Sheehy sues Idaho ammunition company over alleged misfires 

Montana U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy is claiming he sustained injuries from allegedly faulty ammunition he used in 2024.

In a lawsuit the Republican senator filed against Freedom Munitions, Sheehy claims the Idaho manufacturer’s .308 caliber ammo misignited twice, damaging Sheehy’s firearms and causing him personal injury.

Freedom Munitions didn’t return a phone call requesting comment for this article.

The lawsuit says Sheehy purchased 1,000 rounds of ammo from Freedom Munitions through an agent in June 2024, and then suffered injuries to his hand and face resulting from its use on two separate occasions that fall. Some of the wounds required stitches, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in February.

“Senator Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and weapons expert, was injured after a defective round he purchased from Freedom Munitions exploded in his rifle when he pulled the trigger,” Sheehy spokesperson Tate Mitchell said in an email to Montana Free Press on Friday. “Senator Sheehy contacted Freedom Munitions to inform them they were selling defective ammunition, at which point Freedom Munitions became bizarrely hostile. Senator Sheehy’s goal with this lawsuit is to raise awareness that Freedom Munitions sold, and may still be selling, defective ammunition that could injure or potentially kill others. Any proceeds from the lawsuit will be donated directly to Montana medical charities.” 

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, replacement costs for Sheehy’s guns, and lawsuit costs. 

The accidents allegedly occurred during the 2024 election season, when Sheehy was the Republican challenger to then Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. The lawsuit alleges that both accidents occurred when Sheehy was shooting targets with .308 rifles on a ranch he owns in Meagher County. 

Sheehy, per the lawsuit, “loaded the rifle with the Freedom Munitions ammunition and pulled the trigger. Upon pulling the trigger, the firearm misfired, and the ammunition improperly detonated inside the chamber of the rifle. As a result, the chamber exploded outward, sending bullet fragments outward and turning the metal of the rifle into shrapnel. Fragments of the bullet and rifle cut into Plaintiff, causing lacerations to his hand and face, among other injuries.” 

The first incident is alleged to have occurred sometime in the fall of 2024. The second, according to the lawsuit, took place on Sept. 25 of the same year. 

Sheehy alleges that Freedom Munitions didn’t do enough to alert customers of problems with the company’s ammunition. Though a recall notice was posted on the company’s website, the lawsuit alleges that Sheehy wasn’t personally contacted.

Sheehy said in the lawsuit that he initially contacted Freedom Munitions offering not to sue if the company covered Sheehy’s expenses and made a donation to a Montana health care charity. The lawsuit says the company hasn’t explained what’s been done to remove the recalled product from the marketplace.