Reenactor’s Black Powder Rifle Goes Kaboom

These photos were recently spotted on Facebook with the following caption:

This is why we preach safety with firearms – it can happen to you! Always point your firearm in a safe direction and make sure there are NO obstructions in the barrel! Thankfully there were no injuries!

The guy who posted the photos said he wasn’t there when this happened, so we don’t have firsthand knowledge, but it looks like a this happened at a reenactment of some sort.

He did say that “Mud in the barrel did this from what I’m hearing,” and he notes that the dirt jammed in the barrel in the photos “was from when the rifle was thrown after it went boom.”

Regardless of what caused it, it’s not easy to understand how the statement “Always point your firearm in a safe direction” applies here. In this case, it looks like the only safe direction was either behind or in front of the gun!

Anyhow, the second part of the warning (make sure there are NO obstructions in the barrel!) certainly rings true!

Stay safe, my friends.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.