I was at my property Upstate NY around April 13th ( Friday ). I fired a semi auto 380 and on the 3rd round the shell blew up. I have no idea what caused this to happen but a chunk of the shell went into my index finger of my right hand. Naturally I`m a righty so this really put a damper on my playing and artwork. I can`t bend the finger enough to hold a pick so I`m teaching myself to play with my other fingers. I`m in therapy and it is helping but it`s a major set back. The whole tip of the finger is numb and the surgeon said I blew part of the nerve out. I`m just hoping to get some of the feeling back. The 4 stitches are out now, but the Doc said I was lucky I didn`t get hit in the neck cause it could have killed me. The nearest hospital was an hours drive and I was alone and bleeding profusely, so I poured salt on it to stop the bleeding so I could drive and get some help. What a nasty experience.

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Hi JPD: cripes, I bet that hurt! Did brining the finger work?

Can you still hold a plectrum? And howsabout a pencil?

Recover soon, I hope.

Cheers - C

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Wow like you said could have been so much worse JPD, Friday the 13th certainly a black one for yourself

What brand and model was the 380 ? What brand of ammo ? You need to contact the manufacturer for compensation. It was likely the ammo that caused that.

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

glad you are okay.
i'm also curious of about the gun and ammo. i have a keltec that has never given me any problems. i avoid "cheap" ammo" because i have had feed issues. just curious.

again, i'm glad you are okay and wish you a speedy recovery. your response just might help someone else avoid an accident like this.

Hope everything heals soon!
Just a SWAG(scientific wild $@! guess) on my part,but not knowing what type of pistol you have or the malfunction that occured...but I think quite possibly the gun fired out of battery...meaning the slide wasn't fully closed.

I agree that's possible, after writing my post an incorrectly chambered round will do this... So maybe thats just as likely as bad ammo...

whatever the case, these misfires like this are rare... unfortunately I hear more about them with cheap firearms.... and hand loads...

Whatever the case, unsafe firearms/ammo needs to be talked about so we all know what NOT to buy or do... There is no excuse for putting unsafe guns onto the market...

I own quite a few firearms, do a lot of shooting/hunting, and I hang out on hunting sites... so, I do occasionally hear about this type of accident... last one was a remington round blew up in a remington bolt action rifle... it was determined that the ammo was the problem with that... Remington did a great job paying for all medical bills... And keeping up with the issue...

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

I agree Cajun...I'm a gun enthusiast also...sometimes you don't get second chances at mistakes with firearms.

I hear ya Rebel.... God forbid your child had an accident....

I owned one of these .380's once... back when I was young and not so bright, I bought a Bryco... what a piece of garbage... It never cycled correctly...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =283911184

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

The gun is a Walther PPK 380 but I don`t remember what brand ammo it is. The ammo is a few years old but I didn`t think that was the problem. Rebelsoul may have the answer and that sounds logical. I just got back from therapy and they said nerves grow back at a very slow rate so I may get the feeling back in a few years.
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the help and kind words.

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Man,JPD,a couple of years!...well,it could have been worse,the loss of an eye ,or like Cajun said,a bad accident with a kid...anyway you look at it,any accident with a gun is bad,hope you get better soon!

You could have been the victim of a squib load. That is one that for whatever reason doesn't blow the projectile out of the barrel. When a squib happens, you usually feel a weaker recoil, and a softer report (not as loud as other shots). That's when you need to check the bore to see if it is obstructed by a stuck bullet. If you shoot again before clearing the obstruction, the gun goes KABOOM! instead of bang! Hope you recover 100%

I actually had that exact scenario happen to me as a young man.I was shooting alot at the indoor range cause I was gonna shoot on a team ,so I was practicing 4 or 5 days a week.I actually had my mind set on trying out for the olympic team when I was younger.My dad reloaded our own ammo and I had one of these squib loads and I was kind of rapid firing the 9MM and blam.I am really lucky I didn't get hurt.It did blow out the barrel and my dad got a little pissed off at first cause he said I should of caught it before I fired that next round...but I was unloading that clip quicklike and missed it.Than he felt bad realizing those were the loads that he personally reloaded.Moral of the story....pay attention closely when shooting any firearm.Glad you were not seriously injured JPD.I actually have just got back into shooting after a long break.I love it...great eye hand coordination.Not to mention we have had some robberies in the neighborhood lately and I just want to be ready for anything.I hope I never have to fire on anyone but if it comes down to me or my family....I am not gonna lose.I will defend my family at all cost.I hope you heal up well bro.Best wishes
That Walther you have is a nice firearm,perfect for concealment if you have a permit....I have all the Bond movies My dad was a firearm dealer before he passed away and that was one of the firearms he had on his want and get list.

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

... phee .... that's why I buy only quality ammo. The only exception is if we use my father's muzzle-loading guns.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."

$@!& man, hope you can overcome this in the future.

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former user radio_friendly_unit_shifter