oops in more ways than one.

[Red Sparky]

Loading up for ML elk season and leaving after this is posted. My daughter and I had been out shooting our ML's all summer so today I also got out the "back up ML" to put in in case something happened to one of ours. I made sure it was uncapped as I always do and then took the ramrod and put in the barrel. I always check them but last time I put it away I didn't and the darn thing had a loaded barrel.

That was the first oops as it had been two years since we shot it. So I immediately went out to the mesa where we go shooting to fire it off. I got out there and it is an inline 209 primer CVA I bought from a buddy for $50 since he only used it once to go hunting. I put a primer in and figured it might not go off right away since it had been loaded for two years. The nice thing about living in the desert southwest is the low humidity so the darn thing went off with no hang time with one primer. It had an elk load in it of 90 grns. volume Pyrodex P and a 250 grain Shock Wave. This is where the second oops come into play.

I had a cardboard backstop with out a target. I thought to myself I should put something to aim at to see if the scope is still on. The only thing I had was my can of unopened Dr. Pepper. I figured my ML is 4" high at 100 yards so I will lay it on it's side and have a nice shiny bottom for a target. This is what I did and paced off 100 yards and got into a sitting rest using the sling. I got as steady as possible with the cross hairs centered on that can bottom. When the ML went off the can blew apart, losing all my ice cold Dr. Pepper and I realized the back up is sighted to be dead on at 100 yards and not 4" high like mine is.

Should have drunk the soda before using it for a target lightbulb. Who knew I was that darn lucky. Now if my luck holds until that big bull steps out Saturday morning .

 

[SidecarFlip]

Thats funny. Nothing like wasting a Dr. Pepper....

Modern ML propellants have a fantastic shelf life unlike BP which is affected by humidity. So long as your propellant stinks, it's good.

I guess wel will know if you or your daughter bagged one when you post again....

 

[Red Sparky]

Posted in the elk forum.

 

[RT2506]

I have a buddy that loaned one of his MLs to a friend to hunt with. When the friend brought it back he told my friend that he had clean it up and it was ready to store. Two years latter another friend came to ML hunt for deer with my friend and had trouble with his rifle. My friend went in a got that ML that had been stored for two years for him to use. They went into his reloading room to get powder and bullets so they could go out back and shoot to see if the scope was still zeroed. My buddy told his friend to go ahead and pop a cap to make sure that the nipple was clear. He pointed it at a small piece of paper he placed on the concrete floor so when the cap popped he could see it move and be sure the nipple was clear. When the guy pulled the trigger BOOOOOOM. They were both frozen in place and when the smoke and concrete dust settled the friend that had been a USMC hairier pilot for 20 years and was about deaf yelled out. That was the loudest D*M cap I ever heard. Nobody was hurt thank goodness. The load was two 50 gr 777 pellets and a 250 gr shockwave. Left a nice little divot in the concrete though.

I also saw a guy at the range go to pop a cap on his ML before loading it and it went BOOM and blew a salt treated 4x4 post that helped support the roof over the shooting tables in two. Those CVA powderbelts pace a punch.

Double check those ML to make sure they are unloaded.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Had a similar experience myself. Thought I'd charged the tube and rammed a sabot so I put in a 209, aimed and pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Turns out I didn't load the powder or the pill. Getting old isn't good.