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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Rifles

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4seventy
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Reged: 07/05/03
Posts: 2210
Loc: Queensland Australia
Rifle Blow Ups!!
      #3267 - 08/06/03 10:26 AM

How many members have had a blow up of some sort with a rifle?
I've had a couple over the years but thought I might tell the story of one in particular.
The rifle was a '98 action sporter of a well known make and was chambered in 270 Win. I found it at a second hand dealer in Brisbane somewhere around 1981.
The rifle was a bit tatty but the price was right and I was looking for a "project" to play with which could then be used as a knock-about pig hunting gun.
Got the thing home and stripped it down for inspection prior to the tidy up.
The bore was in good condition but the throat was about half gone and there were a few burns on the bolt face, but otherwise everything appeared sound. The bolt face was a bit of a worry but I'd had rifles before with similar burns that functioned and shot without problems.
So I refinished the stock, cleaned all the metal work, adjusted the trigger etc etc.
Headed off to the rifle range with a couple of boxes of factory ammo to try out the new toy.
First shot hit the target somewhere, extracted ok, so I moved the scope adjustments and fired shot number two.
Went to open the bolt and found it was a bit tight and the primer was very flat with the appearance of high pressure.
As the ammo was factory stuff (130 grain) I figured it may have been just a little on the hot side but didn't expect things to get any worse.
Shift scope again and load round number three, squeeze trigger and BOOF!!!!!!!
Sparks fly from the action and I get some burning powder in the face!
Luckily both myself and the rifle do not appear to to have suffered serious injury.
The bolt is jammed tightly shut and is eventually opened using a hammer and block of wood.
Take a close look at the case and just about cr*p myself!!
The primer has fallen out, as the pocket and flash hole have expanded to what looks like about DOUBLE normal size!
The case head has expanded into the bolt face and resembles a belted magnum!
Whoa, decided it might be wise not to shoot this thing anymore.
Took rifle back to place of purchase and asked for a refund as I considered it unsafe.
Shop refused to refund unless a gunsmiths written report was issued declaring the rifle unsafe.
Took rifle to a gunsmith of their choice and explained what had happened.
Gunsmith blamed it on a bad batch of cartridges which was either overloaded or had soft brass. They declared the gun to be safe and sold me a couple of boxes of a different brand of ammo.
Feeling relieved that the rifle had been inspected by a gunsmith and had passed, I again headed off to the range with my different ammo.
Guess what?
Shot number one fine, shot number two a bit tight on the bolt lift.
To shoot or not to shoot, regarding shot number three, that was the question.
Anyone with half a brain would most likely have decided that something was still not right with this thing.
Not me though, being much younger, and believing in " no guts no glory" I of course loaded round number three and touched her off. I just had to know.
BOOFCA!!!!!!!! Thar she blows! Again!
Exactly the same as last time. Luckily, again no injury.
Return to gunsmith and say " You better have another look at this ******* thing!"
Gunsmith had the rifle for three weeks and checked it right out including slugging the bore, doing a chamber cast, checking headspace etc.
He couldn't find any reason for the blowup so he test fired it with a third brand of ammo and she blew up again on the third shot!
The guy ended up giving me a report saying that the rifle had an unknown problem and was unsafe.
The second hand shop then agreed to refund my money.
So, thinking back, I sure am glad that the action was a strong '98 Mauser, and that it held together and nobody was injured.
Thesedays I am a LOT more wary of any signs of excess pressure, but to this day do not know what actually caused this rifle to blow up in the way it did.


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iqbal
resigned as a member


Reged: 05/02/03
Posts: 778
Loc: Karachi,Pakistan
Re: Rifle Blow Ups!! [Re: 4seventy]
      #3283 - 09/06/03 04:07 AM

I was a witness once to a rifle blowup and thinking of it still gives me the shakes.A friend of mine handloads bullets for his 270 and uses them in his Rem.700 bdl.He bought a brand new Win.in 270(he is a 270 fan)and was loading it with his handloads,the first bullet that he chambered did not go in fully and he used force to close the bolt.I felt something was not right and asked him to remove the cartridge but although the bolt came back the cartridge did not eject,it was stuck solid in the chamber.I was about to advise him to push the bullet out with a rod through the muzzle but before i could say anything he closed the bolt again and fired in the air.There was a loud bang and pieces of wood& metal were flying all over.The butt&action blew to pieces while the barrel was not damaged,my friend recieved some nasty splinters in the face but luckily he survived though he could have easily lost an eye.The fault was in the bullet not in the rifle,atleast thats what we think.

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eldeguello
.224 member


Reged: 04/07/03
Posts: 23
Loc: Madison County, NY & Franklin ...
Re: Rifle Blow Ups!! [Re: 4seventy]
      #3583 - 04/07/03 04:51 AM

4seventy, It sure SOUNDS like excessive headspace!! Iif not, it sure is a mystery!! Glad you got your mone back!! I have been shooting my own reloaded ammo now since 1954, in calibers from .22 Hornet all the way up to .50/110 Win., including a number of different magnums, and have never seen anything like your experience. I have seen some blown primers, but I knew what had caused it!!

iqbal, I'd be willing to bet your buddy's brass was too long for the chamber in that M 70. When he jammed it in, he created a situation wherein the case neck could not expand enough to freely release the bullet!! This caused his "big kabamm!!" Hope he wasn't hurt!!

--------------------
"If you are 21 and not a liberal, you have no heart. if you are 40 and not a conservative, you have no brain!!" W. Churchill

"The inmates are still running the asylum!!"

Edited by eldeguello (04/07/03 04:55 AM)


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thefinegunmaker
.224 member


Reged: 21/02/04
Posts: 24
Loc: Southern Wisconsin
Re: Rifle Blow Ups!! [Re: 4seventy]
      #10255 - 27/02/04 11:03 AM

I know this is an old post, but being new to this board I'm diggin in the archives.

It is possible the chamber was headspaced correctly but the neck length was too short. This could be for a number of reasons. Some Smiths save money buying a go and nogo gage for a 30/06 and a complete reamer for a 25/06 Along with this they buy a neck and throat reamer for 6.5mm, 270, 7mm, 308, 8mm etc.. With the 25/06 reamer you could ream and headspace a 270 winchester chamber and go in afterwards with the 270 neck and throat. The smith could have made his own ammo using 30/06 brass and never had a problem with excessive pressures. Factory 270 winchester is based on the US1903 30 cal brass and is longer than the other cartridges that use the same headspade gage. A complete 270 reamer could have been ground with the neck too short. Both these situations could have caused the neck of the brass to crimp the bullet enough while chambering to cause excessive pressures enough to cause the problems you had. You're lucky it was a Mauser 98. If it was with only one brand of ammo I would have thought ammo. Do you have any of the fired brass from that chamber left?

gunmaker
http://users.elknet.net/chico


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atkinson6
.375 member


Reged: 26/01/04
Posts: 678
Loc: Idaho
Re: Rifle Blow Ups!! [Re: thefinegunmaker]
      #12688 - 28/03/04 02:35 PM

I have never blow one or seen one blow by accident..Have pruposely blown up some milsurp rifles in tests...

I have blown some primers big time and once blew a primer out and lost the extractor on a M-70 pre 64 by using a misprint in a loading book...Had to hammer the bolt open, thats about it for me...

Blew the clip out of a .45 ACP 1911 custom and shattered the grips, left my hand nummer than a board, and throbing like a old time cartoon...The custom smith had throated it out a bit too much..He fixed it, I sold it.


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atkinson6
.375 member


Reged: 26/01/04
Posts: 678
Loc: Idaho
Re: Rifle Blow Ups!! [Re: atkinson6]
      #12689 - 28/03/04 02:43 PM

4seventy,
And that is the reason I am a confirmed Mauser buff, Mausers are soft inside and case hardened on the outside so that they puff up, maybe even split but they do not fragment like a M-70 would if it blew, not to say that a M-70 is an inferior rifle, it isn't and its one of my favorite in Pre 64 persuasion, but I don't push the limit with them either...


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