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using live ammo @ an old west show

MKEgal

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
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4,383
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in front of my computer, WI
Some idiot doing a reenactment for tourists used live ammo.
3 people injured.
Four spent casings and two unfired cartridges with lead bullets were located near the scene Friday afternoon, the sheriff said. The gun, the casings and the bullets will be sent the state crime lab in Pierre for testing
At least they have a decent chance of catching the person unless s/he wiped off fingerprints.
I haven't seen blanks, but I imagine they look different from regular ammo, & probably weigh less too.
Hard to call this an innocent mistake.
 

wrightme

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Oct 19, 2008
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Fallon, Nevada, USA
Blanks typically have an empty crimp with NO projectile. I do not know if this is how reenactment rounds look, but the difference is VERY clear and impossible to mistake by either sight or touch.
 

since9

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Jan 14, 2010
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Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
I have to wonder if one of the performers goofed, or if a bystander opened fire for some reason?[/quote]

Ah... Here's the answer:

"A 49-year-old member of the re-enactor group fired four live rounds during the June 17 show, Thom said. No phone listing could be found for the man.
The bullets shattered a leg bone of Carrol Knutson, 65, of Birchwood, Minn.; hit the forearm and elbow of John Ellis, 48, an optometrist from South Connellsville, Penn.; and caused minor injuries to Jose Pruneda, 53, of Alliance, Neb.

There was no immediate comment from re-enactors. On its Facebook page, the group has said their members are not allowed to bring live rounds to performances."

Ok... But they're allowed to point a firearm at innocent people and pull the trigger? I was always taught pointing a firearm at ANYONE was a no-no, even when you're absolutely CERTAIN it's not loaded.

Loaded with blanks is still loaded.

When I was a child (about six or seven) living in Florida, I went to Six Gun Territory. They had several shootouts, some small, just one guy shooting another, some large with a dozen guns blazing away. Fun! Ah, the memories...

I distinctly recall one of the performers giving a short speech on firearms safety, including how no live rounds are allowed in the park, how all firearms and ammo belts are checked by two people before the performers are allowed to use them, and how under no circumstances are the guns aimed directly at another person, even the performers themselves.

Ooops. Looks like that's one lesson that was a casualty along with Six Gun Territory.
 
Last edited:

jayspapa

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Jul 27, 2008
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313
Location
South end of the state, Illinois, USA
The first shot should have told this idiot he was firing live ammo. A 250 gr. lead slug will cause a handgun to jump considerably more than a blank .

Also if 2 people check each firearm and all ammo , how did the live rounds get in the gun? Lots of questions to be answered about this one.
 

thebigsd

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Mar 23, 2010
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Quarryville, PA
I see no reason for them to have live ammo anywhere in the vicinity of the blanks. Why do they need live ammo, do they do actual shooting demonstrations?
 

since9

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Also if 2 people check each firearm and all ammo , how did the live rounds get in the gun? Lots of questions to be answered about this one.

The two person check was used at Florida's Six Gun Territory, not the location where the OP's incident occurred. Had it been used there, as well, this incident would likely not have happened.

I see no reason for them to have live ammo anywhere in the vicinity of the blanks. Why do they need live ammo, do they do actual shooting demonstrations?

I seriously doubt it. Shows like that don't make tons of money, unless they can be done on Walt Disney scales, and that conglomerate would never stand for a gun show these days, live or simulated. When Walt Disney World (Florida) first opened back in 1971, it had a shooting gallery in Frontier Land, and the air guns shot lead pellets! They switched to IR lights about a decade later for reasons given in the linked article.
 
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