Yardage estimate?

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
A friend asked a question that I had no first hand information on so I thought I would ask the experts here if they had ever heard of any first hand accounts. The question was, how far back should one be before using a 1# propane canister for target practice?:confused:
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
well my old (and I mean old) handy dandy explosives manual states that the mimumum safe distance is 300 yds,,,,but that's for "troops in the open",,,,,,,

but propane the issue is where that bottle goes when you punch a hole in it,,,,,,

whether it blows up or not depends on any sparks generate by the hit,,,,,,

recommendation - don't do it,,,,,,,
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Thanks woodmoose. Man, if a 1# bottle would go 300 yds., how far would a gas grill tank go?

Edit. And that is an official government document you are referring to, correct.
 
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treein dixie

Twelve Pointer
The bottle will fly! Let it warm before picking up as it will be covered in ice if you retrieve it immediately.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
yes, govt document - 300yds was the safety factor - eliminates chances of all debris,,,and it was a general "1 lb of explosive material" type safety factor,,,,,

as previously mentioned,,,,depends on how it's ignited and if it ignites,,,

here is a video of one,,,,don't look like much but you can see the tank going up in the air,,,,,

[video]https://youtu.be/6BdXUjvwCoU[/video]

and there is one that just shows gas excaping,,,,,,

[video]https://youtu.be/57nmiaplP1Q[/video]
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I can tell you how far a 1 pound canister will launch burning trash out of a 55 gallon barrel...
I wouldn't worry about shooting one as long as I was behind a safe barrier.
Remember, please video it...please.....😃
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
not a propane story, but a "ammo in the fire" story,,,,,,

was down in the Caribbean for a training effort after the Grenada adventure (yeap, Nov - March on a Caribbean island),,,,,,we had the troops (the islands policemen) up at a range we pushed out of the jungle,,,,,,had a fire just off the firing line,,,,,some of the police officers decided to burn the dunnage,,,,,some of it wasn't dunnage though,,,,,,

ammo started popping and spitting,,,,making impressive sounds of explosions,,,,,,,,,,,

dove for cover and got ready to return fire (just knew either the drug fellows had had enough or there were some more lost Cubans),,,,,,,

luckily no one got hurt,,, in a fire the bullet pushes out and the case sometimes ruptures,,,but nothing goes far as their is no compression,,,,but it sure was a rodeo there for a few minutes,,,,,,,,
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
So trying to think this thing through, if there is no spark, ie. fire, all you will get will be a projectile as a result of the escaping gas. Add a spark and it generates an explosion. If the explosion is what one was trying to generate, maybe a cherry bomb, if there were such a thing any more, taped to the canister and hit that ..............., boom or fizzle?
 

Zombie

Old Mossy Horns
Wrap it in packing paper or news paper, light, run, shoot, BOOM. 100 yards will work with some cover and are a risk taker, lol.

Starting fluid is fun to shoot too...paper sack, light, run 50 yards, shoot. WHOOSH! 50ft mushroom roll of fire.

Sent from.......wait....where am I?!
 
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DRS

Old Mossy Horns
2nd hand report here:

I have a friend who in his younger years, before I knew him, decided to shot a 20lb cylinder from behind a barrier in his parents back yard, at a distance of 100 yards or so. The propane tank did not explode. However, he did say he did not think about the exit hole being larger than the entrance. Think about that for a minute. Yep! that is right more gas escapes through the larger hole. The larger hole was on the opposite side of the tank, so the tank came toward the shooter. Luckily, it did not hit the barrier or the house. The tank did land out in front of the house several hundred yards from it's original position.

I'll just take his word on this matter. I have no real wants or reason to duplicate this experiment, to find out if this was a fluke or if the same results have a high probability.
 
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Justin

Old Mossy Horns
not a propane story, but a "ammo in the fire" story,,,,,,

was down in the Caribbean for a training effort after the Grenada adventure (yeap, Nov - March on a Caribbean island),,,,,,we had the troops (the islands policemen) up at a range we pushed out of the jungle,,,,,,had a fire just off the firing line,,,,,some of the police officers decided to burn the dunnage,,,,,some of it wasn't dunnage though,,,,,,

ammo started popping and spitting,,,,making impressive sounds of explosions,,,,,,,,,,,

dove for cover and got ready to return fire (just knew either the drug fellows had had enough or there were some more lost Cubans),,,,,,,

luckily no one got hurt,,, in a fire the bullet pushes out and the case sometimes ruptures,,,but nothing goes far as their is no compression,,,,but it sure was a rodeo there for a few minutes,,,,,,,,

Been through that, sort of, down in your neck of the woods when I worked for NCWRC doing controlled burns on the Sandhills.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
A friend asked a question that I had no first hand information on so I thought I would ask the experts here if they had ever heard of any first hand accounts. The question was, how far back should one be before using a 1# propane canister for target practice?:confused:
They tried it on Mythbusters but couldn't get it to ignite by shooting it. As they always do they figured out a way to blow it up but the shooting didn't do it.
 

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
I've heard tell of folks putting a lit road flare near target and shooting it with dramatic results. That could just be urban legends. Your results may vary. :)
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
woodmoose's video suggestions were very interesting and Zombie's ideas have merit. I will search Mythbusters and see how their experiments looked and worked out.

And for those interested, I still don't have that heater head working right yet either.......... but I'm still here.
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
I think that maybe a small amount of tannerite taped to the canister and then shot would have a sort of 1-2 boom and a pretty big flare. Don't KNOW this but I did stay at Holiday Inn Express last month.
 

Zombie

Old Mossy Horns
woodmoose's video suggestions were very interesting and Zombie's ideas have merit. I will search Mythbusters and see how their experiments looked and worked out.

And for those interested, I still don't have that heater head working right yet either.......... but I'm still here.
I have mine on video...but the chances of me finding those vids from 8-10 years ago are slim, lol

Sent from.......wait....where am I?!
 

crittergitter

Ten Pointer
You will probably need a source of fire close to the tank to get it to explode or at least make a bigger fire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Thanks woodmoose. Man, if a 1# bottle would go 300 yds., how far would a gas grill tank go?

Edit. And that is an official government document you are referring to, correct.

Lee, set it out. place 3 candles 1ft, 5ft, and 10'....in case they are blown out by the blast . that way if no spark from hit it will still go boom. was your friend "D"
 

BarSinister

Old Mossy Horns
I heard of someone shooting one of the little camper tanks, not sure of the size, with his AR. The 2 of them were about 150 yrds away. They heard a whistling sound that sounded kind of like a missile going over their heads, but only found the plastic base near the place where it was shot. The next day one of them returned to the scene and on his way in found the tank portion. It has traveled 300+ yrds. They had planned to do a protected shoot on a bigger tank with a propane burner lit on it but I think they thought better of it.
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Not him Mack, but I did discuss it with him. LOL.

You guys are giving me heart. After some of the responses I got to my last thread about a propane bottle, I expected to be really thrown under the bus on this one but it appears to be more accepted and less personally destructive than the other thread. Thanks for all the input. And as always, Eric, sorry, I still can't video.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Not him Mack, but I did discuss it with him. LOL.

You guys are giving me heart. After some of the responses I got to my last thread about a propane bottle, I expected to be really thrown under the bus on this one but it appears to be more accepted and less personally destructive than the other thread. Thanks for all the input. And as always, Eric, sorry, I still can't video.

Lee, I will video it for you but I want to be behind a big tree....i can put the camera on a tripod.
 

apexhunter

Ten Pointer
A good friend of mine attends a big "shoot" at an undisclosed location every year where many people burn through thousands of rounds of rifle and pistol ammo in an afternoon. The finale is to shoot/explode propane cylinders and they have graduated from the disposable "camp stove" size to 20# cylinders. From what he tells me they use candles and/or a burning piece of wood as the ignition source and shoot from 300 or more yards for safety. Even at 300 yards people must be behind suitable cover as the tanks and shrapnel can travel that or more distance. As a note- Tannerite is fun but it is purely a concussion type of explosive with little to no flame so it is not a dependable source of ignition necessary to make the propane burn.
 
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