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Man dies after rifle explodes
The Morning Call (Allentown) ^
| July 1, 2002
| Joe McDonald
Posted on 07/01/2002 10:00:31 AM PDT by Atlas Sneezed
A New Jersey man died after his rifle barrel exploded while he was target shooting over the weekend at the Easton Rod and Gun Club in Northampton County, authorities said Sunday.
The accident happened Saturday at the club's Lower Saucon Township firing range at 11:30 a.m., said Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim.
There was an explosion in the barrel of the rifle that Glenn deRuiter, 54, of 268 W. Portal Road, Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, was firing, Grim said.
The blast sent out shrapnel, and one piece hit deRuiter in the head, Grim said.
DeRuiter died at 2:30 p.m. at St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill, Grim said.
Grim, who ruled the death an accident, said the malfunction happened in the rifle's receiver ring.
Neighbors learned of deRuiter's death Sunday night.
''Everyone is in total shock,'' said neighbor Beverly Graczyk, the mayor of Bethlehem Township, about 40 miles east of Allentown.
''All of us are just gasping and trying to recover,'' she said.
Dairy farmer Bernie Beatty is another neighbor.
''He was a wonderful man, a wonderful father,'' Beatty said. ''I just saw him the other day. He was always working in the yard, doing something.''
DeRuiter also was a gun enthusiast, Graczyk said.
''He had quite an extensive gun collection,'' Graczyk said. ''I believe he worked for a company that manufactures firearms.''
DeRuiter and his wife, Joan, who is a teacher, have lived in the township for about 20 years.
''Glenn was a quiet, very nice man,'' Graczyk said.
''They are the kind of people you really want for neighbors, to be part of the community. He was just a really good guy.''
Graczyk said she knew deRuiter's wife through her efforts to save the Asbury Bridge, which Graczyk said was a ''wonderful antique'' with iron tresses.
''She fought hard to save that bridge,'' Graczyk said. ''But the county wouldn't listen and put up a new ugly one.''
As word of the accident spread through the township Sunday night, Graczyk said, ''This is a tough one
really, really hard.''
Copyright © 2002, The Morning Call
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: Mortimer Snavely
21
posted on
07/01/2002 2:09:49 PM PDT
by
vannrox
To: vannrox
Where is that, Indonesia?
To: Phantom Lord
the cap on the end of the ammo tube (or whatever it is actually called) came off and the whole thing just went to pieces.Pretty sure, its a magazine cap. The one on my Remington 1100 comes loose when I am shooting trap. I tighten it after about 4 or 5 shots.
To: Beelzebubba
Lehigh County Coroner Scott GrimYou made that name up!
24
posted on
07/02/2002 7:39:10 AM PDT
by
Redbob
To: EBUCK
You'll never blow up a gun just from using old brass.
Case might blow up, spilling gases out;
Case might get stuck, fail to extract, etc, but it'll never blow up the gun.
It's NOT the case but the chamber that contains the force of the powder burning.
25
posted on
07/02/2002 7:43:01 AM PDT
by
Redbob
To: rockfish59
I'm reading "Explosion Aboard The Iowa" now. Thanks for the link to the other book!
26
posted on
07/02/2002 7:54:22 AM PDT
by
Gumlegs
To: Gumlegs
What a disaster.
To: rockfish59
True. And an utter disgrace in the way it was "handled" by the Navy.
28
posted on
07/02/2002 10:05:22 AM PDT
by
Gumlegs
To: Redbob
Agreed. I shoot .303 British, so I've had plenty of blown cases due to the slack locking lugs (I neck size only now, works much better). Even a complete case rupture won't do much of anything with the bolt locked down (except of course requiring one to use a cleaning rod to get the front half of the brass out of the chamber when you have a complete head separation).
This sounds like a squib round lodged in the barrel. It's a shame, but if you're rapid firing (or don't hear the difference in the sound that a primer-only or low charge makes) it can be deadly. Happened once to a friend of mine with FACTORY ammo (admittedly it was pretty old). In that case nobody was hurt, but the rifle was a wreck.
To: Beelzebubba
I wonder if he was shooting reloads. I think the circa 1890 Lee straight-pull rifle, whether as issued to US Navy and Marine troops in the XIX Century during the *Boxer Rebellion* or a sporter version of similar vintage is a mich more likely suspect than the ammunition, though I can't yet say whether Glenn was using commercial or hand-crafted ammunition in the original 6mm military chambering. I can tell you that if Glenn had loaded it himself, it was done with professional attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship, as his capabilities were far beyond those of the average kitchen-table reloader [nothing against those who craft such reloads in restricted-space apartments or trailers, I've done it myself. But Glenn had MUCH better facilities available.]
We must say a painful goodbye to our dear friend, GLENN deRUITER |
|
Glenn was involved in a tragic accident this past Saturday, the 29th. He was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, but was not able to recover. He was 54. Glenn was a devoted employee of Sarco for 28 years, and specialized in military firearms. He had a tremendous love for guns and was passionate about his work. He was among the most well respected and knowledgeable people in the industry. He was a member of the Forks of the Delaware Weapon Association, the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club, a life-time member of the National Rifle Association, and a committee member of Boy Scout Troop 191, Bethlehem. Glenn was a good friend and was very much loved by everyone. He had frequent visitors here at Sarco who looked forward to intelligent conversations with the gun connoisseur. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Glenn's family and friends. |
He will be painfully missed. |
There will be a funeral service on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2002 at 10 a.m. at MARTIN FUNERAL HOME 1761 Route 31, Clinton, NJ (908) 735-7180 Visitation will be Tuesday, July 2nd from 2-4 and 7-9 pm at Martin Funeral Home. Directions for Martin Funeral Home In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Glenn deRuiter may be made to Boy Scout Troop 191, c/o Scoutmaster Joe Smith, 201 Asbury-West Portal Rd., Asbury, NJ. 08802 |
|
30
posted on
07/03/2002 9:47:50 AM PDT
by
archy
To: archy
I can tell you that if Glenn had loaded it himself, it was done with professional attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship. . . Well, so much for all the speculation about this man being less than thorough with his cartridge reloading.
As a reloader for over 33 years I can say confidently that few who pay attention have problems with their reloads. Our proceedures catch anything that would be an oversight.
It would be appreciated if you would report back on what did happen, assuming the incident is thoroughly evaluated.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
31
posted on
07/03/2002 10:10:39 AM PDT
by
toddst
To: toddst
Well, so much for all the speculation about this man being less than thorough with his cartridge reloading. As a reloader for over 33 years I can say confidently that few who pay attention have problems with their reloads. Our proceedures catch anything that would be an oversight.
It would be appreciated if you would report back on what did happen, assuming the incident is thoroughly evaluated.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
Well, anyone can make a mistake or have one slip by, and one is all it takes. But I think that's less likely in this case, but we shall see, and yes, I'll pass along whatever I learn regarding the possible cause.
The 6mm Lee is not a particularly notorious case for causing such problems in any event; it's the parent case of the .220 Swift, of course, so there's no reason to particularly expect likely problems from that source, but we shall see.
Another possibility, particularly if he was assembling light loads for use in the rifle, is the secondary explosion effect most commonly noted when double-based powders are used in lighter charges than normal, resulting in detonation of the powder charge rather than deflagration. That's been noted in *Bullseye* target loads for .38 and .357 revolvers, with 2.8 grains sometimes offering results that'll completely wreck a good-quality service revolver, a load much lighter than normally thought of as safe in those chamberings.
More details as to the ammo and rifle will be forthcoming, I'm certain, but the end result is clear now. And I know that Glenn would have wanted any such incident to serve as an example that safety comes first, and I expect it will.
I'll pass your kind thoughts along to those who also cared for Glenn. He'll be missed by them and by me, and you missed out on knowing a knowledgable and interesting fellow shooter.
-archy-/-
32
posted on
07/03/2002 10:22:54 AM PDT
by
archy
To: archy
http://subguns.biggerhammer.ne t/reloading.cgi?read=4022
Is a first hand account of this Ka-Boom incident. Reposted here before it expires.
[start paste]
I'm cross-posting this to all the email lists that have
mentioned this
incident (that I'[m subbed to). Some have had accurate pieces of
info,
some have not. Since I was there, I want to let everyone know what
happened, as I saw it. There are some lessons in this and in the
hope that
Glenn's death not be in vain, I will present them so others will
not make
the same mistakes that Glenn fatally made.
I was at the Easton Fish & Game on Saturday, taking a Defensive
Shooting
class. During a break in our class, someone came down from the
100yd range
and said, "Does anyone have a cellphone? Someone call 911. A guy
shot
himself. I think he's dead." I looked down and saw a cellphone on
the
table. I dialed 911 and handed the phone to someone standing next
to me
and took off around the corner to see what happened.
I was one of the first to arrive at the scene. Glenn was lying on
his
back, bleeding from a single wound to the center of his forehead. A
quick
survey of the scene showed his rifle in two pieces, looking like it
separated at the receiver ring. I knelt down to Glenn and check for
a
pulse. I easily found the pulse in the carotid. A couple quick
shouts to
see if he were conscious were futile and he wasn't breathing so I
pulled
the jaw down and pushed the tongue down to open the airway. He took
in a
deep raspy breath. I then moved to the forehead. I gingerly felt
the open
wound for protruding metal. Finding none, I began to apply pressure
to the
wound. About this time, Pete showed up and immediately began to
assist. For the next 12 minutes, Pete maintained his airway and I
kept
pressure on his forehead to stop the bleeding. He was unconscious
the
entire time, most likely from the initial explosion. Pupils were
dilated
and fixed for the entire period as well. When Pete & I handed him
off to
EMS, Glenn was still breathing on his own and had a good heartbeat.
After EMS took Glenn away, I began to examine the scene. Mixed in
with
the blood was brain fluid. This meant the skull was breached. Since
there
was no exit wound, this meant that either there was piece of metal
inside
the brain area or he had been dealt a glancing, ricochet type blow
that had
cracked the front of the skull. It looked like he lost about 1.5 to
2
pints of mixed fluids.
I looked at the pieces of the rifle. The barrel metal was
completely
intact, with the expended cartridge still in the chamber (more on
that
later), and the wood was badly splintered. It didn't take long to
see that
the receiver had failed. The upper half of the receiver ring was
missing
as were tops of the rails for about 1-2". Upon closer examination,
the
metal showed an obvious crystalline fracture, with the outer edge
areas of
the ring and maybe 1/2" back showing stretching/tearing, rather
than
crystalline breakage. The missing metal was nowhere to be found,
although
some wood splinters were recovered. The bolt would not return to
battery. I couldn't tell if the bolt had been completely in battery
when
the round was fired but I am unfamiliar with the Lee so I don't
know if it
is possible to fire a round when the bolt is out of battery.
I then turned my attention to the barrel. The brass was stuck in
the
chamber. There was a hole in the brass, in the extractor area. The
primer
was missing, the base of the cartridge was blackened and slightly
bowed out
into a convex shape. Surrounding the hole in the brass was obvious
flow
into the unsupported area of the extractor. The semi-rimmed brass
was now
obviously rimmed. Obvious, major headspace problem. Obvious, major
overpressure situation.
Looking through the barrel, I saw that it was plugged. Obtaining a
rod, I
slid in down the muzzle until it stopped. Marking the length with
my
thumb, the obstruction was at or near the end of the chamber. A
shake of
the barrel was silent. Driving the rod into the barrel to drive out
the
brass took a few sharp strokes, the first couple feeling like
something was
wedging in the barrel. After popping out the brass, I inspected the
barrel. It was free of bulges and the barrel actually looked quite
nice -
dark but with strong rifling. The chamber was in good shape as
well, with
no obvious deformities. Examining the brass, I immediately noticed
that
the bullet had never left the barrel because I had driven it back
into the
powder area of the brass when driving it out and that it was what I
had
felt for the first couple blows. I did not notice any rifling marks
on the
bullet but could not see it that clearly inside the brass.
I next turned to the shooting table, where Glenn had his box of
ammunition. Glenn was apparently testing handloads because he had a
few
pieces of paper with different loads written on it. I recall them
being
30gr or so of IMR powders but don't remember the numbers (I'm not a
big
reloader) with 100gr and 150gr bullets (Hornady and Speer). I do
recall
that one of the loads was 11gr Unique. Looking at the ammo in the
box, I
realized that the fatal shot was his second as there was only one
previously expended round. Picking it up, it was obviously deformed
as
previously described: obvious brass flow into the extractor area,
blackened
& rimmed base, missing primer, except no hole in the brass. Looking
at
this first round, I have to wonder how hard it was to extract. It
looked
like a hammer-beater to me.
And that's as far as I got before the police started to impound
everything.
It wasn't until later that I found out that when Glenn was taken to
the
hospital, x-rays revealed that a piece of metal 40mm on its long
side had
penetrated the brain, ending its straight though travel at the rear
of the
skull; destroying his sinus cavity in the process.
Lessons:
It doesn't matter how much experience you have, if the brass is
obviously
deformed, stop shooting.
If something looks wrong, it's most likely because it is. Resist
the
temptation to take "just one more shot". Figure out what's wrong
FIRST.
Always have a first-aid kit with you.
Always have latex gloves with you.
When you go shooting, make sure that EMS knows how to get to you,
wherever
you are.
A cellphone is no longer a luxury. If it works, it can shave
valuable
minutes off the emergency response time.
Glenn didn't need to die. From what I've read about him over the
past
couple days, I wish I would have met him in better circumstances,
he
sounded like a helluva guy. He was smart enough to notice that
there was a
problem. He either wasn't paying attention and missed it or he
choose to
ignore it; and continued shooting. Learn from his mistake.
No fancy closing words here, just a reminder that this is a
dangerous sport
and to be careful out there.
[end paste]
33
posted on
07/03/2002 3:35:13 PM PDT
by
Mr_Magoo
To: Beelzebubba
Grim, who ruled the death an accident, said the malfunction happened in the rifle's receiver ring.
Hot handloads or an obstruction (like mud maybe) in the muzzle?
Two sure fire ways to change your weapon from a rifle into a hand grenade.
34
posted on
07/03/2002 3:47:13 PM PDT
by
Jhoffa_
Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim.
alrighty..
35
posted on
07/03/2002 3:50:02 PM PDT
by
Jhoffa_
To: 6ppc
That was what I was thinking.
To: AnAmericanMother
I once had a 22 rimfire lodge in the barrel of a rifle. For some reason, the front half of the brass went with the slug, and caused it to jam half way down the barrel. The barrel swelled up, but didn't burst.
To: mamelukesabre
.22 doesn't develop much chamber pressure.
This Lee rifle obviously did . . . given that the brass of the only previous expended round had flowed into the extractor area. And the receiver couldn't take it.
Couple of additional warnings for those who, like me, load for and fire old military rifles:
1. Get a headspace gauge, and USE IT! "Go" and "NoGo" both. The .303 Lee Enfield is notorious for headspace problems.
2. Work your loads up gradually. Don't go over middle range recommended loads in any old rifle, especially unusual rounds for which you have old data.
3. At the first sign of excess pressure (backed out primer, flowed brass, sticky case) STOP! Please!
Prayers for this poor man and his family and friends. Remember, guys, all it takes is one mistake or a moment of carelessness. . . . be safe!
To: AnAmericanMother
When your 303 is worn out, have it rechambered to shoot 7.62x54R russian.
To: rockfish59
"
Most likely an overload."Could have also been an underload. A lot of handloaders have experienced "detonation" instead of "deflagration" in the load when the powder fills only a small portion of the cartridge chamber. I saw a 0.5 gr. Bullseye load blow the cylinder out of a perfectly good Super Blackhawk.
They make inert fillers just to prevent this irritating little phenomenon.
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