Gun Recoil Claims Life of 12 Year Old Boy

[mike bell]

I posted this in both hunting politics and young hunters forums because I think there are two issues here. #1 Letting a kid shoot a gun thats to much to handle for him. and #2 I saw (where I got this from) that another hunter was putting the blame on those who let him shoot it and that they should be punished. I'll post my thoughts later.

Gun Recoil Claims Life of 12 Year Old Boy


Lee County Sheriff Chief Deputy Rodney Meyer leads the investigation of the death Marcus Wall. The investigation continues into the accident.
- A 12-year-old San Antonio boy died Saturday afternoon south of Giddings when he was struck on the top of the head by the recoil of a Ruger .454 gun he was firing. The boy, identified by the Lee County Sheriff"™s Office as Marcus Wall, was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Paul Fischer.

Sheriff"™s Deputy Rodney Meyer stated that the victim and his father, Marc Wall, were with friends dove hunting on the Zoch place off County Road 233. Deputy Meyer reported that when the hunters took a break for lunch, they began shooting a variety of guns owned within the group. The Ruger .454 Casull was purportedly owned by Joe Ramsey of Austin.

According to the Sheriff"™s report, when Marcus asked to shoot the Ruger, Ramsey told the young boy the gun was too large for him to shoot. However, allegedly it was later "œ OK"™ed for him [Marcus] to shoot the gun"�. The report did not identify who gave permission for the child to shoot, though Ramsey stood by the boy when he fired.

From the Sheriff"™s account of the incident, Marcus was instructed how to hold and shoot the gun. "œMr. Ramsey assisted the victim [when taking aim] by holding his hand above the victim"™s [hands] for the recoil,"� explained Deputy Meyer.

When the gun was fired, the gun recoiled upward, hitting Marcus in the head causing head trauma. The gun"™s owner, Ramsey, received injury to his fingers but was not transported for medical attention.

The Sheriff"™s Office 911 dispatch received two calls reporting the incident, though only the second caller could identify their location. Deputy Mike York advised dispatch that he was in the area and had been flagged down and directed to the location. Upon arrival at the scene, Deputy York radioed to dispatch to cancel the call for an ambulance and to send out a Justice of the Peace.

The recoil velocity of the Ruger .454 has been noted for its strength for some time. In a May 2001 article in Shooting Times, author Dick Metcalf reported that "œ...when the .454 Casull version of the Super Redhawk was introduced in 1999, Ruger spokesmen candidly acknowledged they did not expect the new chambering to be shot a lot for casual plinking or for steel-target competition. Its recoil was simply too severe."�

Deputy Meyer stated that the case is still under investigation.

[Coastie]

I think we have all heard stories of, or experienced recoil related incidents involving large caliber handguns and rifles. I don't think anybody expects to hear of recoil related injuries severe enough to cause death. I guess the next step is to use a hard hat or helmet when shooting the heavy caliber handguns since we now know that this can happen. I cannot support anybody being punished for allowing this Boy to shoot the gun as there was no prior knowledge of posibile fatal injury due to this action. Recoil related injuries are not expected to lead to death and the guns owner did attempt to mitigate the possibility of even a minor injury with his hand over that of the boy as most of us have done on one occaision or another when instructing a beginner.

[kevin1]

I agree with Coastie ,
it was nothing more than a regrettable accident . Both the gun's owner and the boy's Father will suffer for the rest of their lives anyway , no sense fueling that fire .

[etothepii]

This is a tragedy that we should all learn from. Unfrortunately, there will be some who thing "learning" from it should involve a host of new laws and controls.

Age restrictions, helmets, punishing parents as abusers if they don't abide... Steathy, anything coming to mind? How about you, VC?

[stealthycat]

A terrible accident. There can be no more puishment than what the man will have to live with the rest of his life.

Do ya'll remember the TV show Voyagers ? Jon-Erik Hexum was joking around with a gun loaded with stage blanks. He placed it to his temple and pulled the trigger. The concussion blast mushed his brain - dead man.

Sometimes things happen. I still do not follow Chipmunks belief that layer upon layers of laws and restrictions will help and that they are a good thing - in fact I believe the opposite.

Sad story []

[LBR]

I don't know if these guys were drunk, stupid, or both. Ignorance is no excuse either way. I'm sure they never thought the kid could be killed, but if they had any sense at all they knew full well there was a good chance of him being injured. The recoil from a .44 Magnum is way too much for a kid, and a .454 is way beyond that. I would be suprised (not that is matters now) if the victim doesn't also have some serious wrist damage.

I remember when John Hexum died. On the same note, if he had killed someone else with the blanks would the guilt have been punishment enough for him? Would the guilt of breaking the kid's wrists been punishment enough if he'd been lucky enough to just have that? I don't think so.

Chad

[Aught Six]

I agree with most of you. It was a very horrific accident, but I see no evidence of negligence. Thoughtlessness? Sure. But scapegoating will do nothing here.

I know most of your are familiar with your firearms, as I suppose Ramseys is, but let this be a lesson never to take any chances giving too big a gun to too small a kid.

[kevin1]

ORIGINAL: LBR
I remember when John Hexum died. On the same note, if he had killed someone else with the blanks would the guilt have been punishment enough for him? Would the guilt of breaking the kid's wrists been punishment enough if he'd been lucky enough to just have that? I don't think so.

Chad

I remember it too LBR ,
but in most states if Hexum had accidentally killed another person by intentionally placing the gun to their temple he would have been guilty of negligent homicide because he had cause to believe that harm could result . Almost any coroner would have ruled this case "death by misadventure" , the adults had no way of knowing that a fatality could result because the gun/caliber had no history for it . No jury would convict them with a coroner's report like that anyway so the Prosecutor wouldn't have pursued it .

[LBR]

John evidently had no idea that blanks were dangerous, else he wouldn't have stuck the gun to his own temple and pulled the trigger.

If any of them had shot the revolver just once, they knew full well that it was way too much for a kid to handle. If they let him shoot it before shooting it themselves, that is plain stupidity also.

I know of at least one case where a grown man got a busted head from the recoil of a .454, another (inexperienced) from a .45. These are not toys. Even a .44 magnum, comparbly mild vs. a .454, is too much for many. Letting a kid fire one was plain stupid. It's like giving a toddler a razor sharp butcher knife to play with, then claiming ignorance when he gets cut. At the very least, the kid would have had sprained/fractured/broken wrists. Do a little research on the .454, and then decide how smart it was to let a kid fire one. I don't know of any handgun that has recoil anywhere near it.

Chad

[kevin1]

LBR ,
I never said it was right for them to let the kid shoot a magnum , only that they were unaware that a fatality could result . I firmly agree that it was an act of blithering stupity for them to allow him to fire it knowing that he could have sustained a broken wrist , but in most municipalities that only constitutes stupidity , not homicidal negligence or intent to intentionally harm . Again , no jury would have convicted them because , yes , they would have considered the guilt punishment enough .

I also seem to recall reading that Hexum was unaware of the force that stage blanks exert when he scrambled his own brain , but if he had scrambled someone else's brain he would have been jailed .