If a bullet (jacketed) were to explode, without being put in a barrel, say; if you threw it up against something concrete, does the bullet have the same capability to be lethal as it did before without the forward velocity it gains from the barrel?
Is there any danger you'd want to "dispose" of it by sending it to me in the future? I'm going broke with ammo prices these days....My occupation is Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Over the past 48 years i have destroyed in excess of two billion rounds of small arms ammunition by burning, mostly in open pits. Sometimes the cases and bullets fly about 15 feet: Seldom do they go further than that. Steel cased ammunition makes a louder bang when it burns.
Cartridge brass is malleable (bends easily). Smokeless powder requires significant pressure to completely burn. The primer, being the lightest part of the cartridge, will tend to pop out first and the powder will flare off through the flash hole. IF the primer is contained partially by whatever surface set it off in the first place, the bullet will pop out. As soon as it releases from the case, the pressures will drop and the bullet will not go far. The brass may give way but would be unlikely to send significant shrapnel.No it would not travel with the same impact force but ever hear of fragmentation ? the cartridge could explode and send shrapnel in all directions ... so it could cause a body to get real damaged or even shredded depends on how close and if it is a heavy load![]()