A Close Call
I stepped inside my cousin's house to grab a magazine for him the other day. We were checking out a new AR he finished putting together and I wanted to see how quiet it was. I wanted to gauge what I thought mine might sound like if I ever finish it. Anyway I'm digging through the closet there and I find what I was looking for. I noticed a band around the base. It was silicone and had "5.56" written on the side.
Thinking it was silly, I proceeded to pick on him about it. He insisted you could never be too careful, but I insisted, if you can't tell the difference between 5.56 and 300 blackout you don't have any business shooting or owning either one.
Not a week later, I had a friend that was at the range playing with his new pawn shop purchase when he narrowly escaped a near life altering event.
Just a side bar, this friend didn't necessarily grow up around guns, but he is a hunter and I do consider him to be generally safe with a firearm. He ain't flat stupid.
Anyway, he was at the range plinking away when, on shot number 7, the gun just inexplicably blew to pieces right there in his hands. Stunned, flustered, and fearing broken bones in his hand, he gathered up what was left of the gun and threw it in the truck and left without further investigation.
Later he recaps to me what happened and I chalked it up to the low build quality or bad parts. I suggest taking that thing up to the pawn show and asking for store credit.
He did so and left it with them for further inspection. After disassembly, the root cause of the issue was discovered. A 300-blackout casing with it’s bullet halfway down the barrel.
Now how could that happen? He doesn't own a 300 blackout, nor has he been around anyone who does. It was a brand new box, purchased from a local store. He bought three 25 round boxes and went directly to the range. He loaded a box into the magazine there on the passenger seat and he was the only person there. It was the 7th round that was fired so we know at least the first six were 5.56 or .223. I was hesitant to believe his story because it seemed pretty impossible for a manufacturer to mix a wrong round in, and the bullets are kept behind the counter.
After further consideration I finally worked up my not-yet-proven theory. At the store, one of the gun counter attendants must have been helping a customer who asked what the difference between 300 blackout and 5.56 was. The attendant pulled out a box of each, and a round from each box, to show the customer. Then, with the customer satisfied or with the customer purchasing the 300 Blackout, replaced each round in the wrong box, and the boxes back on the shelf. Again, just a theory. But if I'm right, someone has a box of 300 -blackout with a round of 5.56 in it; or a busted hand.
Accidents happen, but a lot of them can be prevented if you are paying attention.
Those little silly bands might not be such a bad idea after all.
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