I am too ashamed to mention here, I found that if enough direct current is applied, the rounds will fire, but here's the thing.

The amount of juice I was putting through the barrel would be instantly and totally fatal, so I guess you won't have to worry much about AD's, as you'll be toast by the time they go off.

Hope this helps.

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With my shield or on it...
 
Hi folks,

Normally, a shock to a person carrying a gun or ammunition would be no problem, but there is at least one case on record where a police officer had loose ammunition in a pocket along with a spare battery for his radio. A cartridge (.38 Special) fired, causing a nasty injury. The investigation showed that the cartridge came into contact with the battery terminals with one terminal on the primer. According to the report I saw, the investigators were able to duplicate the situation at will.

BTW, I understand Remington is coming out with an electric primed rifle.

Jim
 
There was a Darwin Award runner-up who supposedly used a .22LR as a fuse in his automobile. Round cooked off (probably due to resistance = eventual heat) & shot him in the crotch.

I don't doubt that the round would fire but unless contained in a bbl or similar restraint, there's just not the velocity to really cause any (real) damage (although it would make you catch your breath).
 
I believe Jim's post. I once had a duracell in my pocket and a penny went across both terminals. I discovered this by yelling:

((#(($@&$###@**

However, I heard the 22 fuse is an urban folktale. There's a web site that investigates this sort of stuff.
 
There are olympic grade .22 pistols that use an electronic trigger. Are there any members here that know if it is actually electically firing off the round?

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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
 
No, they use a solenoid and microswitch instead of a sear to get those 1 ounce triggers...

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"We all have it coming, kid..." Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven
 
I'm kind of doubtful about Duracels' causing shocks or much heat. One of the ways I learned to test 9v batteries is touch them t my tongue. If they taste sour, they're hot. If not, they're dead. The charge across the saliva produces a chemical that tastes sour.
 
Thanks for info... But I still don't know if a electric fence can set off ammo. I am talking high voltage. I think the farmer said his "Austrailian" fencer was over 10.000 VOLTS but very, very low amperage. Will have to stop by there this weekend if in his area and look at the fencer.
I think my boots took most of the shock away but some snow provided a circut.
 
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