Went to the range today with my wifey, two new lab puppies, best friend and his two daughters. Was meant to be a nice way to spend a pleasant fall afternoon with family, friends and our favorite milsurps. First up was my Hakim that I picked up a month ago. I just got several hundred rounds of Egyptian 8mm to feed it. The gas port was already turned down to the lowest setting so I thought that would be a good place to start. A fired off a few dozens rounds with no problems. It ejected the brass nicely and was working flawlessly. I just loaded a full magazine and managed once again to avoid getting the dreaded Hakim thumb (10 times worse than the Garand thumb!!). I fired the rifle and instead of the normal hefty recoil and ear splitting bang, I got a jackhammer to my left hand, a kick to my forehead and a bang that sounded like a 105mm howitzer going off. I looked down at the rifle in shock and realized that I had a blow out. It was about that time I realized that I might not be in the same condition that I showed up to the range in. My last two fingers on my left hand were throbbing and I knew that something bit me in my forehead. My best friend rushed over to me and immediately starting checking me for injuries. Somehow the big lady upstairs was looking over me and I was able to walk away in good shape. The Hakim wasn't so lucky.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Looks like all the rounds in the magazine detonated at once. You can see just above the rifle in both pics a rectangular indentation in the wood. The bottom of the magazine blew out, flipped over and was embedded there. I found one 8mm bullet on the ground at my feet. I could not find any other pieces from the other rounds. The receiver and barrel actually appear to be intact with no visible damage (at least from a cursory inspection). The magazine is trashed. The top and bottom blew out, spring is no where to be found. The bottom trigger plate burst and the stock blew out on both sides. The large chunk of wood from the left side was found about 20 feet away.
Once I realized that all my fingers were still there and no major damage to my face (a small cut on my forehead), I pulled out my Suomi M31, M1 carbine and Garand and went back to making holes in paper. All in all, it was a good day. Lost a rifle and a good pair of underwear, but still have all my fingers, eyesight and hearing! I'm just grateful that my wife had just taken our new puppies and my friend's youngest daughter off for a hike in the woods and they didn't see the incident. Now that would have been ugly!!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Looks like all the rounds in the magazine detonated at once. You can see just above the rifle in both pics a rectangular indentation in the wood. The bottom of the magazine blew out, flipped over and was embedded there. I found one 8mm bullet on the ground at my feet. I could not find any other pieces from the other rounds. The receiver and barrel actually appear to be intact with no visible damage (at least from a cursory inspection). The magazine is trashed. The top and bottom blew out, spring is no where to be found. The bottom trigger plate burst and the stock blew out on both sides. The large chunk of wood from the left side was found about 20 feet away.
Once I realized that all my fingers were still there and no major damage to my face (a small cut on my forehead), I pulled out my Suomi M31, M1 carbine and Garand and went back to making holes in paper. All in all, it was a good day. Lost a rifle and a good pair of underwear, but still have all my fingers, eyesight and hearing! I'm just grateful that my wife had just taken our new puppies and my friend's youngest daughter off for a hike in the woods and they didn't see the incident. Now that would have been ugly!!
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
