Reply With QuoteJust the thought that something as small and fragile as a spider could blow up a barrel is cause of concern but also a little of skepticism... Has anyone demonstrated this?
I feel like it's more of barrel defect than an obstruction...
Just the thought that something as small and fragile as a spider could blow up a barrel is cause of concern but also a little of skepticism... Has anyone demonstrated this?
No, because it could never happen....
Ok, the OP has sent the rifle back to Savage for inspection and repair. You can all stop speculating, theorizing, bench racing, bar bantering, etc. until he gets a report back and share's the official word with us.
Jim B. - Site Administrator
I run a forum - someone please shoot me and put me out of my misery already
sorry, was not trying to speculate in this particular situation but to me it seemed that many people believed an insect could do this. I was just wondering if that is possible... It was an interesting thread though....Originally Posted by Admin
im sure the spider comment was out of sarcasm. If not, well I don't think the spider theory holds more water than a fishing net.
I find this extremely hard to beleive.
Last edited by MaDa; 10-16-2012 at 10:18 PM.
Couple rf's, couple cf's, and 1 12g.
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost
I suggest to the OP that when Savage has replaced the barrel, he request that the remains get sent back. I do a lot of failure analysis and the damaged area can get mounted , polished and etched and under a microscope it will be pretty clear what has happened. The forging marks in the material should be clear and some of the obstructing material will be smeared into the surface of the rifling. By analyzing the chemical composition, one should be able to determine what the obstruction was made of. Theoretically all one should find on the barrel is the barrel parent material, a very slight trace of copper and a tiny amount of powder residue. Anything else in there (silica and other inorganics) would indicate dirt or mud, or whatever the obstruction was made of.
The cartridge involved has a high powder capacity and a relatively small bore, so this type of weapon is very likely to split the barrel if there is an obstruction, even near the muzzle. If there had been something totally out of whack with the cartridge the damage would probably occurred near the breech. If, for example, the primer had gone off and there had been a delayed ignition of the powder, it is possible that the bullet would have been pushed into the bore, but without an obstruction it should still have emerged cleanly from the bore if the powder ignited a short while later.
Last edited by Westcliffe01; 09-28-2012 at 08:29 PM.
I notice your in Oregon, that is not to far from where I am at.
Do you have those mud dauber wasp type things that build mud nests in small holes?
About 12 years ago I had a rifle that sat for a week or so after I cleaned it, I went to use it and looked thru the bore, no light showed, the bore was plugged, it ended up being full of hardened mud and eggs, there was mud/egg/mud/egg/mud/egg/mud about 2 1/2 inches of it in the end of the barrel, it was very hard to remove, almost as if it was glued in.
Michael Grace
If I remember correctly the secondary pressure spike can be caused by too little powder in the case. A proper charge will burn but an undersized charge is loose enough to explode. I don't know if this tends to occur with the projectile close to the chamber or farther down the barrel. It is a good idea to stay close to the starting loads and recommended powders from the books as a starting point. If it was a reload, was the charge weighed or thrown, and was a visual inspection done before seating the bullet? Also, only one powder open on the bench?
It would be nice if the cause could be determined as this is probably a cheap lesson we can all learn from. Cheap as in only money was lost.
That's just about where a patch could get pulled back to. My new 6.5 jag hates to shed patches on the muzzle. I have taken to looking through the bore now (more than I ever did before)
JohnMill
I cant wait to hear what the real problem was.I hope that savage releases that imfo to the op.
Willing to give back for what the sport has done for me!
The real problem was a bore obstruction, plain and simple. No matter whether it was a patch,a bullet, or something else, that's what Savage will say, and that will be the last word. They will not spend an excessive amount to time doing research or try to re-create the situation.
"As long as there's lead in the air....there's still hope.."
How many time you hear someone say I don't need eye protection? Glad you are still able to type to tell us about it, and that no one got hurt.
Friends don't let friends use see through scope mounts. No offense.
Took my girls out shooting last weekend and made them take out the bolt to check the barrel before shooting. I think this thread inspired me to place emphasis on safety. It meant more to them actually doing it even though they were taught (Be sure the barrel is free of obstructions!) in Hunters Safety. Giving them some examples of what an obstruction could actually be and what a clean barrel should look like. Then we shot up a 100 rounds at splat silhouettes, rubber gophers and spinners. Tomorrow my adult son is bringing his Mosin 91/30 over to shoot for the first time should be a hoot.
[QUOTE=scope eye;271337]the most I have been able to fit is 90gr of H4895.[/QUOTE]
A patch in the right place could work as a "gas check" to build pressure.... My guess is that there was a patch close to the chamber--pressure would increase as the bullet traveled the bore and the over pressure finally released!
The discoloration prior to the failure appears to support this type of theory....
I admit one might shoot 100 errant patches out with no notice, but it only takes one!
I dont understand the "missing patch" theory... How in the world do you clean an gun and dont realize your patch is missing?
I don't understand how someone discharges an "unloaded" weapon, but it's done by professional soldiers more than people think....
I dont think is it apples to apples there. I am cleaning a gun, I put a patch at the end of the cleaning rod and I dont notice the patch is gone... not making sense.
There are people that shoot themselves cleaning an "empty" firearm, that they swear they checked. I don't see how anyone leaves a firearm in full battery! It happens, people make mistakes, that's the apples to apples...
Every thing we are saying here is pure speculation...
However, only pertaining to "My Theory": I still say it's easier to leave a patch in the tube than to leave a round in full battery!
I don't know if he looked down the tube after each pass with a light....
I don't know if there were two patches stuck together...
I don't know if he used a jag or eyelet, during cleaning...
The only other theories that makes sense so far, is the low powder/pressure one, but I think it was factory ammo, not hand loaded, and the defective barrel one (unlikely, and hard to prove that something else did not contribute)
The main point to all of this is "talk" is that we want the reason to be found.
I hear you, if it was not the patch I sure it was some aliens that weld the barrel shut. Have fun, Im off this one.
refer to post #56!
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