
Here goes:

More than a few years back (if you were born that year, you can legally drink),
we tried it out.  We found an 8 ft. deep cistern that we lined with some 10 ft.
2X6s.  We put a large can (one of those industrial sized pork'n beans cans)
stuffed with oily rags and scraps of wood in the bottom.  After lighting the
fire, we LOWERED a box of .38 Spc. SWCs into the can.  We heard pops, one solid
bang and several "fizzzz shussss".  After we thought the excitment was over, we
boldly climbed down to find that NONE of the bullets had left the can, several
of the shells were lieing around the bottom of the well and the boards had all
died of smoke inhalation.  And 5 or 6 of the shells still had live primers!