Author Topic: Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes  (Read 986 times)

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Offline Spess

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« on: September 19, 2004, 06:21:57 AM »
I went down to the range yesterday and the guy on the bench next to us walks over and says,"watch this".So my partner and I watch this guys buddy shoot at his target.When the round hit, the concussion blew dust thirty feet into the air and completely obscured the hundred yard hill(20 feet across) to the point that people couldn't shhot the 100 yrd hill because you couldnt see it.It looked just like a minature nuclear explosion. A normal round raises about a 1 to 2 foot sqaure cloud of dust not a 30 ft high by 20 foot wide cloud. I would think it would blow a deer to pieces.I asked the guy what round he was shooting and he told me it was a Fail-Safe out of a 270. He wouldn't give me any more info and so after 1 or 2 more of these from both his 270 and his 338 I asked his partner a kid in his early 20's about these rounds and he told me that he didnt really know much about the rounds accept the had amonnia, amonnia sulfate, or some kind of other ammonia based chemical in the tips to make them explode like that. Now I have never heard of Fail-Safes doing anything like this, so they must have been tampered with right? Has any one else heard of this? I can't emagine that a round like this could be legal for anyone to go buy, because if in the wrong hands could cause much more damage than a standard bullet. This would make a hell of a sniper round though, your target wouldnt have a chance of a woundidng shot, not to mention the confussion one of these rounds would cause.

P.S. I should mention that our range is an unregulated range with no range master, on federal land that anyone can come to at any time of the day, so you see alot of yahoos doing stupid stuff and even nonlegal guns every once in a will. If  anyone has any info on these rounds, it would be appreciated. I have never seen anything like this round before.
Always know what's behind your target, it could save a life!

Offline 7magWoodsman

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2004, 08:12:20 AM »
We used to put primers in hollow points sealed with wax and had simular but varying results. I wouldn't recommend for you to try it though.

 :D
"To me the rifle has always been the most romantic of all weapons, and of all rifles, the one I love the most is the rifle for big game." Jack O'Connor

Offline azshooter

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« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2004, 08:26:26 AM »
Possibly ammonium nitrate.  Ammonium tri-iodide would go boom but is very pressure sensitive so I would have my doubts.  In any case he is lucky it did not kill him.  If one goes off in the barrel, he could blow the breech of his gun right through his face.  When you see an idiot like that I would leave the range - exploding ammo is a good way to get in a Federal penn.

Offline Lawdog

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2004, 11:34:31 AM »
Spess,

That is an old and VERY dangerous practice.  On top of all that let any ATF agent catch him and he could find out what the inside of the local “county free” hotel looks like.  Lawdog
 :D
Gary aka Lawdog is now deceased. He passed away on Jan. 12, 2006. RIP Lawdog. We miss you.

Offline Questor

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2004, 11:44:13 AM »
Can someone explain the actual reaction that's going on here? I've never heard of this. (and, no, I don't want to try it myself).  It seems like it would take a stick of dynamite to make that kind of a dust cloud.
Safety first

Offline azshooter

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« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2004, 03:52:13 PM »
Could it be he was shooting at explosives?  For some entertainment go here:

http://www.boomershoot.org/photos.htm

Offline mr.frosty

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2004, 03:02:50 PM »
what happened to the days when a car battery or a gallon of gas was fun to shoot?
" People should say what they mean and mean what they say. Life is too short to be lead down the wrong path."

Online Graybeard

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2004, 03:11:17 PM »
Exploding targets are not an uncommon thing. Two kinds. One is like flour in a bag. The other is a smaller one with an explosive in it. Some guy who makes those tried to get me to let him post ads here to sell them in return for a % of profit on each sale. I declined.

Could be he had something like that down range and you just weren't aware of it.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline Spess

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2004, 05:26:07 PM »
No, it wasn't the targets, he was shooting multiple spots and distances out on the range, without going out to set new targets. It was basically a free for all out there. People only stopped to put out new target's about once an hour. Not much order to our local range.
Always know what's behind your target, it could save a life!

Offline Bill T

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2004, 09:24:13 AM »
http://www.tannerite.com/       These are expensive, but are supposed to be very impressive, 50 state legal, and safe.  Bill T.

Offline TScottO

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Nuclear Powered Fail-Safes
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2004, 09:57:54 AM »
It’s not right for someone to obstruct everyone else’s shooting. I don’t know the full story but if he is using some sort of exploding tip then he’s vandalizing your range and possibly putting himself and others in danger. I would probably be a party pooper and contact your range president or someone with stroke and bring this issue forward.

Be Safe,
Scott