stupidity

[oldbuck]

I was thoroughly trained by my Dad in gun safety beginning at age 7 and have hunted safely for 65 years. I am more than ashamed to admit that last week i double loaded and fired a cva accura with two 80 gr BH 209 charges and two 290 gr Barnes TEZs (powder, bullet,powder,bullet). My neck still hurts and the deformed primer was very difficult to remove; otherwise I’m ok and there was no apparent damage to the rifle. You hardly know where to start beyond “stupidity can kill”. Part of the sequence of errors was forgetting the range ramrod and loading with an unmarked unfamiliar ramrod. I still can’t believe I did it, but I did. Don’t let yourself turn into “that other guy”. I dodged Darwin’s reaper, you might not be so fortunate.

 

[03mossy]

Wow glad you are ok! And good job being willing to admit it on here . Will serve as another warning for all of us to be more careful.

 

[ENCORE50A]

Glad you're ok. Admitting it can help others. Thank you.

Check the barrel for a bulge.

 

[HandyAndy]

Not trying to insult you or anything, but I'm curious how it got double loaded. Was it loaded at home, but not capped and then loaded again and capped at the range?

 

[D55]

Been there and bulged a barrel (smokeless). Glad you survived to warn the others.

 

[Idaholewis]

NONE of us are ”immune” to an accident, Glad to hear you are ok, I Applaud you for speaking about it, serving as a Warning for others.

I shoot Muzzleloaders on a VERY Regular Basis, I pride myself in Being Xtra Safe with everything i do around ANY Gun. That said, I had a Scary Mishap this Summer, I shot a Patched Roundball over a Main Rd Yep, i did that! And it stil bothers me when i think about it (which is often) It could EASILY have been prevented, I was in a Hurry trying to beat the Sunshine Before it Casted Shade over my Target. I made a Bad decision and it got away from me, It was Early in the morning, and Luckily Nobody was Driving by.

 

[Barn]

Ironic how all these "I should have known better," things are popping up this week. Third time this week someone could have been seriously been hurt, but only got a glance at Heaven in stead.
Glad neither of ya got hurt and all of us survive being negligent or even downright stupid at times. Yall be safe and carry on...

 

[Idaholewis]

My deal was Plain Negligent of me, It took place at The little short Range sandpit that i do bullet Testing at. I was trying to shoot a Group of Patched Roundball Quickly before the Sun casted Shadows across my Target, Directly behind me is a Gravel County Rd, Fairly Desolate. Early in the mornings (when i shoot 99% of the Time) There is rarely ever a Rig go by.

I shoot over the Hood of my Truck off Sand Bags, My routine is to Load my rifle inside the Drivers Door, I have all of my Gear sitting in the Front Seat, I NEVER Cap the Rifle until i get around the Door, and Lay the Rifle in the Sand Bags, Pointing at the Target, Then i cock the Gun, and Cap it. EXCEPT for this one time, My Patches were SLICK with an Oil i use on my Patches, I cocked the Rifle and Capped it inside my Drivers Door (I NEVER do this! and know better), as i was stepping around the Door i was Also Lowering the Hammer Down to Half Cock, My thumb being Slick from the Oily Patches, The Hammer Slipped From my Thumb and Fired the Rifle, The Shot would have been WAY HIGH over any Possible Passing Car. Regardless, it Stil doesn’t make the Situation any Better. Simply Put, I used bad Judgment that 1 time, and it got away from me.

Again, NONE OF US are immune to making a mistake, You show me 1 person that is Perfect, That NEVER Makes a Mistake, or has Never used Bad judgment at one point or another, And i will show you Someone that is FULL OF

 

[LanceS4803]

We all have a set routine in firing these rifles.
Any break in your through process (someone comes up and talks to you, you drop something, etc.) can interrupt the same routine you have done hundreds, or even thousands of times.
And all it takes is one slip up...

 

[rgell1017]

My deal was Plain Negligent of me, It took place at The little short Range sandpit that i do bullet Testing at. I was trying to shoot a Group of Patched Roundball Quickly before the Sun casted Shadows across my Target, Directly behind me is a Gravel County Rd, Fairly Desolate. Early in the mornings (when i shoot 99% of the Time) There is rarely ever a Rig go by.

I shoot over the Hood of my Truck off Sand Bags, My routine is to Load my rifle inside the Drivers Door, I have all of my Gear sitting in the Front Seat, I NEVER Cap the Rifle until i get around the Door, and Lay the Rifle in the Sand Bags, Pointing at the Target, Then i cock the Gun, and Cap it. EXCEPT for this one time, My Patches were SLICK with an Oil i use on my Patches, I cocked the Rifle and Capped it inside my Drivers Door (I NEVER do this! and know better), as i was stepping around the Door i was Also Lowering the Hammer Down to Half Cock, My thumb being Slick from the Oily Patches, The Hammer Slipped From my Thumb and Fired the Rifle, The Shot would have been WAY HIGH over any Possible Passing Car. Regardless, it Stil doesn’t make the Situation any Better. Simply Put, I used bad Judgment that 1 time, and it got away from me.

Again, NONE OF US are immune to making a mistake, You show me 1 person that is Perfect, That NEVER Makes a Mistake, or has Never used Bad judgment at one point or another, And i will show you Someone that is FULL OF

Definitely true were all humans and mistakes seem to be second nature I'm 75 and have came very close to doing same thing at range if someone starts talking while I'm loading or starting to last week I pulled breech plug to be sure and safe shooting two muzzrloaders and ramrod marked for first one

 

[edmehlig]

We've all done stupid things in all of our lives. Fortunately/Hopefully no one got hurt and we learned from them!

 

[oldbuck]

Not trying to insult you or anything, but I'm curious how it got double loaded. Was it loaded at home, but not capped and then loaded again and capped at the range?

Close enough. Didn't travel with it loaded but hunted a week previous and instead of discharging I removed primer and locked in equipment shed at our farm where I hunt and have a range. I knew I wanted to shoot paper anyway the next time at farm. When I screwed up and reloaded it I only had the ramrod that came with the rifle which I never use except if needed for an immediate followup hunting shot. I have pulled the breechplug before being extra cautious if any doubt about being distracted; this time it never entered my mind. My focus was on fine tuning a relatively low recoil load. Ironic and painful. Hell of a legacy to have your family find you like that cva video with the dummy impaled by a barrel shard.

 

[hillbilly-bear]

I was thoroughly trained by my Dad in gun safety beginning at age 7 and have hunted safely for 65 years. I am more than ashamed to admit that last week i double loaded and fired a cva accura with two 80 gr BH 209 charges and two 290 gr Barnes TEZs (powder, bullet,powder,bullet). My neck still hurts and the deformed primer was very difficult to remove; otherwise I’m ok and there was no apparent damage to the rifle. You hardly know where to start beyond “stupidity can kill”. Part of the sequence of errors was forgetting the range ramrod and loading with an unmarked unfamiliar ramrod. I still can’t believe I did it, but I did. Don’t let yourself turn into “that other guy”. I dodged Darwin’s reaper, you might not be so fortunate.

Very happy nothing happened and you are okay. That sure is a wake up call.

 

[hillbilly-bear]

My deal was Plain Negligent of me, It took place at The little short Range sandpit that i do bullet Testing at. I was trying to shoot a Group of Patched Roundball Quickly before the Sun casted Shadows across my Target, Directly behind me is a Gravel County Rd, Fairly Desolate. Early in the mornings (when i shoot 99% of the Time) There is rarely ever a Rig go by.

I shoot over the Hood of my Truck off Sand Bags, My routine is to Load my rifle inside the Drivers Door, I have all of my Gear sitting in the Front Seat, I NEVER Cap the Rifle until i get around the Door, and Lay the Rifle in the Sand Bags, Pointing at the Target, Then i cock the Gun, and Cap it. EXCEPT for this one time, My Patches were SLICK with an Oil i use on my Patches, I cocked the Rifle and Capped it inside my Drivers Door (I NEVER do this! and know better), as i was stepping around the Door i was Also Lowering the Hammer Down to Half Cock, My thumb being Slick from the Oily Patches, The Hammer Slipped From my Thumb and Fired the Rifle, The Shot would have been WAY HIGH over any Possible Passing Car. Regardless, it Stil doesn’t make the Situation any Better. Simply Put, I used bad Judgment that 1 time, and it got away from me.

Again, NONE OF US are immune to making a mistake, You show me 1 person that is Perfect, That NEVER Makes a Mistake, or has Never used Bad judgment at one point or another, And i will show you Someone that is FULL OF

That is why these forums are so important. Everything we have read here is now history, and we learn from history to do things better. I want to thank each of you for sharing your mishaps. It is something we won't forget.

 

[edmehlig]

That's what these forums are for. To learn from others mistakes and experiences and share them with others so they don't experience the growing pains and mistakes we made.

 

[jcnull2305]

OOH!! My Turn!!

This incident was actually what precipitated me joining this forum, so...

After more than two decades in storage, I decided to break out my .54 caliber T/C Hawken with the Oregon Barrel Co...blah, blah blah - you guys have read about this rifle already...

I had re-cleaned this rifle when I got it out, and coated the bore with a maybe too generous helping of oil. I then placed it back in the safe - wait for it - ..., ..., Muzzle up! (Okay, old guys, roll your eyes. What do you want from me? It's why I joined.).

A few weeks later, I went to my buddy, Joe's cabin, and we were doing some shooting. There were several of us there, and I have the job of camp chef, so I was kinda taking my turn on the bench while tending to 7 racks of ribs. Any of you who know me will know that I should not try to walk and chew gum, let alone try to get a smoker lit, and up to temp while trying to diagnose a FTF issue.

Ran a few patches down the bore to soak up the oil. I then loaded up 65 grains of Pyrodex behind a 325 grain bullet a friend had cast. I then put on a musket cap, took careful aim, and, POP! Cap went off, but no Boom. I repeated this action 6 or 7 times with the same result. I then realized that there may be some oil under the nipple and in the fire channel. I took a pipe cleaner and ran it down the opening, and it came out oily - really oily. Ran another pipe cleaner and another until they were coming out dry.

By this time, I had become pretty frustrated, and it was time to add the hickory, get the smoker back up to temp, throw on the ribs, Oh, and this damn Gun!!! Put on a musket cap, took aim, and, Boof!! Cap popped but no shot. Tried one more time, same result. I put on another cap, but by this time, I figured that my charge must've gotten soaked with oil and wasn't going to ignite, so I was sorta planning to get out the bullet puller and... "Hey Jim! You gonna put these fk'n ribs on or should I?" Pete wanted to make sure the meat would be done in time for dinner some 6 hours from that point.

So, I said to myself, "To Hell with it. I deal with this later." I COMPLETELY forgot that I had placed a fresh cap on the nipple. You all can guess what happened next. I pulled the trigger while holding the rifle at hip level, pointing the opposite direction of the range. The rifle, after 9 or 10 caps failing to fire, went off. I discharged that 325 grain projectile pointed sort of toward where our vehicles were parked, angling away from the vehicles, but straight into Joe's 5' scraper blade and toward the roadway that passes the cabin. On a straight trajectory, the bullet would have passed over the roadway by some 30 or 40 feet. However, the bullet went through the grader blade, so could've been slowed, deflected up or down, toward the road, away from the road... who knows? Only saving grace there is that the road is sparsely travelled, and there was no one there.

The other good thing is that one of the guys in our group was a welder in his previous life, and we were able to patch Joe's scraper. Some buffing and repainting.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Dang! Thats crazy. But how were the ribs?

 

[jcnull2305]

But how were the ribs?

They were awesome! I make my own rub. Served with a side of Cheetos...

 

[Usmc22]

Glad your ok. I get what you’re saying, I’ve found myself complacent sometime’s when people approach and try to start conversations during the loading process.