Wh...Wha...What happened?

[bustedknee]

This may be old but i just saw it.  No story.
Anyone know what happened.
I'm betting wrong cartridge.
I saw a bolt action turn into a pile of scrap when a guy tried to shoot at 375 in a 300 mag (or something similar).

From:http://www.trapshooters.com/cfpages/thread.cfm?threadid=112400&messages=24#974839
and http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=647554&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=2

Good safety lesson for us all!

[Redhawk1]

That is an older photo.  I believe it was caused by a squib. "Obstruction in the barrel."

[Keith L]

Looks like they can save the buttstock and the hammer extension.  Do you know was the shooter ok?

[Whopper Stopper]

If this is the same picture... I think it may have been from when someone bore sighted the rifle and forgot to remove the tool from the barrel before they shot. At least I saw other pictures of a gun that resembled this one a few moths ago and that was the problem. As far as the health of the shooter goes, I have no idea.

[Keith L]

Sounds like a good reason for a magnetic boresight!

The gunsmith at a local shop has a revolver that came unglued when its owner, practicing rapid shooting, shot a good round after a squib that left the bullet in the barrel.  I look at it and just know that the shooter lost his hand.  What really happened is that the gun hit the floor, was picked up by the shooter, and then put back in the bag so he could shoot a little longer with another gun.  I have seen shotguns come apart too, and the shooter finished the trap round.  Sadly, there are also people hurt when things like that happen.

[bull]

Do ya think that maybe this is why the factory says not to use hammer extenders??

Sorry, that just popped into my head. I hope the shooter came out better than the rifle.

[quickdtoo]

Hmmm, this guy has some particulars....

http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2469&sid=49e24ee86ade69504c310cd646208cc7

[Keith L]

I am glad to hear he is OK.  Amazing, isn't it when a gun blows up like that and the shooter has only minor injuries.  I wish I knew why it blew up, though.

[Smokin Joe]

Looks like it blew out right between the scope mounting holes. I wonder if it was reamed for a fatter than normal cartridge?

[Hopalong7]

Wow...I've not seen this one before.  There was a similiar picture of a Contender pistol floating around for years.  If memory serves( Ha ) it was a .444 Marlin rechamber.  Don't really think that I want anything chambered in my Encore that is based on the 8mm Rem Mag anyway. SHOOT SAFE, Walt 

[quickdtoo]

Looks like it blew out right between the scope mounting holes. I wonder if it was reamed for a fatter than normal cartridge?

Joe, it was reported to be a 257STW by a friend of the shooter....

Wasn't sure where to post this so I did it here.
A friend of mine was shooting a .257 STW (Shooting Times Westerner) caliber in a Thompson Center rifle. This is an 8MM Rem Mag. necked down to .257. Don't know what bullet or powder that was used. He had used the same loads hunting and was sitting at the bench when it exploded. He burst both ear drums and had to have stitches and some shrapnel removed from his finger. He also had blood coming out of both ears.The barrel was clean. Don't know exactly what went wrong. Doctor said his ear drums would heal. I don't know any more details than this. Here's what is left of the gun.

And his followup response..

I called my friend last night and talked for a while. He is doing OK. He said his hearing sounds like he has a head cold, but its getting better every day. He was shooting a 110 gr. Accubond Bullet. He didn't remember how much Reloader 19 he was using without going and looking it up. He said it was backed down a grain or so from max. He had shot several of these loads, matter of fact he shot a ram 5 days before with this load.
I was always under the belief that once you pucture an ear drum that you wouldn't have hearing anymore. The doctoer said both were puctured but they would heal back. He didn't have hearing protection on. He said when he shot there was a loud explosion like sound and he didn't know what happened till he looked at his hands and was only holding the stock and forearm. It took him a second to notice there was blood on his hand from a minor cut. As he headed back to his truck to go home he said he talked to hiself to check his hearing. He said he could hear but not through his ears. It was like he was hearing hiself through the bones of his head. The next day he could start hearing without a very high pitch noise.

The barrel was clean. The only thing he can think of is either the action wasn't completely closed or he had a cracked case. I'm just glad he's alright.

It's a learning lesson for all of us to be careful in our reloading.

http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2469&sid=49e24ee86ade69504c310cd646208cc7

[Redhawk1]

Thanks quickdtoo for clearing this up. I was told it was a squib. I am glad the shooter is OK.

[OhioCruffler]

The way that banana-peeled from the chamber forward means (almost certainly) a barrel obstruction or the chamber walls were too thin on the re-chamber.  The SEE (light charge of slow powder) is not characterized by a blown barrel like this, but by a grenaded chamber area.  There was most likely something stuck right about where the banana-peel stops, I would bet money on it.

[JPH45]

Didn't think alot about this untill a phone conversation this evening, just another photo on the net of a blown up gun. But it turns out the 257 STW (AKA the 25 Hot Tamale) is a necked down 7mm STW, which is simply the 8mm Remington Mag necked down to 7mm. The 8 Remington Mag of course is the 375  H&H case given the good 'ol AI treatment, at least for conversational purposes. This means the 257 STW is a 95 grain case. That beats the 257 Weatherby by at least 15 grains. Then we are told that the powder used (least to best of recollection) was Reloader 19. This is akin to using 2400-4198 in a 308. To put it in perspective, Accurate Arms lists 75 grains of 3100 as a max load with a 120 grian bullet in the 7mm STW, 95 grains of 8700. To get to the 257 STW we neck that case DOWN which effectively increases the chamber/bore ratio, which requires a slower powder.

R19 and 4831 are in the same speed range, 3100 a bit slower than those.  8700 is about the right place to start. Retumbo should be  about the powder of choice. I'm not going to guess what may or may not have happened, I wasn't there, and it weren't my gun. But if what we are told about the powder is correct, without doubt the powder was too fast. 

[Lone Star]

Then we are told that the powder used (least to best of recollection) was Reloader 19. This is akin to using 2400-4198 in a 308....R19 and 4831 are in the same speed range, 3100 a bit slower than those.  8700 is about the right place to start. Retumbo should be  about the powder of choice. I'm not going to guess what may or may not have happened, I wasn't there, and it weren't my gun. But if what we are told about the powder is correct, without doubt the powder was too fast.

Not according to the designer of the .257 STW.  He states that powders a bit slower than H4831 are "ideal" for the cartridge, but to say that RL-19 is like using 2400 in a .308 is a bit over the top.  The designer used RL-22 for most of his best loads, and RL-19 is not significantly  faster than RL-22.   In my .257 Weatherbys the two Alliant powders differ by just 5% in charge wieghts for the same velocities.  Personally I'd use RL-22 or RL-25 in the STW, but with proper load development RL-19 should be okay. 


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