111 blew up at the range today

[fgw_in_fla]

It looks like something blocked the bullets escape about 2" from the muzzle opening. You can see where there's a bulge / distortion at that point. The last time I saw something like that, a bullet blocked the barrel from no charge & the next round tried to push it out.
It pushed it out alright..... Right out the side of the barrel. It looked very much like this.

You need to buy a lotto ticket & see if your luck is still holding. Then maybe church on a regular basis. Someone was watching over you.....

Count you blessings.

Frank in Fla.

[Opus Dei]

It looks like something blocked the bullets escape about 2" from the muzzle opening. You can see where there's a bulge / distortion at that point. The last time I saw something like that, a bullet blocked the barrel from no charge & the next round tried to push it out.
It pushed it out alright..... Right out the side of the barrel. It looked very much like this.

You need to buy a lotto ticket & see if your luck is still holding. Then maybe church on a regular basis. Someone was watching over you.....

Count you blessings.

Frank in Fla.That's what I thought-a prior shot was a squib. Re-reading, it seems this was the first round, though.

Nonetheless, that barrel is a wallhanger.

[Dennis]

The last time I saw something like that, a bullet blocked the barrel from no charge & the next round tried to push it out

It's something close to the above

[kevin_stevens]

You need to buy a lotto ticket & see if your luck is still holding. Then maybe church on a regular basis. Someone was watching over you.....


Or trying to kill him off.

So I understand a squib round blocking the barrel, but is it really possible/likely that some of the other minor obstructions (spiders, Q-tips, loose dirt) that have been mentioned would result in a burst barrel? I would think anything not substantial or substantially stuck would just get blown out of the way.

KeS

[efm77]

First off, I'm glad you're ok. Secondly, I don't think something loose in the barrel would do that, it would have to be lodged. Something like a spider would just get blown right out. It should be no different from people who put electrical tape over their muzzle to keep dirt, snow, etc. out of their barrel while hunting. When you shoot the tape is just blown right off from the air coming out ahead of the bullet.

[rrflyer]

Something was left in there or maybe you happens to lodge something in there between house and range.

It looks like the rifling bulged at the impact point just before the clean rifling.

[hrdbul]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/hrdbul/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0210_zpsa8d23d9a.jpg
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y527/hrdbul/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0211_zps070032a6.jpg

[Blue Avenger]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v675/gcidso123/funny%20pic/emocons/thoops.gif

[rrflyer]

Any wascally wabbits in your neck of the woods?

[Dennis]

Something was definetly in the barrel.

Why is the barrel dis-colored at the end?

[tobnpr]

Any conjecture here is just a WAG, assuming your assertion that there was NO bore obstruction is correct.
It's a brandy new rifle- while it looks like a bore obstruction, it certainly seems logical not to rule out a defective barrel.
I'm no engineer- but it's obvious there is extreme pressure not just in the chamber, but behind the bullet as it's being squished into the rifling and being pushed down the bore. Just before the muzzle is also the thinnest part of the barrel, and least able to withstand pressures.

It would not surprise me if it were found to be a barrel defect, perhaps a void or crack of some sort right at the muzzle that could not withstand the pressure behind the bullet (even though it's right at the muzzle, that pressure persists until the tail of the bullet exits).

This is a no-brainer.

Call Savage C.S. , ASAP....I'm certain they want a look-see, and a competent engineer/metallurgist to do a comprehensive analysis. If it's a factory defect, they sure want to know about it. Handloads or not, "warranty" or not, cause of the failure needs to be determined.

[ellobo]

I have seen muzzleloader barrels bulged due to obstructions. Many yrs ago when I was a teenager I was rabbit hunting with my cousin using shotguns. Snowy day, snow on the ground. A partridge flew up in front of us and the cousin put his foot on a log and fired. He flipped over backwards. When he got up and found the shotgun what we saw was as you describe, a barrel split from the muzzle back about half way. All we could figure is that he dipped the muzzle into the snow at some point, not being a very tall kid.

El Lobo

[Westcliffe01]

The fracture from the point of the obstruction towards the rear is just the nature of fracture mechanics. Once the crack is initiated at the point of failure it propagates at the speed of sound in the material as long as a sufficiently high stress is applied. There had to be an obstruction to create what looks like the impact damage in the bore. If it was a material flaw in the barrel it would just cause a small crack which would not propagate the same way because the pressure wave during a normal shot is so short and the peak pressure lower than what you get with a plugged bore. The impact damage would also be absent. I think the jammed object/projectile was only lost when the barrel finally split and is probably not too far from the shooting position. Some searching with a metal detector may have resulted in it being found.

[fgw_in_fla]

Alright.... after hearing the story & then SEEING the results of the mishap I guess I'll be the one to ask since no one else will....


Did you have extra underwear with you or did you have to go buy a new pair?....

Glad you're alright.

Frank in Fla

[drybean]

the plus side is that you will not have to waste your time with a bore scope

drybean

[Grit #1]

Dewey jag.... Looks like it left the patch behind when you pulled the rod out and you didn't notice it. That is why all the cleaning gear is accounted for, except the patch!
Best regards,
Grit

[Dennis]

We practiced today. After reading most of these post yesterday, I realized anything could happen.

I pulled the bolt from my action and checked the barrel before shooting. The only reason my gun comes out of the case is to shoot or clean it.

But I question, will a "patch" actually cause all this damage? With stating this, I realize if you try to push 2 patches with your jag, it's not going to happen. Maybe one patch could cause this? I'm asking, I don't know.

[fgw_in_fla]

At our local county owned & operated range, The weapon, pistol or rfile, is not allowed on the firing line until the range officer has a look down your barrel. A quick inspection is worth more than you can put a price on....

Frank in Fla

[Westcliffe01]

At our DNR range, there are the remains of several blown up muzzleloaders where the shooter left the ramrod in the barrel when he fired. That is a real obstruction alright !

[MZ5]

Glad you're okay!

Clearly, a barrel obstruction is the most 'obvious' explanation. Still, Charlie Sisk can blow up barrels in just this way, pretty well at will, with perfectly clear barrels. There's this phenomenon often called a secondary pressure spike that can do this, too. I don't believe the explanation for them is well-agreed-upon, nor even well-understood, but they happen. It seems to be easier to get them with larger-capacity cases and certain types(?) or bulk-burn-rate(?) of powders. No idea why your barrel split, but again, glad you're okay.

You handloaded these cartridges, yes?