A 40-year-old Geneva, Ill., man is dead after a black powder musket exploded,striking him in the leg at a cabin near Hayward.The accident was reported at about 6:30 p.m. Friday.
According to the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, three men at a cabin onMeadowlark Lane,about 15 miles east of Hayward,were attempting to load and fire the weapon when it exploded. Shrapnel from thegun struck the victim in the thigh. His friends drove him to the Hayward Area Memorial Hospital where he waspronounced dead at 7:15 p.m.
Preliminary reports from the Sawyer County coroner indicated the victim may have been struck in the femoralartery