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Gunsmithing A serious mistake

P

Pirate-69

Private
Minuteman
Jan 1, 2009
98
4
Greenville, NC
I received these photos in an email today. This was bad. Not sure when it happened but it still is a good warning. There was a photo of the shooter on a stretcher and his face was in bad shape. I removed the photo out of respect.

Subject: How not to sight in your rifle

Sighting In Your Expensive
New Deer Rifle

1. Shiny new, high-powered deer rifle..............$ 1,200.00
2. Quality, high-powered scope........................$ 550.00
3. Bore sighting device.....................................$ 140.00
4. Hospital Visit………………………......................$ 4,893.00
5. Forgetting to remove the bore sighting device prior to actually
shooting the doggone thing?



Photo1.jpg

Photo2.jpg

Photo4.jpg
 
Re: A serious mistake

The pic has been around a few years, the range is about 20 minutes from my house and I know the smith that rebarreled the rifle.

I actually don't think the guy went to the hospital, that photo may have been added to your email for drama, but I'd have to double check that with a few people.
 
Re: A serious mistake

I saw this on Mythbusters, its a TV programme where the producers try all sorts of daft experiments. In this particular episode they tried to do everything possible to get a 30-06 rifle to blow up like this but without any great result. they first of all left in a boresighter in the muzzle and shot it but nothing startling happend,they then stuffed the barrel with something,I cant remember what it was but they really blocked up the barrel badly and then shot it again. They only managed to blow about half an inch off the top of the barrel but they couldnt get it to blow like that picture you posted. There conclusion was that the rifle in question must have been very old and suffered whats known as metal fatigue over time which eventually allowed the rifle to blow up once the boresighter was left in it. Its kinda comforting to learn that it really takes a lot to get a rifle to blow up like this. Lets hope we never find out.
 
Re: A serious mistake

gamma, I would offer that just because the 2 whackos, on Mythbusters, had different results, does not make this blow-up false. A friend of mine had a Win. M70, in 220 Swift, blow up worse than this with no barrel obstruction. If someone can provide me with an e-mail address I'll send the pics and they can post them here. Every rifle is different and so are the results, when the bore is obstructed.
 
Re: A serious mistake

When I first saw this I read that the shooter was lucky he only had to replace his shooting glasses. It would be nice to know which part is truth and which is urban legend.

I have a friend who lost most of his left hand when his Hawken blew up. Barrel separation started at the forend dovetail. We've never been able to determine a definite cause.

These are good reminders not to get too cavalier about safety even though we might have tons of experience.
 
Re: A serious mistake

My Aunt stuck the barrel of a .22 rifle in the dirt and pulled the trigger when she was a little girl. Ended up causing a significant swell in the barrel before the muzzle.

If a .22 can do that, I'm sure a centerfire rifle has more than enough pressure to rupture a barrel if the bore is obstructed.
 
Re: A serious mistake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AZPrecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The guys on Mythbusters dont know shit about firearms. This is VERY evident from watching their show. </div></div>
I highly agree with you that they do not know much about firearms and ballistics.. They leave alot of information out of their testing or don't know of what all is available to help and do a thorough "test of myths". I do like the show but wish that another element of expertise would be added.....SmokeRolls
 
Re: A serious mistake

My Cousins and Uncles were Deer Hunting and one of my Cousin Walts Rifle split like that. The days was a wet Snow and they think some snow fell into the Rifle Barrel as they were walking through the brush then froze in there. He jumped a Buck and took a shot and boom the barrel split. Walt then looked over at my other cousin and said let me use your rifle and killed the Deer. Other than the split barrel it blew off the first 4 inches of the stock.

There is also a Rifle with a split barrle hanging on the wall at the Star in Elko, Nev. The barrel split under simular circumstances.
 
Re: A serious mistake

Not sure what the circumstances were; but, the results are impressive. If I may borrow a phase I saw earlier: "The face would go white and the pants would go brown."
 
Re: A serious mistake

It would be nice if they showed some of the action internals with those pics. Here's my thoughts for what they are worth:

It takes a lot of force to tear steel like that. A LOT. How much force would it take to completely destroy the brass shell? The bolt lugs? Bolt Handle? That stuff should have taken nearly the same amount of pressure. I would think that the bolt would be in bad shape too. Just my thoughts.

mike
 
Re: A serious mistake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheSmokeRolls</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AZPrecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The guys on Mythbusters dont know shit about firearms. This is VERY evident from watching their show. </div></div>
I highly agree with you that they do not know much about firearms and ballistics.. They leave alot of information out of their testing or don't know of what all is available to help and do a thorough "test of myths". I do like the show but wish that another element of expertise would be added.....SmokeRolls</div></div>

Mythbusters can be entertaining, but don't count on it for accuracy. The experiments they peform are unscientific, but that's what you get when entertainment value trumps everything else.

I mostly tune it in to check out the funky redheaded chick but she's gone and got herself knocked up, so there goes whatever excuse there was for watching the show.
 
Re: A serious mistake

+1

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AZPrecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The guys on Mythbusters dont know shit about firearms. This is VERY evident from watching their show. </div></div>
 
Re: A serious mistake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: teambarlar</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you can probably bet that it was not the jamie or adam guy that knocked her up.</div></div>

Probably not, but if either one of them did they should have taped the act and put it on the air.

Now that would have been an amusing episode
wink.gif
 
Re: A serious mistake

Time for a bit of a speil on eye safety. This thread is excellent for that.

It takes a lot of energy to blow up a barrel like that, but very little to mess up an eye for life or lose it. Having only one is a pain in the butt and I don't suggest it to anyone.

I lost my right eye due to someone else being careless and there was nothing I could do to prevent it, sometimes your mistakes can cost someone else dearly.
 
Re: A serious mistake

At Marine Corps Boot Camp, on qual day, Recruit Stewart lit off his first round of the day with a cleaning rod still in the barrel; I could live 1,000 years and would never forget that sound.

The cleaning rod was sticking out the side of the barrel at a 20 degree angle or so.

His PMI was never seen or heard from again - at least not by us.

Since that day, I always look down the bore before taking a gun out to shoot - range or field.
 
Re: A serious mistake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rancid Coolaid</div><div class="ubbcode-body">At Marine Corps Boot Camp, on qual day, Recruit Stewart lit off his first round of the day with a cleaning rod still in the barrel; I could live 1,000 years and would never forget that sound.

The cleaning rod was sticking out the side of the barrel at a 20 degree angle or so.

His PMI was never seen or heard from again - at least not by us.

Since that day, I always look down the bore before taking a gun out to shoot - range or field. </div></div>

That's a good habit to get into. When I go to the range there are usually people passing around guns letting eachother try them out, I do it and several others have when I've been there anyways. I was BSing with an old guy there one time and he asked how my Glock 21 shot so I told him to take it for a test drive. When I hand someone a gun I always drop the magazine and clear the chamber before handing it over. He took it a step further by rechecking that it was unloaded and then locking the slide back and looking down the barrel from the muzzle end to make sure there wasn't any obstructions in the barrel, also insisted on shooting his own ammo. That kind of caution comes from experience I guess.
 
Re: A serious mistake

Anyone else notice the piece of black shit coming out the end of the bbl in the video?


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: treebasher</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Check it out, actual footage of a barrel splitting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRKP1OkR1fA</div></div>
 
Re: A serious mistake

Mythbusters also tried to damage one of the strongest firearms ever made the Arasaka. they hammered things intot the barrel. they would hve blown a sporter barrel up on a new rifle but using a military rifle that was over engineered was the wrong way. they also tried to blow the shotgun up. their idea was to weld a plud into the end of the bore then while it was red hot quench it in water making it brittle and a shear point. also if a plud is driven in the easiest way to remove it is in the direction opposite to the way it was inserted so with the rem pump they just shot the obstructions out.

What happens is that shooters have tripped over placing the muzzle into the mud when they then fire the shotgun the dirt and mud compresses and actualy locks in place then the barrel will blow up. i have shortened numerous barrels for people that have dont this.

With a rifle they said they could not blow it up just fill the case with bullseye and seat the heaviest projectile and you will blow the action up. but to blow the barrel up an obstruction in the bore like the borescope spiggot will blow the barrel up like that if the barrel is thin enough to allow the pressure to be greater on the inside of the barrel that the steel can not retain the result is the barrel will strip like a bananna.

Also their Was a bad batch of stainless steel that we got here in Australia a full bore 308 blew up just likt that the guys stock and barrel was US but because he had a fingerless glove he got a few splinters in his fingers and their were these pics with blod on his groundsheet going around. Their were a bunch of Sako and Tikka stainless rifles 270cal and up that were recalled becaust the same steel was used and the barrels were replaced.

Their is also a M1A on the Web with a blown upo barrel with over 5000 rounds and it let go. The 308 full bore rifle barrel only had just over 1000 rounds through it. it was fired on my home range i know the guy who fitted the barrel and supplied it.
 
Re: A serious mistake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NotAGuru</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What they needed to try was stuff a 240 grain bullet up the barrel a ways first then stuff a oversized cleaning rod in it. That would be neato...... </div></div>

Just had to add to this one Bobby their is a guyhere that has a barnard and was doing sompthing stupid while chronographing loads in 223 and they say the cleaning rod clocked 1000fps through the screens Whoops he forgot to remove it. I dont think he will ever live it down.

As it was a 223 with a heavy barrel and a massive action the case blew the extractor out and had to have the case that had flown into the bolt reloved then was good to go again with a new extractor.
 
Re: A serious mistake

Mythbusters are scientifically illiterate; they are entertainment for the masses, nothing more.
 
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