HELENA — Montana U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy is suing an ammunition manufacturer in Idaho, after he says he was injured twice in a year when a gun misfired while he was using their cartridges.
(WATCH: Sheehy sues ammo company, claims injury)
In a legal complaint, Sheehy said both incidents happened while he was target shooting at his ranch in Meagher County – once before he took office and once after. He’s claiming the company sold a defective product and didn’t do enough to warn customers.
According to the filing, in June 2024, someone working for Sheehy bought 1,000 rounds of .308 caliber rifle ammunition for him from Freedom Munitions, produced in Lewiston, Idaho. Sheehy said he was shooting with the ammunition that fall when one of the cartridges detonated inside the chamber.
“As a result, the chamber exploded outward, sending bullet fragments outward and turning the metal of the rifle into shrapnel,” the complaint said. “Fragments of the bullet and rifle cut into Plaintiff, causing lacerations to his hand and face, among other injuries."
Sheehy claims it happened again in September 2025, using a different rifle but the same ammunition.
“The ammunition once again malfunctioned, resulting in another explosion of the round, sending bullet and rifle fragments into Plaintiff’s hand and face,” the filing said. “In this instance, the injuries were even more serious than before, requiring medical attention, stitches and bandaging."
Sheehy’s attorneys said, despite his extensive experience with firearms in the military and as a hunter and sportsman, he had never had that type of misfire before.
“There is no other cause to explain another misfire with a separate rifle other than the defective ammunition,” the complaint said. “The odds of such an event reoccurring otherwise are miniscule.”
Sheehy’s attorneys claim Freedom Munitions later recalled the ammunition, but should have done more to let customers know about the recall. They’re seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Sheehy initially filed a lawsuit in state district court in Meagher County. However, Freedom, whose parent company is based in California, exercised an option to have a case between parties from different states moved to federal court. Both parties asked for a jury trial.
MTN contacted Sheehy’s Senate office seeking comment on the lawsuit.
“Senator Sheehy contacted Freedom Munitions to inform them they were selling defective ammunition, at which point Freedom Munitions became bizarrely hostile,” said spokesperson Tate Mitchell in a statement. “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.”
In its own court filings, Freedom Munitions has denied any liability, and they denied Sheehy’s claims that they designed or manufactured the ammunition “defectively” and “negligently.” The company did admit to issuing a “Product Warning Notice” for a batch of .308 ammunition. That notice, available on their website (https://freedommunitions.com/pages/safety-center), said, “The powder charge in these cartridges may not meet the specifications we set before loading this lot of ammunition,” and recommended customers stop using it.
Freedom filed a motion seeking to dismiss some of Sheehy’s claims, saying he did not provide evidence that he or the person who bought the ammunition for him relied on the company’s expertise or statements about the product in making the purchase. However, District Judge Dana Christensen denied the motion, saying the claims could stand at this point in the case.
MTN contacted an attorney representing Freedom Munitions, who declined to comment.
Christensen set a pretrial conference for the lawsuit in September.
