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.
.223 Rem AI, .22-250 AI, .220 Swift AI .243 Win AI, .6mm Rem AI, .257 Rob AI, .25-06 AI, 6.5x300wsm .30-06 AI, .270 STW, 7mm STW, 28 nosler, .416 Taylor
Any wascally wabbits in your neck of the woods?
Something was definetly in the barrel.
Why is the barrel dis-colored at the end?
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.
Last edited by tobnpr; 09-27-2012 at 06:36 PM.
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
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.
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
'Scuse me while I whip this out...!
the plus side is that you will not have to waste your time with a bore scope
drybean
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
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.
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
'Scuse me while I whip this out...!
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 !
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?
The badly burned rifling ahead of the bulge is the definitive clue that it was some kind of obstruction. The burning occurs at the point of the obstruction in most cases and stops when the obstruction is moved or blown up. What concerns me is the fact the barrel seems to have split uniformly for quite a distance. Almost too cleanly.
El Lobo
Whatever the cause you better get rid of it quick before the BATFe gets you for creating a SBR without a stamp.
I talked with Savage customer service today, advised that it would be $250.00 for a new barrel. Not real happy with that answer for about the same price I could get a PAC-Nor from just down the road. Well an email from a fellow employee and they made things what I would consider fair and appropriate. Just have to see it it gets back in time for Elk on 10/24/12
A buddy of mine just did that last year but it didn't do anything to the gun, just blew the rod into pieces.Originally Posted by Westcliffe01
And they're not interested in seeing the barrel, despite the fact that your are certain there was no barrel obstruction?
Wouldn't even think about re-barreling that thing until a qualified gun smith took a really close look at the receiver. Over max load producing blown primer, split case, etc. I could buy but a split barrel without an obstruction?....I don't think so!
hrdbul,
You said in a previous post that you cased the rifle after cleaning, but before the event occurred. Soft case with zippered edge or hard case? If you used a soft case, have you looked down in the bottom of the case to see whether any debris could have gotten pushed down into the muzzle? Just thinking about this gives me the shakes. And it made me realize, I almost never check the muzzle end of my soft cases for debris - just unzip half way and slide the rifle in..............I usually pull the bolt and look through the barrel at the range before firing, but not always - will probably be a little more diligent about that afetr reading this.
And I'm glad you're OK.
Elkbane
Also, is it an optical illusion or am I seeing it wrong - in the first picture you posted the right side of the barrel looks like it is twice as thick as the left side. Almost looks like the bore isn't cnetered in the barrel blank??? Doesn't look as distorted in teh second picture.
Last edited by Elkbane; 09-28-2012 at 11:37 AM.
It was about a 25/75 split on the barrel
The gun is on its way back to Savage as we speak, they will be replacing the barrel. Elkbane, that is the only thing possible, something in the end of the soft case.
Here's the thing...
Anything even reasonably loose in the barrel is gonna get blown right out...
Loose dirt...a little piece of styrofoam from a soft case...this stuff will not blow up a barrel.
For cripes sake, it seems like some of you are suggesting that if a fly ended up in the end of the barrel before he shot it...
It doesn't work like that. Just pushing the bullet through the rifling requires extreme pressures. A little piece of crud in the end of the barrel isn't going to cause it to explode.
Just look at all the videos online of torture tests of the HK 416 being pulled out of the mud, sand, water, etc. and fired...it takes more than that to blow up a barrel.
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