Sounds like you were just starting to push the bullet down, so you did not get the full force of the shot? At any rate, you were lucky not to have your hand (or worse) in the way!

I think I recall a lawsuit against Knight because a barrel flash happened to a guy while loading a TK2000. The Knight manual at the time did not warn the reader about such dangers not did it advise the reader to swab between shots.

Shooting real black with a sidelock i've always blown the barrel. It not only blows out the embers, but shows me everything is still clear as the smoke blows out the nipple.

Never had anybody say anything at the range. I really don't see any danger. You just shot the load out. What can happen?

I would bet this is the incident I read about. It was a Knight, and the fellow posting said he was considering legal action.

I was at a Rendezvous once, and before the shooting competition, the range instructor told us.. at no time place any of your body parts over the muzzle of the barrel. Whether loaded or unloaded.. And when a person did exactly what you do.. that would be considered putting body parts over the muzzle. He was pulled from the line.

Its their attempt to break you of a habit. People get into habits and sometimes it is hard to break them. So if you get in the habit of seeing smoke coming from the barrel after you shoot.. and then covering that barrel with your mouth and blowing.. what happens if your not paying attention, dump powder down the barrel, and that causes smoke to come up, out of the muzzle. So out of habit.. you cover that with your mouth, blow down there.. which makes any embers glow hotter.. and it sets off the powder you'd dumped that you now have your mouth over the end of the barrel on?

Now I am sure you're not that stupid to do such a thing. But people are creatures of habit. And some people out of habit do things with out thinking.. I use a mouth tube when I blow out a barrel. That way I still am not over the end of that barrel.

I'm glad you said I wasn't stupid enough to do that. I'm not. I consider it doing something in safety, because it puts out the embers for the next shot.

I don't recommend it to anybody who can't stay focused.