Another opinion on the T/C Arms Encore Gun Failure

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Brian Ward

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Guys,
I said my final piece on the previous thread. But I was contacted by Jack Belk (Author of UnSafe by Design: Forensic Gunsmithing and Firearms Investigations) and I put him in contact with my Gun Expert. I thought his assessment was pertinent and want to share it.

Thanks,

Brian Ward

Link to the original post: http://www.shootersforum.com/general-discussion/98824-embrace-truth-catastrophic-gun-failure.html

Text:
“I have discussed this case with the plaintiff's expert witness that did the analysis of Brian's accident. As is normal in these type cases, there's a lot that can't be released to the public (and the gun companies fight to keep it that way).

Here's the physical facts that were demonstrated to the jury to 'prove' one or more defects in design or defects in material that was 'more likely than not' the causation of Brian's injuries. To do that, the firearms expert has to testify to the facts and opinions concerning the gun. Medical experts and monetary loss experts and all sorts of supporting testimony covers the areas outside the firearm.

In this case, the medical testimony did not or could not point to one specific thing or item that caused the loss of the eye but "impact" was named as causation. There was no one piece of debris named even though the fired case was not recovered from the eye or anywhere else.

That raises the first flag---Where is the fired case? If nobody removed it, it had to have left on its own. How?

The firearms expert and engineer in this case found that the weight of the locking block is sufficient to UN LOCK the TC Encore with the recoil of a .300Win Mag. This is inertia as described by Sir Isaac Newton and recognized by the Courts as mechanical fact. It was also found that the material and design of the (severely angled) grip section of the plastic stock was not proper for the amount of recoil applied by that caliber/weight combination of rifle. Proper stock design and materials are well-known and fully accepted by the courts.

Once it was shown through testimony the locking assembly on the rifle was not proper for the cartridge and could cause the gun to unlock itself and eject the case, then reclose when it fell, AND the cheap plastic stock was likely to break from recoil from normal use, the further facts of sloppy headspacing and the tested stretching of the headspace dimension in as few as five rounds just showed more exacerbating circumstances due to faulty designs in more than one place. The jury saw the gun was defective in design and materials and awarded the majority of the verdict to the plaintiffs. They retained part of the award because the handload was an unknown that the company contended could have been causation. (Common in civil courts in states where 'proportional liability' is the law.)

MY OPINION concurs with the plaintiff's expert: He believes as do I the TC Encore is not designed correctly for the calibers they call on it to hold. The weird stock was just stupid. Economy was chosen over shooter's safety......by design. Ignorance of basic firearms design history played a major roll, unless they knowingly gambled and lost.

All it takes to accept that opinion is to look at similar rifles (and shotguns) and how they were made: Locking blocks are to the rear of the locking notch(es). Recoil makes them lock up tighter, not loosens that most important connection. It has been that way since Manton invented the double underlock in about 1873. Purdey's made it famous and just about everybody on the planet has copied it since then. The greater back-thrust pressure of rifle cartridges usually made a 'third fastener' of some kind above the pivot point very common but not universal. (Browning Superposed, rifles)

Examine a heavy recoiling double rifle and see the metal tang extension all the way to the top of the stock comb and the trigger guard goes to the steel grip cap and is firmly attached there as re-inforcement to a (fine Circassian) walnut butt stock that has a shear strength higher than the plastics used on the TC rifle.
Pictured is such a tang done on a .404 bolt gun by Steve Heilmann.
The inertia of the shooter means the gun recoils before the stock unless they're well connected and in a straight line. That means the same plastic used for AR platform stocks is likely to be too weak in shear strength to be used in 'crooked' stocks. AR stocks are strong in compression which doesn't count in the TC 'drop stocks'.

Consider also the safety factors that should be brought in because TC knows how shooters are. (Don't we all.) Just because the TC-E "will hold" a .300 Mag does not mean it will still hold one with excess resizing lube left on it, or an oversized flashhole, or a weld-crimped bullet or a round grabbed off the dashboard with hot and degraded powder. (don't ask me how I know THAT one!)

Hopefully this enlightens this group to the 'behind the scenes' take on what was a 'grenade of good intentions' without enough technical information to support it.”



Original Thread "Embrace The Truth - Catastrophic Gun Failure"

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=563014
 
Sorta what I said in the first thread, no? Maybe too much cartridge for the design and hot rod handloads a bad idea.

Still wonder what happened to the case. Did the action open during the incident? Does the rifle have auto eject?
 
So you provide us with an opinion, on engineering issues, by a non-engineer, and one who has been muddled with some questionable "opinions?"

Not saying your expert was not right Brian, but there are still a lot of questions and this does not help.
 
I have decided to completely disregard what has been said about the T/C without hard facts and no hyperbole.

Only thing I have seen is a dubious jury verdict and someone who loaded beyond recommended loads.
 
How far does the electors throw the spent case in the Encore? I don't have one, but my Contender doesn't eject anything. I have to take it out myself. Everything from 22 long rifle to 223, 7-30 Waters, 35 Remington, and 45-70 just extracts the case to where I can pull it out. I mean pull It out, not just dump it out. The cases aren't stuck, but after expanding when fired they don't just fall out. I would think an overloaded, possible over SAAMI pressure 300 Win. Mag case would not just fall out, and disappear. Leaving to question if it were not helped to disappear before the defense lawyers could ask for their experts to examine it to prove there was no malfunction in the lockup of the gun.
 
Belk is a particularly interesting character, as he once was a top-ranked gunsmith in Filer, Idaho, a specialist in Mauser-action sporting rifles and an all-around good guy. He was the head of the gunsmiths’ guild. But he ran into health problems (joint and vision problems at the same time), which led him into business problems. (You need to be able to see and move your arms to be a gunsmith). His business collapsed, and dozens who had sent guns to him for work never got their weapons back. Reportedly he lost his Idaho home to foreclosure, and moved to Nevada, where he lives off the meager earnings targeted testimony can bring him

Seems this "expert" is a shyster just waiting to get involved in any firearms lawsuit.
 
Did you tell your "expert" you had grossly overloaded the round?
Isn't his opinion a mirror of your own in order to promote his book?

Why not give it at rest?
I believe it's more your own fault, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Hopefully this enlightens this group to the 'behind the scenes' take on what was a 'grenade of good intentions' without enough technical information to support it.”
It enlightens us, but not as you think
 
The OP of both threads should give it a rest before T/C (rightfully) gets this overthrown.

I still do not understand his true motives, unless he has other representation for the appeal, that is telling him things are problematic and he is preparing for the worse.
 
A lawyer once told me that a lawyer was the only person who could become an expert on any subject by reading a sheet of paper while walking to the courthouse.

Jim
 
I am still utterly confused. The photo I saw showed the gun with a broken stock, but the subject of the suit wasn't the stock failure? Injury caused by scope hitting the shooter's eye, couldn't the stock failure have caused that?

But discussion was all about the action. I'm lost. Where did the case go? Puzzling. I'm out. Nothing will be resolved here.
 
Where did the case go? Puzzling.
Not puzzling when you consider it may have "disappeared" long before the T/C lawyer's ballistic experts could examine it, and testify to the jury that it was a matter of an over loaded hand load, beyond the maximum recommended load in any loading manual, not a design flaw.
 
Here's the thing: the OP knowingly loaded past maximum data. Is it possible he may have had a flier that went way past? Somehow I just can't wrap my head around going past published maximum load data and think something may not go wrong.
 
^^^^^^

What Tony said. That seems to be the norm in todays world. Do something that goes beyond reason and get yourself hurt. Then sue someone because of your stupidity. Unfortunately it works more often then not.

Jim
 
I can't tell you how many times I have said these words to another hunter/shooter...

"Hot-rodding firearms is dumb! If you want more power or velocity, buy a gun with a more powerful cartridge."

But I know I would have to take off my shoes. :D
 
Do something that goes beyond reason and get yourself hurt. Then sue someone because of your stupidity. Unfortunately it works more often then not.
And when it concerns the evil machine known as a firearm it's all too easy for a slick ambulance chaser to get an unknowledgeable jury to be more than willing to punish the evil gun maker!
 
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