Blackpowder accident

[Many Klatch]

I didn't want to put this in the thread about the adjustable charger on a powder horn. I just thought I'd throw this out.

I camp with a guy who managed to blow himself up with the better part of a pound of powder about 5 years ago. He was doing something dumb. He was trying to see if the powder in his horn was still good and a spark did something he didn't expect. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it really backfired.

The reason for this post is the aftermath. The guy makes a living as an artist. He was holding the powder horn in his hand when it went off. After a number of operations his hand works again and he is able to use it for his art. They had to take bones from his foot to rebuild his thumb. He still limps and always will. The doctors weren't sure whether he would ever use his hand or not but he was determined to get his hand back in shape and he managed to do it after a lot of pain and training. It took about a year before he could use his thumb.

We talk about safety and whether or not loading directly from a horn is safe enough for some and not for others.

Well I don't personally care what anyone else does as long as I'm not next to them when it goes kablooey. But think about this; the effects of a blast is life changing. Is it worth taking a shortcut or two when you risk parts of your body. An explosion is not like on TV where everybody gets up after a bomb goes off and runs after the bad guy. No, after a powder horn goes off nobody gets up.

Many Klatch

 

He was doing something dumb. He was trying to see if the powder in his horn was still good and a spark did something he didn't expect.

He didn't know a "spark" would set off black powder?

I agree with everything you said, but no matter how safe people try to be, there's no accounting for stupid people.

 

[necchi]

I didn't see it, But I worked with a guy years back that had a horn go off in his hand while loading directly into his rifle during a "speed shoot" competition.
The entire hand suffered concusion injury that healed OK with time, but he lost his pinky finger.

I had about a 1/4 can of Goex 2F go off in my hand.
My fault, I was drinking and we were goofing off making fire works one 4th of July.
It blew the bottom off the can and sent it flying about 20yrds, just a few feet from my young sons head. Hand was swelled up an bruised for a week or so but healed,
The near injury of my son with the shrapnel was the real eye opening shame!
I have the can and it's parts hanging on the wall as a reminder of "stupid" ,, :nono: :shake:

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

Although not as bad as your story and I hope your friend is able to paint again someday but my story shows how to melt a thumb nail.

One day me and my mom and step dad and a few others was setting around in the living room when I reached up on a shelf I was setting buy and picked up a little plastic tube of black powder that my stepdad had setting up there. He pre-loaded powder in little tubes for his .50 cal. Well I asked “what is this”, my step dad replies “it’s a pre-measured tube of black powder but it is probably wet and no good”. I said “how do we know if it’s good?” He said to dump it in this little ash tray I was next to and try to light it but stay back because it might flash fast so keep it away from your face.

I pull out my lighter and give it a quick touch off with the flame and it did nothing. I go yep, it’s wet. I asked how to dry it out. He said it would have to be left out in a place to dry. I said ok and being the dumb kid I was I lit the lighter again and held it in the powder. I went o man; this really is no good so I kept it in there longer. After about 25 or 30 seconds of me holding this flame in the powder it went off, POOF just a big old flash and a cloud of smoke. I jumped back and watched as the powder made a black spot on the celling. My set dad starting cracking up and I looked at my thumb and it melted about half my thumb nail off. It did not hurt or nothing and it grew back but I do realize that that stuff has some power.

My step dad laughed about that for years; if he was getting into his powder he would ask me if I wanted to dry it out for him.

 

[dickydalton]

As a smart 15 year old....... I buried a pound of 2F in the family garden with a fuse made of 3 drinking straws taped together and filled with 2400 powder I used to reload .357 mags with.
(Yup, I had a Blackhawk at 15)
I lit it and ran....snuck back and peeked 2 times and saw light underground and ran......
I finally creeped back to peek at the hole where the straw was and heard a thump.
Everything turned to dirt and next thing I knew I was 20 feet away on the yard and dirt was still falling from the sky. My sister ran in the house screaming at my Mom that I was dead!
When my dad got home and saw the 15 foot diameter crater in the peas and beans I sure wished I was dead!!! :rotf:

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

I buried a pound of 2F in the family garden with a fuse made of 3 drinking straws taped together and filled with 2400 powder

Now your giving me ideas, whats weird is I am going to share them with my son. I have some cannon fuse though.

 

[hawkeye2]

Nearly 25 years ago I was at a rendezvous laying in my tent half awake when I saw a bright flash through the tent material. It seems a pilgrim took a full horn and began dumping powder on the embers of a campfire to get it going. He had his face close as he was blowing on it too. He was carried off by the squad and treated for some sever burns.

 

[Poor Private]

Yeppers-- Idiots
I don't care who you are but all these items listed were STUPID. Horrible adult supervision. Open charges near a fire place, making bombs, drinking while handling powder and fire-- Tis nothing to joke about. "Hey dude watch this" usually means a trip to the hospital. I guess I was raised better. I never experimented with powder- it was only used for what it was intended.

 

[hawkeye2]

Life must have been dull till you discovered girls. :blah:
The scars also made for interesting conversation after I discovered girls. :grin:

 

[necchi]

Well Poor Private, we all strive to be perfect like some,
But many of us are indeed human and have made some mistakes.
It does a person good to practice humility from time to time.


In another topic I made the comment that many of us experianced folks have indeed seen enough accidents to warrent the urging of caution too others, some of that experiance is/or has been first hand, and most of them have been stupid!

That's how unintended incidents and accidents happen, usually somebody did something stupid.

 

[Richard J.]

Knew a guy that wanted to kill a groundhog in his yard. Tried shooting it, missed. Well he got a can of Black out and figured he would put it in the hole and make a wick to send it off. Everything ready to go so he places a good size rock in the hole to block it. Well when it went off it blew the rock thru the wall in the kitchen, thru the wall in the next room and landed beside his couch that his children were on watching tv. When everyone checked out ok his wife went off the deep end on him. Couldnt blame her. He claimed he thought the charge would go down instead of out since he blocked the hole with a rock. Lucky he didnt kill one of his family. Couldnt believe he would do something this stupid. By the way he never seen the groundhog again.

 

[swathdiver]

Couldnt believe he would do something this stupid. By the way he never seen the groundhog again.

Should've started out with a 1/3 of a can instead. :wink:

 

[Robert Egler]

In another topic I made the comment that many of us experianced folks have indeed seen enough accidents to warrent the urging of caution too others, some of that experiance is/or has been first hand, and most of them have been stupid!

That's how unintended incidents and accidents happen, usually somebody did something stupid.

I've certainly done a few things, including a couple with powder as a teen, that warranted me looking in the mirror and saying to the person there "YOU are an idiot!"

The thing is, usually I think "Hhmmm, maybe this isn't a good idea..." about a quarter second before it becomes extremely obvious that it really wasn't a good idea. :shake:

 

[David W.]

Well, this one was with gasoline, but about the same result. I poured about 1/2 gallon down a pesky rat hole, and lit it off with firecracker fuses tied together. Rocks and dirt flew everywhere. 15 year old kids know everything!

As a smart 15 year old....... I buried a pound of 2F in the family garden with a fuse made of 3 drinking straws taped together and filled with 2400 powder I used to reload .357 mags with.
(Yup, I had a Blackhawk at 15)
I lit it and ran....snuck back and peeked 2 times and saw light underground and ran......
I finally creeped back to peek at the hole where the straw was and heard a thump.
Everything turned to dirt and next thing I knew I was 20 feet away on the yard and dirt was still falling from the sky. My sister ran in the house screaming at my Mom that I was dead!
When my dad got home and saw the 15 foot diameter crater in the peas and beans I sure wished I was dead!!! :rotf:

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

There is a reason original shooting bags had powder measures hanging on them.

 

[Rat Trapper]

In Vietnam I saw a guy pour gas on a charcoal grill and then light it with a lighter. He didn't get to stay for the farewell party that night.

Can't fix stupid!

 

[mjulihn]

I guess someone has to swim in the shallow end of the gene pool! Several anecdotes posted here would surely get considered for the annual Darwin Awards... :haha:

 

[necchi]

Not directed at anyone in particular,
"Let he without Sin, Cast the first stone"
:haha:

In this case, I've pick up a bunch of the stones thrown at me through the years, Got a bucket full.
A guy's gotta take few lumps as he grows.
But I'm likley gonna toss a few back sooner or later,

 

[54mountain]

Good judgment comes from experiance, and most of that comes from bad judgment. :haha:

 

[David W.]

The only problem arises when someone repeats the same action, expecting different results.

Good judgment comes from experiance, and most of that comes from bad judgment. :haha: