# Has Anybody Here Ever Thrown a Grenade?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 30, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120 "2001-03-30T15:48:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/1 "2001-03-30T15:48:17Z")
Was it Cool? Man, when I was a kid I always wanted to find a grenade box that fell out of a back of a military transport and go around blowing up stuff in the wild. I would blow up trees throw em in a pond and watch the big explosion of water and then go gather up all the fish. I had weird daydreams when I was a kid huh?
Anyway have you ever thrown one? Was it loud as hell and did it do alot of damage to whatever you threw it at?
Give me all the details. You lucky dogs.
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### Author:  [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/2 "2001-03-30T15:52:05Z")
I threw one in (US Army)basic training. Yes it was loud and did damage. Much heavier than you’d think. I’m not really that big a fan of weapons, though, so it wasn’t all that exciting to me personally.
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### Author:  [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/3 "2001-03-30T16:15:24Z")
- unfortunately, only one of them worked(!)
Very loud, nothing in particular to do any damage to on the grenade range. It’s really not that big a deal - this type of grenade (Danish model /54) has a safety distance of 275 meters, so the entire event goes something like:
[List=1]
[li]Wait for ages for your turn.[/li][li]Assemble grenade. (About now, hands can get a little sweaty.)[/li][li]Wait for orders to arm and throw.[/li][li]Remove ring[/li][li]Throw grenade.[/li][li]Without looking where it ends up, get behind the wall provided for the purpose. (This step is important.)[/li][li]Listen to the loud “KARUMPH” sound and note shrapnel flying over the wall.[/li][li]Wait for ages again.[/li][/List=1]
Just another drill. Now, the “blue lightnings” used to **simulate** grenades and the like, those could be quite fun.
S. Norman
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### Author:  [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/4 "2001-03-30T16:16:10Z")
I threw a few also in (Canadian army reserves) basic training. They were kind of fun, not as big of an explosion as on tv where they make it look like they’re little a-bombs. It is a weird feeling to have this thing in yours hands that, if you don’t get rid of it in a couple of seconds, will tear you to shreds.
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### Author:  [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/5 "2001-03-30T16:20:52Z")
Our protective wall had a superthick glass layer so you could watch it explode.
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### Author:  [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/6 "2001-03-30T16:23:46Z")
Sounds like a trip. So spiney you through a frag grenade huh? Yea I can see why staying behind the wall was pretty important. 😃
They make just an explosive grenade don’t they?
And what did you mean by “assemble” the grenade? They are not assemble when you get one?
Baulderan,
I thought grenage were not armed until it left your hand(you know once you release the lever held by the pin and then your hand)?
Wood, they do look heavy how heavy are two, three pounds?
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### Author:  [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/7 "2001-03-30T16:51:23Z")
WB, you sure sound enthusiastic…
There are fragmentation grenades and HE grenades (defensive and offensive), but a poor army like the Danish only had the one type available for us to throw. Their shelf life was probably running out. This type of grenade is handed out 4 to a cardboard tube (green, obviously) with the detonator assemblies not mounted. A detonator assembly consists of the pin (w. ring), the lever and the detonator/delay fuse/primer. (I KNOW these aren’t correct terms). At the range you screw the grenade body and the detonator assembly together just before throwing, meaning that you never have more than one live grenade at the range at any time.
In the field, of course, you’d assemble them right away and pop the levers of two into the straps provided for the purpose over the left chest pocket.
And really, it’s not that much of an event. They are - how do I put this - very sobering to handle.
Firing a rifle is sport, firing a heavy machine gun can be downright fun with the noise and the smoke and the flying brass and the “I’m costing the taxpayers 50$ a second” thought, but grenades are serious.
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### Author:  [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/8 "2001-03-30T16:51:44Z")
Yeah, you’re right, I was being overly dramatic and mispoke, but we did have these concrete barriers that we were supposed to dive behind if we accidentally dropped it. We also used industrial strength earplugs.
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### Author:  [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/9 "2001-03-30T16:53:15Z")
Mine went much as **Spiny Norman’s** with the cool exception of hearing I’d got a direct hit on the tank/target.
Wondering about that last word? I never saw the target nor aimed the grenade. Having a live explosive in my hand was enough impetus to chuck it as hard as I could away from me and get down.
Just saw **Wild Bill’s** last post.
Ours went something like this. the had you this pringles like cannister. There’s a DS giving instructions something like:
DS: Got the tube
You: Got the tube
DS: Get the Grenade
You: Got the grenade
DS:Pull the pin
You: Pin pulled
DS: Throw
You: Throw the grenade\*
\*Standing to watch the grenades progress will cause the DS to bodily throw you into the sand pit behind the staging area and jump in on top of you. It happend to the guy in front of me.
I amy have forgotten a detail or two in the exchange but that’s how I remember it.
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### Author:  [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/10 "2001-03-30T16:57:22Z")
Hey **Spiny** thanks I forgot that part. BTW, what did you shoot at with he 50 cal. We got to shoot up an old Abrams. I had that same thought as you regarding $$$. The coolest thing though was blowing the hell out of an APC with a LAW.
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### Author:  [@Ma\_Parrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ma_Parrot)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/11 "2001-03-30T17:17:27Z")
I never allowed gun toys, but my kids got grenades as Christmas presents. The first day they were not still a “new present” I put them out of sight. When they weren’t missed, they got tossed out. And I was quite relieved.
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### Author:  [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/12 "2001-03-30T18:23:41Z")
M16A1 and A2 service rifles
M203 rifle with 40mm Grenade launcher
M9 9mm service pistol
M1911A1 .45 cal service pistol
M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)
M60E2 and E3 .30 cal machine guns
Mk19 Grenade Launcher
M2 Heavy Barrel .50 cal machine gun
M3 Aircraft .50 cal machine gun
M79 Grenade Launcher (Blooper Gun)
Remington 870 12 ga Service Shotgun
Shoulder-launcher Multi-purpose Assualt Weapon (SMAW)
Light Anti-armor Weapon (LAW)
Homing All the Way Killer (HAWK) anti aircraft missile
Redeye anti aircraft missile
Stinger anti aircraft missile
and oh, yeah, the baseball hand grenade (M59?)
And they PAID me!
Lobbing 40mm grenades from the Mk19 and seeing metal on metal old APCs is a nice feeling. Kinda like an artillery battery time-on-target, it brings a smile to the warmonger’s heart!
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### Author:  [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/13 "2001-03-30T22:14:41Z")
Uncle Bill,
Dang dude you got to shoot a bunch a cool stuff. I’ve always wondered what is the range on a grenade launcher and how accurate is it. I’ve only shot em playing James Bond Nintendo 64 games. 😃
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### Author:  [@waxteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waxteeth)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/14 "2001-03-30T22:40:59Z")
I have thrown a grenade and it was cool.
We spent the entire day going over safety and there was still a mishap on the range.
The guy next to me dropped his grenade inside his bunker. We each had instructors standing behind us so his instructor was able to pick up the grenade and toss it safely down range. Everyone was yelling and all the instructors threw us to the ground when it happened.
I wanted to “cook” my grenade but they would not let me. Cooking is to pull the pin and let it cook a few seconds before you get rid of it.
Grenades are fun but the 50. Cal machine gun is a total blast.
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### Author:  [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2001, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/15 "2001-03-30T22:51:36Z")
is 1 to 1 1/3 miles, according to this [link](http://www.expage.com/page/bmdwebpage2).
1500 yeards for better accuracy. Long range weapon that can ruin peoples day.
Nice photos [here](http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/systems/dvic561.htm)
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/16 "2001-03-31T00:58:27Z")
I have thrown several different kinds… but never a military pineapple style grenade. I have tossed smoke grenades, gas grenades, and even flash bangs… but never an army grenade:(
I even set a field on fire outside of a prison with a smoke grenade. 😃 Ooooooops!
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2001, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-ever-thrown-a-grenade/60120/17 "2001-03-31T01:33:37Z")
Is anyone else feeling a sudden sense of relief that WB is not in the military?