Images like those below are chilling to those of us in the shooting community, as they should be. Sometimes we forget just how dangerous our hobby can be and we become lax. When we become lax we accidentally double charge a round while reloading, or we hear a pop vs. a bang and fail to check the bore of our firearm before firing the next round. We sweep others with the muzzle. We put our finger on the trigger when we shouldn’t. And sometimes we forget to wear eye protection.
The AR15 pictured here exploded unexpectedly on its owner this week. The source of the failure isn’t known for sure, but I’m fairly sure the cause of this catastrophic failure was an over pressure round based upon my inspection of the rifle. We don’t have all of the details of what happened, so I’m not going to name brands in this article. My goal isn’t to unnecessarily defame the manufactures of the rifle or the ammo, it’s to drive home the importance of making sure we always remember the basic rules of safety while engaged in our sport/hobby. Pay attention. Practice good muzzle discipline. Keep that finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Wear hearing protection. Pay attention while reloading and double check your work. Always wear eye protection.
Yes, I’m guilty of taking my eye protection off at times while shooting and you’ve seen me do it in videos. On hot humid days my eye wear will often times fog up making the use of magnified optics difficult, if not impossible. When I see grenaded firearms such as this one, it reminds me how foolish I am for taking my glasses off regardless of my reason.
If the owner of this firearm had not been wearing eye protection he likely would be blind in one or both eyes right now. If that doesn’t send a chill down your spine there’s something wrong with you.
Please folks, be safe out there.
You can see the total destruction caused by the likely culprit – an over charged round.
From the rear you can see that both sides of the upper receiver split.
The bolt and carrier both were blown apart by the over-pressure.
The chamber area of the destroyed AR15.
MAC
MAC is an avid shooter, former MCSF Marine, NRA member, Oath Keeper and is commissioned as a Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. Known for his videos on the Military Arms Channel, he also writes for The Bang Switch, for Shotgun News (Be Ready!) and freelances for Guns & Ammo. MAC has been a life long shooter who has an interest in all things that go "bang" but gravitates towards military type firearms.
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