This man packed a lawn mower with explosives, shot it with a rifle, then lost his leg

A Georgia man lost his leg this week after he packed a lawn mower full of explosives and repeatedly shot at it with a rifle until it blew up, according to local media reports.

David Pressley, 32, and friends allegedly packed the lawn mower full of Tannerite, an explosive powder that's used by marksmen to create explosive targets.

In video they shot of the incident, which was obtained by 11Alive, Pressley can be seen firing on a few targets before setting his sights on the volatile piece of lawn equipment.

He appears to shoot once, twice and then a third time, igniting the explosives and causing a loud boom.

The cameraman falls to the ground as splatters of red blood can be seen on his clothes.

"I blew my leg off!" the shooter screams, as someone off camera yells for an ambulance.

In a Facebook post published after the incident, the Walton County Sheriff's Office wrote that, while the powder is legal, people keep abusing it.

"Yes, it is legal and no, we can't make people stop doing it. But why, folks, just why?"

"Yes, it is legal and no, we can't make people stop doing it. But why, folks, just why?" the sheriff's office wrote.

On its website, Tannerite advisers shooters stay 100 to 200 yards from their target, depending on how much power is involved.

In a comment on the Facebook post, a man who said he was there at the time of the incident, said they were positioned a mere 25 feet away.

The man, the sheriff confirmed, was standing "dangerously close" to the mower "when the final gun shot round caused it to explode." 

Shrapnel from the blast severed his leg below the knee. He is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

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