Posted on 04/24/2009 7:15:08 PM PDT by John W
PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. (WANE) - George Fath moved to his mobile home in rural Steuben County two months ago. The previous owners left a lot of trash in the yard, so Fath was cleaning up Thursday afternoon. That's when he found a 22 caliber bullet in the yard. He didn't want his three young boys to get hurt from the bullet, so Fath decided to dispose of it.
"My hammer was outside so I took the bullet and put it on a rock and smacked it with the hammer," Fath said.
Fath wasn't expecting the bullet to fire.
"It went off and went into my belly and knocked me on my butt," Fath said.
Fath said he thought he was shot in the stomach. His wife called 911. According to the police report the bullet didn't actually hit Fath.
"Fath was not bleeding, and it did not appear that Fath was struck with the bullet. Fath suffered a minor abrasion to the area of his stomach," police records read.
But, Fath told NewsChannel 15 the bullet did go in his stomach and doctors removed it at the hospital.
"I smacked the bullet and fell down and blood came pouring out," Fath said. "I was hitting it to smash it. I didn't expect it to go bang."
Fath said he'll never hit a bullet with a hammer again.
"I wasn't thinking about it. It was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life. I suggest nobody do it," Fath said.
Police agree. Steuben County Sheriff Rick Lewis said no one should ever hit a bullet with anything.
"The round can go anywhere. It could hit the person striking it with a hammer, a neighbor, a child in the yard. There's just no controlling where the bullet will go," Lewis said.
A bullet doesn't have to be in a gun to fire.
"Anytime you get pressure [to the end of the bullet] to cause it to explode, it will fire," Lewis said.
If someone finds a bullet, don't throw it in the trash either.
"Call local law enforcement and we can take car of it," Lewis said.
ATF.....LMAO
I am guessing you know someone who has tried this.
Yep! You'll need help with a broken light bulb, too. Won't be too long 'til you will need to call someone to come scratch your butt.
Now there is a reason they call that part of the gun a “hammer”.
Reminds me of the time when, as a 12-year-old, a friend and I found an unspent 22-mm round from a range where they tested the cannons on F-100 fighter jets. We had the good sense to leave it alone.
I bet he checks for propane leaks with a lighter.
I caught my son in mid-swing as he was about to do it. That kid loved hammers, one day when he was 3 he nailed a path of nails through my kitchen.
I caught my son in mid-swing as he was about to do it. That kid loved hammers, one day when he was 3 he nailed a path of nails through my kitchen.
And, for the bonus round, what is the name of the little metal thing in a revolver that you pull back, and when it falls forward (when you pull the trigger) it fires the cartridge?
Hammer?
Next time call the bomb disposal unit lol.
Dad wouldn't let us play with hammers ;-)
LMAO!
LOL
Reminds me of the old cartoons where Wilie Coyote’s bomb doesn’t go off so he taps it with a hammer to see if it is a live round.
This is what happens when you don’t let boys watch old Warner Brothers cartoons.
Anyone else notice the cop’s misinformation. He said nothing about striking the primer causing igniton, only putting pressure on the case.
My guess is that when it went off, the claw end of the hammer snapped back and hit him in the gut.
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