Unique Fire Starting Method??

T

thundermoon

Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
413
Okay this could be way off the wall, so please humor the new guy and don't slam me too hard if this is far fetched. Saw it on a movie, so there ya go, gotta be true!::eek:

Do you think this would work? Dude was in the wilderness, very cold weather, needed a fire quick. Found some tinder but did not have any fire making tools. But he did have his rifle and some cartridges.....took a cartridge, pryed the round out with his knife and poured the powder in a pile under the the tinder etc.....then took his knife or stone (can't remember) while holding the open end of the cartridge up next to the pile powder and struck the primer....and presto the powder lit, and the tinder caught.

Thought to myself, humph, that sounds feasible and like a good idea. Anyone ever tried this that still has fingers to type a response?

Thanks for you input and for entertaining what could be a silly question.

Thundermoon
 
It would work..but I think that your tinder could be spread by the small concusion of the primer....much like a fire cracker going off! I would try to spark a rock or something on the powder...then WHOOSH!!! I was a teenager once...my Stepdad was into reloading...so...well, lets just say that I know how gunpowder responds to all kinds of things!!!
 
thanks, you're probably right, seems like it would move the tinder around, very good point and something to keep in mind if I'm EVER in this situation......but heck sounds like a cartridge could be the original waterproof match?:confused:
 
You are referring to the scene in Seraphin falls. I think the movie makers were allowed a little creative leeway there. I was cringing watching him strike the knife into the casing like that and just waiting for him to cut off a finger in the process. They did give the effect of him losing coordination from the cold. Also kudo's to the movie for having him use a flint and steel to start the first fire in the opening scene.

What a great knife movie that was!
 
That's a technique that can work with the older black powder cartridges. I have my doubts about it working with newer smokeless powder. Everytime I've seen someone try it with smokeless it didn't work, however there are numerous accounts of closeup gunfights during the blackpowder age where the clothes of the one shot caught fire from the burning powder. Different beast.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Charlie
 
One method I've heard of, is to dump the shot from a shotgun shell, remove the wadding, jam in compacted cotton-ball tinder, etc, load the shell into your 12Ga, fire it into another pile of tinder. The powder ignites the loaded cotton balls and propels them (lit) into your tinder pile. Then, of course, you drop the gun and scramble to puff on the tinder...

Sounds feasible, but I've never tried it.
 
CShepherd said:
That's a technique that can work with the older black powder cartridges..........Charlie
Click to expand...

"Two-cents' worth" of BLack Powder could do the trick.:thumbup:
"Modern Smokeless Propellents" (Nitrocellulose-based "powders") can be difficult to light with just a spark as the "black stuff" on them contains inhibitors that help with the effect of different burn rates. Some are harder than others to light - hence the need for "magnum" primers. But, if it's what you have.... If you are fortunate enough to have "black," on hand, you can crush (CAREFULLY and in SMALL amounts) FFg and FFFg into finer powder, like FFFg priming powder, which is specifically intended to be ignited with sparks from flint and steel (flintlock). I have always thought the on Thompson Center smoothbore flinter, in whatever caliber is approximately 28 guage, would be the ultimate "survival gun," giving one a decent charge of shot, a respectable size "round-ball" and a backup fint-n-steel firestarter with some good "artificial tinder" to boot.
 
Crushing or grinding modern smokeless powder into a fine powder would speed up its burn rate, and make it easier to set on fire with a spark. I'd still prefer to start it with flint & steel. I guess this would give a similar result to using magnesium shavings.

It can be hard to fire a primed case outside of a rifle, and the concussion would definitely blow your tinder all over the place. So you'd have a nice flash, but probably not a good start for a fire.
 
the method of removing the lead shot from the casing and putting a piece of fabric is talked about in "How to Survive in the woods" by Bradford Angier. He recomends firing it straight up ,picking up the smoldering fabric and blowing it alight with tinder and breath.

i personally would rather save my ammo and just uise good ol firesteel and p'j cotton balls
 
I guarantee the primer going off would blow your tinder away!

desmobob
(rifle, pistol and shotgun reloader for 25+ years)
 
I have done it.

smokeless power burns where as black powder explodes.

pour out the flakes hold the shell with multi tool and hit primer blows powder and tinder about but should light it and most tinder will take a light from what is left.
 
Les stroud did it, cant remeber ecaxtly what it was he did, but I know he took the slug out of a .22 and shot it into a tinder bundle, cant rember what he used for an igniter, but it worked.
 
Fonly said:
Les stroud did it, cant remeber ecaxtly what it was he did, but I know he took the slug out of a .22 and shot it into a tinder bundle, cant rember what he used for an igniter, but it worked.
Click to expand...


Now I can picture it working. If the powder was sprinkled into a bundle of tinder that was secured somehow, the primer blast might ignite it instead of blowing it away.

Uncontained rifle powder burns fairly slowly.... kind of a slow "flare up." Pistol and shotgun powder burns a lot faster. Black powder burns instantly; just a quick "POOF!"

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Fonly said:
Les stroud did it, cant remeber ecaxtly what it was he did, but I know he took the slug out of a .22 and shot it into a tinder bundle, cant rember what he used for an igniter, but it worked.
Click to expand...



He pulled a bullet, and left some powder in the cartridge then pinched the neck in a bit, and shot it from the rifle into the tinder bundle, whether or not he had put powder in the bundle it did not say. But it did take him several try's.

The Idea works with no projectile the build pressure the powder is still burning as it leaves the barrel it could ignite as it goes, but it's hit am miss.;)
 
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