Darwin award nominee

[Rifleman1776]

Nominee No. 6:
[The Indianapolis Star]:
A cigarette lighter may have triggered a fatal explosion in Dunkirk, IN. A Jay County man, using a cigarette lighter to check the barrel of a muzzle-loader, was killed Monday night when the weapon discharged in his face. Sheriff's investigators said Gregory David Pryor, 19, died in his parents' rural Dunkirk home at about 11:30 PM.

Investigators said Pryor was cleaning a 54-caliber muzzle-loader that had not been firing properly. He was using the lighter to look into the barrel when the gunpowder ignited.

 

[wattlebuster]

I hate to hear news like that when it could have been avoided. Im trying to teach my grandsons the donts first and then the do's of this sport that I love so much. I just hope it soaks in

 

[Trench]

Do you think he was putting the lighter near the nipple/touchhole and then looked down the barrel to see if the light was coming through?

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Do you think he was putting the lighter near the nipple/touchhole and then looked down the barrel to see if the light was coming through?

That would be my guess

:slap: :nono: :shake: :shocked2:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Unfortunately, this story is about 15 years old at least, and I cannot get the actual item to come up online for me to download for my hunter safety students. I found a reference dating it to Dec 4, 1996

LD

 

[MSW]

perhaps there is some correlation to Murphy's Law; the more potentially hazardous the activity, the greater the likely that people will do dumb stuff?

 

[Robby]

Usually when a news story cites a fatality caused by an accident, while cleaning a gun, it wasn't an accident.
Robby

 

[Maven]

That event is included in Wendy Northcutt's book, "The Darwin Awards" (Plume Publishing, 2000). The author cites the Indianapolis Star, but it took place on 4 December, 1996. You can find it on p. 115 of Northcutt's book under the heading, Darwin Award: Cigarette Lighter Triggers Fatal Explosion.

 

[Zonie]

Well, dog gone it! It must have happened again just a few days ago or it wouldn't be appearing on the web now.

:grin:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Different responses than I expected.
Actually, this item came to me in a long list of Darwin Award nominees. Some were very-very old. One, in particular has been long ago proven a false urban legend. It had to do with a truck fuse being replaced with a .22 round and going off.
Personally, I think the e-mail I received is one of the oldest urban legend things to be going around the 'net for the last 20 years.
As for the incident described, I don't think doing that would set off an ml rifle. But, I'm not going to test that theory either. :shake:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I actually witnessed a Darwin award winner..., or at least the aftermath. To be a winner or nominated, you have to remove yourself from the gene pool by stupidity right? The person doesn't actually need to die.

Well once I was sent to a local hospital to interview a dude who had been shot "during a robbery attempt". Well, it appeared he had been the robber, not the victim, and it appeared that he had put the handgun in his waistband to carry it. Apparently (I write apparently as he didn't talk to me much) when he went to pull the piece, probably a Glock, the front sight got snagged on some underwear, and when he gripped harder and pulled his finger found the trigger and tightened..., and he blew off the "twins" and nicked "John" a bit. So yes he castrated himself. :shake: He did, however, remove himself forever from the gene pool.

Not a black powder accident, so I can't use it during the black powder portion of hunter safety, BUT I do use it to caution folks with handguns to get proper holsters..., and not to rob folks (ha).

Now if I could only find the newspaper reference for this accident for the BP portion of my class. I checked Snopes and couldn't find it, so it hasn't been debunked yet.

LD

 

[rafterob]

Always satisfying to see true justice at work.

 

[FishDFly]

Forrest Gump, stupid is as stupid does, seems simple again.