Shotguns are known for the deadly effectiveness of their ability to fire a shot that spreads and causes maximum damage. So the last thing anyone wants to do is be near is be near a shell when it goes off outside the barrel, right? Maybe not.
If you’ve ever found yourself imagining that a shotgun shell would essentially turn into a makeshift frag grenade when discharged outside the barrel then you’re in for a disappointment.
As the video shows, all that really happens is that only the primer goes off for the most part and there’s a lot of unspent gunpowder being flung through the air. This boils down to pellets that are sent flying through the air at a speed similar to if they had been thrown from someone’s hand.
While the video only shows what birdshot would do, we can’t imagine buckshot would perform much better since it would need the barrel to concentrate the explosion and send it forward.
