# Hot Gun Barrels Burn People **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850 "2012-02-14T20:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/21 "2012-02-14T23:05:01Z")
> [@](#): > > In too many TV shows and movies, someone fires a revolver and then puts it into the front waistband of their pants, barrel pointing downward to a sensitive area. > [@](#): > > So Hollywood is run by Jews, Gays and Liberals… My guess would be that the people who direct movies and TV shows know better than to fire a gun and stick it down their own pants, but they are hoping that the goyim will fall for it and try it sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/22 "2012-02-14T23:32:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > QFT. > > There’s a reason you don’t wear a loose-collared shirt to the range. Nothing like hot brass dropping down your back to make you wish you hadn’t tucked your shirt in. I always felt for the guys on the range who were lefties. The M-16 ejects right into your face and down the neck of your shirt. They were lucky to qualify on rapid fire. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/23 "2012-02-14T23:38:53Z")
Any handgun that has an exposed barrel will be a revolver. Most hold 5 or 6 rounds, but smaller calibers can hold up to 12 rounds. That said, any single-action “cowboy” type revolver you’ve ever seen in a western held 6 rounds. Pop them off, and you can stick the barrel down your pants without a problem, because the barrel just won’t be that hot. As for a semi-auto pistol, well even 10 or 20 rounds won’t make it too warm to touch. Good luck on the rest of your anti-gun agenda. And [here’s](http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1d3_1216586666)the Hot Shell Dance for the un-initiated. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/24 "2012-02-15T00:50:19Z")
I’m not much of a revolver guy but I don’t remember them getting that hot. Many shooters touch parts of the barrel when they reload and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. [Here](http://www.snubnose.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image012.jpg) is a typical reloading grip where the barrel should be burning the guy, but isn’t. [Break action revolvers](http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/images/uploads/Deactivated%20Smith%20and%20Wesson%20Break%20Action%20Revolver/s_w_5shot_9%281%29.jpg) pretty much _require_ you to touch the barrel to reload. I agree carrying in the center of your back is a bad idea. Fall backwards when you have a gun back there and now you have a spinal injury. But many police used to carry gear back there, and it’s only been in recent years that departments have started forbidding it, so I wouldn’t be too critical of a movie for that. Also, they’re just movies. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/25 "2012-02-15T00:53:02Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Any handgun that has an exposed barrel will be a revolver. The [Walther P38](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_p38) and the [Luger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luger_pistol) would like a word with ya! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/26 "2012-02-15T01:01:51Z")
I just burned my hand on the barrel of an MP5 last week. (Went shooting while we were in Vegas). I admit, I wore the burn with some pride, but man, it hurt - and i only touched it for a second. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/27 "2012-02-15T02:27:16Z")
> [@Dufus](#): > > … but they are hoping that the goyim will fall for it and try it sometimes. It’s a secret plot to get us goyim circumcised. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/28 "2012-02-15T02:46:01Z")
In the novels by Donald Hamilton, Matt Helm did Mexican carry so that he could lose the pistol if he were about to be caught. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/29 "2012-02-15T02:58:45Z")
As alluded to earlier, the majority of semi-automatics such as the Glock or the ACP 45 have the slide extend almost completely to the muzzle of the barrel. European guns like the Luger and the Walther P38 are the exceptions. So the slide doubles as a barrel shroud. Maybe if you were in a firefight where you went through four magazines of ammo in two minutes it’d get too hot, but in practical terms it’s not going to happen. As to keeping a gun in the waistband of your pants, or a pocket, it’s something more typical of a robber or a gang member (or as the Mexican Carry link upthread said, anyone who couldn’t openly carry), and so Hollywood ended up deciding it was “badass”. Nowadays a variety of holsters for concealed carry are available, but a criminal is going to want to be able to ditch all evidence of carrying fast if need be. In fact some of the militantly pro-gun people who practice open carry argue “when’s the last time someone who went to rob a liquor store or a gas station wore their gun in a holster?” ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/30 "2012-02-15T03:16:29Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The [Walther P38](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_p38) and the [Luger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luger_pistol) would like a word with ya! I’ll add the classic American [Ruger .22](http://www.cowboyneeds.com/gunx_ruger22target.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/31 "2012-02-15T06:04:05Z")
On the other hand, the slender barrel on my Weatherby .270 gets pretty damn hot after 4 or 5 rounds. Of course, I’ve never stuck it down my pants. Should I? ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/32 "2012-02-15T06:57:22Z")
> [@Baruch\_Spinoza](#): > > … > … After all, since they are beholden to the NRA in never showing the serious long-term effects of the gun violence, in speading the myth that you can shoot hundreds of bullets without hitting anyone, and that personal gun use never results in you shooting your someone you know in anger, like 75% of all gun murders, shouldn’t they be equally beholden to the stated NRA goal of gun safety and use a holster? This thinly veiled (as in, transparent) anti-gun thread is blatantly insulting to anyone that has even a limited knowledge of firearms. :mad: The OP reminds me of a story I once heard. Lets see now, one of the characters was a “billy goat gruff”. I’m trying to remember what the other characters were… Anybody got any ideas? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/33 "2012-02-15T08:25:16Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Carrying a pistol in your waistband without a holster is often referred to as [Mexican Carry](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_2_51/ai_n8591504/). > > And it’s not a racist term. Not a very safe thing to do either. While George S. Patton was stationed on the Mexican border he took to the fashion of keeping a pistol in the waistband without a holster. As Carlo D’Este’s [Patton: A Genius for War](http://www.amazon.com/Patton-Genius-War-Carlo-DEste/dp/0060927623/ref=pd_sim_b_1#reader_0060927623) relates while out at dinner a gunshot from an undetermined source went off. Everyone eventually dispersed, and it wasn’t until he crashed the car into a clearly visible cow gate that he broke down, and on calming down he explained to his wife Beatrice that the gunshot was from his pistol in his trouser fly accidentally discharging and putting a hole in his trouser leg and into the floor. After that he only wore a pistol holstered, swapped his Colt .45 Automatic for an ivory handled Colt 1873 single action .45 revolver and only ever loaded 5 of the 6 chambers, leaving the chamber opposite the hammer empty. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/34 "2012-02-15T08:46:35Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > I’ll add the classic American [Ruger .22](http://www.cowboyneeds.com/gunx_ruger22target.jpg). And how about classic non-repeating firearms such as the Derringer pistol? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/35 "2012-02-15T09:37:41Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > That said, any single-action “cowboy” type revolver you’ve ever seen in a western held 6 rounds. Nitpick: the most popular early (pre-1870) American revolvers, the Colt 1851 Navy and the Colt Patterson, were both 5-round weapons. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/36 "2012-02-15T14:10:28Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > Not a very safe thing to do either. Very much not safe. Any decent holster should cover the trigger as well as keep the pistol secure. I usually pocket carry and never put anything else in that pocket. Not wise to take chances. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/37 "2012-02-15T14:23:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Nitpick: the most popular early (pre-1870) American revolvers, the Colt 1851 Navy and the Colt Patterson, were both 5-round weapons. Until Iver-Johnson patented the transfer bar safety in 1886, even revolvers with six chambers were loaded with five cartridges and an empty chamber kept under the hammer. A live cartridge under the hammer could be fired by a blow to the hammer or if the gun was dropped. In the famous Colt SAA (aka The Peacemaker) the user loaded one, skipped one, and loaded four. This resulted in five loaded chambers with an empty chamber ending up under the hammer. In many of the old cap and ball revolvers, it is actually possible to load all the chambers safely, as the cylinder had safety notches between the chambers where the hammer could be rested. North American Arms still uses this today in their line of tiny rimfire revolvers. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/38 "2012-02-15T14:48:13Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Carrying a pistol in your waistband without a holster is often referred to as [Mexican Carry](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_2_51/ai_n8591504/). > > And it’s not a racist term. _Pancho was a bandit boy His horse was fast as polished steel He wore his gun outside his pants For all the honest world to feel_ Then again, all the federales say they coulda had him any day… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/39 "2012-02-15T15:08:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > QFT. > > There’s a reason you don’t wear a loose-collared shirt to the range. Nothing like hot brass dropping down your back to make you wish you hadn’t tucked your shirt in. Down your _back_? Ha, to be so lucky. Caught one in the bra once, which of course catches it but good and doesn’t let it just fall down through your shirt and out onto the floor. Not my finest hour. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850/40 "2012-02-15T21:30:06Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The [Walther P38](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_p38) and the [Luger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luger_pistol) would like a word with ya! Okay, okay. I forgot to say “Generally speaking…” :smack: I happen to have some of each, as well as Ruger .22s Eh, when you’re right, you’re right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-gun-barrels-burn-people/612850.md?page=3)