Hangfire!

Wow....
(understatement)

Not sure why you would leave the rifle on the table with a round in the chamber in a situation like this. The advice for old surplus ammo has always been keep it pointed down range, give it a solid minute, then unload the gun. Certainly would not walk away from the gun, especially not to go down range.

I couldn't tell if the guy was hit by shrapnel or not, but he was lucky he put the gun down .... whatever did happen, it could have been far worse.

Does not look like the gun kaboomed. It simply fired. The muzzle blast broke the water bottle on the table. The recoil knocked the gun and table over.

** in re-watching the video on a bigger screen, the table falling is from the shooter tripped up in the legs of the table. It looks like the shot actually hits the water bottle.

illinoisburt said:

Not sure why you would leave the rifle on the table with a round in the chamber in a situation like this. The advice for old surplus ammo has always been keep it pointed down range, give it a solid minute, then unload the gun. Certainly would not walk away from the gun, especially not to go down range.

Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking.

illinoisburt said:

Does not look like the gun kaboomed. It simply fired. The muzzle blast broke the water bottle on the table. The recoil knocked the gun and table over.

Click to expand...

Ok .... went and looked at the video again. I think you're right; I perceived the bottle debris as rifle shrapnel. Looking closely at the rifle it seemed to be intact, but it hit the ground at the corner of the picture.

Still, rather a .... er, SURPRISE!!!!!

Scary........... I've never seen a hangfire that took that long to occur. Longest I've ever seen or experienced is probably just a split second but still a hangfire. I've had enough rounds that just didn't go off and did a slow count to ten before even thinking about opening the action. That video is an excellent safety reminder and I know my memory will recall that next time I have a failure to fire.

I was taught to wait 30 seconds with a hangfire. The longest I ever experience was well under half a second. I don't see how this could have happened, but I'm sure someone will explain it to me.

That made me jump! I don't recall anything like that happening to me. I'm always suspicious of a round that doesn't go off....

That’s actually an older video. Believe I saw it about 8 months ago. But still, that is a crazy amount of time for one to fire. I’ve had a 22lr go about 3-4 seconds out of a 10/22, once. I was actually reaching up to cycle the action when it went off. I’m just glad it was a 22 and not my 375.

Good thing it didn't go off when he had the bolt partly open

illinoisburt said:

Not sure why you would leave the rifle on the table with a round in the chamber in a situation like this.

Click to expand...

Shotgun actually! TOZ 20-gauge bolt-action.

I always cringe when I see people walk down range and leave their firearms also pointed directly down range. I'm sure that is the norm, as I see it all the time, but it still makes me cringe, seems like a really bad practice IMHO.

Most hangfires I've seen are less than a second.
Had a second or two from some wonky 7.5 Syrian French ammunition.

I’ve never experienced or seen a hangfire and hope I never do.

I reload all the ammo that I shoot. I've never experienced a hang fire. I hope I never do. I'm not to sure about the guy in the video. Maybe he shouldn't be shooting guns. Doesn't seem to abide by any safety rules. Don't know if he has any ear protection buy sure looks like no eye protection.

I have experienced several hangfires shooting surplus ammo. 7.62x54r, 7mm and 8mm. All were under 1 second but it felt longer than that. Someone posted a quote here here I think...
"The 2 loudest sounds known to man. A gun that goes click when it should go bang and a gun that goes bang when it should have clicked" Source unknown.

film495 said:

I always cringe when I see people walk down range and leave their firearms also pointed directly down range. I'm sure that is the norm, as I see it all the time, but it still makes me cringe, seems like a really bad practice IMHO.

Click to expand...

One of the ranges I shoot at, you leave your rifle pointing down range.
All rifles must have the bolt and magazine removed and a chamber flag in them. The RO checks every gun on the firing line to make sure this has been done. Everyone is told to stay behind a line draw that is about 8 feet from the firing line before the range is declared cold. Everyone is told if you violate any rules or try to handle a gun while the range is cold you are no longer allowed at the range and told to leave.

Experienced one with an 8 inch m110 Howitzer. Sort of scary.

Had it happen with a muzzle loader. Never a centerfire.

film495 said:

I always cringe when I see people walk down range and leave their firearms also pointed directly down range. I'm sure that is the norm, as I see it all the time, but it still makes me cringe, seems like a really bad practice IMHO.

Click to expand...

I always leave my rifle aimed downrange as it keeps it pointed a way that firearms should normally be pointed.
But I always leave the breech open. I think if you leave the breech open ON A EMPTY WEAPON you're safe enough.

Wow! How come the round was not ejecting as he lifted the bolt? Was that the same cartridge primer being struck multiple times?

Goosey said:

Shotgun actually! TOZ 20-gauge bolt-action.

Click to expand...

It looks like a super bubba m44 with bent bolt? Video isn't completely clear, looks like a rifle casing ejected rather than shotgun hull. Maybe a full brass case?

* watched on larger screen. Yes it appears to be the shotgun.

The only hang fire I ever experienced was while on a photo assignment to cover. 105 battery at Khe Sanh. The battery was engaged in a heavy fire mission. Suddenly one gun stopped firing. I stated toward the gun to see if photos were appropriate. The crew chief stopped me and said they had a hang fire. They waited a minute and cracked the breech. Appeared to be a misfire as no smoke, heat, or sounds. The extracted the round and laid it on the ground to remove the HE projectile, when they removed it air filled the casing and BOOM. Fortunately the HE was separated. Injuries to five men were shrapnel to hands, arms and face. No one required evac.

lesson learned from the the battalions ex when he arrived on the scene was open the breech, stand away and keep it in place for for five minutes. Stay away from the breach and muzzle. Mid it goes off it will fire the projectile out the muzzle and e pel the round out the breech. I keep that in mind.