Dangers of Touch Hole Picks

ScottK said:

You are a rebel. Who do you cast them at?

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TDM said:

@PathfinderNC, are you sure this isn’t an early April Fool’s joke?

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ZUG said:

This is a good tall tale that generated 4 pages of comments and gave the OP a BIG laugh

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PathfinderNC said:

A word of caution to Flintlock shooters.
Your touch hole pick could possibly cause insurmountable injury without proper caution.
This is one mere example of the risks inherent with touch hole picks.
A man was at a public range just last week. Evidently he was on the line and had a misfire. Witnesses report that he seemed to wait a few moments and then reached into his pocket to use his touch hole pick.
That’s when it all happened.
While grabbing the sharp pick he pricked his finger and let out a blood-curdling scream of pain. Others on the firing line were not paying mind to the man and when he screamed out several shooters, already aiming and another preparing to fire were jolted by the very startling scream and several unintended shots rang out,.
The good news is that all the rounds went down range. Sort of.
The bad news is that one bullet struck the lamp post at the end of the 100 yard target line. That caused the light to short out and the electrical system evidently failed to shut down and there was a massive electrical burst that blew the transformer.
The range was equipped with an emergency alert system which sent an alarm to the nearby County Fire Department who responded immediately. What’s more, the explosion alerted nearby residents who notified LE of a possible bombing. County and City SWAT responded within minutes as general mayhem erupted at the range. Shooters, observers and guests ran in every direction looking for a safe place to hide. That’s when the Fire Department arrived and the SWAT team, accompanied by State and local police.
The area was surrounded and orders were made by megaphone for all persons to drop their weapons. Several very affluent members refused to drop their highly priced guns and, well you can imagine what happened.
One man approached the officers in a panic with a bloody finger. Paramedics responded immediately and wrapped his finger with bandages and rushed him off to the hospital.
All other parties at the range were placed under protective custody and not allowed to leave until all their guns were removed, identification checked and information taken.
By 8:00PM the scene was cleared and everyone was permitted to return home pending the investigation.
The man with the touch hole pick injury was treated and sent home a half hour after being treated at the hospital clinic.
Just a little example of the potential harm that can happen with an unsecured Touch Hole pick.

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