Hello all. I wanted to post on hangfires (failure to fire or delay in round going off) I saw 2 of these on a 50 caliber rifle last weekend at the shoot I was at. The first was a delay that lasted long enough for the shooter to get up off the gun but before he grabbed at the bolt the round went off. the second was a no fire untill he went to move the bolt. as soon as the handle was moved to lift it the round went off.
The gun was a bullpup style where the round is inserted into the bolt and then the bolt put into the gun. It was not a grizzly but a similar type bolt arangement. This can happen in any firearm but I personally have seen it several times in 50 cals using older surplus ammo. my first 50 was one of the "buttstuffer" varietys and I had this happen a few times but in my case it was because of the pin adjustment backing up. The shooter in this case had no idea about the proper procedure when this happens. He/we were very lucky.
For future reference, when a hangfire occurs. First wait for one minute while holding the weapon downrange. If it does not eventually fire get off the gun and while keeping it pointed downrange position your body to the side of the weapon. Then grab the bolt handle from the front side of the gun, reason being if the round goes off when the bolt is opened the bolt can shoot out of the gun backwards. You need to make sure no one is behind the gun and your hand is not on the back side of the bolt handle for this reason.
All the 50 cal shoots I have been to in the last few years actually make this announcement in the shooters meeting. If the shooter this pastweekend had just of been a few seconds faster taking out the first hangfire the round could have gone off in his hands. He did not know to wait to open the bolt.
The gun was a bullpup style where the round is inserted into the bolt and then the bolt put into the gun. It was not a grizzly but a similar type bolt arangement. This can happen in any firearm but I personally have seen it several times in 50 cals using older surplus ammo. my first 50 was one of the "buttstuffer" varietys and I had this happen a few times but in my case it was because of the pin adjustment backing up. The shooter in this case had no idea about the proper procedure when this happens. He/we were very lucky.
For future reference, when a hangfire occurs. First wait for one minute while holding the weapon downrange. If it does not eventually fire get off the gun and while keeping it pointed downrange position your body to the side of the weapon. Then grab the bolt handle from the front side of the gun, reason being if the round goes off when the bolt is opened the bolt can shoot out of the gun backwards. You need to make sure no one is behind the gun and your hand is not on the back side of the bolt handle for this reason.
All the 50 cal shoots I have been to in the last few years actually make this announcement in the shooters meeting. If the shooter this pastweekend had just of been a few seconds faster taking out the first hangfire the round could have gone off in his hands. He did not know to wait to open the bolt.
