Propane tank penetration

[jfruser]

I have some experience in this area from my days as a callow youth.

One of our targets was a common grill propane tank. None of the centerfire pistol rounds or shotgun shot (bird or buck) would penetrate it at a distance of 10 yards. It took a 12ga shotgun slug to do that. On top of that, it did not explode, but merely leaked.

To get the tank to explode, it had to be in a camp fire and then be shot from a distance of less than 15 yards with a 12ga shotgun slug. Can you say, "mushroom cloud" boys and girls?

Were I you, I would not worry a whit if I were using any pistol round or buck shot. I would avoid using a centerfire rifle round or slugs, though.