Lawsuit after manufacturer's exploding rifle leaves trail of injured hunters

[Marc05]

https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/law...nters-12277493

Lawsuit after manufacturer's exploding rifle leaves trail of injured hunters

World / 5 December 2017, 9:51pm / RYAN J. FOLEY



This 2010 photo provided by Trent Procter shows Procter, of Swan River, Manitoba, during rehabilitation, months after his Savage Arms stainless steel 10ML-II muzzleloader exploded and severely injured his left hand. Savage Arms recently agreed to pay a confidential settlement to Procter to resolve his lawsuit. Picture: Gordon Harris/Trent Procter via APIowa City, Iowa - It was the opening day of deer hunting season, and Ronald Hansen says he loaded his rifle the same way he had countless times before, aimed at a target and fired a shot.
This time, the gun barrel exploded, knocking the farmer from Hampton, Iowa, backward, severely damaging his right hand and ear and burning his face.
Unknown to Hansen, the manufacturer of the rifle that injured him in 2014 had received other complaints of explosions and injuries over the prior decade. Customers repeatedly reported that the barrel of the stainless steel 10 ML-II muzzleloader exploded, burst, split or cracked, according to thousands of court documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
In this 2009 photo provided by Trent Procter, a Savage Arms stainless steel 10ML-II muzzleloader owned by Procter of Swan River, Manitoba, Canada, is displayed weeks after its barrel exploded and severely injured his left hand. Picture: Gordon Harris/Trent Procter via APLawyers for the company, Westfield, Massachusetts-based Savage Arms, were expected to appear Wednesday in federal court in Iowa to defend against a lawsuit filed by Hansen. He is seeking damages for his injuries, alleging the company failed to warn customers about the defect.
It's one of several lawsuits that have claimed the company recklessly kept the muzzleloaders on the market even as they kept occasionally mangling hands, damaging hearing and burning faces. At least three have been settled on a confidential basis since last year.
Martin Crimp, a Michigan State University metals expert who examined a 10ML-II that exploded and caused a hunter to lose multiple fingers in 2009, told the AP the barrel of that gun was "metallurgically defective."
An expert hired by Hansen's lawyers came to a similar conclusion, saying the steel used to make the rifle was prone to catastrophic failure after repeat firings.
Anthony Pisciotti, an outside lawyer for Savage Arms, said he wasn't authorized to comment. A spokesman for its parent company, Vista Outdoor, didn't return messages.
Savage Arms, which discontinued the gun in 2010 after thousands were on the market, has insisted it's safe when used properly, has no defects and was designed in accordance with industry standards.
Savage Arms has argued that operator error is to blame for the explosions, saying users must have created too much pressure inside the barrel either by loading two bullets or using the wrong amount or type of gunpowder. It has issued a safety notice on its website warning owners to "carefully follow the safe loading procedures" in the product manual to avoid injuries.
Hansen's case highlights how gun makers, unlike manufacturers of other consumer products, have the sole discretion to decide themselves whether to recall potentially dangerous weapons. In 1976, Congress blocked the newly-created Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has broad authority to regulate everything from toasters to toys and BB guns, from restricting the manufacture or sale of firearms.

[mic]

Does not matter what the manufacturer says, smokeless powder and muzzle loaders does not mix too well.

[Trundle]

A bolt action muzzle-loader?

Am I missing something?

[mic]

The bolt is only for the primer (209 shotgun primer)
Also locks the breach-plug in place.

[414gates]

Chamber is integral to the barrel .

[414gates]

The rifle in the OP was loaded with smokeless powder.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...loader-kaboom/

[414gates]

Correction. There is no chamber.



http://www.randywakeman.com/ballltd30.htm

[Wanderin' Zero]

Chamber is integral to the barrel .

What's the significance ?

[Messor]

The rifle in the OP was loaded with smokeless powder.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...loader-kaboom/

In the beginning of that article there is an update that says :

UPDATE: There is more to this story than meet the eye.
With the following link in case someone missed it :

http://randywakeman.com/HowToBlowUpASavage10ML.htm

[Wanderin' Zero]

In the beginning of that article there is an update that says :

UPDATE: There is more to this story than meet the eye.
With the following link in case someone missed it :

http://randywakeman.com/HowToBlowUpASavage10ML.htm

Hmm.. If it's true, well then...