Finnish Darwin Award. The perils of amature EOD work....

[ThatFALGuy]

I don't think you are really in to collecting if you haven't made potentially hazardous mistakes, some just make the most grave of mistakes.

Used to pop off shotgun 209 primers when we were kids using a hammer and steel block. Still have a couple of chunks embedded in my knees. Another time I had an M60 fuze igniter I found in the Az desert at an old base. Put a 209 primer in it, reset it and pulled the plunger. Sitting in the sun for many many years left it a bit brittle. Still ever thankful that I have all my fingers and hand, man did that HURT!

[vegetius]

Quote: I don't think you are really in to collecting if you haven't made potentially hazardous mistakes, some just make the most grave of mistakes.

You can be really into collecting without risking your life and the lives of others. It just requires thought and most often obeying the law!

It is illegal in most countries to purchase obtain or possess live ammunition of any type without a licence or permission of some sort. Some ammunitions (normally SAA may be exempt) but items of Military Ordnance are generally forbidden. And before the 'But it's inert' arguement is trailed out, the dissassembly, tampering and general stupidity of messing around with potentially leathal items that you have not been specifically trained on is in polite terms a Darwin award opportunity. To those in the buisness it is termed in stronger and less polite ways.

In addition the Illegal modification of ammunition normally is illegal as well and this usually includes the Illegal Inerting of ammunition.

Just a little food for thought!

[vegetius]

Oh and EOD is not a hobby nor the province of amateurs. On the job training is not encouraged. Likewise the phrase, "I dug this up what is it?" should never be heard. If you do not know what something is then you do not know if it is safe! The simple fact is then if you touch or move the item you risk your life or worse still the life of others!

I may be old fashioned but interfering with objects that can kill or maim you without a suitable level of formal training and suitable techniques being employed (including all safety constraints) then that is wrong on all levels.

Rant over.

[Watchdog]

As a teenager i used to set off 50cal bullets i had found on Burtonwood airbase with a centre punch!...

Yep, I am of similar vintage and health & safety was not such a force as it is today! I would be horrified to know that kids now even imagined doing the stupid stuff we used to!

Near my childhood home was a disused railway siding with a fence made of old railway sleepers. Being a semi rural area (South East Lancashire) there were plenty of farms and therefore easy access to shotgun ammo.
Now, the railway sleepers had holes through them where the tracks used to be secured and these holes were about the same diameter as a 12 bore shotgun cartridge. You can see where this is going?

We used to have great sport pushing a cartridge into a hole in a vertical sleeper then striking the primer with a hammer and nail thus discharging the shot on the other side

We thought this was hilarious but the potential for harm to us if the sleeper split or to anyone on the other side when the shot was discharged is immense.

There were other even more stupid tricks but this one seems the most relevant here.

I learned very quickly through childhood games, subsequent membership of the Army Cadets and later a full career as a regular soldier, that anything of such a volatile nature has the ability to do serious harm beyond the intended purpose if not treated with proper respect. Most people today do not have the benefit of such training and education plus they watch / play too many inane videos or games in which there is much destruction but none of the actual blood, snot and stench of such violent events.

I can't see anything funny about these muppets blowing themselves up as it is only good fortune preventing their stupidity from harming other people. Also, it brings unwelcome attention to all our collecting interests.

It's all about education in the end.

On the other hand, as a former professional soldier this kind of thing makes me wet myself with laughter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dstGdAHGL30

and what about this guy?

As they say, "avoid obvious cover" however, obvious cover is better than no cover. Also, note his superb weapon handling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAtvZEoqnP8

Regards

Mark