05-01-2018, 08:16 PM
It's hard to imagine how intense the pressure is inside a gun barrel.
I heard about an amateur gunsmith who was drilling a barrel for a target scope mount. Drilled too deep, into the rifling, said "oh well" and went ahead and tapped the hole for the screw. Mounted the scope and the first shot blew the screw out of the hole with enough force to eject the whole scope ring. Somehow the scope broke loose and landed 10 feet behind the shooter, he was lucky it went over his head.
Probably urban myth, who knows.
Another thing this "high-pressure hole" reminds me of is when I was in the Navy and they warned us about the dangers of superheated steam.
At high pressure, if a pipe got a pinhole the leaking steam was invisible and cut flesh like a razor. For example, if you waved your arm in front of you your hand might drop off. If you walked past a leak your top half could fall off like a character in a cartoon.
They taught that if you suspected a leak, wave a broomstick handle in front of you.
I heard about an amateur gunsmith who was drilling a barrel for a target scope mount. Drilled too deep, into the rifling, said "oh well" and went ahead and tapped the hole for the screw. Mounted the scope and the first shot blew the screw out of the hole with enough force to eject the whole scope ring. Somehow the scope broke loose and landed 10 feet behind the shooter, he was lucky it went over his head.
Probably urban myth, who knows.
Another thing this "high-pressure hole" reminds me of is when I was in the Navy and they warned us about the dangers of superheated steam.
At high pressure, if a pipe got a pinhole the leaking steam was invisible and cut flesh like a razor. For example, if you waved your arm in front of you your hand might drop off. If you walked past a leak your top half could fall off like a character in a cartoon.
They taught that if you suspected a leak, wave a broomstick handle in front of you.