Musket fired INSIDE a Museum during training for Patriots' Day

[chorizo]

I guess those CCI reenactor musket caps work OK after all.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Musket fired inside Westford Museum during training for Patriots' Day reenactment
ROT RO … not good … not with all the recent reenactment issues and banning by some municipalities snd States!


WESTFORD, Mass. — Two thick wooden beams inside a Massachusetts museum were pierced over the weekend by a musket ball fired from an antique weapon.

Members of the 6th Middlesex County Regiment were practicing Sunday at the Westford Museum for the upcoming Patriots' Day reenactment when one of their loaded muskets went off, firing the projectile through a 6-inch beam and a ceiling joist.
Several people were inside the museum when the shot was fired.

"They were in the back of the museum here. I was in the corner helping a visitor with a museum shop purchase and the musket went off," said Leslie Howard, president of the museum. "And it went through the beam."
Luckily, officials say no one was upstairs when the round pierced the floor.

Westford police were called about the incident and the musket was confiscated from the reenactment group.

Link = Antique musket fired inside Mass. museum

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This is CRAZY. In reenactments you are not even allowed to bring lead balls onto the property where the reenactment is being held. All you ever fire is blanks from blank cartridges (just powder in the cartridge no lead ball).

In live fire demos like you will occasionally see at Fort Ticonderoga, you don't walk around with a loaded musket. You stand in the line, load it, aim it and fire. It's a matter of seconds from loading to firing and you sure don't walk around with your musket lock at full cock. In normal reeanactments put on by responsible reenactment associations like the Continental line and BAR you can't have any lead balls on the grounds at all. I can't think of any valid excuse for this. Notice it went through the beam and into the 2x12 above it. This could have been disastrous.

 

[Blackpowderart]

Exactly why I never do battle reenactments.

Why not? You won't have to re enact the getting shot part.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Why was it loaded with a ball??

Why was there a ball even on the property? Seriously. Normal reenactments prohibit even bringing a lead ball on the property let alone to have it on your person or to load it in your musket. Having a cartridge in your possession that had a lead ball in it would get you summarily ejected from the property at any "normal" reenactment. I'll be curious to see what group this was; if it was a reenactment group; and why they didn't have a safety inspection like you always perform before taking the field.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Because to many folks get hit with stray rounds?

Rev War and AWI reenactments have a stellar safety record.

This is weird because one would never handle blanks let alone live rounds indoors. Further, they said the "antique" was taken by the police. WAS it an antique, or was it an old repro and the owner forgot he took it deer hunting? IF it was an antique, did somebody finally get an old round that has been sitting inside the barrel for centuries to fire? We hear stories all the time of folks with "great grand-daddy's musket they just inherited, and then somebody here tells them to check, and sure enough, it's loaded.

LD

Part of the safety check before taking the field at each reenactment is to "Spring Rammers". You simply take the ramrod out; put the musket or rifle butt on the ground in front of you, and holding the handle end of the ramrod about 8" to a foot above the muzzle, throw it down the barrel. If there is no lead ball in there, the handle end will spring right back into your hand. If there is a lead ball or even some powder down the barrel, the ramrod won't spring but just kind of thuds. In the 20-years I've done reenactments, I've never seen one not spring back up. Metal rammers ping and spring up higher, but wooden ramrods spring up just fine on an empty barrel. Try it yourself before you load powder and ball the next time you go shooting with your muzzle loader. After Springing Rammers, the ramrods are returned to the pipes and are not removed until you clean your flintlock at the end of the day.

 

[mushka]

Actually I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how this could happen, no sensibility at all here.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Part of the safety check before taking the field at each reenactment is to "Spring Rammers". You simply take the ramrod out; put the musket or rifle butt on the ground in front of you, and holding the handle end of the ramrod about 8" to a foot above the muzzle, throw it down the barrel. If there is no lead ball in there, the handle end will spring right back into your hand. If there is a lead ball or even some powder down the barrel, the ramrod won't spring but just kind of thuds. In the 20-years I've done reenactments, I've never seen one not spring back up. Metal rammers ping and spring up higher, but wooden ramrods spring up just fine on an empty barrel. Try it yourself before you load powder and ball the next time you go shooting with your muzzle loader. After Springing Rammers, the ramrods are returned to the pipes and are not removed until you clean your flintlock at the end of the day.

Actually, we only drop them about four inches these days, at least the British forces on the East Coast..., they still rebound.
Why not a full Half-length throw?
Because Pedersoli is still the primary Bess musket seller, and if you do that procedure with a harder throw over a long distance, you peen open the tip to the ramrod, and it can then come loose at some event in the future when doing the procedure.

LD

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Actually I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how this could happen, no sensibility at all here.

Agreed ... what I think is ... "Someone entered the building with a loded musket!" Perhaps thinking it was empty ... but a SIMPLE check would have straightened them right out!

Also note ... it is the 'EMPTY' musket/rifle/arm that will KILL you ...

 

[Okie Hog]

If it was an antique maybe not. How about waiting for details before you virtue signal or act outages.

Did you bother to read the article at the original post? If so, your reading comprehension is sadly lacking.

"Members of the 6th Middlesex County Regiment were practicing Sunday at the Westford Museum for the upcoming Patriots' Day reenactment when one of their loaded muskets went off, firing the projectile through a 6-inch beam and a ceiling joist."

That shot could have killed someone.

 

[sheriff john]

Wanna bet on the chance of that group being asked back? Not likely.

It'll be another "Larry Rule" - never thought we'd need a rule against something as obviously stupid. Then again, we never had Larry in our midst.

 

[TDM]

Treat every gun as loaded.

 

[rusticbob]

You can’t fix stupid!

 

[Sentry44]

I know nothing about reenactment. But I would have ASSUMED they do fire guns, just with a small about of powder under a wad.

Enough to go 'boom.'

Sentry44

 

[Story]

Wanna bet on the chance of that group being asked back? Not likely.

It'll be another "Larry Rule" - never thought we'd need a rule against something as obviously stupid. Then again, we never had Larry in our midst.

I dunno, Patriot's Day (Concord/Lexington) around Boston is a high holy day and 6th Middlesex County Regiment has been around for awhile. 6th might not be allowed inside again, even after retraining.

What you call the "Larry Rule", we use to define in the Army as "After one person poops their pants, everyone has to wear diapers".

 

[Story]

I know nothing about reenactment. But I would have ASSUMED they do fire guns, just with a small about of powder under a wad.

Generally no wad, as those rammed home can become injurious projectiles.

There was an incident at a Civil War event in the last few days, which sounded like the victim got pegged by a wad.

 

[Story]

I'll be curious to see what group this was; if it was a reenactment group; and why they didn't have a safety inspection like you always perform before taking the field.

As mentioned in the article, 6th Middlesex County Regiment
These guys - 6th Middlesex Regiment - Revolutionary War Reenactment Group

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

What exactly is a "ROT RO"?

Attributed to the Scooby Doo cartoon Character Dog. Meaning oh no! Against a pending crisis. My understanding...

 

[Story]

Actually I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how this could happen, no sensibility at all here.

$20 says that someone had a firelock with a loaded ball charge at home that they failed to clear for whatever reason and brought it to this indoor training event. When they were practicing the manual of arms, with the weapon elevated the guilty party cocked and pulled the trigger.

 

[Packrat]

Reenacted for many tears, safety was always the most important issue. Never had any accidents
Not Lucky, we pais attention to details

 

[Rifleman1776]

one would never handle blanks let alone live rounds indoors.

Amen, Bro. The organizers are as much to blame as anyone. The musket should have been inspected prior to allowing inside at all. There is simply no excuse for this happening.