[caniswalensis]

Hello all,

I am new here, this is my first post and I know only very basic information about guns.

I have a question, and I will be honest and say that I joined the forum for the sole purpose of asking it.

I am aquainted with a person that has made the claim of having caused guns to "backfire" by removing a piece of chewing gum from their mouth and pushing it into the end of the gun's barrel.

The exact gun type was not stipulated, but it would be a handgun of a sort used by law enforcement officers or federal agents. I know that still leaves a huge array of possibilities.

So just to reiterate, the senario is:

A person is chewing gum. They take it out of their mouths and immediately plug the end of the barrel with it. they do not have more than a second or two to complete the plugging procedure. The gun is then fired with no delay, so the gum would not be dried out or hard, but still soft & pliable. The gun then backfires. Backfires is their word, and I am not sure what they mean by it in this context. I assume that it means an explosion in the chamber or split barrel or something.

How likely is this to happen, really?

Thanks for the read, and any help you can give me with evaluating this claim.

Regards, Canis

[Benning Boy]

You mean you won't be sticking around for many such meaningful conversations?

[Jo da Plumbr]

I've never heard of gum stopping a bullet, but my mother did warn me about swollowing gum.

[hunter Joe]

Because of the great amount of pressure that is created during the firing sequence of a cartridge or shot shell, an obstruction in the barrel of a firearm can cause said firearm to explode, creating a dangerous situation. Do not try this a home boys and girls. Dawg, it was a pleasure corresponding with you.

[caniswalensis]

Ha Ha! No, I wanted to be honest. I am not a gun hobbiest or professional.

I realize that this is probably not the most meaningful conversation when it comes to guns. I have a personal stake in the question, so it is interesting to me. I sincerely apologize to anyone here that feels I have wasted your time with my post.

I just did not know where else to go to get help with my question. I spent several hours trying to google up some info on this. the closest I got was a bit from the "Mythbusters" show where they were testing what would happen if you stuck your finger in the barrel of a shotgun.

If anyone has any insight or opinions on this claim, i would be very appreciative.

Canis

[caniswalensis]

Originally Posted by hunter Joe

Because of the great amount of pressure that is created during the firing sequence of a cartridge or shot shell, an obstruction in the barrel of a firearm can cause said firearm to explode, creating a dangerous situation. Do not try this a home boys and girls. Dawg, it was a pleasure corresponding with you.

Thank you for your time & answer, HJ!

Now I am wondering, how much of an obstruction is required? Would anything at all cause this? Or is it conceivable that the pressure could simply push some obstructions out of the end of the barrel?

To put people's minds at rest, Let me state here that I am a 45 year old sane and responsible adult, and have no intention of experimenting with this myself. I am simply looking for help to evaluate this claim. Without going to deep into personal matters, someone is telling me they have done this, and I am concerned about their state of mind.

Regards, Canis

[matt g]

You'd need to be able to apply an object into the barrel that would be capable of resisting the force applied to it by the gasses that would be compressed in front of the bullet. These would be comparable to the gas expansion behind the bullet.

Your scenario calls into question the ability to stop a law enforcement type firearm. The most common LE cartridge used today is probably the 10mm Auto. The maximum pressure, as dictated by SAAMI, for the 10mm is 37.5 kPSI.

If the compression of the air in front of the bullet equals the expansion of the gasses behind the bullet, the blockage would need to resist the 37.5 kPSI compression. That's some bad assed gum.

In short, no it isn't possible to stop a pistol's barrel with gum. Tell your buddy that he's full of ****.

[Dillinger]

Canis - In theory what you are describing is possible, but I highly doubt it would result in catastrophic failure of the firearm.

First off, reaching for an officer's exposed weapon is suicide. Your friend likely would have gotten his ass drilled if he tried that in real life ( I in NO WAY believe he has actually done this ). Reaching for an officer's weapon is a threat to that officer's life and would be dealt with accordingly. If he was LUCKY, all he would have gotten was the officer stepping back and a severe admonition to sit the eff down and chill the eff out.

Now, IF someone where to grasp the end of my weapon and shove something in the barrel, my first thought would be to beat him to death with it and then check to see if the weapon could fire. I highly doubt anyone is just going to allow someone to grab the end of their weapon, shove some gum in the barrel and then release the weapon without a struggle and go on about their day.

Is is possible? Yes. Is it likely that it happened? No.

JD

[Yunus]

I wouldn't think gum would stop the bullet but I would think that depending on the type of firearm it could increase blowback.

[LegatoRedrivers]

Not doin' it, can't make me.