That old Bugs Bunny trick doesn't work after all.

[spin180]

You know, when he sticks his finger in the barrel of Elmer's shotgun causing it to blow out the back in to Fudd's face when it is fired.

RealTV just aired a clip featuring a shooting / standoff involving the LAPD, which left the suspect's firearm, on the roof of a house. After the suspect was in custody, an officer climbed a ladder to secure the pistol grip, pump action shotgun. The officer was positioned on the ladder so that the gun was about stomach level and was aligned such the the muzzle was closest to the officer with the rear grip further away. Said officer proceeds to gingerly pick up said shotgun by placing one of his fingers of his right hand inside barrel and then lifting the butt end of the gun by placing a finger of his left had in the triggerguard.

Much unlike the fabled cartoon, the shotgun discharged properly and relieved the officer of his finger(s). According to the RealTV narrator he picked it up like this to "preserve the evidence" and the trigger was "bumped." I say careless negligence.

No knock on LEO's, the LAPD, or anyone; just remember the rules and stay safe.

 

[Plan-B]

So did they actually show the officer blowing his fingers off? I'd imagine that to be a bit to gruesome for public TV.

 

[spacemanspiff]

and no one thought to slap on a pair of rubber gloves and pick it up safely?

 

[spin180]

The video actually showed the gun discharging and recoiling upwards and the officer then stumbling off the ladder onto the ground. It was not close enough to show great detail, but you could make out what was left of bloody, gloved stump.

 

[Greg L]

Ouch. Not the brightest way to get a medical retirement.

Greg

 

[Triad]

Stupid hurts. I hope i never experience that kind of pain.

 

[PATH]

I feel bad for the guy. We all must remember safet, safety, and more safety. No I'd say we now know the Bugs Bunny gig does not work!

 

[blades67]

The rules are there for a reason, he just learned the hard way what that reason was.:banghead:

 

[4v50 Gary]

New question on entrance exam for law enforcement:

(1) An aggravated citizen points their shotgun at you. Do you:

(a) stick your finger in the muzzle like Bugs Bunny does?
(b) fill your pants
(c) all of the above
(d) none of the above

Anybody not picking (d) is automatically excluded from the hiring process.

 

[SkunkApe]

Obviously, the finger-in-the-barrell trick only works if someone else pulls the trigger. Do I have to explain everything to you guys? But I suggest that the TV program exagerated the officer's injuries for the sake of ratings. Most likely, his face was only blackened. He'll be 100% normal in a few minutes. And are you sure he wasn't also hit in the toso? He could check by taking a drink and looking for water squirting out through multiple holes in his body. Those type of injuries, fortunately, also heal very quickly.

 

[pax]

Ouch. That couldn't have felt good.

pax

People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die. -- Jim Davidson

 

[Ron L]

and no one thought to slap on a pair of rubber gloves and pick it up safely?

I can't imagine there would be much to pick up if the video only showed a bloody stump.

 

[thumbtack]

 

[Sean Smith]

That can't be real. Nobody can be that dumb.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
and no one thought to slap on a pair of rubber gloves and pick it up safely?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"I can't imagine there would be much to pick up if the video only showed a bloody stump."


Ron,

I think spaceman meant the shotgun not the finger.


That clip has been around awhile, I've seen it a couple of times

 

[cuchulainn]

"What a maroon," Bug Bunny

 

[Monkeyleg]

Ban Bugs Bunny.

 

[Preacherman]

Bugs would like this one... or is it more Tom & Jerry's style? See http://www2.incredimail.com/multimedia/flash/new_year4.swf

 

[Rangerover]

Preacherman:

Rube Goldberg is smiling down at that one!

 

[sm]

DANG!!!, Sorry for the officer. Lets be careful out there 4 rules always.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

There is a very good reason why the finger in the muzzle trick did not work for the officer, maybe several. Such blown up barrels can occur via relatively minor blockages such as simply and inch or two of dirt if the muzzle has been pressed into the dirt. The resulting barrel failure on a shotgun would be at the muzzle end where the barrel will split one or more times. I have seen an 870 barrel that looked more like a grappling hook than a barrel after such an incident.

The blockage does not have to be tremendous, but needs to have a good seal from a fairly tight fit. It might work with a finger, but the gun would not likely blow up at the breach, but at the barrel end. The person plugging the hole would no doubt still have serious tauma to the finger/hand as well as collateral damage.

For the officer in question, he probably did not jam his finger into the barrel until it got stuck. It was probably a loose fit and not a sealed fit.

I guess there should be a warning anyway of telling kids not to try this sort of thing at home.

 

[BamBam]

I still don't understand how the gun discharged

The officer was trying to preserve evidence and put a finger in the barrel and another inside the trigger guard. When he picked the shotgun up, his finger tripped the trigger.

 

[shootingfarm]

It only works if the shotgun is made by ACME, thats were Bugs and the Roadrunner get all there stuff.




Paul

 

[10-Ring]

OUCH! Goes to show, learning gun safety from Bugs Bunny & friends is WRONG

 

[Betty]

Saw that clip on RealTV also.
Four rules, anyone?.