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Does this news story make sense?
Warbirds
Member Posts: 16,923 ✭✭✭✭
Guy reloading who had “at least 6lbs of smokeless powder” blew his house up.
Wouldn’t smokeless powder burn, not explode, let alone 6lbs of powder level this guys house?
Comments
Not believing that 6 pounds of smokeless powder did that to the house - Best Regards - AQH
Unless he was reloading next to a Meth lab..
Perhaps the term "at least" is pertinent here.
maybe 6 pounds of high explosives ? just a guess I have no idea on what it would take to do it but I do not think 6 pounds of smokeless powder would have caused that good news at least there both alive .
but WTH if the cops and insurance company go along so be it
or he had a propane gas leak that went undetected for hours prior to the BP touching off.
6 lb. could pack a wallop but not in the container it comes in.
Typical media reporting. If you read the article it did not say the reloading or the smokeless powder caused the explosion. If he had set off something with that big of a bang while reloading I doubt if he would have been around to tell the responders what happened. It is also odd there isn't evidence of fire like you would expect with an uncontained smokeless powder or gas explosion. It looks like the damage shown when Mythbusters blew up a hot water heater. Bob
You don't have to wear your glasses when reloading... But it Helps.
Three motives to lie.
Looks like the explosion happened in a front room of the house. That alone seems suspect.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
News interviewing a couple of neighbors... Well Jerome what did you see? I heared a loud boom like whats goes on in Chicago about every day.
How about it Langley.. who lives 4 blocks away... well it sounded like a space shuttle launch.. didn't know one was going up today.
One word comes to mind........Cartel.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
Sounds like a lie to try and cover something else up.
Meth lab
...Looks like heck of a lot of damage from 6lbs of smokeless powder, but then Ive not exploded 6lbs of powder in my house..
"Looks like the explosion happened in a front room of the house. That alone seems suspect."
...??? Really? Maybe he doesnt have a "designated" reloading bunker...I have my gun bench, couple of safes, and do everything gun related in my middle front bedroom, which of course is at the front of my home...
No. Six lbs of Tannerite- maybe.
Looks more like a meth lab explosion to me . Contrary to popular belief they don't all catch fire .
Did it blow up twice? Most of the roof is there then it is gone.
"UNCONTAINED" ignition of smokeless reloading powder does not result in an explosion (that's the reason for the thin metal/plastic containers and the storage recommendations). One heck of a fire but not a destructive explosion as shown in the pic. Tannerite or BP does explode.
The "reloading ammo" and "6# of smokeless powder" may or may not have a thing to do with the blast. He could also have been "watching TV" or "on the toilet" when it occurred, but neither would be causative. Likewise the powder could just as well have been "6# pounds of cat litter" in the house. No cause and effect relationship necessarily arises.
The disappearing roof is a product of camera angles, In my opinion. The tree blocks the view of the remaining roof in the top photo. That shot was also taken from much closer in, which also masks view of the roof.
No, it doesn't make sense. Smokeless powder would have burned.
Six pounds of any type of gunpowder will produce a respectable blast if tightly packed into a steel pipe with endcaps welded on. Of course, welding will detonate the powder.......Did this guy have a welder, by any chance?
First question that comes up in this old news reporter's mind is how did he survive?
If he was reloading he would have been close to the powder and probably would have suffered severe injuries.
Next question is was it a "high velocity" or "low velocity" explosion? Low velocity --like AMFO-- is a push which would bend the fence. High velocity --like a gas leak-- is a shattering force which would break all the windows nearby but leave lots of debris close to where it originally was. Either way it wasn't a big boom.
'Nother question from a non-reloader: why SIX pounds? Doesn't powder come in one and eight pound cans? Or was the six an estimate on how much was left in can?
Some good questions here -- bet we'll never hear the answers.😏
Depends on how the smokeless was being stored. If in the original plastic bottles sitting on an open table or shelf, it will pretty much just burn rapidly, likely causing a significant housefire but no blast. However, if the 6 pounds was tightly confined in a rigid container, then BOOM! Think of an artillery shell going off.
My Daughter was helping her employer, an insurance company, with insuring a semi trailer of "gunpowder". She called me to ask about it. I asked her if it was smokeless powder or black powder, explaining that one is considered a flammable solid, the other an explosive, in that order. I told her I wouldn't insure a semi full of black powder without a LARGE cash up-front premium! Turned out to be smokeless, and properly labeled and escorted.
Six pounds doesn't seem to be an extraordinary amount for an avid reloader, IMHO.
Again, some of you are making the HUGE leap to the conclusion that his reloading was the cause of the blast. His wife was also in the house "doing something" but none of you leapt to the theory that whatever she was doing was the cause, did you?
What he was doing may have been completely coincidental to the accident.
Posted this on another gun forum and got several interesting responses.
A gunpowder explosion (home-made bomb type) would be a high velocity event and everything would be shattered and moved.
However several readers noted that the damage was all in the upper part of the house, more consistent with a natural gas type explosion since NG is lighter than air and rises while butane/propane is heavier and settles so they were of the opinion that it was a NG type event.