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View Full Version : How did this happen???? 9mm goes off in tray? Story and pics inside


devildogljb
11-09-10, 23:29
Ok so my best friend that ive known since 6th grade and went to boot with who works at a range near my house as a fire arms instructor he is NRA certified and is one of the managers there. So i get a call with this crazy ass story of a 9mm round going off in the the foam tray that goes in the box. I thought he was pulling my leg but it end up being true. Heres the details because we cant figure it out. The box of ammo was opened and the tray was sitting behind the shooter on a bench seat. The shooter was in the bay shooting his 9mm glock. He shoots and a few seconds later a round sitting in the tray goes off flies and goes threw a space in the wood bench(the bench is covered by a thin peice of wood) and impacts the concret. The brass shell turned into shrap metal and only a piece could be found, unfortunally not the primer. Lucky for every one around no one was was hurt. There was another instructor standing behind the bays watching over every one and no one was near the box of ammo so no foul play. The bench is 4 and a half to 5 feet behind the shooter. On the left and right side of the shooters there is plexi glass. Celing is about maybe 13 to 14 feet high before a casing would hit it. Temp was in the mid 50s and the ammo was not in direct sun light do to it being cloudy. Ammo being used was winchester and they where not reloads. So any ideas is this just a one in a damn trillion chance of a casing just happened to come back at the right angle and force and hit the primer? Ive been hit in the head many of times with 9mm brass and i wouldnt think it would set off a primer falling out of the box and hitting the concreat maybe but this didnt happen as the pics below will prove.

(NOTICE THE POWDER BURNS ON THE MIDDLE UPPER PART OF THE ENTRY)
http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af14/devildogljb/photo.jpg

(WHAT WAS RECOVERED)
http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af14/devildogljb/photo-1.jpg
bkb0000
11-09-10, 23:53
last time i heard tell of a round going off in the tray, it was a piece of brass to the primer. might be what happened... with the delay between detonation and the last shot fired, might even have been a hang-fire in the tray- even more rare.
skyugo
11-10-10, 01:04
wow...
maybe a hot bit of shell casing or bullet jacket set down just right on one of the primers and heated it up enough to light.

I suppose it would probably be a good idea to keep ammo boxes closed up and behind the line. though this sort of thing is exceedingly rare.

glad no one was hurt. EYE PROTECTION ftw! :cool:
devildogljb
11-10-10, 01:06
wow...
maybe a hot bit of shell casing or bullet jacket set down just right on one of the primers and heated it up enough to light.

I suppose it would probably be a good idea to keep ammo boxes closed up and behind the line. though this sort of thing is exceedingly rare.

glad no one was hurt. EYE PROTECTION ftw! :cool:

yeah the owner has never seen any thing like it in the 40 years hes owned it and ive never heard of it. And every one is required to wear eye protection no exceptions. And i hope the guy bought a lottery ticket when he left
1_click_off
11-10-10, 16:30
I would be willing to bet the spent casing that is on the side of the tray is the one that struck the primer. Do you still have it? Are there any strange markings on it? Maybe it struck the primer and the percussion from another shooter was enough to set it off.
markm
11-10-10, 21:41
Something impacted AND ignited the primer..... that's the only possibility, Jethro.
MarkG
11-10-10, 21:51
Something impacted AND ignited the primer..... that's the only possibility, Jethro.

I'll second that... It's the only possibilty!
Clint
11-11-10, 00:26
http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af14/devildogljb/photo.jpg



Had to have been a spent case landing on the primer.

What's that to the lower right of the tray?

A spent case?
subzero
11-11-10, 07:33
Happens...

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56381
Suwannee Tim
11-12-10, 17:17
Buddy of mine dumped a handful of shotgun shells in his pocket and.... BOOM! Blew a hole in his briches, burned and bruised him, lucky he was wearing long underwear.
devildogljb
11-12-10, 18:32
Happens...

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56381
i read that thread before but that was dropped i can see why that happened i just dont see a spent case ejected from a glock hand gun hitting it just in the right spot, when 9 out of 10 times the spent casing would hit the plexi glass side thats on either side of the shooter. Ok so if its the casing, its ejected on the right hand side, it hits the glass(its a 100% chance of it hitting the glass) the energy is going to be reduced due to it hitting. Then its going to fly backwards 5 or 6ft and hit the primer, then do a hang fire then go off. I dont know sounds like the magic flying spent casing
skyugo
11-13-10, 02:27
Happens...

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56381

not so uncommon...
might be good sense to wear eye protection when dealing with ammunition in general. I always wear it when i'm reloading. I was loading a full tray into an old cardboard 9mm box recently and it blew out the other side of the box, spilling ammo everywhere. luckily none of them went off. :o
1_click_off
11-15-10, 11:50
Little off subject, but...

I was at Bass Pro and was watching the guy restock the shelves with ammo. He was picking the ammo up off the crate he had wheeled out there and was simple dropping cases of ammo from waist high on the ground then I assume cutting them open to stock the sleves. I heard the first case drop and walked to the other side to see if he was ok, then saw him drop the next, I left as fast as I could without looking like someone was chasing me. Sad thing about it, the manager was right there allowing it to happen. I wanted to be long gone before they threw a case of bulk 22lr down.
mark5pt56
11-15-10, 16:55
Every once in a blue moon and the Haley Comet I will see an ejected cartridge detonate when it hits the gravel. Something with enough mass and sharp/pointed edge more than likely hit the primer.
TannerBoyl
11-16-10, 17:57
About ten years ago, I was shooting my brother's S&W 686 at an outdoor range. Some guys were shooting an HK-91 style rifle next to me. Their brass kept hitting me. I stopped shooting and placed my hand over my open box of .357mag ammo. I guess my hand wasn't covering all the primers because an ejected case contacted an uncovered primer and the round went off right next to my finger. It took a few moments for me to process what had happened. I can clearly remember the heat and the smoke. I looked down at my hand and it was perfectly intact. All the rounds around where my hand was sitting were dented and mangled. I was lucky.

I guess that I turned white because a few of my buddies ran over to see why I was so shaken. It took me a couple of years before I went shooting again. To this day, I always keep my primer's covered. I consider that an ND on my part.
bkb0000
11-16-10, 18:16
to those of us that have had primers pop outside of a firearm, it probably seems like a pretty serious and realistic problem.. and then again to those of us who read about it, and then see all the other guys who pipe up and tell similar tales.

having had a hang-fire go off next to me once in the army, i was almost dysfunctionally terrified of dented primers. but i've grown up a bit, learned a bit more, and now i understand that even if another round went off next to me, it probably wouldn't hurt me much. the bullet becomes the heaviest fragment, and therefor doesn't move with much velocity.. the biggest concern with out of gun detonations is brass shrapnel to the eyes. you can pick brass out of your skin and it'll heal up.. but eye damage is usually forever.

and more to the point of posting: this shit is extremely rare. shoot long enough, you'll see bizarre shit, and hear much more... but, for instance, what about bulk loose ammo? those rounds clatter and clank together, get dropped, get tossed in and out of delivery trucks, etc, etc... and they dont ever seem to blow up. i'm sure it's happened, but i've never even heard of it happening.

take reasonable precautions, but don't be paranoid.
Mo_Zam_Beek
11-18-10, 15:25
Every once in a blue moon and the Haley Comet I will see an ejected cartridge detonate when it hits the gravel. Something with enough mass and sharp/pointed edge more than likely hit the primer.


What happens next?

I have always had this in the back of my head. I have also always have people tell me that without a chamber to force directional pressure - it is 'safe'.


TIA
devildogljb
11-18-10, 15:32
What happens next?

I have always had this in the back of my head. I have also always have people tell me that without a chamber to force directional pressure - it is 'safe'.


TIA

safe i dont know i wouldnt want to be next to it when it went off. The bullet it self had enough force to go threw a thin peice of wood and hit the concrete with enough force to put a dent in it and the bullet.