Posted on 10/14/2004 5:23:48 PM PDT by TERMINATTOR
- A 12-year-old San Antonio boy died Saturday afternoon south of Giddings when he was struck on the top of the head by the recoil of a Ruger .454 gun he was firing. The boy, identified by the Lee County Sheriffs Office as Marcus Wall, was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Paul Fischer.
Sheriffs Deputy Rodney Meyer stated that the victim and his father, Marc Wall, were with friends dove hunting on the Zoch place off County Road 233. Deputy Meyer reported that when the hunters took a break for lunch, they began shooting a variety of guns owned within the group. The Ruger .454 Casull was purportedly owned by Joe Ramsey of Austin.
According to the Sheriffs report, when Marcus asked to shoot the Ruger, Ramsey told the young boy the gun was too large for him to shoot. However, allegedly it was later OKed for him [Marcus] to shoot the gun. The report did not identify who gave permission for the child to shoot, though Ramsey stood by the boy when he fired.
From the Sheriffs account of the incident, Marcus was instructed how to hold and shoot the gun. Mr. Ramsey assisted the victim [when taking aim] by holding his hand above the victims [hands] for the recoil, explained Deputy Meyer.
When the gun was fired, the gun recoiled upward, hitting Marcus in the head causing head trauma. The guns owner, Ramsey, received injury to his fingers but was not transported for medical attention.
The Sheriffs Office 911 dispatch received two calls reporting the incident, though only the second caller could identify their location. Deputy Mike York advised dispatch that he was in the area and had been flagged down and directed to the location. Upon arrival at the scene, Deputy York radioed to dispatch to cancel the call for an ambulance and to send out a Justice of the Peace.
The recoil velocity of the Ruger .454 has been noted for its strength for some time. In a May 2001 article in Shooting Times, author Dick Metcalf reported that ...when the .454 Casull version of the Super Redhawk was introduced in 1999, Ruger spokesmen candidly acknowledged they did not expect the new chambering to be shot a lot for casual plinking or for steel-target competition. Its recoil was simply too severe.
Deputy Meyer stated that the case is still under investigation.
I love my Rugers. Rossi / Puma also makes a nice lever action that will shoot the 454/45Colt. If you don't need a battle rifle, it makes a great second choice and pairs up with the pistols well.
LOL!
I heard that caller also - do you think it was a fake?
He said that when they take your official police photo, they order you to look very serious or even slightly sad. This is because if you ever accidently shoot a kid or something, that picture is going to be on the front page of all the city tabloids and the last thing you want to be is smiling.
Thanks, I will check them out.
We have a big gun show coming up here next month, I can't wait.
The smiling sheriff pic just doesn't go well with this tragic story.
I have never fired a .454,but I do have a 500S&W Magnum.It has a VERY noticable recoil!I am loading a 335gr.jacketed HP using 40grs.4227.This is very manageable but a 12-year old boy hasn't got ANY business firing this sort of weapon!!!
NO WAY!The first round that I fired in my 500S&W was a 400gr.CorBon.I didn't think I would be doing much shooting with this gun after that experience!!However,I'm a re-loader and have solved that problem.I load a 335gr.jacketed HP on top of 40grs.of 4227.It still kicks,but it is very manageable!!!
The 500S&W is one HELL of a revolver!You just have to get the right load.I use 335gr.Rainier copper-coated HPs on top of 40grs.of 4227.Very manageable!!
See 50 and the correction in 53. Imagine a 15 lb wt coming at you at 11.3 ft/sec(4ft in 0.35sec). Will your arms bend when you catch it? Do you think a kid could catch it and stop it before it smashes his face?
I like loading 4227 in the .44 mag also. It just seems milder somehow.
I am not saying that it wouldn't do a bit of damage. Fatal, though?
Either someone had a thin skull, or there is more to the story than recoil.
snip
Mr. Ramsey assisted the victim [when taking aim] by holding his hand above the victims [hands] for the recoil, explained Deputy Meyer. When the gun was fired, the gun recoiled upward, hitting Marcus in the head causing head trauma. The guns owner, Ramsey, received injury to his fingers but was not transported for medical attention.
snip
Upon arrival at the scene, Deputy York radioed to dispatch to cancel the call for an ambulance and to send out a Justice of the Peace.
The geometry of the described events simply does not work. The kid was dead by the arrival of the deputy.
If my kid was hurt I'd have burned up some road en route to the nearest ER.
Oh, man. These guys letting a 12 YO boy shoot a 45? That is a big gun. I remember being out in East Texas and one of Dad's friends had a .45 and they let me shoot it. I was in my 20's and that thing had a kick to it alright. They told me it would and I saw them shooting it before I got my chance, so I kinda knew it would kick like that. Even at my age and seeing them shoot it first, I was surprised how much it recoiled. Poor kid. I bet he pleaded with them to shoot it. They shouldn't have given in to him.Seeing some of my old bud's names on FR is freaky.
I know what you mean. You remember Darlie Routier? She and her husband worked at the same company I did a few years before she murdered her two kids here in Rowlett. I never got to know her very well because she was just so stuck on herself and her little clique of friends, but I knew Darin pretty well. Talk about a shock when I found out about what she did. She murdered her little boys on my 12th anniversary with the company in 1996.
The 3.5 lb gun is going 34ft/sec as soon as the gas exits behind the back of the bullet(conservation of momentum). That's 60 ft-lbs of E involved in the recoil that the shooter has to dissipate . Catching the 15 lb weight moving at 11.3ft/sec is a good comparison. I'm sure the kid, or the guy who gave him the thing to shoot had no idea. Holding the gun tighter with stiff arms may just take out a kid's thumb instead of ripping other sinew.
See post 73.
I was on the Texas Army National Guard pistol team for several years and all we shot was the M1911. Shooting 50 - 75 rounds 3 or 4 times a week was brutal on my hands. We didn't have the hammer guards and the hammer took several chunks of skin and muscle out my right hand.
Sure it does. I'd guess the kid's elbows were resting on the table. That means either the thunbs come off, or the forearm rotates. The man's hand above the gun is not going to stop a 15 lb weight moving at 11.3 ft/sec, as the story shows. The gun's sight and other edges(ie. hammer) will cut him up as it pushes his hand out of the way.
So it's about on par with catch a bowling ball dropped from about 20 feet up.
The bowling ball weighs ~10lbs. THen the speed is:(from 1/2*m*v2
v = SQRT(60*2*32/10) = 20 ft/sec
The height is: from E= m*g*h: 60/10 = 6ft
or from : v = a*t: 20/32 = 0.61secs
THen from x = 1/2*a*t2: 0.5*32*0.61*0.61 = 6.0ft.
A bowling ball from 6ft. That's easier to catch though, because of the surface area. It's still got a lot of momentum. A bowling ball from 20ft is 200 ft-lbs. That's more like a train...
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