Had a Very Strange Incident Today

[jazzy]

something odd happened to day. had some friends over and sat out on the porch, just chatting and having some ice tea. the day was mild, not hot or cold, just comfortable. im very rural, unpaved roads, high up in mnts,most folks are retired, homesteaders. i know everyone around us and all are friendly decent people.

they brought over a bottle of alcohol--like everclear but a different brad, they know i like to make tinctures and they donated a bottle.

so we are sitting on the porch, the large glass bottle of everlcear was sitting on the table next to me, but a bit behind me as my chair was moved forward more to be able to chat with them. so we are having a great time talking and laughing and all of a sudden the top part of the everclear bottle--the narrow neck part seemed to explode and fly off towards me. liquid spilled out as there was some sort of large hole punched thru the bottle. about `1/3 was lost.

i did not hear any shot locally as is often normal around here and i have good hearing.
there is no legit reason for the neck fo the bottle to break and fly off and a hole appear in the top part of the glass bottle just below the shoulder of the bottle where the necxk starts.

ive run bars-restaurants-hotles-conference centers and dealt with thousands of cases and bottles of booze and thousands of parties in all weather.

not once did the neck fo a bottle break off and fly thru the air.


i suspect, and dont know but my best guess was someone the next hollow over was doing some target practice, maybe 22 and it missed their target and kept flying towards us. and hit the bottle. just guessing. the only other thing moving around on the porch were hummingbirds, i dont think it was them.

anyone got any ideas?

 

[Rick]

I think your guess is an educated one.

 

[JustMe]

I think you should ask around to your neighbors and let them know what happened so if anyone was target practicing they'll know next time to be more careful.

Or what about kids? Maybe one of them had an air soft or pellet gun??? Some of them can be pretty powerful

 

[Spikedriver]

I would guess that you would've heard the bullet in the air just prior to the bottle breaking. A 22 shot from far away would be subsonic and probably unstable by the time it reached you. Check your deck for holes or dents with lead smearing in it. If it really was somebody shooting a 22 from far off, the bullet wouldn't have had much energy left and hitting the bottle would've used up some of that energy. It might not have penetrated the deck, and it probably would've deflected off its original path a little bit. Or it might have gone who knows where?

 

[viking]

Might need a metal detector to search for a bullet.

 

[user 3433]

The Lord warning not to drink it.

 

[Curmudgeon]

i suspect, and dont know but my best guess was someone the next hollow over was doing some target practice, maybe 22 and it missed their target and kept flying towards us. and hit the bottle. just guessing. the only other thing moving around on the porch were hummingbirds, i dont think it was them.

anyone got any ideas?

Look beyond the bottle for a bullet lodged somewhere. IF your suspicions are valid, someone needs a talking to.

 

[Morgan101]

Your first suspicions are probably right. Whether it was intentional i.e. a kid playing a prank, or unintentional i.e. someone missing the target it almost certainly was a projectile: bullet, BB, pellet. Were all of your neighbors at your place? Anybody else who lives close that wasn't there, who might have been shooting? Pebble in the pond. Start asking the people who live close, and expand the search. Even if it was unintentional the word should be spread about what happened, and how careful you should be when you are shooting. Than God no one was hurt.

 

[Pearl]

I'm thinking pellet rifle. I have a nice one with a scope. Silent and goes far! I think even a 22 you would have heard the shot!

 

[Wingnut]

Sounds to me like some kid playing a prank... and a dangerous prank. What are the odds of a random projectile striking the bottle? Pretty darned slim, I'd say... sounds more like some kid hiding nearby and trying to freak you out. Even if it was only a pellet rifle or BB gun, those can blind ya (in one eye, anyway). And some of those CO2 pellet rifles are quite powerful, if I remember correctly they come in .22 caliber too. One of those could easily do the damage you've described. Once you narrow down the suspects, there needs to be a safety briefing...

 

[montanabill]

I once had a incident of lead shot coming down on our metal roof. Very distant sounding shotgun preceded the sprinkle of shot on the roof. I tracked the kid out poaching quail and gave him the fear of scoped rifle from a superior position lecture. Actually i just threatened to tell his folks and the game warden.

 

[Morgan101]

I once had a incident of lead shot coming down on our metal roof. Very distant sounding shotgun preceded the sprinkle of shot on the roof. I tracked the kid out poaching quail and gave him the fear of scoped rifle from a superior position lecture. Actually i just threatened to tell his folks and the game warden.

Scary to think how many are out there who have never been taught gun safety. Once it leaves the barrel it is going to come down, and you own it.

 

[Spikedriver]

I'm thinking pellet rifle. I have a nice one with a scope. Silent and goes far! I think even a 22 you would have heard the shot!

Suppressed rifles are becoming more common. But you're probably correct...

 

[zoomzoom]

A pellet fired horizontally only flies about 150 yards before it hits the ground and are only accurate to about 60-80 yards (for a .177, less for a .22).
Jazzy - What's your field of view at that range?

 

[TeeJ]

Just another thought, don't know what your elevation is, but I'm at about 5000' and have had things packaged at lower altitudes blow out on me when manhandled at altitude. I know one neighbor bought macadamia nuts when on vacation in Hawaii as Christmas presents and the safety seal blew on all of them after being in the mountains for a little while.

If your bottle had been bumped and had hairline cracks, it could have burst from the pressure, especially if the barometric pressure decided to swing rapidly....

 

[zoomzoom]

I think TeeJ's sounds the most plausable.

 

[Sourdough]

Just another thought, don't know what your elevation is, but I'm at about 5000' and have had things packaged at lower altitudes blow out on me when manhandled at altitude. I know one neighbor bought macadamia nuts when on vacation in Hawaii as Christmas presents and the safety seal blew on all of them after being in the mountains for a little while.

If your bottle had been bumped and had hairline cracks, it could have burst from the pressure, especially if the barometric pressure decided to swing rapidly....

If it was pressure, I would expect the neck to be the strongest and least likely to blow. Other than that, I like your theory.

 

[Pearl]

Just how high are you jazzy??

 

[jazzy]

im close to 8000ft, but the glass bottle wsas quite thick and heavy. not sure pressure would be it unless extremes such as standing in hot sun for hours or the cold. people who live up here are used to necessary adjustments needed from engines and sealed food canister.

after reading the good suggestions here im leaning towards pellet gun thing and it was a careless kid. ill ask a friend to look around real good and see if they can find something and talk to some neighbors.

that glass bottle was so close to me, God was watching out for me for sure. pretty odd experience