Shooting Dynamite With A Krag Rifle

[Knute1]

So it seems kind of silly to bring up. But experiments were actually tried using a Krag Jorgensen rifle shooting rounds at frozen and unfrozen dynamite. The rifle of 1,001 uses.

From a "Mining Science" periodical dated 7/6/1911:

Frozen Dynamite
Frozen dynamite is said to be far less sensitive than the unfrozen material. Some recent experiments were made with a particularly sensitive grade of 60 per cent gelatine dynamite and also with some straight dynamite. A number of these sticks were used as targets for bullets from a Krag Jorgensen government rifle loaded for a velocity of 2,150 ft and fired at a distance of 50 ft. from the dynamite. The bullets discharged in this way failed in every case to explode the sticks of frozen straight and gelatine dynamite. Other frozen sticks were then thawed and used as targets in precisely the same way. In every case the bullets detonated them, thus showing the decreased sensitiveness due to freezing. The same thing was shown in another way by using thawed sticks which were broken in two. If a cap with 30 grains of fulminate of mercury was attached to half of a thawed stick and the other half was placed 8 in. from it, the latter would be exploded when the former was fired. If, however, a whole stick of frozen dynamite was placed 8 in. from a half stick of thawed dynamite and the latter was fired the frozen stick remained unaffected. In fact, it was not until the frozen material was placed within 1 in. of the piece fired by the cap that it could be exploded. When sticks of frozen and of thawed dynamite were blown into the air with black powder it was found that the former took about three times as long to burn as the latter.

[Capt. Frank]

I will keep this in mind, next time I am shooting dynamite.

[Whig]

I always liked the story my grandfather used to tell me about his early years fishing off Kelly's Island in Lake Erie. He said they used to throw dynamite into the water and the shock waves from the explosion would cause lots of fish to float to the surface and then they would scoop them up.

That's why fishing with dynamite was made illegal. You could wipe out a small lake in a few hours that way.

just nice to have good memories of grandparents.

[FredC]

Anyone note the 50 feet from the dynamite? Maybe I do not know much about dynamite but it seems too close to me.

[Knute1]

50 yards seems more reasonable...and shooting thru a hole in a wall or something of the sort. Perhaps the reporters notes were erroneous.

[FredC]

Quote "50 yards seems more reasonable...and shooting thru a hole in a wall or something of the sort."

I would feel better that way. I am a volunteer fireman that is my approach on fires involving compressed gas cylinders. Distance and something between me and the cylinder.

On reporters we see the reports all the time "fracking rigs" really? (the accompanying photo is always a drilling rig) Military grade weapons when referring to ARs. Give me a break, now a Krag is military grade. :-)

[King carp]

My dad told me they used hand grenades to fish with on saipan and the philipines during WW2. He called the grenades Dupont spinners. He said it was the best bait for fishing. Lol.
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