This happened to Rich - scary gun mishap

I went duck hunting this morning with MontanaN8V, Racin Rob, my brother and my son.  Rich pulled up his shotgun to take a shot at a goose and had a scary gun malfunction.  He pulled the trigger and the gun didn't go off, so naturally he thought he forgot to put a round in the chamber and racked the slide.  Unfortunately there was a round in the chamber.  It just hadn't gone off...yet.  As he was pulling the slide to the rear, the round in the chamber went off.  The front part of the shell was still in the chamber so the shot and the wad went about 4 inches up the barrel and the side of the shell blew out all over Rich's face.  Keep in mind Rich shoots a Remington 870 pump which ejects on the right side and he shoots left handed.  That puts the ejection port right in front of his nose.

We were all looking up at the goose when Rich pulled the trigger and then we hear his gun hit the ground and him start cussing and groaning in pain.  So of course we all go over to see what the heck happened. Thankfully he didn't have any extra holes in him.  He said he was sure he was hurt bad, but it looked like he just took a blast of hot gasses and the concussive force to the right side of his face.  It stung pretty good from what I could tell, but didn't leave much of a mark.  Although it scared the shit out all of us, especially Rich since he couldn't see what his face looked like.  After we all calmed down a bit, it occurred to me to check to see if the barrel was obstructed.  That's when we noticed that the wad was still in it.  Imagine if we hadn't checked and Rich tried to shoot again. 

It turns out that the shells he was using were left over from last year and had got wet during a goose hunt.  It's a reminder not to take chances with old or damaged ammo.  Take a look at the corrosion on and around the primer. 

Moral of the story.  More than one actually:

1. Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes.  It could have damaged an eye real easily.
2. Wear ear protection. Rich's ears were ringing bad.
3. Don't use ammo that's in any way damaged.
4. If the gun doesn't go off.  Remember to keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and wait for a  bit before ejecting the shell.
5. Remember to check the barrel for obstructions if there's even a chance there's something in it. 

I could do without any more incidents like that.  It scared the crap out of all of us. 

Rich, I'm glad you're okay.

yikes! glad your ok, thanks for the info.

So i have some .40 cal rounds that are a few years old, but clean. is there a shelf life on this type of ammo? Id rather not see aunything like this, ever.

Ammo can last for many year if it's kept in a cool dry place.  I've shot ammo that was years old, but at some point it becomes unreliable.  I don't know that I'm any kind of expert when it comes to putting a number on how many  years that takes to happen.  I have some old 45 ammo from WWII that I wouldn't take a chance on.  I think it has a lot to do with the storage conditions.  .40 ammo stored in your house for a few years shouldn't be a problem.

thank you .

870 Rem is a SOLID gun.
Shooting lefty with a gun that ejects righty adds to the probablity of something bad happening.
It's a great lesson learned that if you fire and nothing happens...just chill for a bit. After all; it's just a freaking bird. Chances are it isn't your first and it will not be your last.
Wait a few seconds, make sure the coast is clear before continuing.
I know we all get caught up in the 'moment'. Remind yourself, "It isn't the first",  and if I play my cards right, it won't be the last.

I have another friend that is a lefty and he shoots a gun that ejects out the bottom.  That's the closest thing I know of to a left handed shotgun.   If this happened with the bottom eject at least it wouldn't have hit his face.

He needs to step up to a lefty auto loader. I was thinking earlier, if I was Rich I may not want to shoot that gun ever again. Just in case it was a firing pin prob or something like that.

Wow! Whata read! Glad to hear all is ok. I also am a lefty...scary.

I was glad that happened when and where it did. Out on the kayak in the delta would have been trouble.

Glad you were only scared! Safety glasses are hard to wear, fogging and all, But I think I will make it a point to wear them always in the future

Some safety glasses fog a lot worse than others.  None are perfect, but you can reduce the problem by finding ones that will sit off your face just a tiny bit so the air can pass through.  It's a ballancing act. Too close and they fog up bad...too far away and you compromise safety.  The best safety glasses are the ones you'll actually wear. The best ones in the world won't do a damn thing if they're not on your face. 

I'm bad about safety gear sometimes.  This was a bit of a wakeup call for me. 

Thats some scary sh!t right there.
glad it wasn't worse
Tad
 

My son and I went out again tonight with my other lefty friend, and we had our safety glasses on this time.  I looked at him holding his Browning BPS and if that had happened with his gun it would have just blown downward.  It would have still made your heart jump, but probably no real harm done. 

The hunting was slow. Only one pintail for our efforts. 

We have delayed firing rather often while qualifying quarterly at my employers range. While on a hot firing range and a dead round fails to ignite we're trained to wait 5 plus seconds before clearing the round.
Level 4

Glad you're all ok!

I noticed the corrosion right off and figured what must have occurred before reading.  I have shot ammo from WWII and it's no problem so long as there is no corrosion.  Shotgun shells are especially vulnerable to water damage, (I still remember my hunter safety instructor talking about it).