Blowing down the barrel?

[tg]

Thank you for the enlightening information Bruce, but I would not likely shoot at a public/private regulated range if it were the only place to shoot within 100 miles....

 

[Huntinfool]

"The incident happened June 5, 1995 a man and his son were at a shoot and his son had popped 2 or 3 caps and the rifle didn't go off."

As stated by others this is hardly an answer to the question, we were talking about blowing down the barrel after the gun DID go off.

I'm sorry tg I thought the question was who blew his head off while blowing down the barrel; Oh wait a minute I am sorry. Sorry you're wrong again my friend. :blah:

I was answering Voyageur's question to quote him,

Voyageur Said:
"I doubt that we'll ever get answers to our questions Cooner.
Mine was: Exactly who got their brains blown out by blowing down a barrel."

Chuck :hatsoff:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Geeze guys, there is the adage about flogging a willing horse another mile, but there is another one along the lines of beating a dead horse, et all.

 

[sniper68]

Gentlemen, I think as laymen we have gone as far as we can on this subject. To proceed any further we're going to need tests done under controlled conditions.. Someone needs to draft a research project and submit to Congress for a research grant. :grin: Other than the afore mentioned advantages and disadvantages that need to be debunked or proven, what about second hand smoke :shocked2:, if ya got bad breath, can that cause premature vent or flash hole erosion? Lets see :hmm:, land acquisition, range construciion,equipment purchaces(better not say guns or rifles!!), monitorinng equipment, admin cost and salaries :winking: I think about 1.5 million and a 5 year limit should suffice... :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Walks Alone]

Geeze guys, there is the adage about flogging a willing horse another mile, but there is another one along the lines of beating a dead horse, et all.

:hmm: Seems to be a lot of folks suffering from cabin fever lately on these forums.

"Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

 

[akapennypincher]

Thank you for the enlightening information Bruce, but I would not likely shoot at a public/private regulated range if it were the only place to shoot within 100 miles....

Why do you not like Public Ranges? Too many Rules, or too many CRAZIES?

We got lots of rules, and many crazies who know little about firearms safety.... :shake:

 

[Pork Chop]

what about second hand smoke

Bill Clinton already answered that. Don't inhale!

 

[sse]

Besides Dave, it tastes great.

Less filling...

 

[Runner]

I don't like or use public ranges because of people that think their way is what everyone has to follow. I shoot the way I wish, and if I decide to blow between shots, I will. It is no one else's business to attempt to change that other than discussions like this where we attempt to reason with each other. Why anyone would walk past their own range and go to a public one so someone can come by and act that way is beyond me. I would quit shooting first. The only people that use public ranges that I know are those that live in cities and have no other choice. Most of them are no more thrilled by the public ranges than I am, but they are stuck with them.
Back in the early 80's, OSHA came thru and made my supplier change the glue he sold me to patch tires with because they did not like the old glue. Now, the new glue did not work, but that was ok!
A chicken farmer ran OSHA off because he sold his product locally and grew his own feed. Said he was not involved in interstate trade so OSHA had no claim on him. The judge decided that if he did not feed his corn to his chickens, that he would have to sell it to th eelevator. Since that is what he would have to do if he was not a chicken farmer using it himself, the judge ruled that he was involved in interstate trade and that his chicken farm was under OSHA regs.
This is the mindset many in this thread keep putting forth, and these are the kinds of things that mindset causes. Well, I am not involved in interstate trade!

 

[mikelange]

Save me from the people who would save me from myself....

Given little details like modern dentistry, antibiotics, reduced infant mortality, etc, I wouldn't trade today for the 18th century on a bet -- but I do wish for one thing that a person could do, once upon a time, which was to just leave behind all the noise that people make when they've got too much time on their hands. I don't mean this thread, folks, so don't jump me (after all, I don't have to log on, do I?). I mean our society in general. Anyone or any institution that has the time to mind what I'm doing, when I don't stand to hurt anyone but possibly myself, needs to find something better to do. I know my taxes and membership fees would be better-spent, and the fact that I willingly pay taxes and fees doesn't mean I blindly support or accept every micro-managed whim I find myself funding.

 

[akapennypincher]

I don't like or use public ranges because of people that think their way is what everyone has to follow.

You are correct, but the rule we have in place protect, you, me and everyone else. They are made for our DUMBEST Cutomers, and we got a few Dumb Bells from time to time.

 

[tg]

"Why do you not like Public Ranges? Too many Rules, or too many CRAZIES?"

A little of both...I have been spoiled over the years that I have always had a place close by to shoot on private or public land where I could avoid either of the above...

 

[akapennypincher]

You are lucky to have Public Lands to shot on. Our Public Land continue to be more Housing Tracks.... :shake:

 

[T-bone]

I doubt that we'll ever get answers to our questions Cooner.

Mine was: Exactly who got their brains blown out by blowing down a barrel.

Yours was: Do I understand you correctly that you NEVER inspect the bore of a muzzleloader with a bore light or in any other instance look down the bore of your rifle?

The answer to yours is even more pertinent. If the answer is: "I'm never going to look down the bore of a muzzle loading barrel" it's just not believeable. If the answer is: "Yes, I have looked down the barrel of a muzzle loader and I will in the future" then that person's head is in line with the bore and the issue has been dealt with honestly.

Instead of answering the questions, we'll always get evasions by reieterating what the 4 Commandments of Gun Safety are.

You doubt wrong Mr. Voyageur.

Ok fellows, I hesitated to answer your question but here's your answer. I didn't want to admit that the Darwin award went to someone from my home state.
The incident happened June 5, 1995 a man and his son were at a shoot and his son had popped 2 or 3 caps and the rifle didn't go off. His dad took the gun from him and said you must have dry balled it or maybe you didn't even load it at all. And as was his practice he blew down the barrel to check and when he did the gun fired after a very long hangfire.

I was going to get the whole article for you but for some stupid reason the newspaper's library refused my new account I just set up. A friend of mine the President of our local ML club has a copy of the article. All I could get was the headline from the Charleston Gazette.

HARRISON MAN DIES IN SHOOTING ACCIDENT

and killed himself at a muzzle loading competition Saturday in Harrison County. Raymond H. Cunningham, 47, was checking his muzzle loader rifle after it failed to fire when the incident occurred, a state police spokesman said. Cunningham...
Published: June 05, 1995
Words: 86


The WV ML Assoc. sent out fliers about this incident and I have read the article. Sure you may say he did a stupid thing but if he had obeyed Rule # 1 of safe gun handling he'd still be with us today!

I believe that is about the time the NMLRA started their ruling about blowing down the barrel I may be wrong.

In answer to Cooner's ? no I don't use my bore light to look down my ML barrel. I've only used it to look down the barrel of my modern guns from the breech end!

I say better safe than sorry. :hmm:

Chuck :hatsoff:

Yes Huntinfool, you are mistaken about the date.

The first time I was introduced to the NMLRA's "new ruleing" regarding not blowing down the bore of a muzzleloader, was at the 1838 Rendezvous in Riverton Wy. in either 1988 or 1989,.... (6 or 7 years before the incident mentioned in the newspaper article happened).

Blowing down the bore of a single-shot muzzleloader after it fires, is not dangerous.

Blowing down the bore of a rifle that is supposedly loaded (but will not fire) is plain foolish to say the least.

When in doubt, check the bore with a ramrod that should have been previously marked at the "depth" of the empty bore (as has already been mentioned).

T-Bone

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Those of us that do have access to public lands, IMO take them as a matter of course, but they surely aren't for many others.

Within 200 yards of our home here in Arizona is 275,000 acres of public land, of which over 100,000 acres is the Warm Springs Wilderness Area. (foot or horseback only) I am always grateful for that fact, every time I venture out into it.
[url] http://www.topozone.com/map.a...93&s=500&size=l&datum=nad83&layer=DRG250[/url]

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Seems to be a lot of folks suffering from cabin fever lately on these forums.

Wow, had to do a double take there Walks Alone. Your handle is the same one I used on another ML forum, scared me, thought I was meeting myself coming back. :rotf:

 

[Walks Alone]

Wow, had to do a double take there Walks Alone. Your handle is the same one I used on another ML forum, scared me, thought I was meeting myself coming back. :rotf:

:v Is that like "the hurrieder I go the behinder I get"? :grin:

Have 3 of them from different reenactment groups I've belonged to over the years. This one is the first though and dates early 70's.

 

[tg]

"You are lucky to have Public Lands to shot on. Our Public Land continue to be more Housing Tracks.... "

There are also vast tracts of timber company owned land and for the most part they allow access to hunt, shoot and other recreational use, thopugh over the last 20 years more and more gates are going up do to the public missuse and abuse of the privilage, I suspect that in another 20 years this resource will be gone from the responsible sportsmen as well as the schmucks.

 

[Toomuch_36]

As none of my ML guns are auto-loading I feel quite safe blowing after the bang.

No bang = No blowing :grin:

After Civil War battles many rifles were found with multiple charges. The soldiers thought the gun had discharged when just the primer popped off. Of course, if you are immune from doing dumb things, go ahead. But, if you've ever dry-balled you are a cantidate already. Mistakes happen.

That's why they call it "accidental death" and not "reckless suicide".

One woman had a missfire and handed the gun to her husband to clear. He thought she had fired and blew into the barrrel in preparation of reloading it for her. She watched him die when it turned out to be a hangfire.

The practice is intended to extenguish hot embers before pouringin a fresh charge, but mistakes do happen.
Best to run a cleaning patch or use a blow tube. SAFETY FIRST

Toomuch
..........
Shoot Flint

 

[akapennypincher]

Lets go back to BASIC Firearms Safety 101.

One Rule is something like NEVER POINT A firearm at anything you do not want to Hurt, Kill, or Destroy.

Blowing Down the Barrel Breaks this RULE.

A Blow Tube is the Safest Way to blow, and Avoid INJURY. Most Hardware Stores sell Plastic Tubing in Various Diameters.

Blow Safe...Shoot Safe..... :hatsoff: :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :thumbsup: