Gun Safety

[Many Klatch]

Here's a little nudge for safety. A few years ago a bunch of us did a test to see how safe a flinter was when the gun was loaded but the pan was empty. We loaded up our smokepoles, cocked the hammer and made sparks. We were surprised to find that about once in ten times, the guns would go off without powder in the pan. Apparently at least one spark bounced through the touchhole.

In our club, we insist that a flinter be carried with the hammer down and the flint resting in the pan as the only safe way to carry an empty gun.

A gunsmith that I know was given an "empty" gun to work on. He didn't check with the ramrod to see if it was empty though. He tested the lock by snapping it before he dismantled the gun. The last thing he remembered seeing for a long time was a spark dropping into the touch hole. The gun went off and he caught the blast from the touch hole square in the face. It took about 2 weeks before they removed the bandages, luckily his vision was unaffected.

Just a word of warning.

Many Klatch

 

[bob308]

rule #1 all guns are loaded- never point it at anything you don't want a hole in.

i don't know why people have so much trouble with that one rule.

 

[snagg]

Thanks Many Klatch:
I guess it never hurts to be reminded of safety. Every now and then we can all get careless or just forgetful. It's nice to get that reminder now an again.

snagg

 

[roundball]

rule #1 all guns are loaded- never point it at anything you don't want a hole in.

i don't know why people have so much trouble with that one rule.

I for one am always glad somebody posts this topic from time to time...it's easy to get complacent...and I think more so the more we use/handle firearms..it becomes so second nature that we tend to stop thinking about it...just like we start day dreaming and end up dry balling or something.

Need to always "keep selling safety" to keep it in the forefront of our minds...just like Coca-Cola and Pepsi...even though they dominate the world markets they never stop advertising, never stop selling.
:thumbsup:

 

[Deacon4]

:redface: Several years ago, been out a hunting with my 50 cal. flinter, came back to the cabin. Wanted to go back out later so I didn't want to take a cold gun into the warm room. Emptied the pan, left a load in the barrel, lock on half cock. Slid the rifle into a snug fitting vinyl guncase, barrel first. Ka-Boom! :shocked2: Shot a hole in the porch floor. What the he_ _?
Thanked my maker. Checked my pants and thanked the first, second, third,etc. feller who told me never to point a gun at something ya didn't want to put a hole in. Loaded or not.
Had a hard time explaining to wife about the burn mark and hole in the floor. Left it there as a reminder of my stupidity.
Sliding the rifle into the vinyl sock must of full cocked it and then I must of touched the hair trigger and set her off with the sparks. Learned something the hard way! Ya just can't be too safe.
Deacon

 

[roundball]

Emptied the pan

Must have closed the frizzen after emptying the pan.

Because of stories like that on this forum and others, where a spark off the frizze has found it's way into the vent, I seal the vent with tape every time.

I load in the garage before I leave to go hunting, and put a 1/2" wide strip of tape from thre top of the breech down over the vetn out into the pan so it sticks & seals good.

Get to where I'm going to hunt, peel off the tape and stick it flat on the wood oposite the lock;

For the drive home, dump the prime, peel off the tape, and seal the vent again.

I bought a roll of that special military OD duct tape that sticks strongly but leaves no residue.

 

[George Holton]

While we are on the topic of safety, handeling black , what does it take to set off a container, horn ,or whatever, accidentally? dropping shooting at it, shakeing it ? short of the heat of a burning building or similar fire? I have seen spilled powder go from an errant spark, and how dangerous do you feel that 6in of black powder fuse would be in a container in a pocket? Thanks to all.

 

[roundball]

While we are on the topic of safety, handeling black , what does it take to set off a container, horn ,or whatever, accidentally? dropping shooting at it, shakeing it ? short of the heat of a burning building or similar fire? I have seen spilled powder go from an errant spark, and how dangerous do you feel that 6in of black powder fuse would be in a container in a pocket? Thanks to all.

First, I'm no authority so I only have my personal experience and conclusions.
I've ordered a few cases of Goex over the years and the 25 one pount cans of it travel across half the country, loaded in and out of trucks, warehouses, etc, finally to be left sitting in the open on my front porch...all while in a simple cardboard box.

So right there that tells me BP is not unstable and that it will not ignite from rough handling, being dropped, etc.
And I know it will not igntie from shooting a bullet through a can of it.
It takes heat to ignite blackpowder.

To your question, if you're talking about what I assume is 'cannon fuse' like you see for sale in coils laying out in the open on tables at gun shows, I would assume it could be treated the same way regular BP is treated.

For example...when hunting I carry a couple plastic pocket reloaders (a.k.a. speed loaders) in a shirt pocket with 100grns Goex in each one...several companies have marketed them for this purposes for several decades and I assume if there was a problem with that, it surely would have surfaced by now.

 

[LarryB]

At our range several years ago one of our members had a priming horn blow up hanging around his neck. He primed his rifle aimed and when he shot the horn blew up. The horn had a mechanical plug that still seemed ok after we finally found it. There was just little pieces of the horn scattered around in a 10 foot circle. Nothing that you could learn anything from as to why it had happened. His face and arms looked like a bad day on the beach. With in a day the skin was pealing like a sun burn. He healed up with no lasting problems. I am pretty carefull with my horns now. I think a full sized powder horn full would stand a good chance of killing you. I also couldn't see any horseing around or foolishness that caused this.

 

[juancho]

I had so many close calls when I was a kid that it is a miracle I'm writing this :shake:
With a flinter, if the frizen is shut, I take it is ready to go off.You don't know how sensitive the triger is. It can only be safe with the hammer down and the flint removed, only then you can check with the ramrod if it is loaded.I am asuming it is not my gun.Because I know if it was it would have no flint, and I know it is empty, but I will make sure anyways every time I handle it . Just one more excuse to play with it :v

 

[patch knife]

rule #1 all guns are loaded- never point it at anything you don't want a hole in.

i don't know why people have so much trouble with that one rule.

I for one am always glad somebody posts this topic from time to time...it's easy to get complacent...and I think more so the more we use/handle firearms..it becomes so second nature that we tend to stop thinking about it...just like we start day dreaming and end up dry balling or something.

Need to always "keep selling safety" to keep it in the forefront of our minds...just like Coca-Cola and Pepsi...even though they dominate the world markets they never stop advertising, never stop selling.
:thumbsup:

You got that right , RB ! It seems the people who handle firearms on a daily basis can be the ones most likely to have an AD . I was at an indoor range I used to go to alot and one of the guys who worked there part time , in the Navy full time and also a competitve shooter , was sitting behind the counter twirling his pistol around on his finger :shocked2: . I gave him a "what , are you nuts?" look , and I guess he read my mind because he stopped doing it .

 

[graybeard]

When putting a loaded rifle in the case I empty the pan, open the frizzen, lower the cock so the flint is at the pan, then put a sleeve over the frizzen and hold it in place with a rubber band. Not terribly PC, but safe. I cut the fingers off a couple pair of old gloves to make frizzen covers. They do get lost. graybeard

 

[roundball]

"...frizzen covers..."

Amen on the hammer stalls !

 

[jethro224]

Roundball, I like that tape idea. Thanks. I never thought of that. I don't like to put a toothpick in the touch hole. Always afraid it'll get broke off in there at the worst possible time. And I don't like to leave the frizzen open without plugging the hole either. Tape will do the trick.

 

[RedFeather]

Watch where you place your powder. Back when I first started, I had my 1858 Remington and was shooting using a picnic table for a bench. (Our range has come a LONG way since then.) Had my pistol flask on it slightly to one side and was careful to load from a measure, et cetera. I was wearing a thick work glove on my gun hand and, when I cocked the gun and took my thumb off the hammer, the gun slipped and rolled down, snapping the trigger. After overcoming my surprise (pants check :redface: ), I noticed a smoking hole in the ground about three feet past the table top in an exact line with that flask. Needless to say, I am more careful where I put it now. I also wear a real shooting glove.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

No such thing as an unloaded gun, ever, treat them all as loaded.

 

[bpbrs]

bob308 Said:rule #1 all guns are loaded- never point it at anything you don't want a hole in.

i don't know why people have so much trouble with that one rule.

Because out of all the laws we American's are encumbered with, "Stupidity is not a crime."

It don't take much for a few grains of chamber powder to spill out the hole in the side.

Bill

 

[Don B]

Most of this conversation has been specific to flintlocks. Do you have any words of wisdom regarding safe handling of a percussion gun in situations when removing the cap is not practical.

Do you consider an uncapped but loaded gun "safe".

I've been advised to keep my plains rifle at half cock when loaded and capped. Do you trust the half-cocked position? Can it be tested without damaging the trigger mechanism?

I'm fairly new to this an would appreciate advice from the veterans.

Don B

 

[wolfe28]

The signature line that Plink has on another forum pretty much sums it up:" We have enough youth, we need a fountain of SMART!"

D

 

[jethro224]

Don B,
I personally don't rely on any "safety" on any gun. They can all fail. They can all be missused.
Rule #1 and #2 still apply. They make it as "safe" as possible. A lot depends on who is carrying the gun.
There are "cap cover" devices available.