What are the chances of a gun exploding in my face?

Question

What are the chances of a gun exploding in my face?

Sometimes I think about it when I'm shooting my guns, that either it could blow up in my face or the slide or bolt can hit me in the jaw and possibly kill me. I don't know if there is a possibility this can happen. I hope it never happens to me. What is more likely to happen? A catastrophic failure and explosion of a weapon in the face of a shooter, or the chances of finding a virgin inside a brothel.

Answer 1

Over a million to one chance, its very rare. Firearm and ammunition manufactures are careful to insure this wont happen. Guns are made to handle more than factory ammo, factory ammo are not loaded to max.

Usually when a gun KABOOMs it’s the owner’s fault or the person who hand loaded the ammo. And I have seen a few kabooms. A shotgun with mud in the bore exploded when a guy shot at a duck. A 44 magnum model 29 with a over max hand load exploded. Also a .308 Enfield exploded from a over max reload round. I have also seen the “oh boy” situation a few times. A guy was shooting a 44 mag ruger and it sounded funny. I asked to see his gun and found out he was shooting 41 magnum ammo in it! I have seen a slug in an old 12 ga long tom shotgun swell the barrel. And a fellow had an adjustable choke on his shotgun screwed down for x-tra full and blew it off with a slug.



I think the kind of people who try to sharpen a running chain saw, or who try to replace the blades on a running lawn mower are more likely to have KABOOM with a gun…………..

Answer 2

The chances of a weapon exploding in your face is very, very, very slim if and when you use the weapon you should be 100% sure of all the safety precautions....Weapons such as rifles or handguns may seem to have a chance of exploding in your face but I have never read, experienced or heard of one doing so.



I do have a small arsenal of weapons and fire them often. My choice ammo is American made. Stay away from Russian and military use ammo. Large amount of carbon build up and there is always a chance of reloads to have an incorrect amount of grains pressed into a round....



The rifle, to me, is extremely safe when I use it properly. I also only use a trusted brand of weapon and my first choice is American made then German made or Italian made.



Hint: always use shooting glasses....Trigger locks when not in use and store them EMPTY....



To answer the last question I believe the brothels will be filled and overflowing before any inkling of a weapon exploding when used with care.



The rifles I have are 2-AR-16, 2-22's, 2-30-06's, 1-40cal,

The handguns I have are: 2- 357 mags, 2- 38 Specials, 3-380's, 3-1911 45's, 4-9 mm. and 2-44cal with 1-being an auto load....



Never a problem... Good luck and be safe with the weapons.

Answer 3

Well I think the chances are slim to none but that is just my opinion. Now when reloading you have to keep an eye on double charges and types of powders etc. But I primarily use factory loaded ammo.



I would like to point out one thing though, Hang Fires. This term refers to the delayed reaction time in the primer detonating after being struck by the firing pin. When you pull the trigger and there is no boom....DO NOT rush to clear the round from the chamber. This could cause serious harm to you and people around you. The primer could be slowly burning and detonate causing parts to fly every where.



When it comes to hang fires, you want to keep the muzzle of the firearm pointed down range. Then wait a couple of minutes before ejecting the unfired round from the chamber. If possible alert surrounding people to the situation.



Here is some pictures of a M82A1/107 50cal Barrett blowing up over a hang fire...warning, shows a guy with a pretty deep cut to the cheek.

http://semiautorifles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=494

Answer 4

The chance of a firearm exploding is directly proportional to the stupidity of the shooter. The most likely reason for an exploding firearm is a bore obstruction which can be caused by sticking the muzzle into the ground, failure to remove a cleaning patch and many other reasons, including but not limited to the bullet from a previous round stuck in the barrel.



As long a the shooter pays attention and uses minimal intelligence the odds of catastrophic failure are low. If, when firing, you notice less recoil than normal or if the action fails to cycle in an automatic then immediately stop firing and check for a bore obstruction.

Answer 5

During the Vietnam War, the CIA worked out a way to take the regular gunpowder out of 7.62 X 39mm and 7.62 X 54mmR ammunition, replace it with C-4 plastic explosive or something similar, and slip it to the Viet Cong. The rounds thus treated would detonate when fired, causing injuries, deaths, and questions about Chinese quality control. If, by some ungodly circumstance, you happened to come across some of this ammo, and fire it, you could have a catastrophic weapon failure.

Maybe somebody should try something like that on the gang-bangers down in Mexico.....

Answer 6

Strangely enough, a catastrophic failure of a firearm is more likely to injure bystanders, than the shooter. Most of the debris is propelled to the sides, not the rear.



A fellow at our range had a muzzle brake for a .243 installed on a .270. (Gunsmith's mistake). Naturally the thing Kaboomed on the first round. The shooter was uninjured, but the people on either side of him were lacerated by shrapnel.

Answer 7

Not very good. Guns & Ammo used to run a section called the torture test where they deliberately abused a number of firearms to see if they could get them to fail catastrophically. They had a number of guns that deformed and which were rendered unsafe to shoot, but I can't recall a single instance where the gun actually exploded in the breech area.

Answer 8

Buy a lottery ticket for Power Ball. Buy one every day. You'll win the Mega Prize about 5.778 times before a gun explodes in your face. However, if you do win, I'd stay away from shooting.

Answer 9

The chances of a gun exploding in your face are minimal, unless you are shooting very hot loads through it, unsafe reloaded ammo, water inside your gun, or if sand gets inside your firearm. You are more likely to find a virgin inside a brothel, than having a carefully and well maintained firearm exploding in your face.

Answer 10

Most of us extend a handgun outward and up to fire it, so it won't explode in your face, but if somebody is not wearing safety glasses, then they could be sprayed by shrapnel.

Answer 11

use the right ammo for the weapon and it will never happen as long as you take care of it and the other thing only if you are extremely rich

Answer 12

Every time I go to the cat house, they hook me up with a virgin. At least they say she is, and they charge extra, so I'd say your odds of getting blown up are pretty slim compared to that.

Answer 13

There's 2 chances, Slim and None!!!

Answer 14

With the questions you ask, it's very probable one will blow up in your face.

Answer 15

funny thing about accidents... the odds are million to one when you read about it... and they are even when it happens to you.



Wear your glasses... keep the ammo to standard pressures and pay attention to details

Answer 16

if it is pointed at your face.....................VERY HIGH!!!!!!LOLOLOL!!!