Everyone needs to see this

This is FAR from a .50 BMG issue, could happen with ANY round
Could happen with smaller diameter cartridges.
But as mentioned in an earlier post, higher forces are created with larger diameter cartridges, as force is a product of "pressure" X "area". The larger the area the pressure acts against, the larger the resultant force.

I'm not inclined to fire any rifle containing those forces with a threaded pipe cap... let alone a cartridge the diameter of a 50BMG.
 
Although I'm guilty of this myself, you should NEVER shoot alone.

A benchrest shooter that I met at a few shooting clubs appeared one day with a crazy mirror contraption on his rifle and a pirates patch over his eye. He told me that he used a brass rod to tap a stuck case from the chamber and totally forget to remove it before he settled in for the next shot. The gun blew out right into his face. He sustained serious injuries including the loss of his eye. He was ALONE at the club at the time and, according to him, it was noting short of a miracle that he was able to get away from the range and find help.

Helpful tip - with an IPHONE, if you hit the power button 5x in a row, or hold the power button and a volume button at the same time, the phone will dial 911 even if its locked.
Very good idea to always have someone with you but not practical. As far as phones my S10 android has an emergency button that you press and hold just once locked or not.
 
Terrible to watch. One rule I also live by no matter where I shoot or who I'm with...I keep a gunshot wound kit in my truck and in my generic range bag. Not a dinky "first aid" kit but serious trauma style treatment kit. It's cheap insurance.
So do I, and carry a fist aid kit it in my pickup, because it's generally I am with my pickup. If it's a car accident and nobody around I will stop and give first aid. I will always call it in to 911 unless I feel it has been called in. Large group I won't stop, but I am probable one that has more first aid knowledge under my belt than most. Ran into to many people that didn't know **** from Shinola. Like ButterBean said:
 
The one aspect not being discussed that would have stopped me immediately was rounds going all over the place. If you cannot hit a 55 gal drum at 100 yards, something RADICALLY wrong with the ammo. I would stop and assess what is wrong and stop until I knew exactly what the issue could be. Had a shooter next to me having trouble hitting a target stand let alone actual target at 100 yds. After short discussion, he was using a powder measure without double checking weights. Other issues too but he did realize he had to stop, go home pull loads. I have always been alert for consistent "sounding" loads, consistent strike on target( accuracy not necessary but just consistent strike) which an old bench shooter instilled into my reloading shooting. We exercise utmost care at the reloading bench but sometimes we slip a bit at the range. My old bench friend had a rifle blow up next to him at a match so he became real anal about being extra alert at range. He pounded that into me early in my reloading. We get caught up in our accuracy at range but we need to have our reloading safety kicked up few notches as well. I have been lucky not to see any disasters but hear plenty if them. Bottom line is any deviation from expected outcome should stop us immediately until you can thoroughly investigate snd conclude exactly what the issue is and resolution.
 
Could happen with smaller diameter cartridges.
But as mentioned in an earlier post, higher forces are created with larger diameter cartridges, as force is a product of "pressure" X "area". The larger the area the pressure acts against, the larger the resultant force.

I'm not inclined to fire any rifle containing those forces with a threaded pipe cap... let alone a cartridge the diameter of a 50BMG.
The more I've thought about this, I'm gonna go ahead and say it...

The use of the threaded pipe cap to seal off the breech end of the barrel is a really, really bad design to contain chamber pressure.

Because once the cartridge case ruptures, the pressure is now applied against the cross sectional area of the internal dimensions of that pipe cap. This is a tremendous increase in cross sectional area compared to the face of a bolt head. I'm not gonna do the calculations, but imagine how large the internal face of that end cap is, compared to the internal back face of the 50BMG cartridge casing. Or the face of a bolt head.

If there's some engineers here that wanna counter this argument, or add to it, have at it. The designer of this rifle is really vulnerable to civil lawsuits, in my opinion. And I'd be advising the injured man to find a conventional bolt action rifle for future use.

When a cartridge case fails in a conventional bolt action rifle, the high pressure has some crevices by which to escape, and even then, the backward thrust/force acting to blow the bolt back into your face is a product of the pressure times the cross sectional area on the face of the bolt.

If I understood the concept of this rifle breech enclosure correctly, a cap is screwed onto the breech end of the barrel. The escaping gas (and pressure), once the cartridge case has ruptured/failed, is now captured and contained within that threaded end cap. No way to relieve the pressure, no way for the gases to escape - other than possibly out the firing pin diameter hole.

And here's the real jeopardy. The internal cross-sectional area of the back of that end cap. Guessing ~1.5" diameter. It's gonna be at least the outer diameter of the threaded tenon on that barrel. That's the internal surface area the escaped gas pressure will act on to create the backward force acting to blow the cap off the threads.

The diameter of a bolt face, in comparison? Much smaller diameter and cross-sectional area. Addtionally, a bolt action isn't sealed up tightly. The entire circumference of the case head and case web area, once ruptured, will allow some gases to escape. Which effectively will reduce the peak pressures applied against the face of the bolt. All in all, a MUCH lesser force applied to the face of a bolt, compared to the face of that pipe cap.

Bad idea. Bad design. Terrible consequences.

If I was gonna fire that rifle, it would only be by remote trigger string from behind a competent blast wall. Gonna need more than a hand carried first aid kit...
 
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*****WARNING*****

The issue here was the shooting of Sabot loads (SLAP) through an external brake. It has always been advised to never shoot sabot loads nor wadded shotgun shells through any external brake, for the sabot/wad can open too quickly and lodge in the brake causing excessive pressure similar to a plugged bore. His first indicator were the rounds that were flying everywhere, for this is an indicator the sabots are opening and hitting the brake before final exist and causing very erratic bullet flight.
 
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