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I heard rumor of an accidental discharge on the Bench Line on Wednesday.
Heard that the ramrod went up through the roof and their was damage done to the shooters hand.
I was up on the table shoot line and did hear an emergency vehicle on the main road that morning.
No one wants anything but a safe shoot, did anyone else hear about such an accident?
Carl
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I understand it was on the bench line. Shooter was on the bench and for some reason put the rifle back in the loading frame, it was loaded and the action was cocked. He dropped something that jarred the rifle and it went off. Lost part of his trigger finger and burned another. Thank God his head wasn't over, or near, the muzzle. One moment of carelessness!
Mark
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This kind of thing makes me insane. It appears from what Mark and Carl have shared, that there had to have been several "moments of carelessness" for a shooter to have a loaded rifle sitting in the loading frame, COCKED AND PRIMED/CAPPED with a ramrod in the barrel.
I will be contacting the NMLRA today asking that a FULL REPORT of all the FACTS bearing on this incident be published ASAP in an upcoming issue of Muzzle Blasts.
My goal is not to try to sensationalize this sort of thing or embarrass anyone(don't need a name or pictures), not by any means but rather to put it out for all to see as a safety training measure.
All too often accidents in our sport tend to be passed over without much notice because there's little factual information available. That's not the case here. In my very humble opinion every shooter needs to be reminded how quickly even the most experienced shooters (these bench shooters are rarely "newbies" to the sport) can find themselves making a series of mistakes that end in a tragedy.
OK..OK..I'll calm down. Thanks for letting me vent a bit. I'll be contacting the Association later today.
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I had heard that there were repeated attempts to fire the rifle.
When it wouldn't fire a ramrod was put down tbe barrel and then it went off.
I agree with Don that it would be a good idea to put the incident in Muzzle Blast as a safety reminder to all.
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Agreed!! Lucky it was no worse.
Mark
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So easily avoided with basic safety practices! What a shame. Article is a good idea. We all have minor lapses, but this sounds like several mistakes (avoiding any one of which would probably have prevented this accident) strung together.
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We all most likely have stories of our own incidents...……..
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Here is what happened, told directly to me, in person, by the shooter.
The loaded, capped, and cocked rifle was on the shooting bench ready to fire downrange. The shooter didn't like the sight picture he had so switched out apertures several times trying to get the picture he wanted. Over 10 minutes elapsed before he was satisfied - long enough that he forgot the gun was loaded. At that point he got up and put the gun in the rack to load. When he set the false muzzle on the barrel the gun went off. About half of the first joint of the right trigger finger came off; plus 2 or 3 stitches in the adjacent finger due to blast injury.
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While it is a serious injury it is good to hear it was not a truly catastrofic injury like the loss of a hand or something else.
Thank you for providing the information.
Carl
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Thanks. I have talked to two shooters who were in the area, but not witnesses. Very close but not exact. I am planning on calling the shooter this weekend.
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