Just what we need - Gunfight re-eanctment with live ammo

[randy]

‘Gunfight at the O.K. Corral’ reenactment actor accidentally shoots himself during scene outside of historic site

A reenactment near the O.K. Corral got too real when a Tombstone Vigilantes actor shot himself in the upper thigh on Sunday afternoon, the Cochise County Sheriff's office said in a statement.

I'm seeing some mis-match of the "facts" (not unusual for MSM reporting):

According to another article:

Tom Carter of the Tombstone Vigilante reenactment group allegedly arrived late and didn’t have his six-shooter properly checked before the O.K. Corral skit. Another actor, Ken Curtis, was shot in the upper groin.

Marshals inspected Carter’s gun and determined he’d fired five shots. Tucson news station KOLD reports two of the live rounds struck local businesses, and shrapnel hit a female bystander, who refused medical treatment

Either way, not a stellar performance for our community

[Denis]

Stupid should hurt.

actor shot himself in the upper thigh ...

In this case it does. Too bad he also hurt other people and the image of the legit shooting community.

[First Shirt]

Wasn't Ken Curtis one of the John Ford company? Started with "The Sons of the Pioneers" and wound up playing Festus, on Gunsmoke?

[PawPaw]

I talked about this on the blog yesterday. Tragic, and because guns are involved, it affects the shooting community.

Any time you mix standard ammo and specialty ammo (blank, wax, whatever) in the same handgun, there is an opportunity for an "oh, shit" moment. From all indications, the "actor" got to the skit late and he didn't go through the standard pre-skit checklist. Of course, he's done this dozens of times, and he would never.... yeah, right. He should be charged (at a minimum) with negligence, and forfeit his membership in the re-enactment community.

My wife and I talked at length about this scenario when we began wax-bullet-shooting with the CFDA. The association requires wax bullet ammo, and because I didn't want any misunderstanding at all, my lady and I decided on an individual rule where standard .45LC ammo is not allowed on our property. Our .45LC Single Actions will be restricted to to wax bullet ammo only.

Now, you all know that I love my handguns, and have several varieties, both revolver and semi, and when it's time to shoot handgun, we can certainly use standard ammo, from .22LR to .44 magnum with several calibers in between. But, the cowboy revolvers use wax ammo only. It's a great way to train grandkids on general gun safety, and the Four Rules are taught weekly on our range.

[mekender]

I talked about this on the blog yesterday. Tragic, and because guns are involved, it affects the shooting community.

Any time you mix standard ammo and specialty ammo (blank, wax, whatever) in the same handgun, there is an opportunity for an "oh, shit" moment. From all indications, the "actor" got to the skit late and he didn't go through the standard pre-skit checklist. Of course, he's done this dozens of times, and he would never.... yeah, right. He should be charged (at a minimum) with negligence, and forfeit his membership in the re-enactment community.

My wife and I talked at length about this scenario when we began wax-bullet-shooting with the CFDA. The association requires wax bullet ammo, and because I didn't want any misunderstanding at all, my lady and I decided on an individual rule where standard .45LC ammo is not allowed on our property. Our .45LC Single Actions will be restricted to to wax bullet ammo only.

Now, you all know that I love my handguns, and have several varieties, both revolver and semi, and when it's time to shoot handgun, we can certainly use standard ammo, from .22LR to .44 magnum with several calibers in between. But, the cowboy revolvers use wax ammo only. It's a great way to train grandkids on general gun safety, and the Four Rules are taught weekly on our range.

I thought that a lot of them used paper wadding... I remember years ago being told by a buddy that he used powder with a paper wad to hit balloons from horseback.

[PawPaw]

I thought that a lot of them used paper wadding... I remember years ago being told by a buddy that he used powder with a paper wad to hit balloons from horseback.

Indeed, for breaking balloons, a specialty blank is used. Many use a blank case, with a standard primer. Then they use a fast pistol powder (think one grain of bullseye) as a "kicker" and several grains of a slow rifle powder (think 4831) as the balloon breaker. It's all covered by a cardboard wad. What happens is that the fast pistol powder starts to burn and shoots the slower powder out of the barrel before the burn gets started. The unburned/partially-burned grains of rifle powder actually break the balloon. This load gives smoke, and flash, and is visually appealing for crowd appreciation.

[mekender]

Ahhhh... I knew I remembered talking to him about it, he would do some shooting from horseback and such... But it was at least 10 years ago and before I really became a gun nut so it was more a curiosity than anything.

[Aesop]

Heard that one on national radio network news yesterday morning.

Any re-enactard so fucktarded as to undertake a display shoot with live rounds in the gun should be prosecuted by the local authorities to the fullest extent of the law, to include any charges regarding brandishing a firearm and public endangerment, if not actual attempted murder and or ADW charges.
Just to leave a mark.
If the result is one or more felony convictions that leaves him unable to own weapons legally henceforth, Boo Fucking Hoo.
If he is thenceforth forced to commit suicide with a tanto as a result of not owning guns, viva traditionalism.

The group responsible should have their safety officer and head honcho fired, their permit to conduct future shows suspended for a year, and be sued corporately and individually for gross fucktardation in public to whatever extent a jury will sit still for.

And any sentence imposed that includes public horsewhipping and time in the stocks would not be too harsh; if anything, it's too lenient.

When the Deadeye responsible for the mayhem gets out of the hospital, the rest of the group, who went through the proper pre-game safety checks, should get to line up to kick him in the dick twice apiece, and in fact be required to do so in order to maintain their continued membership.
That's as close as I can come to Flogging Around The Fleet, and it fits to a "t" in this case.

That's also the only sort of Zero Tolerance policy I could support wholeheartedly.

[PawPaw]

I heard that the Sheriff was going to recommend charges. That's good. This may have been an "accident" but it was criminally negligent. Let the full weight fall on him. To encourage the others.

Likewise, the 2011 incident in South Dakota where the re-enactor shot people. He pled guilty and was facing a maximum 20 year sentence. As in this incident, no one was killed, but two were injured. That's unacceptable, on both a criminal and a moral level. People who perform reenactments age generally good people, safe, responsible, and one idiot threatens the entire process.

[Denis]

People who perform reenactments age generally good people...

Not arguing with that, but I don't see the attraction of re-enacting, myself. It's not like the other side is going to win this time around, just to keep things interesting