Rediscovered Shooting Treasures

Range Safety

 

 

Above please note an example of why we preach safety and good housekeeping at the range. In the picture above you will see on the left a fairly normal looking base of a 40 S&W casing. On the right you will see a most unusual 45 ACP fully jacketed ball bullet.

The owner of the 45 ACP had left his firearm on a shooting bench with the breach properly locked open for safety. After shooting a 40 S&W firearm the shooter resumed shooting the 45 ACP. On the first shot he noted more recoil than normal and evidence that the case from the shot had ruptured on ejection.

Later the two above objects were driven from the barrel. Evidently a 40 S&W case had landed in the breach of the open 45 ACP on the bench and was driven into the barrel when the 45 ACP was fired. Imagine the force it took to flatten the 45 ball bullet and forge it into the mirror image of the 40 S&W case it impacted.

Luckily no one was standing next to the shooter as the ruptured casing blew out the ejection port. The fact that the barrel did not rupture is evidence of the quality of the steel used in firearms today. Unfortunately the base of the case was all that was driven from the barrel and the firearm is on its way back to the manufacturer for broaching or barrel replacement.

The lesson to be learned is 1) always check the barrel for obstruction and 2) when not in use remove firearms from the firing line.

Courtesy of: www.rediscovered.shooting.treasures.com