Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
Was it a Blaser bullpup?
New Forest Negligent Discharge
- Thread starter tomblincoe
- Start date
StephenToast
Well-Known Member
I had to google that. What a godawful creation.
tomblincoe
Well-Known Member
The rumour mill (and seemingly confirmed but a couple of comments on here) is Franchises Wood which is an RSPB reserve formerly owned by Hamptworth Estate.
Ade8mm
Well-Known Member
TFH If I had a shoot to invite you to you would be top of the list.I take it I won't get an invite to your next shoot then.
Scapegoat
Well-Known Member
I used to "ease springs" after unloading, racking the bolt several times to ensure the chamber is empty, then point at a safe backstop and pull the trigger. I say used to, as this is very much ingrained through military weapons training, but a friend of mine did exactly that after a foxing session and shot a hole in the tarmac just a few feet/inches from his buddy's foot.
As Sharpie says above, a physical check with your little finger is all it takes to ensure the chamber is empty. "Ease springs" is unnecessary...... the springs involved don't need easing and tarmac doesn't behave like a military range backstop.
sikamalc
Administrator
Correct. The rifle had been reloaded hoping to get a shot at the second pricket. It was clamped firmly in a tripod clamp. The second beast was too quick and there was no chance of a second shot. We stood chatting very briefly for a few seconds, watching the dropped beast. The client just touched the end of the stock of the Blaser and it discharged into the wood. His hand was no where near the trigger at all. This was the second time the rifle had done this, the first time was abroad, according to what he told me. My response was to tell him to take an angle grinder to the rifle and cut it in half, or take it to a good gunsmith and get it fixed, before it kills someone!
I always tell the guides that work for me. NEVER walk in front of a rifle. If I had walked up to the fallen beast, I would not be here now.
This is one reason why I personally do not like Blasers.
baguio
Well-Known Member
Why the hell hadn't he taken it to a gunsmith the first time it happened. Does he like playing Russian roulette or something? The guy clearly can't be trusted with firearms if he needs to be told to get his gun fixed when he already knows that it has an issue.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
Not intending to criticise Blasers in particular, but it just shows how easily confidence can be lost in any particular brand. For my part, I won't ever have any thing by Remington in my cabinet. The horror stories have put me off Remington for good, regardless of how good they may be now.
Interesting tale from one R8 owner who sent his rifle back to Blaser for investigation following an unintended discharge:
'1. The magazine unit was missing one of the fastening screws, however this couldn't possibly cause the UD. It must have been lost for some reason while operating the rifle.
2. While performing a Triggerscan, the power transfer diagram showed an unusual dent at the start of the sear movement.
After disassembling of the receiver components, relevant parts were measured and visually checked:
3. The connecting rod from the trigger return, showed some score marks along the outer perimeter. They stem from a deep drilling burr in the corresponding drill hole of the trigger sear - a manufacturing fault.
4. The cam base was missing a cylinder pin, which is critical for proper functioning of the compelled re-engagement of the trigger sear - suspected to be an assembly fault.
The conclusion for the UDs I had is most likely: The surface defect in the drill hole and on the connecting rod caused an obstruction to the proper functioning of the trigger sear. Due to the missing cylinder pin, the additional compelled re-engagement of the trigger parts also malfunctioned.
It appears that in two aforementioned instances, the trigger sear was presumably either not engaged or not fully engaged.
* If not engaged, then it is possible (as with trigger pulled) that the firing-pin continues forward with the closing movement of the bolt assembly. The firing-pin can then with extreme closing force, once completely in locked position then ignite the primer.
* If not fully engaged, trigger-sear and sear-rest do not ensure sufficient engagement and can, through force of closing the bolt-assembly, release a shot. The power transfer diagram of the trigger confirms a slightly dysfunctional trigger motion.
All trigger parts have been replaced with with new parts.'
So it appears that despite their huge prices and fancy marketing, even top-end manufacturers are not immune to falling victim to crap processes on occasion
Malc's story has made me think of a near ND I had.
New (to me, but S/H) Remmy 700. I had just finished a zeroing session and went to close the bolt on an empty chamber and 'click'. The rifle was pointing in a safe direction and was unloaded, so no bother. However, it still freaked me out as I couldn't shake the thought that it could have occurred on a loaded chamber.
I then had a bit of a play with the bolt, opening and closing and taking the safety on and off (all on an empty chamber). It turned out the rifle had a habit of firing just as the bolt was closed and when the safety was taken off. With the safety, you could just about feel something was 'off' before the sear released.
I had a feeling it had been 'bubbered' by a previous owner as it was set lighter than the usual 700 trigger. So, it may have been a simple case of winding the screw back in. However, and unlike Malc's chap, I figured I was never going to trust it again, even if I took it to a smith who confirmed my view. So, off it came and a Timney was installed. A better mouse trap and I no longer fear the rifle might fire when loading or taking the safety off.
New (to me, but S/H) Remmy 700. I had just finished a zeroing session and went to close the bolt on an empty chamber and 'click'. The rifle was pointing in a safe direction and was unloaded, so no bother. However, it still freaked me out as I couldn't shake the thought that it could have occurred on a loaded chamber.
I then had a bit of a play with the bolt, opening and closing and taking the safety on and off (all on an empty chamber). It turned out the rifle had a habit of firing just as the bolt was closed and when the safety was taken off. With the safety, you could just about feel something was 'off' before the sear released.
I had a feeling it had been 'bubbered' by a previous owner as it was set lighter than the usual 700 trigger. So, it may have been a simple case of winding the screw back in. However, and unlike Malc's chap, I figured I was never going to trust it again, even if I took it to a smith who confirmed my view. So, off it came and a Timney was installed. A better mouse trap and I no longer fear the rifle might fire when loading or taking the safety off.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Jeez! That is absolutely terrifying, if it happened on a £600 gun you would be disappointed to say the least. I wonder if there was a non-disclosure requirement as seems to be the case with other very small calibre rimfires where ‘incidents” occurred?
baguio
Well-Known Member
He's not either of those I'm afraid because but for you complying with your rules and not walking in-front of him he could have killed you and all because he didn't get his knowingly broken rifle fixed.
Knowing that the rifle had done that previously and continuing to use it is un-excusable. If he had killed you he would have gone to prison because what happened was predictable. It wasn't an accident because it wasn't unexpected. It had happened once so why wouldn't it happen again when nothing had changed (Insanity)?
Accident definition
An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
I'm sorry if this upsets someone or everyone on here but those are the facts. You can't get that bullet back!
Utectok
Well-Known Member
I’m mystified how the pathetic aluminium skin on a landrover door slowed the bullet down? Perhaps it was a fancy new one but I don’t fancy my chances being shot through my defender door?!
Bollocks! Sorry, but having had it happen where I closed a bolt and it happened - you don’t always know there was a fault at all, I know when I did it I checked if I had loose clothing next to the trigger or if it had caught on something. I then cycled the rifle empty a couple of times and nothing happened. So I pointed it in a safe place and loaded it and it fired....only after this did it go to a gunsmith where it was discovered the trigger assembly was loose and it was replaced FOC, the rifle (a Tikka) had not been fired that many times (under 200) and was never an issue before this or after... to say the guy can’t be trusted is a stupid comment, especially if it’s a fault with the rifle.
baguio
Well-Known Member
That's not the same at all. You done the only sensible thing and got your rifle fixed immediately rather than carry a ticking time bomb!
This is the issue isn't it?
The unexpected discharge abroad was a fault with the rifle..the discharge with Malc was nothing other than owner negligence...nothing to do with the rifle. It is just a mechanism...and one which was known to have been faulty and unsafe.
Alan
My point is - The guy may not have known it was a ticking time bomb...anyone who has observed an ND will note the person holding the gun is usually stood there with a confused look trying to figure out how it happened...and sometimes people assume they did something wrong like caught it with clothing etc - so he may think it was due to catching on a branch or part of his tripod etc.
I think you’d need a high horse indeed to call him untrustworthy.
one of the most experienced guys I know was one I mentioned earlier in this thread that accidentally shot through a car door, house door, internal door and then his wife’s leg. He is neither a fool or untrustworthy, he simply followed the old “easing springs” approach many ex military people do. And many people return from a night fixing in the dark, rainy miserable weather so in this instance he hadn’t noticed a remaining round in the mag after cycling the bolt.
accidents happen - the severity of the outcome is usually what governs the next step...
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