Here is something that was over on subguns:

"I'm cross-posting this to all the email lists that have mentioned this incident (that I'[m subbed to). Some have had accurate pieces of info, some have not. Since I was there, I want to let everyone know what happened, as I saw it. There are some lessons in this and in the hope that Glenn's death not be in vain, I will present them so others will not make the same mistakes that Glenn fatally made.

I was at the Easton Fish & Game on Saturday, taking a Defensive Shooting class. During a break in our class, someone came down from the 100yd range and said, "Does anyone have a cellphone? Someone call 911. A guy shot himself. I think he's dead." I looked down and saw a cellphone on
the table. I dialed 911 and handed the phone to someone standing next to me and took off around the corner to see what happened.

I was one of the first to arrive at the scene. Glenn was lying on his back, bleeding from a single wound to the center of his forehead. A quick survey of the scene showed his rifle in two pieces, looking like it separated at the receiver ring. I knelt down to Glenn and check for a pulse. I easily found the pulse in the carotid. A couple quick shouts to see if he were conscious were futile and he wasn't breathing so I pulled the jaw down and pushed the tongue down to open the airway. He took in a deep raspy breath.

I then moved to the forehead. I gingerly felt the open wound for protruding metal. Finding none, I began to apply pressure to the wound. About this time, Pete showed up and immediately began to
assist. For the next 12 minutes, Pete maintained his airway and I kept pressure on his forehead to stop the bleeding. He was unconscious the entire time, most likely from the initial explosion.

Pupils were dilated and fixed for the entire period as well. When Pete & I handed him off to
EMS, Glenn was still breathing on his own and had a good heartbeat.

After EMS took Glenn away, I began to examine the scene. Mixed in with the blood was brain fluid. This meant the skull was breached. Since there
was no exit wound, this meant that either there was piece of metal inside the brain area or he had been dealt a glancing, ricochet type blow
that had cracked the front of the skull. It looked like he lost about 1.5 to 2 pints of mixed fluids.

I looked at the pieces of the rifle. The barrel metal was completely intact, with the expended cartridge still in the chamber (more on that
later), and the wood was badly splintered. It didn't take long to see that the receiver had failed. The upper half of the receiver ring was
missing as were tops of the rails for about 1-2". Upon closer examination, the metal showed an obvious crystalline fracture, with the outer edge
areas of the ring and maybe 1/2" back showing stretching/tearing, rather than crystalline breakage. The missing metal was nowhere to be found, although some wood splinters were recovered. The bolt would not return to
battery. I couldn't tell if the bolt had been completely in battery when the round was fired but I am unfamiliar with the Lee so I don't
know if it is possible to fire a round when the bolt is out of battery.

I then turned my attention to the barrel. The brass was stuck in the chamber. There was a hole in the brass, in the extractor area. The primer
was missing, the base of the cartridge was blackened and slightly bowed out into a convex shape. Surrounding the hole in the brass was obvious flow into the unsupported area of the extractor. The semi-rimmed brass was now obviously rimmed. Obvious, major headspace problem. Obvious, major overpressure situation.

Looking through the barrel, I saw that it was plugged. Obtaining a rod, I slid in down the muzzle until it stopped. Marking the length with
my thumb, the obstruction was at or near the end of the chamber. A shake of the barrel was silent. Driving the rod into the barrel to drive out the
brass took a few sharp strokes, the first couple feeling like something was wedging in the barrel. After popping out the brass, I inspected the
barrel. It was free of bulges and the barrel actually looked quite nice - dark but with strong rifling. The chamber was in good shape as well, with no obvious deformities. Examining the brass,

I immediately noticed that the bullet had never left the barrel because I had driven it back into the powder area of the brass when driving it out and that it was what I had felt for the first couple blows. I did not notice any rifling marks
on the bullet but could not see it that clearly inside the brass.

I next turned to the shooting table, where Glenn had his box of ammunition. Glenn was apparently testing handloads because he had a few
pieces of paper with different loads written on it. I recall them being 30gr or so of IMR powders but don't remember the numbers (I'm not a big
reloader) with 100gr and 150gr bullets (Hornady and Speer). I do recall that one of the loads was 11gr Unique. Looking at the ammo in the box, I
realized that the fatal shot was his second as there was only one previously expended round.

Picking it up, it was obviously deformed as
previously described: obvious brass flow into the extractor area, blackened & rimmed base, missing primer, except no hole in the brass. Looking at
this first round, I have to wonder how hard it was to extract. It looked like a hammer-beater to me.

And that's as far as I got before the police started to impound everything.

It wasn't until later that I found out that when Glenn was taken to the hospital, x-rays revealed that a piece of metal 40mm on its long side had
penetrated the brain, ending its straight though travel at the rear of the skull; destroying his sinus cavity in the process. "

July 3, 2002

Glenn deRuiter
Glenn deRuiter, 54, of Bethlehem Township, N.J., died Saturday June, 29, 2002, in St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem.
Glenn was born March 31, 1948, in Paterson, N.J. He and his wife Joan were married for 31 years. He lived in Bethlehem Township for over 27 years and previously lived in Clinton. He earned a bachelor's degree from Montclair State University and worked for 28 years as a military firearms specialist for Sarco Inc. in Stirling, N.J.

Glenn was a committee member for Boy Scout Troop 191 in Bethlehem Township. He was a member of Forks of the Delaware Weapon Association, Easton Fish and Game Association, the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club, and the National Rifle Association.

Survivors include his wife, son Eric of Easton and daughter Laura of Bedminster, N.J.; and his mother, Margaret of Clifton.

Services are 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Martin Funeral Home, 1761 Route 31, Clinton. Call from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Burial Wednesday in Musconetcong Valley Cemetery in Hampton.

A New Jersey man died after his rifle barrel exploded while he was target shooting over the weekend at the Easton Rod and Gun Club in Northampton County, authorities said Sunday.
The accident happened Saturday at the club's Lower Saucon Township firing range at 11:30 a.m., said Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim.

There was an explosion in the barrel of the rifle that Glenn deRuiter, 54, of 268 W. Portal Road, Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, was firing, Grim said.

The blast sent out shrapnel, and one piece hit deRuiter in the head, Grim said.

DeRuiter died at 2:30 p.m. at St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill, Grim said.

Grim, who ruled the death an accident, said the malfunction happened in the rifle's receiver ring.

Neighbors learned of deRuiter's death Sunday night.

''Everyone is in total shock,'' said neighbor Beverly Graczyk, the mayor of Bethlehem Township, about 40 miles east of Allentown.

''All of us are just gasping and trying to recover,'' she said.

Dairy farmer Bernie Beatty is another neighbor.

''He was a wonderful man, a wonderful father,'' Beatty said. ''I just saw him the other day. He was always working in the yard, doing something.''

DeRuiter also was a gun enthusiast, Graczyk said.

''He had quite an extensive gun collection,'' Graczyk said. ''I believe he worked for a company that manufactures firearms.''

DeRuiter and his wife, Joan, who is a teacher, have lived in the township for about 20 years.

''Glenn was a quiet, very nice man,'' Graczyk said.

''They are the kind of people you really want for neighbors, to be part of the community. He was just a really good guy.''

Graczyk said she knew deRuiter's wife through her efforts to save the Asbury Bridge, which Graczyk said was a ''wonderful antique'' with iron tresses.

''She fought hard to save that bridge,'' Graczyk said. ''But the county wouldn't listen and put up a new ugly one.''

As word of the accident spread through the township Sunday night, Graczyk said, ''This is a tough one � really, really hard.''

Very sad and sobering account, 500 grains. I, like many reloaders, went thru a period of time when I didn't think the laws of physics applied to me. After a few close shaves I began to wise up. We all should take a warning from this poor fellow's loss.

500,

do you/they know conclusively if it was a reloading error or a firearms malfunction ie. headspace problem. ??

This is a terrible accident.

500Grains,
Please describe what type of weapon was involved and what caliber cartridge. Thanks. I'm stunned. Ku-dude

The account of the person who was first on the scene and who examined the exploded rifle says it was a "Lee." Assuming that this is correct, my guess is that this was a British Lee-Enfield. Also, he says that the original cartridge was "semi-rimmed." Again, assuming his account is correct, that would almost certainly make the caliber a .303 British.

Without examining things in much more detail, it's again only a guess, but given that some of the data on the shooting bench lists "Unique" as a propellant, my guess would be that whoever loaded these cartridges got much too large a charge of much-too-fast-burning powder in these loads.

Personally, I would never use Unique as a propellant for a bottle-neck rifle caliber, and I have no good data for what charge of that powder might be at all usable in such a caliber. But assuming -- again, these are big assumptions, based on too little evidence -- that this was a .303 and that this was a 100 to 150 grain bullet, my guess is that 11 gr. of Unique would be about twice as much powder as would be safely usable in such a caliber.

Actually, my strong recommendation would be to stay away from Unique entirely as a propellant for any such caliber (any bottle-necked rifle caliber).

Forgive me for posting again on this item but I can't stop thinking about it and I just happened to recall an incident that happen to me about 20 years ago which I think might be instructive to anyone regarding the power of a little confined PRESSURE.

I was flying pipeline patrol for Phillips Pipeline as they were water testing a section of pipeline. The idea was they would fill the line with water, close it off and then pressure it up to 1,800 psi. The line had to hold this pressure without breaks for 24 hours.

This particular day they had just reached the test pressure and I was flying the line about 150 ft above the ground looking for any problem or waiting for something to blow.

I didn't have long to wait. All of a sudden about 1/4 of a mile in front of me the line blew up. From where I was, I could clearly see a geyser of water errupt out of the earth as high as I was flying...and spinning away from the column of water was a rock the size of a motor block.

Over the years I saw pipelines blow craters in the ground that would do a small bomb proud. ALL of these happened from pipelines running a small fraction of the pressures we calmly put up against our head and pull the triggers on every time we fire a high powered rifle.

Many reloaders think it's smart to push the maximum pressure limits and strain the structural integrity of their rifles. It's not. In fact, it's dumb almost on the same level as running your automobile engine without any oil, cause you can save a couple of bucks. (For about 6 blocks)

50,000 - 60,000 psi uncorked 4 inches in front of your face isn't anything to take lightly my friends.

Any more details you can learn would be appreciated, 500.

LE270 - I am thinking your guess about the rifle being a .303 British is correct.

However, you are incorrect about the possibility of using Unique as a propellent in this caliber if the shooter was shooting cast bullets.

Example: My Lyman Cast Bullet manual shows 214 gr. cast bullet loads with a suggested charge of 10.0 grains and a maximum recommended of 13.0 grs. And there are other loads for Unique in this cartridge as well.

The use of pistol powders is VERY common among cast bullet shooters and is done with perfect safety if done properly.

What ISN'T safe is a double charge of these propellents...and a reason why cast bullet shooters need to be extra vigilant when loading.

There were also remarks in the first account about the metal looking "crystaline" around the action. (As in metal fatigue??)

I was also utterly amazed by the account that the bullet was still in the case after the explosion! This hardly sounds possible to me. At the very least one would expect the bullet to be flying around somewhere with all the other debris or even somewhere down the barrel. No?

Will a .303 British rifle fire without the bolt being locked up in battery? I doubt it. But what if the firing pin was jammed and protruding from the bolt and the shooter went to force the next round into the chamber? This is how many submachine guns operate,a fixed firing pin, and such a thing could have fired the round at some point prior to the rifle being properly chambered.

Unfortunately the rifle and ammunition is all in the hands of the police now and quite likely they lack the expertise in this field to know what they are or should be looking for. Hopefully we shall learn more.

[ 07-07-2002, 02:59: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

Word is he was shooting a Remington Lee 6mm ,US navy model of 1895. Straight pull action, I am not aware of what brass is used to form this round.
Sam

Look in the thread right here entitled "Deadly KA-BOOM!" There's a couple of links to the reported facts.

Given that the bullet didn't go anywhere, I can't help but wonder if his brass was much too long, and was forced far down into the bullet by the camming action of the bolt. That will cause a k-Boom.

I'd like to offer my sympathy to those who have lost a friend. If we can help the family in any way, please let us know.

As I recall the Remington-Lee navies straight pull action had a design flaw. It was possible to reassemble the bolt in a manner that while it seemed correct, the bolt would not lock up in the action. The rifle would fire with disastrous results.

500grains, what urged you to play with the rifle and ammo remnants ? As a police commissionned officer, I can tell you that you're at great risk of being prosecuted for destroying evidence...

LE270,

We use pistol powders, including UNIQUE, for all our fireforming rounds.

In fact, as we find it extremely difficult here to get powder, we use any powder we can find, and I think with a bit of common sense, one can avoid getting into trouble.

For cases of this size, we usually use anything from 15-17 grains of UNIQUE to get a good shoulder formed.

I thought you might find this of interest.

My understanding is that the rifle was a 6mm Winchester-Lee Navy straight-pull action, made by Winchester, not Remington.

The M-1895 Wiunstester-Lee Navy rifles were chambered for a semi-rimmed case which later became the basis for Winchester's commercial version of the .220 Swift. (The original Swift was what we now call the .22/.250!!) No ammo has been commercially loaded for the 6mm (".236") Lee Navy since the late 1930's. People now use .220 Swift brass necked up to load it, and it uses standard .243" bullets. I believe the military round used a 115-grain round-nosed bullet. This cartridge was way ahead of its' time, because no really suitable propellants were available for it in 1895. The load eroded barrels terribly, and was much worse in hot climates. The Navy and Marine Corps used these rifles in the Spanish Amrtican War, and later to some extent during the Phillippine Insurrection. These actions lock up with a single lug at the bottom rear of the bolt handle, and are thus not nearly as strong as a front-locking double-lug turnbolt like a Mauser or Springfield. The design also appears very poorly designed for handling escaping gasses from a cartridge head failure.

[/QUOTE]500 Grains was doing a cut and paist of the origional posting, he's not the one that was tampering.[/QB][/QUOTE]

I stand corrected, sorry 500grains.

From the "witness" account it sounds as though the receiver ring was cracked previous to this incident. I say this becuase the witness talks about a cystralline fracture followed by a tearing fracture. Now I haven't seen the pieces, but a typical fatigue fracture will have a "crystalline" appearance which precedes the final catastrophic failure. The catastrophic failure does typically have a torn steel appearance. I would need to see the peices to be certain.

So this failure may well have had more to due with a worn out fractured milsurp action than the actual handloads being evaluated. I guess the one thing to learn from this is that not only the load but the condition of the firearm are both of paramount importance. It is highly recommended that any milsurp action be thoroughly inspected for cracks before shooting.

Then again, the witness accounts could all be fabricated.

SRS

[ 07-07-2002, 19:34: Message edited by: SRS ]

Sigh...Well, like most things, once the news media gets onto a story, the facts get so screwed up we may never know what happened to the poor fellow.

If anyone can get the REAL story, please post it. I agree the "witness" story gets a little crazier the more I review it. He says he doesn't know much about reloading but he knows enough to read the guys shooting notes and recognizes the powders and recognizes a semi-rimed case. He says he probed around the wound for things possibly sticking into the brain. What was he going to do...yank them out? THAT would have likely been fatal in a hurry!

This whole account is just crazy.

All I know is what I posted above.

[ 07-08-2002, 04:50: Message edited by: 500grains ]

500 grains; You were just reposting something you saw on Subguns, correct? You were not the one there actually witnessing the event, correct? At least, that is what I understand your first post to say.
Regarding the person who was the "I" in the first post, he is looking at serious trouble for tampering with the evidence if the the prosecuter wants to make a fuss of things. I cannot imagine someone, after another shooter being killed, starting to tamper around with the expoded rifle, driving stuff out of the barrel... Come on, where were the police while he was playing scientist? After the report went out that there was a shooting at a gun club the place would have been swarming with cops.
The whole thing smells of fish to me. Can anyone verify that this event actually occured?
Maybe I'm too skeptical, but that's me, I cannot help it.

Here is an obit:

http://www.efga.net/

Here is the talk about on subguns:

http://subguns.biggerhammer.net/reloading.cgi

All death scenes should be treated as a crime scene if for no other purpose than for insurance purposes and nothing should be distrubed until the police arrive...

I am pretty sure big Bob in his above post has the answer..The Lee's have been killing people since their invention..

When one puts the Lee bolt back together backwards and that is very easy to do!! That WILL leave the bullet in place and everything blows back taking the path of least resistance and becomes a virtual handgranade....

Very glad to have found this forum. It appears to allow discussion to flow freely without things being nixed by a bunch of codgers such as those who run a certain other forum having to do with Swiss rifles.

I couldn't agree more with those who feel this account is a ludicrous fabrication, and it's interesting how no one is now claiming
"paternity" for the story. I expressed such a view on the above mentioned board and got "banned." Some get bannished from their country, this was like getting bannished from Woolworth's...no big deal. However, it does point to the need for new, more intelligently operated forums such as this one here.

BB

You sound like the guy who posted that on the Swiss Rifle Forum. I saw that posting and I'm glad it was removed by the board moderators. If it was done here, I'm sure this fine sight would have removed it too.
I think you just like to stir things up like that poster did over there. Or you have another hidden agenda against that site.

Herr K31, what the original posting stated was that the preposterous story had the earmarks of "puny soul" who wants to sound like "Mr. Cool-Forensics-Expert." It didn't address who this person was, but certain among them on the Forum you mention have behaved like fright goats and wish to stop all further discussion of this hoax ("Thou protesteth too much"?). But truth is truth and right is right, which is why an investigation is currently underway to get to the bottom of this matter by a "relentless man of means." I think we'll all be interested in finding out the source of this wild story and it will be entertaining for all those who have shown appropriate and instinctual doubt.

Darned if I can remember it, but there is a psychological term for one who fabricates something and uses the fabrication as an opportunity to issue dire warnings to people. He glories in doing this and it makes him feel important. We'll find out who this person is and report later. At this point, as we close in, the "usual suspects" are squirming and claiming to have been ill or "out of the country" (as though E-Mail is impossible from abroad. This is a lot of fun.

Ray and Andre, you're both right on the money. All deaths, especially violent deaths, even if the cause appears obvious, are handled as homicides until otherwise ruled out.

I bet the investigators "REALLY" appreciated the fact that somebody decided to handle the forensic work before they arrived.

[ 07-23-2002, 03:50: Message edited by: DOCTOR LOU ]

Deepest sympathy to family and friends. This reminds us all of how careful we have to be in each and all of our actions when reloading.