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A father and adult son in Newaygo, Michigan (middle of nowhere), found a muzzle-loading rifle in the trash. They tried to remove the breech plug and found that it was stuck. They then heated the breech with a torch. The rifle discharged, killing the 28-year-old son.

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Four rules. They shouldn't be that hard to learn.

- JIm

Rule 5: Never apply a torch to a loaded gun.

This is an unfortunate accident, but, I can see the lawsuit ...

Some poor guy will get sued because he "improperly disposed" of a weapon, or ammunition, or whatever the lawyers will dream up.

KaiserB wrote:This is an unfortunate accident, but, I can see the lawsuit ...

Some poor guy will get sued because he "improperly disposed" of a weapon, or ammunition, or whatever the lawyers will dream up.

He probably disposed of it dreaming that no one would ever try to unplug the thing...

An act of negligence is not a "freak accident" in my book. They should have known better and the survivor will probably be saying that to himself for the rest of his life.

Tidbit of trivia - Ariel Sharon's son was killed when he and a friend were playing with an "antique rifle". It was also a loaded blackpowder firearm. These things happen, which is why we have rules.

Sad but I think common sense should have kicked in on that one.

What a tragedy, but I just can't imagine someone would apply a torch to a old muzzle-loading rifle they found in the trash. No, they sure didn't apply the four rules of safe gun handling.

I'm sure the lawyers are lining up and chomping at the bit on this one.

-geo

The idiot who threw the gun away ALSO disobeyed the rules. Plenty of "dumb" to go around in this situation.

Morgan wrote:The idiot who threw the gun away ALSO disobeyed the rules.

Maybe but I didn't see enough details in the story to draw that conclusion.

Tragic, yes........

But, you can't fix stupid.

boomerang wrote:

Morgan wrote:The idiot who threw the gun away ALSO disobeyed the rules.

Maybe but I didn't see enough details in the story to draw that conclusion.

Assuming that the facts stated in the story are accurate, I have to say that whoever left a loaded or even a functional weapon in a public place was irresponsible.

If the previous owner did not want the weapon, he could have dunked it in water to soak the powder and then sledgehammered the barrel.

it is possible that the previous owner died and a relative discarded the weapon not knowing it was loaded, but it was still irresponsible.

A friend of a friend of mine recently found a pistol among his late father's effects. He didn't know how to check if it was loaded, so he asked me to come over and check. I did. It was. Double-action Walther with a round in the chamber and a full magazine.

My point is that even though he did not know how to check, he knew it should be done.

- Jim

Morgan wrote:The idiot who threw the gun away ALSO disobeyed the rules. Plenty of "dumb" to go around in this situation.

I believe that many people experienced in cartridge firearms aren't aware of the additional potential dangers inherent to muzzle loaders. Both parties could have been smarter.

AEA wrote:Tragic, yes........

But, you can't fix stupid.

Really? I thought that's what the Darwin Awards are about... seems stupid is a self-repairing problem half the time.

This coming from the kid who says that death is the cure for any disease. Technically accurate, practically useless in most cases.

I just cannot imagine the thought process that led these two to the conclusion that using a torch was a good idea. Tragic, but a good example of survival of the fittest.