unknown .357 round revealed! no wonder...

H

harry mudd

Moderator
On a couple of posts i griped about a certain round i used while testing .357 magnum loads from my Ruger sp101. the results of this particular bullet was a disaster. It went off as hard as a .44 magnum that i remember swearing to never shoot again. flame flew everywhere and black smoke choked the area. my bucket of wet paper split open and wet paper flew all over, leaving smoldering bits and hot coals lying around. the projectile exited the bucket, perforated two inches of oak used for safety's sake. It finally split a two-by-ten floor joist and fell into the crawl space. my gun, hands and walls were black with soot...... A few people questioned what it was and i didn't know because i had gotten it in a hand full of loose shells from a friend. Moxi last asked about it and i got curious and called my pal...... he told me that it was called an "incendiary squib"..... It is an unofficial wildcat rifle load that is used in ordinance disposal. it is designed to do three things, 1 to have a visible trajectory (yes, just follow the smoke trail!). 2 to penetrate the outside of an artillery shell (armor piercing? OOPS!) Finally it should stop inside where it bursts into flames to ignite the dud shell or IED. It seems that they have .357 carbine rifles where they sit a comfortable distance away and snipe at questionable objects. he said that I probably wasn't supposed to have them (you think? OOPS!) As far as the secondary explosion is concerned, he said that they were not explosive.... but they burned hot and fast. His opinion was that it was a steam explosion that emptied my bucket! The projectile involves white phosphorus and powered metallic sodium, not for use with wet targets....(OOPS!) SO.......... Learn from my foolishness and know what a bullet is BEFORE you set it off! (and don't play army with real army guys!)
 
Did it damage your gun? How did the barrel look after you fired it?

I honestly can't think of any practical civilian use for a round like that. But I wouldn't mind having a few just for fun.:D
 
I don"t think it did any damage to the gun. I only fired one round and the brass ejected without any sticking. I didn't see any flame cutting anywhere and it still seems tight everywhere. But my bathroom... um... err... I mean my shooting range (sh!ting range/shooting range, a multipurpose space!) didn't fare as well. It was not good.
 
Sorry, no pictures. A hole in the floor, a sagging floor joist, burn marks and smoke everywhere and paper mache covering every surface (me included!). If thats not enough I listened to my wife cursing boys and their toys, telling me to play outside.......
 
Um.... Well, no I don't shoot much inside anymore. the bucket withstood everything thrown at it until this one "incident". Now the wife is not so agreeable. the structural damage was my problem and she really didn't care. On the other hand the smoke and burn marks were unacceptable....Women are SO unreasonable! Towels are just towels, Whats a few scorch marks? I live in the city so shooting outside is frowned upon. Bum deal, no fun for me.
 
Ok, time for a short public safety lecture...

Most ammunition contains lead compounds in the primers which is blown into the air upon firing. This is why indoor ranges have expensive ventilation systems with filters that are changed frequently. Shooting inside a residence without such a ventilation system is inadvisable. The lead residue in the gunsmoke will settle onto exposed surfaces.

A VERY good rule of thumb is not to shoot unidentified ammunition or reloaded ammunition that you did not reload yourself. If you don't know what it is or how it's loaded it shouldn't go in your gun.

A backstop should be sufficient to stop any projectile that might be shot at it without inducing ricochets. Shooting with an insufficient or improper backstop is extremely dangerous.

Glad you and the gun survived. ;)
 
Wait...explodes and burns in anything wet?

THEE ULTIMATE PERSONAL DEFENSE ROUND!

:D

Or: "How to give a coroner a coronary..."
 
Wait...explodes and burns in anything wet?

THEE ULTIMATE PERSONAL DEFENSE ROUND!



Or: "How to give a coroner a coronary..."
Click to expand...

Sounds like follow up shots could be difficult because of the stout recoil. But if you hit within ten feet of your assailant, you wouldn't need any.:cool: I'd make sure I had my cell phone so I could get the fire deptarment rolling right away.

Caution: Doesn't sound like a suitable anti-car jack round.:cool:
 
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Lesson #2 (other than the obvious safety lesson) .......if you shoot overloads use a Ruger.

They really are built like a tank.:D
 
wait, OP, Im still trying to figure out how in the hell you were shooting in a bathroom. Even moreso, WHY in the hell were you shooting inside your bathroom? Is this just a massive bathroom or do you just shoot point blank into a bucket? if the latter, what's the fun in that?

this is one of the strangest things I've seen in these forums
 
Sorry, no pictures. A hole in the floor, a sagging floor joist, burn marks and smoke everywhere and paper mache covering every surface (me included!). If thats not enough I listened to my wife cursing boys and their toys, telling me to play outside.......
Click to expand...

LMAO!!

Actually, my wife has been asking about redoing the bathroom. Sounds like 5 or 6 rounds of that stuff would do the trick. Got any spare? :eek: :rolleyes:
 
First, safety violations..... Guilty on all charges, or at least pleading no contest.
testifying on my behalf, I want to point out that on all previous occasions the bucket stopped .22's, .380's, 9mm's, .357's, and .45's, including hardballs in all calibers. Add two inches of hard oak behind for fear of exiting the bucket. Add 3/4 plywood flooring, two by tens, a three foot air space then finally the good earth. I see now that the backstop was not premium but ultimately it held. Lead poisoning? um ..... doesn't that cause a loss of intelligence? hmmm. Shooting unknown ammo.... Well I did get it from a government trained professional! uh... ok that doesnt help my position at all. Lastly I was shooting in the bathroom for two reasons, it is sitting on a crawl space with dirt underneath and it is the only place where a guy can lock the door and not be bothered until the smoke clears. yes it's a short range. i was standing against one wall shooting down at the bucket against the other wall. I was only testing for proper expansion of hollow points using wet newspaper as the water containing medium. it was probably about 8 feet to the target.
The second thing I want to say is that a few days after this I deposited the remainders in the fire pit. they popped normally, maybe with a little extra fizzle but not much.
On a side note, Are there any military guys in here? The reason i ask is the comment on lead poisoning has me thinking....... the military uses some odd rounds (this one is an example), does anyone think that these could of been depleted uranium covered projectiles? The armor piercing qualities mentioned by my buddy raises some questions. I think i will call him back!
 
I like it!!!!!! bathrooms have always been a special room for me. :) The three S's might have to be modified to the four S's. :D
 
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