Watch: Tubular Magazine Chain Reaction Simulation (Sorta)

What happens when you lay ten 5.56 NATO cartridges end-to-end and detonate one of them?

This was the burning question on the mind of the Taofledermaus folks, who decided to give it a try.

After asking viewers to chime in with their opinions of how it should be done and why, they ignored most of the recommendations and set up the test in their own way: BB gun to detonate the rearmost cartridge, using 5.56 NATO ammo (which many said had primers that were too hard), and all ten 5.56 rounds touching with no space between them.

The BB pistol’s trigger is pulled via a long string, and the result is predictable — or not, depending on what you thought would happen.

The video then lists numerous viewer predictions that were disproven by the test, and shows hunks of shells and shrapnel that were gathered up in the aftermath.

Heck, there was even a primer lodged in the muzzle of the BB gun!

Enjoy.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.