What happens with C4 when...

Question

you shoot it from a long range with a phosphorous tipped ammunition which burn in flight so when it hits the target its applies heat, fire, and pressure to the target.

I asked this because I heard of accidents in Vietnam in which soldiers would burn C4 to use as a fire pit and sometimes to stomp out the fire and the C4 would explode.

Answer 1

C4 requires an electrical charge to ignite it.

It can also ignite from sympathetic detonation when another explosive goes off near it.

Answer 2

d**n good shot, suppose it works in the A TEAM, for the rest of us footsloggers, we use dets

Answer 3

It could go off..There's no for sure answers with explosives..I saw a video of a guy shoot a block of c4 with normal ammo through a barrel that had recently fired tracers and it went off..Of course 9 times out of 10 it would not have gone off...I've read books about Vietnam where they talk about rolling a ball of c4 and light it to cook rations over..

Answer 4

Call ATF, they will answer the question

Answer 5

Nothing will happen. C 4 is inert until it receives an electric charge. We used it all the time to fast boil water in country.

Answer 6

nothing. you need a blast to create the blast. i.e. blasting cap.

Edit: the electric charge everyone is speaking of is only to ignite the blasting cap. you can still blast C4 in many other ways using a blasting cap like using a fuse and plunger to the blasting cap or you could just tie det cord around a block of C4 and use that as well. the "clacker" or any other electrical firing mechanism is just for firing the blasting cap. you don't need electricity to blast C4, just another explosion.

Answer 7

It could go off but no guarantee on it.  Yes we used small bits of C4 to heat C-rations in Vietnam and as far as going off when some one stomped on it I never saw but heard of it happening so the truth of that is unsure.  I do know if you set it on fire and hit it with a sledge hammer on a hard surface it will go off.  Knew a Combat Engineer who tried that with a little bitty piece and got it to go off that way sometimes.  Yes he was a little "strange" about explosives.  I will say again electricity has nothing to do with it except as a means to set off the detonator which can be set off many ways.