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It does happen. I never did hear what the exact cause was. Double charge, smokeless powder, rusted out ??? Old Turner Kirkland of Dixie Gun Works recommended firing a double proof load by remote control in any muzzleloader before trusting it
Bye
Jack
Woman loses arm after antique rifle explodes as she holds it
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2002.01.03
SECTION: NEWS
PAGE: A06
SOURCE: Torstar News Service; KITCHENER-WATERLOO RECORD
BYLINE: Liz Monteiro
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Woman loses arm after antique rifle explodes as she holds it; 150-year-old
gun hadn't been fired in years
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A 36-year-old Cambridge woman had her left arm amputated just below the
elbow after an antique rifle she was holding exploded in her hand on Tuesday
night.
The woman, whose name has not been released by police, was holding the
black-powder rifle when it ignited and metal fragments went flying in all
directions.
When Waterloo regional police arrived at the home east of Kitchener after 9
p.m., part of the woman's fingers were lying on the back porch.
Gun fragments were found imbedded in the ceiling of the back porch.
Paramedics bandaged her hand and she was taken to Grand River Hospital. She
was later transferred to St. Joseph's London Health Centre, but doctors
could not save her arm with reconstructive surgery.
Police removed about 20 rifles and ammunition from the home, owned by a
46-year-old man.
Some of the <firearms> included a 22-calibre hunting rifle, handguns and an
AR-15 semi-automatic military-style rifle.
The black powder rifle, which was 150 years old, was valued at about $3,000.
The man, who was also hurt but did not go to hospital, had purchased the
rifle about five years ago and had never fired it.
Police said the man had all the proper paperwork for the <firearms> and had
them stored in cases. But because of the accident, officers removed the guns
from the home.
The woman remains in hospital and has not yet been interviewed by police.
"I would describe this guy as a responsible owner," said Waterloo Staff
Sergeant Al Cassidy.
He said the man is in shock and doesn't know how the firearm went off.
His name was also not released by police.
Waterloo Sergeant Rudy Smith said the woman was visiting the man for dinner
when the pair began talking about three antique rifles on the fireplace
mantle. The man took one of the rifles from the mantelpiece and they both
went outside on the back porch of the home.
The woman, who wore protective goggles, took the 4.5 kilogram rifle and held
it while the man put some gunpowder in it.
"He was going to show her how it worked. She had never held a gun before,"
said Smith.
Smith added the man is unsure whether the woman pulled the trigger or
whether the gunpowder caused a spark that led to the explosion
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