Terrifying Moment Man's 50-Cal Rifle Explodes In His Face

A man has spoken about how he almost died when his gun exploded, sending an inch-long piece of shrapnel into his neck.

Scott, from the Kentucky Ballistics YouTube channel, shared his experiences in a frank video in which he said 'almost bit the dust' during the 'freak accident' on 9 April when his Serbu RN 50 exploded.

Splicing his video with footage he filmed on the day of the incident, which involved him shooting at an old fire hydrant, Scott said 'everything was going pretty smooth' until he noticed some of the 50 BMG SLAP ammunition was 'acting a little funny'.

The YouTuber went on to stress that the gun had been 'functioning normally' explaining that he's been using it for a long time and never had any problems with it in the past.

Before he added: "These rounds are extremely rare and they're very old. They're, like, a hundred dollars a piece; these aren't manufactured anymore. And really there's no way you can ever know what's happened to them over time as they've passed hand-to-hand.

"I was under the impression these were genuine military surplus rounds and hadn't been tampered with."

The clip then cuts to the shocking moment the gun exploded, with him being pushed back in his chair while parts of the gun exploded in all directions.

YouTube/Kentucky Ballistics

Talking through what happened, Scott said: "So when I pulled the trigger, the gun exploded almost immediately.

"So the first thing that went was this cap - this cap is solid steel and it is very, very heavy."

The YouTuber was stuck in the face by the cap, breaking his orbital bone in three places and his nose - resulting in Scott having to undergo surgery.

He then explains that when the cap flew off, it sheared off a couple of pieces of the gun - one of which knocked his hat off - and the other... well, it was a lot worse.

"The other one is what almost ended me," Scott said. "The other one hit me right here in the throat.

"It proceeded to lacerate my jugular vein and then punctured a hole in my right lung."

He went on: "I've now been hit in the throat, but I'm not really sure what's happened because when this cap hit me in the face, I went blind instantly.

"I have vision coming back now and they say my eye should make a full recovery, but in that moment I went completely blind in this eye - like I'd been punched and I went backwards and landed on all fours."

Scott says had his cameraman/dad - who is also called Scott - not been outside with him at the time he would have died.

Thankfully, after spending eight days in hospital, undergoing numerous surgeries and being pumped with five units of blood to replace what he'd lost, Scott is now on the mend.

Topics: YouTube

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19