Savage Arms Sued For Exploding Barrel
Kevin Felts 12.06.17
Savage Arms has been hit with a lawsuit over its 10ML-II stainless steel smokeless-powder-capable muzzleloader rifle. Ronald Hansen, a farmer from Hampton, Iowa, loaded the rifle as he had done before, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger. Rather than the bullet hitting the target, the barrel exploded, severely injuring his left hand and burning his face.
According to the lawsuit, Savage Arms has received numerous complaints of the 10ML-II barrel either splitting, cracking, or exploding.
The 10ML-II stainless steel rifle was sold from 2006 to 2013.
From the Daily Mail: Hunter sues gun-maker Savage Arms claiming they KNEW about defect that caused rifle to explode.
It was the opening day of deer hunting season, and Ronald Hansen says he loaded his rifle the same way he had countless times before, aimed at a target and fired a shot.
This time, the gun barrel exploded, knocking the farmer from Hampton, Iowa, backward, severely damaging his right hand and ear and burning his face.
Unknown to Hansen, the manufacturer of the rifle that injured him in 2014 had received other complaints of explosions and injuries over the prior decade.
Customers repeatedly reported that the barrel of the stainless steel 10 ML-II muzzleloader exploded, burst, split or cracked, according to thousands of court documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
The first thing I have to ask is, was this user error or a faulty design? The article goes on to say,
Martin Crimp, a Michigan State University metals expert who examined a 10ML-II that exploded and caused a hunter to lose multiple fingers in 2009, told the AP the barrel of that gun was ‘metallurgically defective.’
An expert hired by Hansen’s lawyers came to a similar conclusion, saying the steel used to make the rifle was prone to catastrophic failure after repeat firings.
If this is a design error, it could become a public relations nightmare for the company — depending on how Savage handles it. Mistakes are made during the engineering and designing phases. Whether it is a car, truck, firearm… etc, mistakes are made. After all, designers are human, and people make mistakes.
Will this be a replay of the Remington 700 trigger issue? Or will Savage step up and take care of its customers?
