Good thing we always wear glasses!

**m gardner** · 10-19-2009, 03:27 PM

We were up on the IPSC range this morning and the little woman was having fun shooting falling plates when I heard a very loud report and she shook her head and staggered back. She was shooting her little Walther P22 and it blew up. The top of the slide was missing and she had one little bit of brass in her face. There was a large ding in her glasses but she was none the worse for wear after we picked the brass out of her skin. Thank you Lord! It was high quality ammo and the pistol is in good repair and is her carry gun. The brass case is still in the chamber and the head was stuck in the steel part of the bolt face. Must be a good design because everything went away from the shooter. All I can figure is that the cartridge was loaded too hot. We are in the process of sending the gun and ammo away to get it replaced and they will determine what happened. I've shot lots of the same lot of 22's through my SIG conversion with no problem and many went through the Walther too. Maybe one in a million that got out. We'll see.
Mark

**dance.and.shoot** · 10-19-2009, 06:26 PM

Oh my word. she's so lucky...i don't think i'm ever gonna complain about glasses again...okay, so i proably will. but i'll remind myself this story.
Glad she's okay!!!

**Hoosierbuck** · 10-19-2009, 08:34 PM

Glad mama is ok, Mark. Close shave for sure! Please let us know what "they" say about the failures.

HB

**m gardner** · 10-19-2009, 10:03 PM

Thanks. We have an on site gunsmith and he couldn't find a bulge so I doubt it squibbed. I imagine we'll end up with a new pistol eventually. It's guaranteed for life. We shoot the best ammo and never get misfires from it. I could see if we used bulk packed stuff and had a misfire or if it was filthy dirty, but it had about 50 rounds through it since the last cleaning. She's shipping it tomorrow with the rest of the ammo. We'll see what the tech's say.
Mark

**MichiganHunter** · 10-20-2009, 01:13 AM

man that is nutz...glad everyone is ok, hope everything turns out ok with getting your new gun, what ever hit her glasses was really moving to crack the class like that, I've seen people drop glasses and not have that kind of damadge...wow

**toddyboman** · 10-20-2009, 09:52 AM

WOW....thats scary.....glad she is ok.

**Hoosierbuck** · 10-20-2009, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by MichiganHunter

man that is nutz...glad everyone is ok, hope everything turns out ok with getting your new gun, what ever hit her glasses was really moving to crack the class like that, I've seen people drop glasses and not have that kind of damadge...wow

Hey whippersnapper, those are bifocals...

KIDS, sheeesh.

HB

**Strut10** · 10-20-2009, 06:39 PM

Hopefully a valuable lesson learned for everyone who views this post.

ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!

Even the best laid plans.................

Glad your Mrs. came out on the good end of a bad situation.

**m gardner** · 10-20-2009, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by Hoosierbuck

Hey whippersnapper, those are bifocals...

KIDS, sheeesh.

HB

Yep, they certainly are bifocals! Never leave home without mine! Well actually can't leave home without mine.

Mark

**arrow32** · 10-21-2009, 08:02 AM

Dang!
Glad she is ok. Bet that gave her a good scare.

**MichiganHunter** · 10-21-2009, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by Hoosierbuck

Hey whippersnapper, those are bifocals...

KIDS, sheeesh.

HB

LOL...ya sorry old fart....I realized that after I had put that up...The glass is still marked so what ever hit it was still booking......GOLLY MISTER DONT BE SUCH A SQUARE...trying to talk in your words ya know.

**m gardner** · 10-21-2009, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by arrow32

Dang!
Glad she is ok. Bet that gave her a good scare.

Didn't scare her a bit. She finished the afternoon shoot with my SIG 220 and then we went to the archery range. She's pretty tough.
Mark

**dance.and.shoot** · 10-21-2009, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by m gardner

Didn't scare her a bit. She finished the afternoon shoot with my SIG 220 and then we went to the archery range. She's pretty tough.
Mark

Good for her!!!

**45-70cannon** · 10-27-2009, 01:48 PM

Yup, glasses can save us all. Glad the young lady is o.k. Know what she went through first hand, with a Lyman Great Plains Rifle that blew up in my puss last year. Sent it back, got it fixed, and traded that dog in!!

**m gardner** · 11-11-2009, 05:22 PM

Here's an update and conclusion on the matter of this pistol blowing up. The ammo manufacturer admitted fault after testing an extensive amount of the lot number in question. They found excessive pressure in several cartridges and will replace the pistol and ammo and have given us extra ammo and will cover all our expenses. They also thanked us for being patient and considerate. Over the years we've shot hundreds of thousands of 22's and experienced no problems that were a danger to us. It's actually a very safe sport and the ammo manufacturers deserve lots of credit for keeping it that way.
Mark