Kentucky Man: My 50 Cal Exploded In My Face

Kentucky man Scott Allen DeShields, Jr. had one of those experiences that would leave some people a little gun shy, but not Scott. The former Kentucky state trooper, told his fans that he's "doing great" and that he's "going to make a full recovery" after an April incident where his 50-caliber exploded in what he's calling a "complete freak accident."

How close was Scott to dying? He's crediting the Vanderbilt University Medical Center trauma team with saving his life by cutting open his rib cage to remove shrapnel and do other work while they were in there.

Scott, who operates Kentucky Ballistics as a men's lifestyle site focusing on fast cars, big guns and a zero-turn mower thrown in every now and then, doesn't seem ready to end his content-creation career over a near-death experience. No sir. He's already selling shirts commemorating his thumb, which was shoved into his neck to stop the bleeding on the way to the hospital.

Scott writes on Instagram:

On the date of April 9th 2021, I was filming a video shooing my Serbu RN 50 with 50 BMG SLAP ammunition. The ammunition was overpowered. To my understanding these were genuine military rounds, but apparently they had been tampered with. This caused my 50 BMG to explode. A 1 inch piece of metal blew through my neck lacerating my jugular vein and puncturing a hole in my right lung. 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 (My eyesight returned a day later). My left index finger snapped and I had fractured ribs. After having my right lung intubated and drained while I was awake, I was then sedated and life flighted to Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville. The Trauma Team saved my life. They cut open my rib cage completely to remove the shrapnel, repair my lung and repair my jugular vein. This is easier said than done.

There were many risks such as me bleeding out and having a stroke. Praise God the surgery was a success! The entire drive to the hospital I had my left thumb shoved into the hole in my neck to attempt to stop the bleeding. 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. It’s been a couple weeks and I’m healing extremely fast. I came home in just 8 days! There is A LOT more to this story. It’s too much to put in this post. I recommend you go watch my video on YouTube. I describe everything in detail. God is good!














Yes, Scott shows the gun exploding at the 4:30 mark. You've been warned.





Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.