Catchword: stove-pipe

Filed Under: English, Firearms, Military

Part of Speech: n.

Quotation: Soldiers call it a “stove-pipe.” It happens rarely, and usually in the very worst of combat circumstances: the soldier is fatally hit just as he is firing his handgun. In the split second when his weapon fires, the wounded soldier suddenly loosens his hold on the gun, what’s known as a “dead man’s grip.” Instead of a rigid hand taking the recoil, the handgun absorbs all the force, and the extraction and ejection mechanism fails. The spent bullet cartridge will jam—or “stovepipe”—upright, partially ejected from the pistol’s breach.

Article or Document Title:
“A very private death” (URL)

Author:
Paul Daley

Article, Document, Publication, Web Site:
The Bulletin

Publishing Location:
Australia

Date of Publication:
Sept. 20, 2006

This catchword has yet to be researched.