Confession Time: Ever Blown Up a Gun?

Mercury

I haven't, (really!) but I was wondering if anyone would admit to it? [:D]

If so, tell us HOW it happened, so we can AVOID that same mistake!

Thanks.

Merc

"You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. " - Al Capone, (1899-1947)

"Tolerating things you may not necessarily like is part of being free" - Larry Flynt

PJ

Never have, but one range I go to has a display of three revolvers which did--not pretty!
Pete

"Be kind to your neighbor, he knows where you live"

richbug

I haven't blown one up, but I shot a Colt Agent that had a buldge near the end of the barrel with a +P handload and it cracked the barrel under the rear sight.

My border collie is smarter than your honor student.

Pearyw

I came close 30 years ago with a 6mm Remington that I was working up a load for. It taught me a valuable lesson, NEVER put more than one can of powder out on the loading bench at a time. I had poured the wrong powder into another can. I was lucky that it was about a 10% overload. It stuck the bolt and the primer just fell out of the case when I got it out.

mrbruce

Do you mean like this ?
Never ever shoot a friends reloads especially when he's not sure whats in a come to find out mismarked can. Lots of Bullseye in a 14" 357 Herret barrel is a bad thing.



Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.

lcflcf

I had a few split cases and loose primers but never anything happen to the guns, like the others I'ved seen them at the range, L

FrancF

I never have, But a good friend split the receiver no his Rem 700. He was using a max load in his 22-250. He was doing ok in the morning, But when it got real hot in the afternoon the (H380)was all it took.

Moral of the story, temperature sensitive powders with max loads on a hot day can be a bad thing.


NRA Life Endowment Member

drobs

I got close, with a Raven 25 auto last year.

Carefuly counting each shot, I was able to put 25rds through it. Bullet number 26 made it to the muzzle and stopped.

Regards,

n/a

No but I had my Desert Eagle .440 Corbon completely disassemble the slide for me...while shooting it. It took me 10 minutes to find all of the parts. Even the firing pin came out of the back of the slide.

Eric

All American Arms Company

www.galleryofguns.com
VIP Code: AAAC

Veteran Owned and Operated

remington nut

not personally, but i do have a story... my dad (who got me into reloading) was loading some shotgun shells for skeet shooting for the upcoming weekend when a buddy was coming into town... his buddy brought his own shotgun with him.. dad had changed the bushing's in the chargebars on the loader but hadnt changed powders in the screw on bottles yet, my mom being the bored housewife that she was at the time figured since she *knew* how to load she was gonna help dad out and finish up the shells he had there, using the wrong powder she blew up 2 shotguns.... but never hurt dads rem 1100, he (for some reason which i'll never understand) shot the remainder of those shells out of his 1100 with no problems whatsoever...

RadCat

quote:Originally posted by Pearyw
I came close 30 years ago with a 6mm Remington that I was working up a load for. It taught me a valuable lesson, NEVER put more than one can of powder out on the loading bench at a time. I had poured the wrong powder into another can. I was lucky that it was about a 10% overload. It stuck the bolt and the primer just fell out of the case when I got it out.








This is excellent advice. One must be very carefull when emptying the powder "hoppers" in your powder fillassemblies in your proggressive loaders.

Once I didn't empty the hopper completely while switching powders from HS-7 to H-110. The amount was insignificant in volume, but enough to speed up the "burn rate" of the H-110 and created higher pressures not consistent to H-110. The first round (.357 Sig/major) was very loud and powerful, but acceptable. The second round was extreme and blew the base of the case apart. The blast went downwards into the magazine where the pressure blew out the magazine base pad and threw all the rounds into my feet. After I washed the brown substance from my underwear, I took some of the rounds from that batch apart and noticed the "miniscule" shinny flattened dots of the HS-7 mixed in with the H-110. Needless to say I was not amused.

Since then, when changing powders I remove the entire assembly and make completely sure there are no remnants of the old powder before I pour in the new one. [:(][:(][B)]
















______________________________________________

"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)

sandwarrior

The worst I ever did was use a load for one bullet at max with another bullet. The primer fell down into the magazine....fortunately it was a mauser action and what hot gases there were went back through the bolt and down the vent holes.
When I was a kid I loaded a hot .257 with one grain too much 4895 behind an 87 Sierra and got powder spackling back on my face. It was about 100* that day in late August. That was with a Rem 700. In fact the same Rem 700 that got rebarreled to .257 from .243 because a bullet got peened into the barrel. Of course, the initial cause was my fault for not double checking that all the cases were primed.

We have the second amendment so that all the rest are secure....UNK>

hedgehopper62

I blew the back loose on a model 11 20ga back years ago hunting in south dakoda my primers were mixed old ones were 209 for win.and 57 for remington which were smaller had a smaller one in winchester shell and it dint fire because it fell out, it lodged behind bolt and when i fired next shell it blew the back loose,i was a aircraft mech. at time so we hammered it back in place and mig welded it up i used the gun many years after.tks hedge

gunnut505

2 years ago this St. Paddy's Day, a buddy and I were loading .357Mags for an upcoming silhouette match on my 550B. I went to answer the phone and he kept on crankin' like we were both paying attention.
He finished the last 10 or so and put them in the plastic boxes I use for matches while I got done with the phone call.
Next morning, we went to the range, all ready to do battle with the steel; he had a Taurus model 85; I was shooting a GP100.
He was in the lane next to me using a one-handed hold while standing; I was down in the Creedmore position.
The chickens went nicely, we both got a full rack and went for the piggies.
I had dropped 4 and was aiming for #5; he had dropped 3 and was aiming at #5 when there was a BOOM, I noticed stuff flying past my head and something hit my boot. I looked up at him, and he was holding the grip frame, no barrel or right sideplate, and the topstrap looked funny.
To make a long story short, his gun had exploded; the barrel was launched downrange, the sideplate hit my boot, the topstrap was curled up in front, and a piece of the (split) cylinder had flown through a crowd of spectators and buried itself in the rangemasters' stand about 40 feet away without hitting anyone.
The other half of the cylinder flew past my head and wedged itself in my gear box.
What had happened was while I was answering the phone; he had experienced a state of Nirvana and didn't index the shellplate and pulled the handle again. Maybe that's why I do the reloading now, and he just watches.
He sent it in pieces back to Taurus and got a new model 85, only paying for the shipping. Now that's a warranty!

"Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit" --OVID

tatercats

Savage 23D in 22 hornet

split the left side of the chamber, blew out both extractors, broke the wood on the stock next to the chamber

i was using some old handloads my uncle gave me. i wasnt hurt but ruined the rifle.

eastwood44mag

Never done it myself, but the last one I saw was from a gunsmith, who apparently left some tumbling media in his brass when he reloaded it. No, I don't know how/where, but I know that Ruger was split open like a frozen pipe.

O Lord,
grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can,
and the supreme firepower to make the difference.

Pinhead

Back about 1994 my mother had purchased a .25 semi-auto pocket pistol with the make name of RECK on the slide. She bought this little piece of junk on the advice of a clerk at the local gun shop who told her tht it was a perfect defense pistol for a woman. She also bought a box of factory Remington cartridges for it. She had the gun for about year or two and one day asked me to shoot it for her to try it out. I took it out back next to a drop off that was overgrown with honeysuckle and briar vines. I loaded the clip with 3 rounds and extended the pistol out in front of me in a weaver stance and pulled the trigger on othing in particular--no aiming. The firing pin clips and the pistol did not go off. I ejected the round into my hand and pockedted it and repeated the procedure and the pistol went bang. I tried it again and suddenly things changed in a hurry. All of a sudden I was aware that everything had gone into slow motion. I could see the slide going end over end very slowly out in front of the pistol. After what seemed like an eternity I pulled the pistol down and looked at it. The slide had separated at the forward end of the ejection port and was gone(the rear part that is). The magazine had blown out of the pistol and was also gone. The barrel and the rest of the pistol was intact and there wasn't even a scratch on it. I still have that little pistol in my safe as a reminder of what can happen when things go wrong. My mom insisted on taking the ammo back to the gun shop and I told her to tell the shop owner to send the ammo back to Remington so that they could check it out for defects and maybe a recall was in order. About 3 months later I stopped by the gun shop to see if he had heard from Remington. He told me he had put the ammo back on the shelf and sold it to a customer. Needless to say, I never bought anything from that gun shop again. In hindsight I should have accompanied my mom to the gun shop and made him refund the money for the pistol and the ammo and made certain that both were returned to the factories that produced them for their study.

DEG305

I have never blown up a gun, but I tried to once. Years ago (1950's) I aquired a German "Giea" bolt action 12ga. shotgun,not very pretty to look at but it must have been the toughest 12ga in existance. I packed the barrel with an old rag, tied the gun to a tire,placed it in the sawdust house on the farm, tied a long length of bailer twine to the trigger, stood outside and pulled! It went wisely remove for a long period of time then pushed the rag out the muzzle! I did it again only this time I used a wet rag and packed it tight, same thing happened! Third time I used a muddy wet rag, same result! Barrel didn't bulge, bolt stayed operational, and fired fine! Tough gun! [}:)]

Dewayne E. Geer,NRA life member, AF&AM_Knights Templer,York Rite Mason,623 Midland TEXAS

Colonel Plink

No, but a week after my buddy cracked the forcing cone on his model 19 (all he ever shot was full-house loads...at least 50 a week for years), his son blew the side of the cylinder out of his beautiful model 14. I already have a Smith in .357, so I'm trying to get him to sell me the remains of the model 14. The lesson I thought I learned was; Smith and Wesson K-frames are not enough gun to stand up to a constant diet of full-house loads. Ah, but wait! Now the same guy (My buddy, not his son)is having some trouble with his less-than-a-year-old, 44 magnum Super Redhawk. Seems he knocked something loose in the cylinder. SUPER FREAKING REDHAWK! One of the toughest built guns around! I know he's not exceeding his load data information. So settle this argument for me fellas...

He's convinced that "they just don't build them like they used to"

I think "they never built them to take 50+ full-house rounds a week"

That's why I hand load. To keep velocities and pressures DOWN so I can enjoy my Smith model 28 for the rest of my life.

"When the going gets weird, the Weird turn pro"
Hunter S. Thompson"

65gto389

Not myself but I knew a guy who was into black powder shooting usually with reproduction revolvers. Anyways he blew up two complete cylinders. The first he put smokless powder in which is a no no. He blew it completely up. He changed cylinders but forgot to properly to make sure the ball was seated on the black powder charge; it happened to him again.[xx(]










" Those who give up a little freedom for temporary security, deserve neither freedom nor security "
- Benjamin Franklin

65gto389

No, he did not die. Consider him lucky or just plain stupid.









" Those who give up a little freedom for temporary security, deserve neither freedom nor security "
- Benjamin Franklin

Colonel Plink

Originally posted by Colonel Plink
Seems he knocked something loose in the cylinder. SUPER FREAKING REDHAWK! One of the toughest built guns around! I know he's not exceeding his load data information. So settle this argument for me fellas...

He's convinced that "they just don't build them like they used to"

I think "they never built them to take 50+ full-house rounds a week"




Update. Boy am I red-faced on this one. His "problem" with the SRH was only primers that hadn't been seated right. I still bust him about cleaning out primer pockets, but the problem was not the revolver, it was his loading habits...........hmmmmm......which is what this thread is .......Excuse me, I need some coffee.

ahem...
right.

"When the going gets weird, the Weird turn pro"
Hunter S. Thompson"

Bittersweat

Well now that you mention it...
Not to long ago I was shooting my sub 2k, practicing for a carbine match... Bang-bang, bang-bang, pop-BANG-OUCH.
It seems that having a bullet stuck in the barrel when you launch another one can be hazzardous to your rifle's health.
The magazine was blown out of the grip, my right hand got a little bruised, and it took some Hoppes to clean up the powder mess.
Gratefully, there was no real damage to either the shooter of the rifle. After removeing the offending projectiles we (rifle and me)were off and running again.
Just call me 'lucky' [:D]

snowtigger

I very nearly found out how tough a SRH is. When I first started reloading for handcannons, I was shooting my 44SRH and heard the hammer drop,but nothing else. I thought"DUD" and thumbed her back for another try.
But the little voice said," this ain't right, check it out!" I opened the cylinder, and sure enough, no bullet. I took a look down the barrel and should have seen daylight. It wasn't there. Instead, located about an inch up the tube was the missing bullet. I had forgotten powder!!
This has only happened one other time. that time the bullet never got past the forcing cone.
Today, when I hear anything unusual coming from a gun, I stop shooting and check it out.

It ain't what you shoot, it's what you hit.

Colonel Plink

I forgot to add my own, "Stupid Handloading Trick" to the mix...I forgot to powder-up a 357 load once. The force of the primer pushed the 158-gr lead slug halfway out of the cylinder and halfway into the forcing cone and locked the revolver up tight. If it had cleared the cylinder, I'd have blown up my beloved S&W model 28. The lessons I learned? (Obviously I don't have a progressive press)

1)Primer and powder in ALL the brass, then add bullets after checking all the brass for powder. AND

2)Load ammo alone, with no distractions. No phone calls, nobody yakking at me in my shop. Just sweet, sweet solitude.

"When the going gets weird, the Weird turn pro"
Hunter S. Thompson"

1KYDSTR

Yes...Ruger Super BH in 44 Mag. Bad metalurgy was the word from Ruger (a rare admittal these days in the "sue them before they sue you" race). I wound up with a loose assortment of parts and a frame in my hand, and did not have so much as a scratch on my person. Factory rounds too! Lesson learned? Nothing is as strong as you might think it is!

"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
"When I was 14 I used to marvel at how ignorant my old man was...by the time I was 21 I was truelly amazed at how much the old bugger had learned in the intervening 7 years!" Samuel Clemens
"History is written by winners"(Patton)
"You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
"There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)