Savage Arms is suffering blowback from possibly defective muzzleloaders that were designed to withstand the use of smokeless powder after several have exploded.

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.

I am not a big fan of the use of stainless steel in gun barrels. If it was designed to operate using smokeless powder, then you don’t have to soak the barrel in soapy water after use.