Can you guess what caused this failure?

AND the correct answer is... we'll never absolutely know. Only theories, so pick your favorite(s).

My NOT a possibility includes simple copper fouled bore.

My YES theories, no different than my post #13
"The breech shank is pretty short.
Either defective steel, improperly stress relieved, and/or excessive pressure at the chamber. As in fast burn rate pistol powder loaded into a rifle cartridge. Possibly a bullet lodged in the barrel just forward of the chamber.
"

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AND the correct answer is... we'll never absolutely know. Only theories, so pick your favorite(s).

My NOT a possibility includes simple copper fouled bore.

My YES theories, no different than my post #13
"The breech shank is pretty short.
Either defective steel, improperly stress relieved, and/or excessive pressure at the chamber. As in fast burn rate pistol powder loaded into a rifle cartridge. Possibly a bullet lodged in the barrel just forward of the chamber.
"

Report
Nah, none of y'all have got it right yet. Dr. Jill called me and told me that the Teacher's Union has reached the consensus that the bullet was going so fast that it hit the steel target, bounced straight back into the barrel before the gasses could get out, and that blew up the barrel. When you think about it in those terms, it makes about as much sense as anything she might have heard from her husband, Uncle Joe.
 
Looks, maybe at best, copper would just be a wild guess, not really enough info for a guy to make a very good determination. Where's the box of factory shells, what's ,the brand, type of storage, age of? Might need a few more facts, bullet weight, twist rate, FPS, barrel certs, fluted by, age of rifle,cleaning procedures, powder type, nearly endless. Might just need a bit more proficiency on the bench, did the first round hit the bullseye? Good luck out there on the huntN.
 
Thankfully, You are ok. In all my years of reloading, I had loaded 100 rounds and went to check point of impact. I only used the first round. I never had a reaction like it before and never need another. The gun smoked out of every port. One can never be to careful. After getting home and pulling a bullet, weighing the charge, it was a very obvious the issue. so it was pull 98 more bullets and count my blessings each time.
We all need to run a cleaning rod thru the bore before shooting. Don Lewis, long time writer, for The Pennsylvania Game News, relates in the book he wrote, of the time mud daubers, built a nest in his rifle barrel between his times of using a rifle.
I'm sorry that this had to happen to you.
However it serves as a reminder to all of us who reload to be very diligent while we reload.
It could have been caused from a myriad of issiues that may or may not have been covered.

I'm just glad that you were not injured !
This did not happen to the OP, see #57.
 
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Lots of opinions and ideas. Only things I could see was lots of copper fouling and a short shank. Was the barrel used and possibly set back, rethreaded and rechambered?
 
I'm so let down I read through 4 pages of guesses and nothing from the OP yet….this is like bad foreplay
Yay…climax
But the pain from the blue-balls lingers....

I suggest BS on the copper fouling. At that buildup of pressure, the copper would flow. With enough heat, it can be vaporized, essentially being CVD (chemical vapor deposition) at that point. The true test of this theory would be, what is the thickness layer of copper on the barrel lands that is split vs the muzzle, which is still intact.

One possibility, in chambering the round, if there was not enough neck tension and the bullet had been set back, you can have an extreme spike in chamber pressure. Another possibility, if the shooter had actually forced a 325WSM into that 300WSM, crushing the bullet back into the case but somehow getting the neck to fit, that would have been the ticket too.

Could also just be bad luck with a bad barrel and lucky to walk away with no permanent injuries.
 
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