[Ozymandias Ghost]

I think this may turn out to be the key to the tragedy.

If this is true, and I heard the same report yesterday, I believe someone used an insufficient or defective powder charge creating a “squib round” condition. (This is when the round (projectile/bullet) is only propelled partway through the barrel and lodges there.)

If the same weapon was loaded later and fired using a blank conversion cylinder (and noone had checked to ensure that the barrel was not obstructed) the lodged projectile would then be propelled out w/lethal force.

Note that the above situation still indicates the armorer and possibly others were still negligent.

[marcusmaximus]

Photo from the set from the armorer's recently deleted Facebook page...

[Political Junkie Too]

And compound this with a gun that was dirty from being used "off the books" by the crew for target practice.

I don't know what the protocols are for cleaning guns, or how long between uses should a gun be cleaned, or how many firings it takes before a gun barrel becomes too dirty to be reliable.

But if people were using the gun without the knowledge of the people in charge, that gun may not have been in the condition that the principals thought it was in.

-PJ

[TexasGator]

“If this is true, and I heard the same report yesterday, I believe someone used an insufficient or defective powder charge creating a “squib round” condition. (This is when the round (projectile/bullet) is only propelled partway through the barrel and lodges there.)”

They reload casings on the set? With round bullets?

[Steely Tom]

If the same weapon was loaded later and fired using a blank conversion cylinder (and noone had checked to ensure that the barrel was not obstructed) the lodged projectile would then be propelled out w/lethal force.

He apparently fired twice, and hit two people.

[Max in Utah]

Bullet lodged in barrel

I’ve seen that happen with handloaded ammo, where a mistake in the loading sequence resulted in a cartridge which was missing its powder charge. In that instance the .357 revolver had a bullet stuck in the forcing cone of the barrel. Luckily the base of the bullet blocked the cylinder from turning and prevented another shot from being fired.

Another thing— I was target shooting with a Colt Single Action Army .45 (the iconic cowboy revolver) and old ammo one day. I was aiming at the center of a 55-gallon drum about 25 yds away, and a couple of the bullets hit the dirt about 10 feet shy of the target. Those rounds were close to being squibs, so I stopped shooting before a bullet ended up stuck inside the barrel.