NEW silly things you've witnessed (or done)?

[horkeye]

I especially assume that any old gun is loaded.

Hank,
In Australia, when one goes for their firearms licence, the main item that is drummed into your head is treat every firearm as if it is loaded.

the range officer asked if there was any hot loads and the guy next to me had just finished loading his gun but didn't want to waste a shot and shoot it off, so he stuck his ramrod in the barrel to remind himself that it was loaded, placed the gun in a gun stand and went to eat,

Rich e,
This is another big no-no in Australia: if any component of the charge is in the firearm it is considered loaded; if a cease fire is called, any loaded firearm must be discharged.

Another big no-no is that it is not permissable (police etc excepted) to have a loaded firearm anywhere, other than on the firing line of an appropriate shooting range, or whilst hunting in an appropriate area.

As Roamer said:

Seems to me, it's safest to treat any weapon as loaded, until verified that it is not. I never pick up any of my rifles, shotguns, or handguns, either M/L or modern, without checking that there is no load in the barrel, chambers, or magazine.

I always assume that through carelessness, absent mindedness, or intent, that a weapon is loaded, either mine or someone else's.

Not preaching to the choir, just tellin' it how it is!

Jim.
:thumbsup:

 

[Crossfire]

Old Army (or anyone else who might know),

What happens when you double load an ML? I am pretty new at this sport and almost did that the last time we went. I had loaded my rifle and then we stopped to check our targets. When I got back to the truck, I started to load again. My friend (who is much more experienced at ML's and introduced me to them) caught me just in time, "Didn't you already load that?" I primed it and shot and evidently I had. I'm just curious what would happen if I had loaded another charge of powder and ball on top of the previous powder and ball and then tried to shoot.

:hmm:

 

[Crossfire]

My stupid story,

Went plinking in the desert with two friends and a mutual acquaintance. Acquaintance had an old/antique 10g shotgun. Its stock split on the first shot of the day. He took the stock off and decided to try and shoot it again sans stock because the action was still connected to the barrel. As he was messing around with it, I said that this was stupid I wasn't sticking around to see him shoot himself. :nono: As I turned to walk away, the gun went off while I was a few feet from him (and it was pointing at my leg). I felt something punch my calf and start burning. By God's grace alone, the shot missed me, however, burning powder and the force of the blast hit my leg and hurt like h*ll! Scared me more than just about anything else, because we were miles out in the desert and more than an hour from medical help. I didn't even yell or cuss because I was so dazed at the close call. Needless to say, I don't go shooting with him anymore.
:curse:

 

[roundball]

Old Army (or anyone else who might know),

What happens when you double load an ML? I am pretty new at this sport and almost did that the last time we went. I had loaded my rifle and then we stopped to check our targets. When I got back to the truck, I started to load again. My friend (who is much more experienced at ML's and introduced me to them) caught me just in time, "Didn't you already load that?" I primed it and shot and evidently I had. I'm just curious what would happen if I had loaded another charge of powder and ball on top of the previous powder and ball and then tried to shoot.

:hmm:

Here's an excellent tip, and an opinion.

TIP

I carry a roll of electricians tape in my shooting box...when I get to the range and load my first load using the components I'm going to use that day, I wrap a piece of tape around the ramrod flush with the muzzle to "calibrate" it for that set of components in the bore.

Then every time you load, you'll immediately see if you've left out a component, or doubled up on a component because the tape will be lower down into the muzzle, or higher up above the muzzle if you have...this protects you when there are interruptions to your concentration like changing targets, or a stranger walks up and starts talking, etc.

And a ball puller or ball discharger is an invaluable tool to have at all times.

OPINION

if you had doubled a round ball, it's very unlikely anything bad would have happened because the weight of two balls would probably not have exceeded the approved weight of the heaviest conical in that same caliber.

If you doubled a pair of large heavyweight conicals, then I'm not sure I'd want to shoot it.

Using tape on your rod is a simple (and adjustable) safety tip I learned years ago from a magazine article...makes a lot of sense...and has caught me on several occasions

 

[Crossfire]

Thanks Roundball

 

[Finnwolf]

Years back, I heard a story about a hunter who spent the morning not seeing deer and decided to drive to another spot. He had an SUV with the rear seat down. He layed his loaded but unprimed rifle in the back on the carpet.
Story goes that while driving, the rifle slid, his buddy touched it to stop the slide and static electricity set off the main charge. The hunter took a ball in the lower back.
I have always and still do fire my flintlock into a stump before I leave the woods for many reasons, so already stated.
I do not want a loaded gun in my car or in my house with my kids (or anyone else's).
Most times I hunt, the gun gets moisture on it. I just can't have one of my guns rode hard and put up wet.
Cleaning takes 15 minutes, it's a ritual part of the hunt for me and I kinda like it.
I don't trust a charge that's been subjected to changing temps when I've spent all day walking up a deer.
Groggy guys like me who haven't had enough coffee at 5AM may not remember the gun is already loaded - Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark.
I just plain like a chance to shoot the gun - if I'm gonna ruin a ball & powder pulling the charge, I may as well have some fun and shoot it out.
Finnwolf

 

[roundball]

Years back, I heard a story about a hunter who spent the morning not seeing deer and decided to drive to another spot. He had an SUV with the rear seat down. He layed his loaded but unprimed rifle in the back on the carpet.
Story goes that while driving, the rifle slid, his buddy touched it to stop the slide and static electricity set off the main charge. The hunter took a ball in the lower back.
I have always and still do fire my flintlock into a stump before I leave the woods for many reasons, so already stated.
I do not want a loaded gun in my car or in my house with my kids (or anyone else's).
Most times I hunt, the gun gets moisture on it. I just can't have one of my guns rode hard and put up wet.
Cleaning takes 15 minutes, it's a ritual part of the hunt for me and I kinda like it.
I don't trust a charge that's been subjected to changing temps when I've spent all day walking up a deer.
Groggy guys like me who haven't had enough coffee at 5AM may not remember the gun is already loaded - Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark.
I just plain like a chance to shoot the gun - if I'm gonna ruin a ball & powder pulling the charge, I may as well have some fun and shoot it out.
Finnwolf

For a hunting trip, I load my main charge in the garage, leave the frizzen open, put a piece of tape over the pan and vent liner to seal out moisture and eliminate any possible external ignition source, install a Leatherman cow's knee, and the rifle rides muzzle down on the floorboard...when I come out of the woods after the hunt, I brush out the prime and follow the same precautionary steps for the trip home.

I too enjoy cleaning as part of the process, in the garage after a Saturday range trip...watch a little TV, drink some coffee, etc.

But I don't enjoy doing totally unnecessary cleaning when I get home late a couple hours after dark after sitting in a treestand in the cold...I shoot 3 weekends out of 4 year round, so shooting just to shoot after a day's hunt and then cleaning a rifle under those conditions is just an unnecessary waste of time for me...different strokes I guess

 

[Nightwind]

I started off pistol shooting with a Ruger Old Army revolver. Six months later I bought a Yazel flintlock pistol and was learning a new loading routine. After a few shots, I needed to replace the flint. Pulled the hammer back, replaced the flint, set the pistol back in the pistol stand and proceeded to reload it. Went throught the mental picture of firing the shot, pulled the pistol out of the stand and BOOM! :: without any primer in it either! The shot went sooo close to my forehead, I checked the bill of my cap and couldn't believe there wasn't a hole in it! I'd forgotten to lower the hammer after changing the flint and must've bumped the trigger somehow.

It shook me up so bad, I put everything in the car and went home thinking I'll never shoot a gun again. It took me a week to calm down and come to the realization that I missed shooting so terribly, a strick set of proceedures was in order if I was going to continue shooting. Six years and about 17,000 shots later, that mistake has never reappeared.
Knock on wood.

 

[rayb]

I didn't do this, however i was affected as you will see.

In the middle 70's one of my younger brothers was attending our local junior college. He was staying in the dorms there. Someone had a cap & ball pistol, i do not know the caliber or type. The owner was handling the pistol, it discharged. The ball (or bullet) struck my brother in the abdomen, hit a large vein that runs close to the backbone. He was carried to the hospital, but bled to death before long.

I don't have any more details, i was stationed in northern Virginia at the time and never went to the police station to get the facts while i was home for the funeral.

This happened in Uvalde, Texas, in 1973 or 1974. If you want an exact date I can get that.

UNLOAD THAT DAMN GUN BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE RANGE OR THE FIELD

YES I'M SHOUTING.

you want to make something of it???

rayb

 

[roundball]

:agree: accidental discharges simply can't be undone...

 

[sniper68]

rayb; Thanks for the post! You can't yell loud enough. My sincere belated condolences......! eace:
Sniper

 

[hairsmith]

rayb:
Thanks for your post, and roundball I agree, you can never yell loud enough when safety is concerned. I made a mistake not speaking up quick enough. When I saw a good friend have a momentary laps of safety due to fatigue and a long day competing at the range.
This led to me making a high speed run to the hospital with this friend. Then came the hard part telling his wife he had bin shot. All this was difficult, But would have bin much worse if he had not made a full recovery.
I make no excuses, I speak up, to any one any where concerning firearm safety. If that offends you, I can only hope you will find me offensive for the rest of a long and healthy life.

Hairsmith

 

[Tumblernotch]

:applause: :applause: :applause: Amen to you and rayb both. These things ain't toys, but you'd be surprised at how many people think they are. And we shooters are only human and make mistakes and get tired etc. But, that doesn't excuse us if we screw up. If we are too tired to show good judgment, quit shooting and get some rest. If we want to play around, grab a ball and have a game. If you're drinking, stay away from guns! If somebody, especially a new shooter or spectator wants to talk (and I've had a lot of this), tell them to wait a minute till you're finished loading and shooting and then come talk to you. Watch out for your buddy or the next guy down the line. If you see him doing something unsafe bring it to his attention. Don't worry about embarrasing him or yourself. I would rather be embarrased than cleaning his or someone else's brains off my clothes. I've made plenty of mistakes myself over the years, some when I look back on them are pretty scary. Thankfully, the worst injuries I've suffered have been flint cuts on my hands. I've already learned a lot on this thread. Thanks fellers. And rayb I also want to extend my condolences to you and your family, late as it is.

 

[oldarmy]

my buddy was loading 240/260grain plastic sabbots in it, over around 100 grians of Pryodex ppp. They load them puppies hot to hunt with.
I had a very close call last year.
I was out at my range last year. there were 3 people including me out there, one guy I knew, the other one was a stranger. I called out and got an "all clear" from them, went out to the hundred yard berm and was setting a taget when I heard a shot and the whine of a riccoche, then another and another. I looked up and the stranger was shooting his .45 auto at his 25 yard target. I yelled out "hey" and the guy I knew ran over to the stranger and was pointing at me. He did stop Thank God, He packed up pretty qiuck and I never did get a chance to talk to him.
It's not a plesent feeling to say the least.
rayb, heart goes out to you and your family. i lost my brother a few years ago and it hurts for a long time.
god bless

 

[2172]

Lehigh, that's what I do, but I put the term "especially" in my message because I handle an old gun that someone hands me for a little work, and tells me, "it ain't loaded", like it was a rattler...I once spent 3 days getting a nipple out of an old wreck because I didn't dare put a little needed heat to it....I was afraid that someone might have left a load in...with one of my own guns, I'll trust the mark on the ramrod to tell me if it is loaded...but not with any other gun...best, Hank

 

[Rebel]

If you are worried about a gun being loaded you can take the ramrod and lay it along the outside of the barrel back to the breechplug. Then mark it at the muzzle, then put it down the barrel. If the mark goes to the muzzle then it isn't loaded. You can also soak the breech overnight in a solvent to make any powder that might be in there inert.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Another little tip for those of you who fool with antiques and relics you might run across: Even a relic piece with a 140 yr old charge in it could go off! A farmer was killed quite a few years ago when he heated the end of an old musket barrel that he was using to repair a fence on his farm. Believe it or not, the powder was still good enough to send a Minie Ball through his head. I don't remember where I got the story, but it was related to relic hunting and was being passed on to warn hunters. Two soldiers were killed at Ft. Sumter in WWII when they rolled two large cannonballs near a fireplace to use as andirons, not knowing that they were shells and not solid shot. I know that is a topic for relic hunting or artillery, but the point is, be sure of what you have your hands on and not to take for granted that because it's old and a wreck that it can't hurt ye!

 

[Tumblernotch]

:: Yikes!!! I kind of know the feeling. I had a centerfire round snap by pretty close during deer season once. It was fired from pretty far away, but it popped by loud enough to make me hit the deck real quick. Course if it was a few inches to my right I couldn't have moved fast enough. It was past me before I heard it.

 

[horkeye]

Dear Members,

I had absolutely no idea that any instances of death or near death tragedies would be told of on this forum; if I had, I may not have started this thread.

On the other hand, if one life has been saved then it is worth it.

To all who have stated they have lost someone, or similar, I offer my sincerest condolences.

Jim Morraitis.

 

[JeffS]

lehigh, first of all, I about fell out of my chair laughing when I noticed your picture icon. :crackup:

Second, if that is really you, and it wasnt a joke, Im glad you live so far away, cause it wouldnt be worth the travel to come beat me up! ::

On to the topic at hand... I was once shooting a double barrel shotgun with round balls, musket style. I loaded both barrels, capped both barrels, then full cocked both hammers. Then I decided I only wanted one hammer full cocked so I grabbed the back of the hammer I wanted to decock with my thumb and pulled the trigger I thought would release it. Of course that was the wrong one. The hammer I didnt have hold of snapped, set off the charge, scared the bloody hell out of me, and sent a big (.715)ball to only God knows where. The potential for very bad things to happen was there. I wasnt watching muzzle direction for what I thought was a simple thing. By just plain dumb luck I got away with it. Didnt hurt or damage anyone or anything.
I really thought I was a safe gun handler before that happened. Believe me when I say I learned from it. It only takes a little mind lapse. Gotta be thinking all the time.

Jeff