A man sustained horrific injuries after his rifle exploded, and it was all captured on camera. Following the frightful incident, in which his .50 caliber rifle blew up in his face, he has a message he wants others to hear.
Scott Allen DeShields Jr, a former Kentucky State Trooper who operates a men’s lifestyle site called Kentucky Ballistics, was filming a video of himself shooting his “Serbu RN 50 with 50 BMG SLAP ammunition” when things went horribly wrong, according to an Instagram post made by the gun enthusiast. According to DeShields, “The ammunition was overpowered,” causing his “50 BMG to explode.” Indeed, captured on video, the .50 caliber rifle blew up in his face.
“To my understanding, these were genuine military rounds, but apparently, they had been tampered with,” DeShields wrote in the post made on Kentucky Ballistics’ Instagram page, explaining why he believed his rifle blew up in his face. Wanting to share his ordeal with others, DeShields made a video, describing everything that happened. The footage, which featured a clip of the incident in question, quickly went viral, racking up millions of views.
Regardless of the cause, the results were devastating. “A 1-inch piece of metal blew through my neck lacerating my jugular vein and puncturing a hole in my right lung,” DeShields wrote. “My right lung would later fill with blood and collapse. My right orbital bone broke in three places and my nose broke. I went blind in my right eye instantly,” he continued
In addition, DeShields’ “left index finger snapped” and his ribs were fractured. DeShields’ was rushed to the hospital, but during the entire drive, he had his left thumb “shoved into the hole in [his] neck” in order to stem the tide of blood, The Blaze reported, adding, “Doctors said that the move saved his life — and that he would have bled to death otherwise.”
Undoubtedly, DeShields is incredibly lucky to be alive, and he knows it. “After having my right lung intubated and drained while I was awake, I was then sedated and life-flighted to Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville,” he recalled. Thankfully, doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were able to execute lifesaving surgery — but it was no small task.
“This is easier said than done,” DeShields wrote, speaking of the lifesaving surgery. “There were many risks such as me bleeding out and having a stroke,” the former state trooper recalled, but the life-saving measures were a success. “The Trauma Team saved my life,” DeShields wrote. “They cut open my rib cage completely to remove the shrapnel, repair my lung and repair my jugular vein.”
Further driving home the point that he was incredibly lucky to live to tell about the ordeal, DeShields wrote, “The doctors said I lost a tremendous amount of blood. They said that I would typically have 6 to 8 units in my body max and they gave me 5 units total. They said my thumb in my neck saved me. I would have died otherwise. They also told me that the majority of people would have died from these injuries.”
In addition, DeShields said his eyesight returned the day after the explosion. He’s since thanked God for his mercy and for sparing his life. “Praise God the surgery was a success!” DeShields exclaimed, adding, “God is good!” A couple of weeks after the accident, DeShields revealed, “I’m healing extremely fast. I came home in just 8 days!”
It’s nothing short of a miracle that Scott Allen DeShields Jr is alive after the harrowing ordeal, and it’s no surprise that his own bravery is being applauded. As one YouTube fan commented, when a .50 caliber rifle blows up for anyone else, they die. When a .50 caliber rifle blows up on Scott Allen DeShields Jr, he sticks a thumb in it and makes a video. That does sound pretty badass. In all seriousness, though, I appreciate DeShields’ summation: God is good!
The fact that this man had the wherewithal to realize he needed to stem the loss of blood by any means necessary — even a painful, gruesome one — is pretty miraculous, especially since an exploding rifle had just torn him to shreds. In addition, he might just save someone else’s life by posting about his ordeal. Wild stuff can happen at the range to even the most seasoned gun enthusiast, but thankfully, Scott Allen DeShields Jr wasn’t alone. In addition to God watching out for him, his dad was there and also deserves applause for saving his son’s life. Lesson learned: Never shoot alone. You simply never know what may happen.
