One hobby I don't post about very much is shooting. One of the firearms I own is a Kel-Tec SU-16B, a .223 semi-automatic rifle. With a short and light barrel, it's not exactly a tack driver, but it's fun to shoot and works well for the tactical rifle matches that I was shooting before my accident. The rifle is light in part because it has a lot of plastic components, and that's what leads to this story.
I've gotten to a recovery stage where running around and throwing myself prone on the ground, firing a few shots, hopping up and doing it again sounds feasible - that's the essence of a tactical match. I thought I'd take the little rifle out to the range and put a few rounds through it to get reacquainted before trying a match again.
After I'd fired a few shots I leaned over to check the results via my spotting scope, whereupon the rifle folded up in my hands. That alone is not too alarming. The SU-16 is designed to fold for shipping and storage. The upper action and lower stock parts are held in place with an assembly pin, which has been known to work its way loose.
But when I checked for that problem, I found something else:
The back of the plastic upper had broken away, exposing the rear of the bolt carrier, and shearing off the connection to the assembly pin that should be holding everything together - you can see the jagged bits that shouldn't be there in the photo. This wasn't a dangerous accident - the pressure from cartridge detonation is confined forward of the bolt - but I was obviously done for the day, leading to this post's title. Rifles, like guns, should not go limp in the middle of the action!
So now I'll find out what Kel-Tec's lifetime warranty is actually worth. And I'll post a report here for the benefit of other shooters who may want to know the answer, courtesy of Google.