Well, the past week has been an interesting one, to say the least. If you have been paying attention to the news, you have likely seen a few interesting news stories involving firearms. As you may imagine I have a few thoughts. Smith and Wesson also announced a safety recall on their new shotgun, three months or so, after it was first announced. So there are a few things to cover.
I think the most eyebrow-raising thing that came across the news feed this week was the negligent discharge (ND) of a firearm on the movie set “Rust”. Unfortunately, this resulted in the death of one Cinematographer and the injury of a Producer. The details of this shooting are slowly coming out and it is likely we will not know the full story for at least a few weeks or months. This means we all should be slow to make any full judgments of who was right or who was wrong.
Because I am in the same boat as all of you and do not know anything other than what has been published, I am going to refrain from assuming what happened. However I will note a few things about blanks, and about the shooting communities reaction, of which I have been somewhat disturbed by. As it would happen I am in the middle of a project where I am developing blanks for a commercial project so this story hit home for me in more than one way.
Many surplus blanks have a cardboard or wax plug that serves two main purposes:
- Retain the powder
- Create pressure within the chamber
It is more common nowadays to use some sort of crimp to crimp the case mouth close. The crimp accomplishes the same thing that a cardboard or wax plug did previously. This means that blanks are usually pretty obvious to someone who has handled ammunition before. However, we also know that live rounds, in this case, ammunition with a loaded projectile, have a tendency to find their way into the chamber of a firearm. It is just something that everyone needs to be aware of. This is why multiple levels of checks must be performed prior to declaring a firearm “cold”.
However, the danger is not only from a live round finding its way into the chamber. The danger can also come from debris that has found its way into the muzzle or chamber area. Debris in the form of brass shavings, dirt, cleaning patches, even the cardboard or wax plug used to seal the blank can become a projectile. Let alone the gas pressure can become a hazard in itself. We should never assume that the gas pressure in the blank is “safe”.
Chamber pressures in blank cartridges may reach 15 to 20kpsi. These are far below what the service pressure maybe, but can still result in muzzle pressures in excess of 1kpsi. Not to mention that the powders used to create blanks tend to be fast-burning pistol powders. Because of the lower chamber pressure, caused by the relatively light impedance and crimp or a plug offers, a substantial amount of powder may exit the muzzle burning. This can create a bright flash and can cause powder burns.
We do not know all of the details of the ND that happened on the movie set of Rust. Whether it was a blank that propelled a bit of debris down the barrel, or if it was live ammunition. Either way, we can definitely say that some level of negligence occurred which resulted in the unfortunate loss of life. This is a point that I wish we focused on more in the firearms community.
We all know that the Hollywood Elites are venomously anti-gun. Often what they say, is not only wrong, but it can be outright insulting to us. The amount of money that is donated to groups that support the effectual abolishment of the 2nd Amendment that comes from this crowd is likely well in the millions per year. We also recognize that there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that is taking place, as blockbuster movies are made with firearms. Those movies could not be the “action-packed” thrillers without the use of the very same firearms that Hollywood seeks to ban the common man from owning.
With those things at the forefront of our minds, we should not gloat over this tragedy. At the end of the day, an innocent woman lost her life leaving behind a son, and a husband. A producer was injured, an actor now has to live with the act. There is no other way to say this, it is a tragedy, and we should recognize it as such. It is a valuable reminder to us that every safety rule is written in blood. We can disagree, without being disagreeable. The insensitive memes and the disparaging comments coming from many in our community are somewhat disheartening and paint us all in a bad light.
I think I have said my piece there. We will find out more details about this incident in the future. Already a few studios are announcing that they will no longer use live firearms, instead opting for airsoft models. Honestly, with the quality of the airsoft replicas on the market, I think that is probably a smart move by the studios. I can only hope that when the special effect guys/gals go in and touch up for muzzle flash they can also add in the brass flipping out of the gun. While they are at it if they could touch up the linked ammo on belt-fed guns. I notice the primers are often missing from the rounds, if the CGI folks could touch up the primer pockets so the cartridges actually have CGI primers in the back end, I’d appreciate it. It’s the small details…
The other story that caught my eye was the Smith and Wesson recall on their new KSG like a shotgun. I call it KSG like, because of the external similarities, even though the internals are pretty unique to this firearm.
The recall has been prompted by a few instances of cracked barrels. Apparently, it only affects shotguns that were manufactured prior to October 15, 2021. This is pretty much the majority of the firearms on the market since this shotgun was announced around the end of August. That may be part of the good news, the issue was caught early in the production series. However, it only solidifies my belief that you never buy the first version of any new product. This is more than likely a heat-treating or other metallurgical issue. If you have one of these shotguns, it would be prudent to send it in and get the barrel swapped out.
Well, that is what I have for this week. As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database, the instructions are here.
As always, shoot straight and stay safe!
The Ballistic Assistant