What's the chance of a bullet still firing after being submerged in water?

[jtvang125]

Say the bullets were loaded into the magazine and submerged for 10 minutes. Then loaded into the pistol (no shaking water off) and immediately fired. Would it fire? How about 5 minutes later? 10?

 

[Anubis]

what are you planning?

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: Anubis
what are you planning?

Nothing. Just a scene from Striking Distance that I was curious about.

 

[LS21]

what is the conclusion of firing into a body water? how deep does the bullet penetrate and how much energy does it still have at , say , 5ft?

assume "standard" 9mm, 7.62 nato, and .40

 

[TwiceOver]

I would assume it would still fire. Aren't bullets pretty much water proof, at least to some degree?

@LS21: The Mythbusters did a few shows on that. I can't remember the results.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
I would assume it would still fire. Aren't bullets pretty much water proof, at least to some degree?

@LS21: The Mythbusters did a few shows on that. I can't remember the results.

They did ones where you fired a bullet under water, to which IIRC depends on the gun and bullets.

OP assuming you have a gun/bullets that would work underwater then yes, otherwise it depends.

edit: if you know the specific model of gun we might be able to give more info.

 

[jlee]

Yes, it'll fire...we don't use black powder and paper anymore, y'know.

 

[Danman]

The hammer hits the primer on the back of the cartridge which causes the explosion within the casing to shoot the bullet. If the cartridge is still intact (meaning water did not leak into it), it should still fire.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

As stated, depends on the cartridge.

A lot of folks put cartridges in a can of oil for a while to make them inert, then disassemble them.

But something like military M855, M80, or M33 should have no problem firing after being submerged for a bit.

 

[uberman]

Originally posted by: Anubis
what are you planning?

It would depend on variables such as water depth, immersion time and water temperature. How long would you swimming underwater with the bullets towards your target? Will you be wearing a wetsuit? I'm assuming the water will be cold. If you were wearing a drysuit with a tuxedo under it (like James Bond did); you could put the bullets in the pocket of your sportcoat and they would stay dry.

What are you planning?

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
I would assume it would still fire. Aren't bullets pretty much water proof, at least to some degree?

@LS21: The Mythbusters did a few shows on that. I can't remember the results.

They did ones where you fired a bullet under water, to which IIRC depends on the gun and bullets.

OP assuming you have a gun/bullets that would work underwater then yes, otherwise it depends.

edit: if you know the specific model of gun we might be able to give more info.

He was carrying either a Sig P226 or P229. Can't really say what type of bullets he had loaded though.

 

[desy]

If the primer is sealed then the cartidge will be alright
Firing depends on the type of firearm

 

[Brovane]

It will fire. If I remember correctly from one of the shows covering people that rebuild tanks (very expensive hobby). I believe it was a Panther tank that was being rebuilt after sitting at the bottom of a river for several decades. There was 8MM Mauser rounds scattered around the bottom of the tank. One of the people working on it was using a blow torch to get off a part and one of the rounds cooked off because of the heat. Just made a loud noise but scared the person using the blow torch. So if a round will still cook off after sitting on the bottom of a river for several decades I will say yes to your question.

 

[compman25]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
I would assume it would still fire. Aren't bullets pretty much water proof, at least to some degree?

@LS21: The Mythbusters did a few shows on that. I can't remember the results.

They did ones where you fired a bullet under water, to which IIRC depends on the gun and bullets.

OP assuming you have a gun/bullets that would work underwater then yes, otherwise it depends.

edit: if you know the specific model of gun we might be able to give more info.

They also did the "It's as easy as shooting fish in a barrel" episode. They determined the only way to hit the fish was with a shotgun and it was just by chance some of the fish got hit. They also determined it was the shockwave that killed the fish whether they hit them or not.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
As stated, depends on the cartridge.

A lot of folks put cartridges in a can of oil for a while to make them inert, then disassemble them.

But something like military M855, M80, or M33 should have no problem firing after being submerged for a bit.

Box o truth tackled this. I can't link to it at work. They tried the oil test. They put oil ovr the primer of rounds and let them sit for up to 5 weeks and every one of them fired.

 

[darkxshade]

What's the chance of a plane taking off after being submerged in water?

Fixed

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver

@LS21: The Mythbusters did a few shows on that. I can't remember the results.

I also know they did a few shows but dont remember what the conclusions were