From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Target materials for armor piercing ammunition?
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

webdw@mvutd.att.com (Bruce D Woods) writes:

#One idea - Richard Davis (founder of Second Chance) offers a service
#to the propane distributors in Michigan.  The bottles have a finite
#(D.O.T. regs et al) life and must be disposed of after having had holes
#drilled in them to prevent them from being used for compressed gas
#storage thereafter.  Davis hauls them out to his back range where
#the bottles become targets for all kinds of armor piercing ammo.

Speaking as an ex propane dealer, I can tell you that shooting these
old tanks is vastly much more fun if you first fill 'em one last time
for old time's sake before shooting.  Just set 'em downrange, build a
LARGE fire nearby, one that can't be blown out by massive blasts of
gas, get back a couple hundred yards and fire away.  Tangental hits with
soft bullets (so only one hole is made) are best 'cuz the cylinder
spirals up in the air like a big firework trailing a huge stream of
fire.

Minor caution:  If you don't have an ignition source very close to
the cylinder, you have the makings of an FAE on your hands.  20 lbs of
propane detonating will make you wish you had a couple hundred more yards
between you and it.

John

From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: fun things to shoot at
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

n9020351@henson.cc.wwu.edu (James Douglas Del-Vecchio) writes:

#miles@ms.uky.edu (Stephen D. Grant) writes:

##Those small propane tanks are nice. Merely place a
##road flare appx. 6" from it, go about 50 yards (minimum) away,
##and kablam! :)

#How about a can of Prestone starter fluid?


Propane tank will still work better.  I'd not mess with those tiny
disposable ones, however.  Back when I owned a welding gas supply
company, we used to collect the 20 lb "grill" propane cylinders
that we found leaking.  Federal law required us to confiscate leakers
and certify their destruction.  No law against having fun doing it :-)

We'd fill up 10 or 15 of 'em and load 'em in a pickup truck for a quick
trip to the range.  Set them out one at a time and place a flaming
gallon paint can full of gasoline soaked rags nearby.  Back off about
200 yards and fire away.  If a tangental hit is made, the cylinder will
piruette up in the air atop a huge pillar of fire.

One caution.  Make DAMN SURE your fire is good and stable and can
resist the wind.   If you lose your ignition source, the cookoff time
is excrutiating.  A hangfire is worse. A fuel-air explosion involving 20
lbs of propane is a very serious boom.  Voice of experience speaking.

John