What blew up my gun?
- Thread starter normyt
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memtb
Well-Known Member
I had a similar occurrence on the first shot of the day, though not nearly as bad as yours, about 30 years ago. I had just loaded a week or so before with a proven load.....no "weld". I pulled all of the remaining loaded cartridges....proper bullets, powder and powder weight(IMR 4198/23.0 grains). The rifle had been shot a few weeks earlier, stored in basement ( living alone, no one else in home)....leaned in a corner. It was a Rem. Model 700 Heavy Barrel Varmint in .223.
With the shot, I got....recoil (wow....from a .223), gasses from ports, mild sting to the face, couldn't open the bolt. I took it to a local gunsmith. He "hammered" the bolt open, the .223 Rem. brass was now a "belted" case, and we had to replace the extractor. Checked with "go/no-go" gauges and passed. I used the rifle for several years thereafter.
Conclusion using the "SWAG" system
: a "dirt dauber" or something similar built a nest in the barrel! memtb
With the shot, I got....recoil (wow....from a .223), gasses from ports, mild sting to the face, couldn't open the bolt. I took it to a local gunsmith. He "hammered" the bolt open, the .223 Rem. brass was now a "belted" case, and we had to replace the extractor. Checked with "go/no-go" gauges and passed. I used the rifle for several years thereafter.
Conclusion using the "SWAG" system
: a "dirt dauber" or something similar built a nest in the barrel! memtb
Last edited:
robert l
Well-Known Member
Looks like some thing blocked the barrel the way it all came out to the rear.
The barrel looks in great shape other then it's not attached to action. Can see down barrel no obstruction, only the case that was being shot when this blew up.
Don't do pistols so don't have pistol powder
Bolt was pushed back, no ejector left. That's what it appears that pressure (case rupture/failure)
pushed hard enough for lugs to split action
robert l
Well-Known Member
Can you see through the bore?
Yeah that's what I'm going to do is pull remaining loads. These bullets were reloaded probably
3.5 to 4 years ago. Wonder if something in reloaded case/bullet can change after that much time in store? I feel I'm pretty careful when reloading but I guess a guy can get complacent when doing this repetitious routine. i also always check for what's "incipent head separation" of each case.
Yeah can see thru bore
I had a similar occurrence on the first shot of the day, though not nearly as bad as yours, about 30 years ago. I had just loaded a week or so before with a proven load.....no "weld". I pulled all of the remaining loaded cartridges....proper bullets, powder and powder weight(IMR 4198/23.0 grains). The rifle had been shot a few weeks earlier, stored in basement ( living alone, no one else in home)....leaned in a corner. It was a Rem. Model 700 Heavy Barrel Varmint in .223.
With the shot, I got....recoil (wow....from a .223), gasses from ports, mild sting to the face, couldn't open the bolt. I took it to a local gunsmith. He "hammered" the bolt open, the .223 Rem. brass was now a "belted" case, and we had to replace the extractor. Checked with "go/no-go" gauges and passed. I used the rifle for several years thereafter.
Conclusion using the "SWAG" system
The thing is this was not my first shot. I had shot about 5-6 cartridges from same batch of reloads.
All felt & sounded same. Not sure replacing extractor will fix this. LOL
Shot 5-6 rounds before this happened, all recoil / blast felt/sounded same. Don't do pistols so don't have pistol powder
Forgot about their "Stingfree" Warranty. I'll get ahold of them see what they have to say.
Let you know what happens.
MagnumManiac
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
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- 5,588
Have seen similar occurrence with 243 rifles, a known proven load suddenly destroys the rifle.
Had one come into the shop some years back, a Sako 243 that was destroyed, barrel was ok and the bore scope showed numerous cloth threads embedded in the grooves, which might have been the issue.
I locked a bolt on a CRF because there was too much oil left in the bore, luckily no rifle damage, just a ruined case.
All I can say is, it happens and no-one knows why. Many cite S.E.E (Secondary Explosion Effect), but this has never been proven in a lab to date.
Cheers.
Had one come into the shop some years back, a Sako 243 that was destroyed, barrel was ok and the bore scope showed numerous cloth threads embedded in the grooves, which might have been the issue.
I locked a bolt on a CRF because there was too much oil left in the bore, luckily no rifle damage, just a ruined case.
All I can say is, it happens and no-one knows why. Many cite S.E.E (Secondary Explosion Effect), but this has never been proven in a lab to date.
Cheers.
Had a 243 and 6-284 a few years ago blow a case bad, in both cases they had been reloaded for a couple years. The actions didnt seem damaged and have since put afew rounds through them.Both cases where 100% loads so it was impossible to overload and it was the correct powder.
The only thing I could think of was bullet weld, run a few cases back through the seating die and bingo! They all poped a little but a few of them where very tuff.
Since then I make a habit of bumping back any loads that have been loaded over six month. Kind of a PITA but I try not to reload more than I'm going to shoot in one season.
Try bumping a few rounds back a couple thousand and see what you find? Also check a few case lengths, if the case is too long it can lock the bullet up.
The only thing I could think of was bullet weld, run a few cases back through the seating die and bingo! They all poped a little but a few of them where very tuff.
Since then I make a habit of bumping back any loads that have been loaded over six month. Kind of a PITA but I try not to reload more than I'm going to shoot in one season.
Try bumping a few rounds back a couple thousand and see what you find? Also check a few case lengths, if the case is too long it can lock the bullet up.
