Caution: Before Shooting!

[Freckles]

My brother-in-law took his rifle out to the range last weekend to site it in. Before he loaded it he decided to check out the barrel. It was pluged tight. He got a twig from a nearby tree and shoved it down the barrel. It was pluged with thousands of those Asian Beetles. He said if he had fired it he said it could have exploded the barrel.Just thought I'd run this past all of you since it is that time of year.

Freckles

[iland99]

Also, don't forget to remove the bore sight from the rifle if you use one, as this guy found out the hard way. I'm not sure where these pictures were taken, they found their way to my inbox this morning:

[Rotwieler]

WOW! that thing looks like a banana peel!

[tealitup]

Well thats just stupid

[deerhuntr8]

Holy dump!

[David Frank]

Wow! Just goes to show that when we say "safety first" we mean it!!!

[colonel42]

Wow, that is nuts!!! Reminds me of the cartoons with Bugs Bunny sticking his finger in Elmer Fudds gun. Seen it happen while grouse hunting when someone accidently poked their gun barrel into the ground but nothing like that.

[jlm]

If the guy is not in the hospital, he is very fortunate. It sure is funny for all of us to look at this, however, the consequences of something like this could alter your life forever. Please be safe and take that extra second to check your equipment! Good luck!

[harvey lee]

One thinks this cannot happen to me,but it always happens to someone.SAFETY is key and there is no such thing as too safe.

[Muddog]

Yea! stupid. Why didn't he take the sling off if he's shooting from a sand bag.

[not_nuf_time]

I went practice shooting this last weekend with a gun that hasn't been used for many years, and checked the barrel just to make sure it was ok.

Now that guy has to get a new gun case, that'll never fit. Another $25.00 down the drain.

[gspman]

I'm skeptical that the photos are real. I think someone did some cutting because everything is too symmetrical and perfect. Plus the muzzle end of each "peel" is bent inward rather than outward. On top of that there is no damage to anything else but the barrel and it stops right where the wood starts.

But the message is very relevant. Know thy weapon.

[bbqhead]

mythbusters on the discovery channel tried to do the

same thing with plugging the barrel.. they got a little

bulge in the barrel. looks like a setup pic to me.

bbqhead

[xedge2002]

Now that you mention that BB I remember seeing that same episode. I would be pretty skeptical of those pics.

[Bad Catcher]

I could see the bore sighter looking like it does, but the barrel does not have the correct fractured look on the edges. It appears very straight and would it be possible that 4 equal pieces bent the same way?

When I went to Monticello, there was a guy checking for blockage with a cleaning rod. As stated by Harv, one can never be too safe!

[iffwalleyes]

It really doesn't matter is it is fake or not we all need to excercise caution and make sure not to do something that could result in this type of accident.

[tripper]

Wow I felt the same way about the pics. not being on the up and up but kept quit because I am no a expert. Seemed to me with that kind so much pressure there should of been some stock and breech damage to.

iff, you are of coase rite but in the same token we as gun owners do not need any faked stupidity floating around out there for the anti's to use.

[Guest]

My father was goig to purchase a used 30-06 years back from a guy in the gun club at the time. They met at the range and my father went to fire the weapon and the gun did do the banana peel and the scope took a chunk out of his scalp and left a nasty scar.

I seen that episode of mythbusters too.. and that made it obvious a gun exploding is very unlikely, but its not impossible.

Nobody knows why the gun did what it did. The guy who owned it was a very reputable, known, and trusted guy, and the gun was used yearly for hunting, and at the range on occasion.