Hendon Gooner (Only Easy Day Was Yesterday))
03-27-2016, 09:30 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1 2204896/Georgia-man-loses-leg-after-firing-rifle-at-lawnmowe r-packed-with-explosives.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12204896/Georgia-man-loses-leg-after-firing-rifle-at-lawnmower-packed-with-explosives.html)
The three friends no doubt thought shooting at an old lawnmower would be a fun way of exercising America’s gun ownership rights.
But packing it with Tannerite explosive beforehand turned out to be a serious mistake when the target exploded in a dangerous hail of flying metal that hit one of the men, causing horrific injuries that cost him his leg.
This footage shows the moment when 23-year-old David Presley is struck by debris from the machine after firing at it with a high-powered rifle at close range.
Mr Presley and his two accomplices in Walton County in the southern state of Georgia packed the lawnmower with 3ib of Tannerite - a binary explosive designed to make a loudly combusting target for firearms practice - before shooting at it from just 14 yards away.
“It went terribly bad from there,” he admitted ruefully afterwards.
Mr Presley lost his left leg below the knee after being struck by the potentially lethal lumps of metal. The consequences could have been fatal if his friends had not been present to attend to his injuries and have him taken to hospital.
Tannerite, a patented product, combines ammonium nitrate and aluminium which are mixed and shaken together to produce an explosive. It is not flammable and generally stable when not subjected to high velocity bullets.
While its use for shooting practice is both common and legal in Georgia, the injured man and his friends ignored basic precautions, according to police - packing the lawnmower with too much explosive and then firing at excessively close range.
“It’s not a toy. It’s much more than just a fire-cracker,” said Joe Chapman, sheriff of Walton Country, adding that use of the explosive for fire practice generates frequent complaints about noise. “As a rule of thumb, I’m told that you need to be 100 yards away per pound of Tannerite.”
Mr Presley admitted to be just 43 feet away from the lawnmower when he fired his high-velocity rifle. His two friends were standing behind him, one of them filming.
The three friends no doubt thought shooting at an old lawnmower would be a fun way of exercising America’s gun ownership rights.
But packing it with Tannerite explosive beforehand turned out to be a serious mistake when the target exploded in a dangerous hail of flying metal that hit one of the men, causing horrific injuries that cost him his leg.
This footage shows the moment when 23-year-old David Presley is struck by debris from the machine after firing at it with a high-powered rifle at close range.
Mr Presley and his two accomplices in Walton County in the southern state of Georgia packed the lawnmower with 3ib of Tannerite - a binary explosive designed to make a loudly combusting target for firearms practice - before shooting at it from just 14 yards away.
“It went terribly bad from there,” he admitted ruefully afterwards.
Mr Presley lost his left leg below the knee after being struck by the potentially lethal lumps of metal. The consequences could have been fatal if his friends had not been present to attend to his injuries and have him taken to hospital.
Tannerite, a patented product, combines ammonium nitrate and aluminium which are mixed and shaken together to produce an explosive. It is not flammable and generally stable when not subjected to high velocity bullets.
While its use for shooting practice is both common and legal in Georgia, the injured man and his friends ignored basic precautions, according to police - packing the lawnmower with too much explosive and then firing at excessively close range.
“It’s not a toy. It’s much more than just a fire-cracker,” said Joe Chapman, sheriff of Walton Country, adding that use of the explosive for fire practice generates frequent complaints about noise. “As a rule of thumb, I’m told that you need to be 100 yards away per pound of Tannerite.”
Mr Presley admitted to be just 43 feet away from the lawnmower when he fired his high-velocity rifle. His two friends were standing behind him, one of them filming.