My father insists...
- Thread starter Colvin
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When unconfined rounds go off, the primer usually pops out at very high velocity and relieves the pressure inside the case before it rises sufficiently to "uncork" the bullet or rupture the case.
The primer can be dangerous since it's moving very fast, but isn't likely to penetrate deeply because it's very light.
So in the EXTREMELY unlikely event that a cartridge does go off while loading a magazine, the most dangerous orientation for the cartridge would most likely be with the bullet facing away from you and the primer facing toward you.
If the magazine confines the primer to the extent that it completely prevents it from exiting the cartridge case then there are a couple of other possibilities.
1. The case could rupture which will blow case fragments in pretty much any direction other than directly forward or directly backward from the cartridge.
2. The case might hold together sufficiently to pop the bullet out of the case mouth, but if it did so, the velocity and the potential for it to do any real injury would be low.
The primer can be dangerous since it's moving very fast, but isn't likely to penetrate deeply because it's very light.
So in the EXTREMELY unlikely event that a cartridge does go off while loading a magazine, the most dangerous orientation for the cartridge would most likely be with the bullet facing away from you and the primer facing toward you.
If the magazine confines the primer to the extent that it completely prevents it from exiting the cartridge case then there are a couple of other possibilities.
1. The case could rupture which will blow case fragments in pretty much any direction other than directly forward or directly backward from the cartridge.
2. The case might hold together sufficiently to pop the bullet out of the case mouth, but if it did so, the velocity and the potential for it to do any real injury would be low.
Let me re-state this.
So actually having the bullets face you is the safest place to be. I think it is more likely to happen with a rimfire than ceneterfire. I have known of 22 RF cartridges discharging when thrown or dropped on hard surfaces when the rim hit hard enough.
Might be good idea to forward this thread to dad.
So actually having the bullets face you is the safest place to be. I think it is more likely to happen with a rimfire than ceneterfire. I have known of 22 RF cartridges discharging when thrown or dropped on hard surfaces when the rim hit hard enough.
Might be good idea to forward this thread to dad.
THE BRASS WILL NOT EXPLODE!!!
The round will simply separate i.e the bullet will pop out of the case, long before the brass case wall will reach failure pressure. Further, because the minute the bullet leaves the case, the gas is no longer accelerating it so the bullet will not reach anything near high velocity, Finally, because the powder inside the case could act like a simple rocket engine vs the single push to the projectile until it separates from the case, it's entirely possible that the case could be accelerated faster than the bullet.
Tell your dad that I think it's more likely that someone would get hurt by the case end rather than the bullet end and neither one is going to be traveling with a huge amount of force. BTW, also tell him I'm 64 years old and a dad myself. The only difference is that I know a whole lot about firearms, ammunition, and physics.
The round will simply separate i.e the bullet will pop out of the case, long before the brass case wall will reach failure pressure. Further, because the minute the bullet leaves the case, the gas is no longer accelerating it so the bullet will not reach anything near high velocity, Finally, because the powder inside the case could act like a simple rocket engine vs the single push to the projectile until it separates from the case, it's entirely possible that the case could be accelerated faster than the bullet.
Tell your dad that I think it's more likely that someone would get hurt by the case end rather than the bullet end and neither one is going to be traveling with a huge amount of force. BTW, also tell him I'm 64 years old and a dad myself. The only difference is that I know a whole lot about firearms, ammunition, and physics.
I wouldnt worry, I have a side by side that the one side sometimes hits soft and leaves a dent in the primer without it going off. If it were my dad, the next time I had one of them bullets with the light fireing pin mark in it, I would hand it to him then tell him to look at the primer and see what he does 
lol I don't know about rifle and pistol ammo but I have seen a shot gun shell ran over completly flat and still did not go off. If loading a mag was a real threat, the bullet manufactures would have giant warning signs on the box about loading mags at your own risk or something along them lines.
lol I don't know about rifle and pistol ammo but I have seen a shot gun shell ran over completly flat and still did not go off. If loading a mag was a real threat, the bullet manufactures would have giant warning signs on the box about loading mags at your own risk or something along them lines.COSteve said:
No need to shout.
But I think I agree. The only way I see a loaded cartridge erupting while set in it's magazine is if the magazine held the cartridge in place while the case and bullet were trying to go their separate ways, primer in place or not. It would need to be held in place and the lengthwise space in the mag would have to be such that the bullet could not exit the case. An exited primer in that case would not provide enough pressure relief for the bullet to remain in place. The bullet will still try to exit the mouth of the cartridge. Most magazine design would let the bullet just go it's way.
It would be an interesting experiment to set up and film. 'Not sure how one would set off the primer and still get out of the way quick enough so as not to end up part of the experiment.
My prediction is the bullet will just leap out of the case, like you would toss it, say, 10-15 feet by hand (lots of variables there - bullet weight and exit velocity) and the result would be a case full of ignited powder doing it's thing. The primer would almost assuredly make it's way out of the pocket. My guess is the primer and bullet, both, would find somewhere else to be, but the bullet would be a slow-mover and the primer would likely not take up a high speed trajectory, depending on the construction of the back wall of the magazine. It would be bouncing and spinning as it made it's way out of the confines of the magazine. Were the primer allowed to exit without obstruction, it is absolutely going to be the fast mover in all this.
End result ... in just a couple of milliseconds, this cartridge would disassemble and the magazine would rotate in a direction opposite the bullet end of the cartridge. You probably couldn't hold it still. Pick up the magazine and you might see an empty case with plenty powder residue all over everything. Your ears will be ringing and you'll have to crawl around on all fours to find the bullet and primer.
That's how I read it, too. My solution would be to never load a mag in his presence. Not out of spite, but to remove the worry
The bullet being heavier than the case, and unconfined..well, an explosion that may injure could result, if the primer was struck hard enough. At work (I do government contracting for the US military) there was an awfully gruesome photo of a US Army soldier's hand going around the place, and it looked like hamburger dropped on the floor except there was an arm attached to it. He had used a .50 round as a hammer to unstick something that was stuck. Boom.
johnwilliamson062
Moderator
Your so lucky your dad isn't fighting you on shooting.
You are right, it won't happen. Outside a chamber the bullet doesn't have enough speed to be all that dangerous anyways. Loading Glock mags, even with the speed loaders can be difficult, and i do usually load them towards me, but loading them away wouldn't be too difficult.
You are right, it won't happen. Outside a chamber the bullet doesn't have enough speed to be all that dangerous anyways. Loading Glock mags, even with the speed loaders can be difficult, and i do usually load them towards me, but loading them away wouldn't be too difficult.
SwampYankee
New member
I'm not sure about that.
In my youth, I did stupid things. One of those things was to vise a primed case and hit the primer with a nail. The primer flew across the room, in pieces, and took a small chunk out of my finger. It healed and I never did that again. Glad I was wearing goggles, 12 years olds could be dumber....
Unless a bolt face is holding that primer in place, it's going to leave the case rapidly and while the powder in that case may ignite, it's going to flame out the primer hole. The bullet may not even unseat.
If you take a primer case and fire it in a revolver, you'll have a hard time opening the cylinder because the primers have backed out.
I agree, pointing the bullet towards yourself is the safest thing to do.
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
I sense a close request from the OP. If you have trouble with your parents about guns and you live at home - the solution is obvious. Otherwise family counseling is not our business.
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