Discuss "Can cigarette butts fired from a gun can be lethal?" here!

MythMod

Wasn't there a cigarette years ago the had a plastic triangle type filter in it? Thus, having more mass that might do more damage?

Adam needs to check his information on the locations of some of these myths to get his accents right. If he had, he would have used a New Jersey accent instead of a southern one for this one.

Yeah, I know, it's not a big thing.

in this myth, they said "at a distance of 7 feet". i take this at the end of the barrel is 7 feet, not where you stand. i don't know if this really makes a differance. and why would someone be using cigerette butts as bullets anyway?

maybe try using pyrodex pellets. Typically 2 are put in the barrel, but without a tight fitting bullet, the explosion of the first might eject the second.

I dont believe it was the cigarette butts, as much as it was the charge itself. I had hear a story of an actor killed accidentally when a gun loaded with blanks was fired point blank range at his head. Since there was obviously no projectile in the gun (blanks) it was found that it was the power of the air itself. Shouldnt this account for the damage caused the dummy by firing the rifle point blank? Adam, Jamie...GET ON IT!!!

I cant see how they could say this myth is confirmed. At the range they shot the gun the pressure alone would kill you.

I think they should of put the buts one after the other for a more accurate shot.

I think the other thing not considered is the idea of a filter itself. In the age of black powder -- it would have been unfiltered cigs that would have been smoked -- perhaps even rolled themselves. This could have made them more dense, and perhaps with a sharper, more solid point on the end. Might be a good one to revisit.

They called this myth busted but there was NO skeleton within the target body, also no clothing on it both of which would alter the results of the test.

Yes, revisit the myth, there is no way this was confirmed.
Make a shot at point blank with no buts loaded to see the results and then do one with a skeleton inside the dummy.
And like said above, add a shirt.

Nobody seems to have considered the facts that the target dummy was wearing no clothing, which could have made a difference with the weight of the projectiles, and that the target dummy also had no skeleton which would have been very likely to deflect the cigarette butts.

Someone smoking a crig while drunk will get the butt soaked with saliva/beer. I would have liked to see them fire the butts soaked in spit/beer. Plus, most drunks put out their cigs in an empty(almost empty) glass. Imagine how much more mass a butt has when it is soaked in beer. I bet it would have made a big difference and they could have made a "kill shot" at 7 feet instead of having to get closer.

sorry for the double post my comp is being odd and said error so I didn't realize that it posted

quote:

Originally posted by videogex:
Someone smoking a crig while drunk will get the butt soaked with saliva/beer. I would have liked to see them fire the butts soaked in spit/beer. Plus, most drunks put out their cigs in an empty(almost empty) glass. Imagine how much more mass a butt has when it is soaked in beer. I bet it would have made a big difference and they could have made a "kill shot" at 7 feet instead of having to get closer.

I am going to have to say I doubt it from any range further than point blank. One the butts themselves would scatter in all directions after a few feet and second the mass would help cause damage but would slow down fairly quickly or disintegrate into a mass of paper, spit which would not kill you.

On a side note, does anyone really think they would say it was busted even if it was just due to the fact that if someone saw it and tried it they would get lots of bad press (yes I know, they say not to try anything they do on the show, but people are dumb).

#1 The myth was from modern times, NOT the era of the original muzzleloaders.
#2 The myth stated cigerette butts, not pyrodex bullets.
#3 The dummy was explained to NOT have ribcage bones because they were testing if the projectiles would penetrate, not if they would find their way through the bones,
#4 The dummy was not wearing clothing because they can't test every type of clothing, so better to eliminate the variable.
#5 Blanks are NOT just a charge. They include some bits of plastic which in many cases do exit the barrel. That's how some people have died, when the plastic penetrates at close range.
#6 Pressure would not cause "holes" it would simply press in over a wide area.
#7 The butts put in one after the other would not block the barrel enough to be fired at all. That's why it was packed with 3(and the myth stated Three!)
I'm sure you watched the show.. check out a repeat to see all the facts you overlooked.
Wolfy

The mass difference when they smoked the butt made a big difference. Imagine it soaked or at least semi-wet. The mass could be 2-5 times as much. Did you see the show? The little increase in mass that they made(by smoking and leaving a little tabacoo), had a petty big effect on it. All you have to do is weigh it...

If the butts are wet they wet the powder. Physics... wet powder doesn't burn off.

If someone lets a cigarette burn down into the filter (or lights the wrong end when they are drunk ), the end of the filter that is burnt gets fused into a hard mass that would be much more likely to cause damage at the "7 foot" distance.

quote:

Originally posted by genet1965:
Nobody seems to have considered the facts that the target dummy was wearing no clothing, which could have made a difference with the weight of the projectiles, and that the target dummy also had no skeleton which would have been very likely to deflect the cigarette butts.

You are right except that they were not trying to see if the butts would make it past the skeleton.