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500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:54 pm
by Embalmo
Guys,
Any idea what happened in this video? She seemed to have control of the weapon during the initial recoil, but another rounds goes off seemingly simultaneously. Any thoughts? It seemed too rapid for an inadvertent (double action) double tap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78sp ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Embalmo
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:16 pm
by secure
Thats scary. Remind me to keep away from that crowd.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:46 pm
by flb_78
Looks like a double tap to me.
lucky she didn't break her wrists!
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 8:02 pm
by canvasbck
This is actually common for inexperienced shooters to double tap the .500. My brother in law did it when he shot mine. Inexperienced shooters are not gripping the weapon as tight as they should be. The SEVERE recoil of the .500 throws the gun back far enough to pull the trigger completely away from the finger and either the shooter's reflexes subconsciously make them grip the gun to prevent loosing control of the gun, this causes a second pull of the trigger or the "rebound" throws the trigger back into their finger, not sure which one.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 8:52 pm
by OldCannon
As I recall, an incident like this happened up in Washington state (Wade's Indoor gun range, if my memory doesn't fail me), where some hot stud though he would show his girlfriend how to shoot his .44 magnum wheelgun. This is why, when I introduce a new shooter to a larger caliber pistol (9mm or higher), I _always_ put in just one round.
Ah, I dug up the text of the article, which no longer exists on the newspaper site:
Pistol's recoil turns deadly
by Dee Norton
Seattle Times staff reporter
A 24-year-old Redmond man is dead after being accidentally shot by a woman at a shooting range at a Bellevue gun shop.
The man, whose identity hasn't been released, was killed last night when the 30-year-old Kirkland woman, a friend, couldn't control the recoil of a large-caliber revolver she was firing at the gun-shop range.
Bellevue Police said the woman fired two shots toward a target at Wade's Eastside Gun Shop, 13570 Bel-Red Road, about 8:45 p.m. The recoil from the second shot of the .44-caliber revolver sent the gun upward and to the side.
While in that position, the woman fired a third shot, which struck the neck of the Redmond man, who was standing behind to the left of the woman.
He died before reaching Overlake Hospital Medical Center, police said.
The woman had some experience firing rifles, but was not familiar with large handguns, police said. The shooting appeared to be accidental, police said.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:11 pm
by Embalmo
Guys,
I had no idea that such an extremely dangerous thing could happen with a big revolver. I like the idea of putting one round in the cylinder 'till you know how you'll respond to the recoil. This is definitely a new safety rule to add to my list.
Embalmo
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:12 pm
by Mike1951
Having fired both the .460 and .500 in similar platforms, I always thought the .460 recoiled worse.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:13 pm
by canvasbck
AndyC wrote:canvasbck wrote:This is actually common for inexperienced shooters to double tap the .500. My brother in law did it when he shot mine. Inexperienced shooters are not gripping the weapon as tight as they should be. The SEVERE recoil of the .500 throws the gun back far enough to pull the trigger completely away from the finger and either the shooter's reflexes subconsciously make them grip the gun to prevent loosing control of the gun, this causes a second pull of the trigger or the "rebound" throws the trigger back into their finger, not sure which one.
I've never shot one of those, so I'm filing that piece of info in my little mental lock-box - thanks
Don't let this stop you from shooting one. (under safe conditions of course) I LOVE shooting that thing. I will usually wear gloves now when I shoot it. Shooting without a glove is still a nice experience, but putting a lot of ammo downrange with an unprotected hand will bruise the crap out of your first metacarple.
Shooting a big rear revolver is a unique experience and quite a rush. It's pretty impressive what one wil do to a hog too!!
Mine is available for txchlforum members who live locally to shoot...........but you have to buy the ammo.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:53 pm
by threoh8
I have experienced an "automatic" second shot - in a single action black powder revolver!
A stout load of black powder blew the hammer back against a light mainspring, just enough to rotate the cylinder while the trigger was still back ...
I was impressed, but replaced the mainspring and backed the load down a bit.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 11:52 pm
by fickman
Embalmo wrote:Guys,
I had no idea that such an extremely dangerous thing could happen with a big revolver. I like the idea of putting one round in the cylinder 'till you know how you'll respond to the recoil. This is definitely a new safety rule to add to my list.
Embalmo
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 2:33 am
by grim-bob
As was mentioned it's not really that uncommon for the 500 revolver if it's not held well. Most of them won't even realize it happened because it happens so fast.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:12 am
by mbw
I think that you have two things going on here-
1. Someone probably backed out the screw that tensions the mainspring or cut down the spring to get a lighter trigger pull.
2. The woman did not have the arm strength to hold the revolver against the recoil of the first shot.
Because what happened, if you look closely at the video, she “Fanned” the pistol. Her trigger finger never moves off of the trigger. The hammer rebounds and the cylinder rotates and the hammer drops again. She held the trigger back and the recoil did the rest. That can be caused, in a heavy recoiling revolver, by a too light mainspring or one that has been messed with.
Re: 500 magnum accidental double tap?
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:43 am
by RHenriksen
canvasbck wrote:Mine is available for txchlforum members who live locally to shoot...........but you have to buy the ammo.
When & where??!?