Manual

ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION.

4. Firearms may be severely damaged and serious injury to the shooter

or to others may result from any condition causing excessive

pressure inside the chamber or barrel during firing. Excessive

pressure can be caused by obstructions in the barrel, propellant

powder overloads, or by the use of incorrect shot shells, cartridges,

projectiles, Pyrodex pellets or defectively assembled shot shells or

cartridges. In addition, the use of a dirty, corroded, or damaged shot

shell or cartridge can lead to a burst shell or cartridge case and

consequent damage to the firearm and personal injury from the

sudden escape of high-pressure propellant gas within the firearm’s

mechanism. The use of improper powder charges can lead to a burst

barrel and personal injury or death.

5. Immediately stop shooting and check the barrel for a possible

obstruction whenever:

•You have difficulty in, or feel unusual resistance in, chambering a

shot shell or cartridge, or

•A shot shell or cartridge misfires (does not go off), or

• The mechanism fails to extract a fired shot shell or cartridge case, or

• Unburned grains of propellant powder are discovered spilled in

mechanism, or

•A shot sounds weak or abnormal. In such cases it is possible that a

bullet is lodged part way down the barrel. Firing a subsequent shot

shell or cartridge into the obstructed barrel can wreck the firearm

and cause serious injury to the shooter or to bystanders.

6. Shot, wads, sabots and bullets can become lodged in the barrel.

• If the shot shell or cartridge has been improperly loaded without

propellant powder, or if the powder fails to ignite (Ignition of the

shot shell or cartridge primer alone will push the shot and wad or

bullet out of the shot shell or cartridge case, but usually does not

generate sufficient energy to expel them completely from the barrel).

• If the muzzleloading rifle has not been properly charged or the

powder fails to ignite or the sabot fails, there may not be enough

pressure to fully expel the projectile from the barrel.

7. If there is any reason to suspect that the barrel is obstructed,

immediately unload the firearm and look down the bore with the

action open. It is not sufficient to merely look in the chamber. Shot

and/or the wad or the bullet may be lodged some distance down the

barrel where it cannot easily be seen. Do not attempt to “shoot

clear” the obstruction.