Gun Safety

[Canyonrun]

It was a moderate cold morning (40 degrees) standing there waiting my turn at the turkey shoot getting a ban aid put on my left hand after my plastic ram rod broke. Thinking twice now about bouncing the ramrod to seat the ball, I’m sure the cold play a part in it.  Now it was my turn and forth try at shooting a turkey head bobbing up and down at 65 yards. With barrel pointing downrange at half cock place a cap and try to full cock but couldn’t set the hammer try several times so I fire from the hip releasing the hammer with my thumb. Inspection of the gun found that the sear had just snap off, Gun Safety it so important. See attach picture of 50.Cal T/C Hawken broken sear notice the bubble in the casting where it broke.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Send it back to T/C or their licensed dealer, and they'll replace the part - perhaps the entire lock, as they did for one of my friends.  The gun is guarrantee'd for life.

[Roger Fisher]

Send it back to T/C or their licensed dealer, and they'll replace the part - perhaps the entire lock, as they did for one of my friends.  The gun is guarrantee'd for life.

Yes, they are good that way!!

[T*O*F]

Gun Safety it so important

Gun Safety is an oxymoron.
There are no safe guns, only safe people.

[Dave K]

Back in 1980, 2 of my buddies and myself each bought 45cal TC Hawkens. Each Sunday we would shoot. One Sunday, one of the guns went off while being placed in the sand bags.  The next week, the other 2 guns did the same. It scared the HECK out of us. Each gun, broke their seer, just like yours. The seer was replaced under warranty, but the knowledge of good gun handling became very apparent from that experience. Bought a second seer, just in case it happened again and I still have it.

[C. Cash]

Thanks for sharing this.....good wake up call for all of us.

[northmn]

Gun safety:
1. When I was very green to flintlocks I knapped a flint, removed all priming powder before doing so and tipped the rifle slightly to see if I was getting spark. The thing went off with just the spark from the flint and I got a few embedded pieces of black powder in my face.  Kept the gun pointing downrange.  Would not ignite the primer but set off the main charge.  Had another go off without priming charge but learned from before.  Always carry a flintlock in car or truck when hunting loaded with the hammer down, frizzen open and a toothpick in the vent.
2. An idividual shot at a local match around Bemidji.  Blew down the barrel after he shot and had the residue ignite and burn his face and take off part of his eyebrows.  Don't blow down the barrel after you shoot.  A minor injury is an injury that happens to someone else.  We were death on blowing down barrels after shots in our area.
3. Flintlocks on the firing line.  Saw a kid jump like he was stung by a bee when he stood too close to a flintlock shot off X sticks and got a seat full of flash.  I always warned those of that danger when I shot.
4. Overloads.  Knew a very experience shooter, and a friend,  who built up a 54 bench rifle.  Said it loved 150 grains of 3f.  Shooting a 5 shot round and after a couple of shots called me over (I was the range master for that day)  blew the nipple out,went somewhere.
5. Makeshifts.  Had a shop teacher come up to the line with a homemade rifle.  When I looked it over I would not let him shoot it (I was the rangemaster).  The nipple (modified grease jerk I think) was only held by about one or two threads.  He did not get mad and became a dedicated skinner.
6.  Seen a hand gouged by broken ramrods.  Most use too long a stroke when loading.
7.  Distractions on the line.  A friend had a barrel ruined when he BS'ed with someone and only shortstarted his load.  Later showed me the barrel segment that bulged.  It looked like someone tried to cut through from the inside with a torch.  I double powder charged a fowler because someone was asking me some questions while I was loading at a trap match.  Other than a heck of a recoil nothing happened.
8. Camps.  Saw a little girl burn her feet on what appeared to be a dead fire when she ran through it barefoot.  Sod was not replaced yet nor had they doused it.
9.I yelled CEASE FIRE at someone else sponsored shoot when I saw a pair of dog ears flop up and down on each side of my rifle sights.  Dog belonged to the sponsor of the shoot. Got strange looks until folks saw the dog.
With the 20-20 of hindsight we think accidents can be avoided.  Those I mentioned happened through several years of shooting.  In some cases accidents established policy.  How many people blow down barrels and nothing happens?   People BS on the line, that was part of the fun.  (Try that at a modern trap shoot). The individual that blew out the nipple fired who knows how many shots had he fired on sight in?  Due to a certain amount of common sense shoots have generally been very safe get togethers. None of the injurys I mentioned were serious but they could ruin a day.

DP

[voyageur1688]

Northernmn,
 You are right on what you are saying and I commend you on your looking out for others at the shoots. With Rangemasters like you inspecting M/L's before alowing then to be fired, and with the other cases you mentioned you can make sure that the shoot is done as safely as possible and that will result in less people being injured and more people staying with this wonderful and enjoyable sport.
 At one of our first shoots at our rendezvous, I was not at the range but a couple of our groups officers were but they had not taken time to go over safety with the participants and observers. Big mistake.--- One of the shooters was being careless and was showing someone his M/L without having it aimed in a safe direction and it went off unexpectedly.  This guy had a hard time explaining to his wife why he had to buy a new windshield for another shooters car. Luckily nobody was hurt, but it was a lesson for everyone to be safe in all handling of firearms. We have since made it mandatory that before any shoot we go over safety with all participants and spectators, and that all guns are inspected, and I make sure that I am at the shoots at all times. Since that incident we have stopped 1 new shooter from participating as he wanted to use an original musket from the early 1800's that had a bulged barrel. This thing looked like a snake that had just ate a rat and he still could not understand why we would not allow it to be fired until it was explained to him what could happen. The guy opted to not shoot it after all.
   Todd