I was reminiscing. I do that a lot these days. When I was a lad in the early 1950s my dad set up a range in our hallway. We had a Crosman pump .177 rifle. It had a brass barrel and I think the receiver was brass also. At 40 feet, it was quite accurate. We could shoot the heads off of strike anywhere matches. Sometimes, we could light them. Maybe 1 out of 10. Fast forward to 1984. I bought a Beeman HW77 with a Beeman 2-7X scope. It was phenomenally accurate. I could hit .22LR cases at 25 yards 100% of the time. Anyway, I bought a box of strike anywhere matches and drilled some holes in a 2x4. At 10 yards, my son and I tried to light them. We had no trouble hitting the heads. I took one shot that I knew should have lit the match. There was a groove cut into the blue tip. We could not understand why it didn't light. We guessed that the matches were not as sensitive as they were in the '50s or the velocity of the pellet was too high.
Lighting matches
- Thread starter DML908
- Start date
Strike anywhere matches have been banned in the uk for many years due to people getting injured while carrying a box in their pocket then bumping into something causing them to ignite. Also, boxes inside a kitchen draw would often get knocked about causing fires.
As you say, maybe the sensitivity or strike anywhere matches in the US has been reduced for safety reasons.
Bb
As you say, maybe the sensitivity or strike anywhere matches in the US has been reduced for safety reasons.
Bb
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Yes they are not what they used to be.
I remember getting in trouble for shooting them out of a red rider and they would light on the back of the garage. That was back in the 50's. That won't work now. I know.
Mike
I remember getting in trouble for shooting them out of a red rider and they would light on the back of the garage. That was back in the 50's. That won't work now. I know.
Mike
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I got some strike anywhere off of "flee-bay" and set one up at 40 yards. Took the Wolverine "R" and started shooting for the tip. About 10-12 shots in, this was the result next to an unlit one. No matter how accurate the gun or shooter, large volumes of luck are involved.
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I did that too. I also did a really dumb thing. I drilled out the seal on an empty CO2 cartridge and packed it full of the little tips from the matches. I put a fuse in it and stuck it in a hole in the ground. KABOOM!. Even as a dumb kid, it shook me up when I realized what could have happened if it went off while I was holding it in my hand and poking the tips down with a nail. I did other dumb stuff, but not that again.
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