MikeJackmin
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2005
- Messages
- 1,604
Never heard of one like this before:
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/06/08/double-feed-in-sks-kills-operator-a-warning-to-all-of-us/
".. the casing of the round entered the left side of his stomach about four inches above his belt and traveled upward inside his chest... the casing traveled eight to twelve inches upward into the chest cavity after penetration."
Holy cr*p.
My take: This sort of ignition is possible with any firearm using pointed ammo, even bolt actions (why not)? What makes it dangerous is the proximity of the rifle's action to the body. I think that's the take-home point here. He'd have probably been OK if her did not have the rifle's action so close to his belly.
This sort of fatality is obviously a rare occurrence, but failures like that which do not result in serious injury might be more common than we think. My new habit will be to operate rifle actions with the butt against my hip, rather than at the side. Seems like an easy change to make, and that's one less hazard to worry about.
I've heard of a related failure in semi-auto pistols; if the user fumbles the unloading process, it's possible to trap a live round nose-forward in the ejection port. If you are unlucky that day, the extractor can strike the primer and the cartridge will explode. Usually, the user has his hand right there, ready to catch the ejected round, and that hand can get torn up. Once again, the danger comes from proximity; get the soft parts of your body just a few inches away, and no harm is usually done.
(FWIW, I like to unload pistols by first removing the magazine, and then pressing my palm against the ejection port while cycling the slide. This forces the round to fall into the mag well and keeps it out of the danger zone. A pinky, curled over the base of the empty mag well, will usually catch the ejected round and keep it off the floor).
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/06/08/double-feed-in-sks-kills-operator-a-warning-to-all-of-us/
".. the casing of the round entered the left side of his stomach about four inches above his belt and traveled upward inside his chest... the casing traveled eight to twelve inches upward into the chest cavity after penetration."
Holy cr*p.
My take: This sort of ignition is possible with any firearm using pointed ammo, even bolt actions (why not)? What makes it dangerous is the proximity of the rifle's action to the body. I think that's the take-home point here. He'd have probably been OK if her did not have the rifle's action so close to his belly.
This sort of fatality is obviously a rare occurrence, but failures like that which do not result in serious injury might be more common than we think. My new habit will be to operate rifle actions with the butt against my hip, rather than at the side. Seems like an easy change to make, and that's one less hazard to worry about.
I've heard of a related failure in semi-auto pistols; if the user fumbles the unloading process, it's possible to trap a live round nose-forward in the ejection port. If you are unlucky that day, the extractor can strike the primer and the cartridge will explode. Usually, the user has his hand right there, ready to catch the ejected round, and that hand can get torn up. Once again, the danger comes from proximity; get the soft parts of your body just a few inches away, and no harm is usually done.
(FWIW, I like to unload pistols by first removing the magazine, and then pressing my palm against the ejection port while cycling the slide. This forces the round to fall into the mag well and keeps it out of the danger zone. A pinky, curled over the base of the empty mag well, will usually catch the ejected round and keep it off the floor).