Muzzlelaoder Death in N.D. – Question

About a month ago there was a tragic death from the accidental discharge of a muzzloader http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/13270783.htm. Since this happened back in the old stomping grounds and the young man’s family is known to many of my relatives I’ve been folloing the story. The word is that an investigation is leading authorities to believe static electricity may have been the cause of the discharge. It is believed that the gun was not capped. I did not think that todays powders would ignite from static electricity. Any of you expert muzzleloaders have any thoughts this. Here’s an article http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/mlexperiments/sparks/sparks.html

I don’t know about Pyrodex or similar products, but good old original black powder will ignite if it’s hit by a spark. It’s surprising how much static electric voltage you can generate. Getting out of a chair can generate 25,000 volts and blow up electronic components, for example. I don’t know how you could discharge a static electric field and cause a spark to happen inside of a steel barrel. For a spark to happen, you have to have a big difference in voltage from one point to another. Inside of a metal barrel it would all seem to be the same potential. I wonder if there was an ember in the barrel left over from a previous shot?

I never….NEVER….keep Black Powder in any kind of plastic container. Only soft metals like copper or brass. No sparks is the goal.

Rootski

I don’t know about Pyrodex or similar products, but good old original black powder will ignite if it’s hit by a spark. It’s surprising how much static electric voltage you can generate. Getting out of a chair can generate 25,000 volts and blow up electronic components, for example. I don’t know how you could discharge a static electric field and cause a spark to happen inside of a steel barrel. For a spark to happen, you have to have a big difference in voltage from one point to another. Inside of a metal barrel it would all seem to be the same potential. I wonder if there was an ember in the barrel left over from a previous shot?

I never….NEVER….keep Black Powder in any kind of plastic container. Only soft metals like copper or brass. No sparks is the goal.

Rootski

BTW, the link from the Herald didn’t work. It threw up a message that said “Requested article not found”.

BTW, the link from the Herald didn’t work. It threw up a message that said “Requested article not found”.

Authorities say gun accidentally discharges, killing teenAssociated PressHAZEN, N.D. – A gun accidentally discharged, killing a 14-year-old boy who was hunting with his father, authorities said. It is believed to be the first death during North Dakota’s black powder muzzle loader season.
Daniel Haga, a Hazen eighth-grader, died Sunday morning while hunting with his father, Todd, about three miles northeast of Velva on a relative’s land, McHenry County Sheriff Marv Sola said.
The two were participating in the specialty deer gun season that opened Friday.
Sola said it appeared the father and son had just left their vehicle to start hunting when the father handed the gun to his son so he could open a gate. Sola said Todd Haga worked on the gate, then turned around for the gun when it discharged, striking Daniel in the head.
The incident occurred at around 6:45 a.m., the sheriff said. He said Todd Haga put his son in a vehicle and rushed for emergency care in Minot, where the teen was pronounced dead.
The state Game and Fish Department’s wildlife chief, Randy Kreil, said the death is the first of the state’s 2005 deer hunting season and likely the first ever during muzzle loading season.
Sola said the muzzle loader had a .50 caliber projectile, larger than is loaded into a typical deer rifle.
In Hazen, middle school principal Jerry Obenauer said the school would provide information and counseling for the boy’s friends and classmates.

Authorities say gun accidentally discharges, killing teenAssociated PressHAZEN, N.D. – A gun accidentally discharged, killing a 14-year-old boy who was hunting with his father, authorities said. It is believed to be the first death during North Dakota’s black powder muzzle loader season.
Daniel Haga, a Hazen eighth-grader, died Sunday morning while hunting with his father, Todd, about three miles northeast of Velva on a relative’s land, McHenry County Sheriff Marv Sola said.
The two were participating in the specialty deer gun season that opened Friday.
Sola said it appeared the father and son had just left their vehicle to start hunting when the father handed the gun to his son so he could open a gate. Sola said Todd Haga worked on the gate, then turned around for the gun when it discharged, striking Daniel in the head.
The incident occurred at around 6:45 a.m., the sheriff said. He said Todd Haga put his son in a vehicle and rushed for emergency care in Minot, where the teen was pronounced dead.
The state Game and Fish Department’s wildlife chief, Randy Kreil, said the death is the first of the state’s 2005 deer hunting season and likely the first ever during muzzle loading season.
Sola said the muzzle loader had a .50 caliber projectile, larger than is loaded into a typical deer rifle.
In Hazen, middle school principal Jerry Obenauer said the school would provide information and counseling for the boy’s friends and classmates.

It’s a horrible reminder why guns should always be pointed in a safe direction, loaded, unloaded, real gun or toy gun. We weren’t even allowed to point a cap gun in an unsafe direction! That gun NEVER should have been pointed at his own head! It’s sad and disappointing at the same time.

BIRDDOG

It’s a horrible reminder why guns should always be pointed in a safe direction, loaded, unloaded, real gun or toy gun. We weren’t even allowed to point a cap gun in an unsafe direction! That gun NEVER should have been pointed at his own head! It’s sad and disappointing at the same time.

BIRDDOG

Birddog, you’re absolutely right and that’s something that has to be kept in mind always. Thanks for pointing that out .
I’m just trying to understand why this happened in the first place. I own and shoot several muzzleloaders so I’d sure like to understand why this gun discharged. It sounds like thy wee just starting their hunt so the gun hadn’t been fired recently. If there really wasn’t a percussion cap on the lock then man I don’t know.
Getting back to the static electricity theory, what if one of the people was “charged up” and the other one wasn’t. When they handled the gun over, maybe the thing first touched was the area near the nipple and a spark happened. If the bolster was full of powder and a spark hit right on the nipple, maybe the gun goes off.

Rootski

Birddog, you’re absolutely right and that’s something that has to be kept in mind always. Thanks for pointing that out .
I’m just trying to understand why this happened in the first place. I own and shoot several muzzleloaders so I’d sure like to understand why this gun discharged. It sounds like thy wee just starting their hunt so the gun hadn’t been fired recently. If there really wasn’t a percussion cap on the lock then man I don’t know.
Getting back to the static electricity theory, what if one of the people was “charged up” and the other one wasn’t. When they handled the gun over, maybe the thing first touched was the area near the nipple and a spark happened. If the bolster was full of powder and a spark hit right on the nipple, maybe the gun goes off.

Rootski

very sad….

glen

very sad….

glen