Interesting Gun What-Ifs

Ever wondered how hard it would be to shoot a padlock open? I had not, I admit, but the answers intrigued me nonetheless.

I've been thinking of doing a test to see how long my 1911 .45 would continue to fire if I started out with it clean and lubed but didn't clean it along the way. And then do another test with it clean but dry. At least it would be a good excuse to blast some rounds downrange.

I do know some guys who have shot into car windshields and engine blocks to see what would happen-- not in the redneck sense, but in the practical sense. The results were instructive. Apparently there is considerable upward deflection of the rounds through the windshield, and it's harder than you might think to do any damage to an engine block with common small arms ammunition, like the 5.56. I'd like to try those tests myself.

jpp