Cap popped, rifle didn't fire, until later

[Boston Bill]

If it seems impossible believe it can happen.

Many years ago when I was 21 or so I had placed a shooter 1911 on the trunk of my car when I was unloading stuff, the car was in the garage. I thought it would be ok there, it did not move after I let it go. As I started to walk away it was a quick trip to the ground!
My moto after that is: If it can it will! lol. I still smile after all these years remembering the event

 

[RedFeather]

When I first got into this game, many years ago, I was at my local range and a guy came up to me with what looked like an old CVA "Colonial" percussion pistol, saying he wasn't sure he was doing things right with it. He had just received it from a friend who built it for him. As he talked about it, he was waving the gun around carelessly, crossing my midsection at least once. That was bad enough but then he said he had popped several caps on it and "it wouldn't go off". I was there with my sister, so decided we best be moving along, right now. On the way to the car we came across another shooter with a T/C Hawken caplock. He, too, had experienced a hang fire. As we walked past him, he laughed and said, "I put some powder under the nipple and I'm gonna try to touch her off ..... again", placing the butt against his rather generous paunch and angling the barrel down range. This was before we had the good sense to employ range officers.

 

[Fred S.]

Uhhh, a structure fire is nothing like a muzzleloader though... that's why no fire is out unless it's COLD and out.

When I used to work as a wildland firefighter (many, many years ago) I learned that you never report a fire as "out." You report that it "appears" to be out and then you recommend that someone "check on it" later.

I've had muzzleloaders, both flint and percussion, hang fire for a second or two. But minutes, now that is downright spooky.

 

[Follett]

I had a very similar incident with an 30-06 in a ruger no.1 a few years ago. Only, after waiting a little while, I ejected the cartridge, I tossed it on the floor of the range. After firing two more rounds, the one on the floor went off. It was very disconcerting. No injuries resulted.

 

[Sinner]

I had a very similar incident with an 30-06 in a ruger no.1 a few years ago. Only, after waiting a little while, I ejected the cartridge, I tossed it on the floor of the range. After firing two more rounds, the one on the floor went off. It was very disconcerting. No injuries resulted.

Now your getting into paranormal area. I find that one very hard to swallow.

 

[Eterry]

Now your getting into paranormal area. I find that one very hard to swallow.

Years ago I bought some WW2 surplus 45acp, a friend and i took it to the range. I chambered a round, dropped the hammer, no pop, nothing...Held it there a few seconds downrange, then reached for the slide to eject the round. Then it went off and left a 45 caliber hole in the metal covering over our heads.

Years later was shooting 45acp again, a friend had some loose rounds on the table. He said, try some of these. I walked over and held out my hands as he raked some into my hands. One round missed my hands and fell to the ground, exploding as it did. We both jumped back, and we both got some small metal fragments in our legs.

Upon close inspection there was ONE nickel sized piece of rock protruding from the worn dirt path/shooting post. The 45 round had decided to land upright on that small rock and detonate. We never found the bullet, but my leg bled for a while from shrapnel. I was wearing shorts (summertime in Texas).

Last year I was at a rifle range and a guy was trying to sight in an ak-47 variant. A cease fire was called and the guy placed his rifle in the rack. I was boxing up some gear when a huge boom came from his lane. I thought he'd had an AD, but his gun was in the rack. He had dropped a round, on concrete, and it had went off, scaring the BeJesus out of us all.

Go to a reloading forum, there's 1000's of stories much more incredible than these. All this stuff Can and Will happen, just a matter of time.

 

[Sinner]

...Uhmm, dropping a round on the primer is MUCH different than a hang fire going off much later... not oranges to oranges..
There's a reason that the reasonable amount off time to wait is 60 sec for centerfire and 2 mins for a muzzleloader after a hangfire... Other than hearsay, I've personally never seen any documentation of a hangfire for more than a few seconds, and believe if there was any, than standards of time to wait would be increased.

 

[Licespray]

Now your getting into paranormal area. I find that one very hard to swallow.

I’ve seen similar. Good 30-60 seconds from click to bang in a .30-06. Was mil surp ammo, though.

 

[Sinner]

I think we've gotten off the blackpowder track somehow...

 

[Eterry]

I think the bottom line is...just because it isn't normal or ordinary doesn't mean it can not happen. A guy named Ripley made a career out of tracking down the strange and unusual. By its very nature there wont be much documentation, as its a rare occurrence.
I can completely believe a muzzleloader popped several caps and then went several minutes before firing. Unusual? Absolutely. Impossible? No.

 

[52Bore]

What was the reasoning of just laying the rifle on the ground in front if the firing line?
Was the line still hot?

 

[centershot]

Easy, most likely the gun wasn't cleaned properly before loading. patch remnants, oil soaked powder, a bug nest, all can prevent immediate ignition and slowly smolder away until finally "BOOM"
A liberal cleaning with alcohol before loading is a good idea.

That is the first thing I do before heading to the range!

 

[JeffG]

A liberal cleaning with alcohol before loading is a good idea.

Glad to see someone else doing this!

 

[Grenadier1758]

There's quite a number of us that use an alcohol wipe to clean and dry the bore before loading.

 

[Carbon 6]

Glad to see someone else doing this!

Well, truth be told, I actually use M.A. P., but it is 33% alcohol.

 

[JeffG]

I swab out with denatured alcohol before hunting and before the range. I think that habit has served me well.

 

[mooman76]

I always pop a few caps before loading my first load.

 

[Carbon 6]

I always pop a few caps before loading my first load.

I use to do that, but found it to be unreliable sometimes and it's a waste of caps or presents a noise problem when hunting.
Using alcohol or M.A.P. to clean before shooting has never failed me.

I have completely abandoned the practice of "cap popping" and have no regrets.

 

[30coupe]

I use to do that, but found it to be unreliable sometimes and it's a waste of caps or presents a noise problem when hunting.
Using alcohol or M.A.P. to clean before shooting has never failed me.

I have completely abandoned the practice of "cap popping" and have no regrets.

Same here and same results. I use straight denatured alcohol.

I've had hangfires in the past, but it was usually a second or two from click to bang. They all happened after shooting several rounds without wiping or after wiping with too large of a jag. Thanks to advice from folks on this forum, I've turned my jags down so that a damp patch slides down the bore then bunches up and drags the fouling OUT of the barrel rather than pushing it down. A quick wipe with a damp patch on this type of jag pulls the fouling away from the flash channel and virtually eliminates hangfires or misfires. Notice I said virtually. I imagine they could still happen, but so far it has worked for me.

 

[gabedard]

Scary, reminds me what my father once said to me as a very young lad (60+yrs ago). Treat every weapon as if it is loaded-never point it at anything you're not going to shoot no animal is worth a human's life and once a bullet has left your weapon you can't call it back - glad no one was hurt and your ranger was all over the situat