From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Ejecting into hand -> AD!
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

PYRON@DONUTS.dseg.ti.com writes:

#One of my dive buddies who is also a Carrollton cop tells me of a guy in town
#who apparently lost a finger when ejecting a live round into his hand.  The
#claim is that the ejector hit the primer, which caused the round to bang.  It
#didn't go far, but far enough to require amputation.

#Dave is somewhat skeptical of the story and thinks the guy just plan shot
#himself.  OTOH, Dave has stopped the practice himself until their Armourer
#hears back from Glock.

Ain't no way!  Uncontained, this ammo will do little other than
eject the bullet from the case or maybe rupture the case.  No significant
power burn will occur.  I have a couple of experiences.  One, I had
a round of .45 go off in my pocket (don't ask!  Moral: don't carry
batteries and ammo in the same pocket!).  Nothing damaged other than
some slightly frayed nerves.  A good chunk of the powder charge was
recovered from my pocket.  Two, during my house fire a couple of years ago,
some ammo near the ceiling cooked off.  A cookoff is much worse than
a primer fire because there is bulk powder burn.  NO bullets were embedded
in the ceiling about a foot above the shelf and no dents from impacts were
evident.  Most of the cases simply ruptured.  Some small fragments of
brass were BARELY embedded in nearby books ("barely" means able to be
flicked off with the slightest touch).  Third, I have a little rig
I use in my classes to demonstrate the safety of ammo.  It consists
of a clamp to hold a round of ammo and a spring-driven nail to hit the
primer.  I demonstrate with .45ACP and 9 mm.  The bullet is discharged
from the case with insufficient energy to penetrate or even rupture
a piece of cardboard a couple of inches away.

Sounds to me like this clown simply shot himself and is trying to cover
his ass.

John