Traditional Rifle Accident

[ToothPick]

WOW...that picture should be mandatory viewing once a year.

 

[Zonie]

I'm glad to hear the shooter is all right.

It is strange that my web searches haven't shown any story about the Pennsylvania accident.
Nothing at all.

I would think the media would be all to happy to report a gun accident like this. It's how they make their money and it serves one of their goals.

Hopefully the lack of news coverage means the accident didn't happen.

Happy Holidays to you all. :grin:

 

[TMan51]

Wow, that is one seriously broken rifle :shocked2:

Distractions are easy to come by. I've failed to add powder, and failed to seat a ball in the past myself. Fortunately, I haven't failed to fully seat the ball. With luck, I never will.

 

[kopfjaeger]

Did this happen in Pennsylvania ?

 

[don hepler]

That looks like a case of using smokeless powder and then telling everyone it was lodged ball, stuck in the barrel. I have no evidence of what the barrel should look like, but my gut feeling, says there is more to this story.

 

[Zonie]

I assumed it did because the original post said it happened at "Penn Sportsman's Association Range".

Maybe there is a Penn Sportsman's Association Range in some other State?

As for the picture of the exploded TC, I've seen barrels destroyed by obstructions and to me, that gun looks much more damaged than any that were loaded with black powder.

It looks more like it was loaded with a super large charge of Bullseye or Hi-Skor 700 smokeless pistol powder. with the intention of blowing it up into as many small pieces as possible.

 

[Okie Hog]

The friend of a poster on the other board helped clean up after the accident. No smokeless powder was found.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Wow, that is one seriously broken rifle :shocked2:

Indeed ....look how many parts are missing!

 

[Okie Hog]

According to the other website it happened in PA.

Look at the barrel. One can plainly see where the breechplug was. At the opposite end of the barrel there is a huge bulge where the ball sat.

i believe that the accident happened as presented. The shooter was 84 years old and had many years of muzzleloading experience.

 

[coloradoclyde]

No matter what age -- Complacency Kills --- :nono: :nono: . Don't ever think it can't happen to YOU - just one "mind fart" and you are dead :v .

Complacency Kills!
Yep! The sad thing is that if this had been a car accident where he pulled out in front of traffic or fell asleep at the wheel, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[bpd303]

He drove himself from the range up to the clubhouse where an ambulance transported him to the hospital. ( From the other site).

 

[nit wit]

getting to a point in my life where I forget things. Seems to me he might have forgot where he was in the process. Range officers need to keep an eye on us! I feel bad for the man, that could be his last day shooting muzzleloaders.
Nit Wit

 

[mooman76]

I find myself getting distracted easier as I get older and then forgetting where I am at doing things.

 

[tom deinek]

Wonder if he forgot were he was in process & was too embarrassed to stop & ask for help.

 

[okawbow]

I think we are making too much conjecture about his age. Other, younger people have done the same thing on purpose, and many have almost forgot to seat a ball all the way down.

 

[Dphar]

Barrels made of proper material do not shatter when BP is the propellant or even with smokeless. They do not fragment. The barrel should at most have only bulged at the point the ball was lodged.
That the barrel broke is an indicator of the barrel being made of a brittle free machining steel.
I bet an analysis of the material will find its a steel not recommended by the steel maker for gun barrels. This sort of thing, with and without loading errors was frighteningly common with early production TCs.
But since MLs are all "handloaded" the makers of brittle barrels have a huge "safety valve" to protect them.
The shooter has to such "guardian" unfortunately.
Dan

 

[Okie Hog]

There was no one to help the shooter. He was alone on the range.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

can't be distracted when loading bp guns - or be too cautious.
remember the ease with which fess parker when loading rapidly seated the ball in the boone and crockett TV shows? no telling how many injurys this bit of mis-information caused.

 

[Dphar]

If nothing else some spit down the bore may wet the patch and let the ball move. But this may take 5 minutes and people get impatient.
There are several options. But these are all to late for the victim here. We can only hope that he has the best possible recovery.
Dan

 

[trent/OH]

Distractions are easy to come by. I've failed to add powder, and failed to seat a ball in the past myself.

I once was shooting with one other guy who told me he had a rifle which wouldn't fire. In the end, we figured out that not only had he forgotten powder, he had also forgotten the ball!
I recognize more and more that I have a memory like a steel sieve!