RangerClay Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I had a close brush with meeting the Almighty last Sunday or at least a trip to the ER. I am posting now because I was waiting till the pictures arrived so you could see this for yourself. As some of you know I do CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting, http://www.sassnet.com/index.php). I spend my summer weekends playing cowboys and indians with real guns. Now when you look at the picture the guy next to me is the RO (short for Range Officer). He is in charge of timing me and keeping me and everyone safe. The RO is standing on my left because I am moving to my right. I've been an RO for about 4 years now and I had a first on Sunday. I had a shooter probably stuff too much powder in a cartridge and his vintage 1892 Winchester blew up on him. It blew the gun completely in two with the shooter standing there with the ballooned barrel in one hand and his stock and receiver in another. I was standing to the right of the shooter and I saw nothing leading up to the bad shell then BOOM. It sounded a like grenade going off and it knocked me backwards on my keister. The one fortunate part about this whole thing is that no one was hurt. Especially since this gun blew up about 8 inches from shooters face and 24 inches from my face. Just several of us in shell shock for a while. It's amazing how quickly a fun shoot could possibly turn into a trip to the hospital. I have never seen anything like this before and I hope I never see it again. Those of you who are hunter safety instructors may want to make copies of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 holy smokes!! Glad no one was hurt. I'm sure that scared the you know what out of ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 wow. glad there was a happy ending here. it sure could have headed south fast.... too bad about the gun. i suppose the shells were all hand loads, so there is no way to actually check on what happened. that could have gotten ugly. as for the close encounter with meeting your maker, it just reminds us all that every day is a chance encounter. he will take us when he's ready, with no fore warning. the boy scout motto of "be prepared" comes into my daily thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 holy smokes!! Glad no one was hurt. I'm sure that scared the you know what out of ya. I had several people ask me if I needed to clean my shorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 It is not a pleasant sight when something like this happens. I would "guess" he might have double charged the powder in that shell! Sure am glad nobody was hurt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 WOW ! That could have been ugly alright. Glad everyone was OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 WOW Joe glad to hear you all are ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerforged Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Glad to hear everyone is alright. Had a shooting instructor load a 20 gauge with a 12 gauge behind into his brand new DT-10 3 years ago, he still has about 9 pellets in the fatty area at the base of his right thumb. He was busy talking with the student and grabbed a shell out of his pocket and dropped it in without looking at it and when he went to close the breech didn't see the shell because it had slid down the tube so he pulled another out of his pocket and loaded it. He took what was left of the gun and had it mounted and it is now hanging in his office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pendog Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Glad your ok, maybe you all should pray before you shoot:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohiobucks Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Man, that could have been real ugly. Glad you're OK and nobody was hurt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkergirl Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 wow. good thing no one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Jeez! Joe Talk about a close call...Man! Glad your OK and WOW again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrea Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 That could have been a horrible day. Glad everyone is okay. That would probably make me a little gun shy....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outdoorgirl Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Glad no one was hurt Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 That could have been a horrible day. Glad everyone is okay. That would probably make me a little gun shy....... Just a little. Before the accident I had 0 misses. Afterwards, 12 misses. Steve, talked about how you never know when it's your time. Those were my thoughts exactly. I had to stay and finish the day but I wanted nothing more at that moment than to hug my wife and kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfletch7441 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Scary situation for sure, I'm just glad noone was hurt! Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyoitker1 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Joe, I am glad that no one was injured! You never Know when something like that is going to happen! Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Just a little. Before the accident I had 0 misses. Afterwards, 12 misses. Steve, talked about how you never know when it's your time. Those were my thoughts exactly. I had to stay and finish the day but I wanted nothing more at that moment than to hug my wife and kids. Man, that is a scary thing. Know first hand how you feel afterward. Happened to me once. Glad everyone was OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aksheephuntress Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 ...Oh, my! -so glad you or your friend weren't hurt, Joe.... -That was a scary moment, for sure...-and thank you for posting those pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Holy crap Joe. Glad you and the others around you are ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntnMa Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I am so happy that y'all were ok.....thats scary stuff there...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 WOW! That could have been a lot worse, glad you're ok man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I bet he put two charges of powder when he was loading shells.You both were very lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Wow...glad you or no one else was hurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Glad no one was hurt Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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