Be careful out there... (KaBOOM!)

[Old Ironsights]

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16425

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/TARJARBAR/blowen20rifel20005.jpg

:shock::shock::shock:

[Gunfixer]

I really hate it when that happens

[SharpsShooter]

Ouch! The guy lost a couple fingers too. Interruptions during the reloading of ammo are hazardous to ones well being.

SS

[klcarroll]

There's not much information on this one, ....is there????

We don't even know what sort of load he was TRYING to create!

Kent

[RayinNH]

That's gonna leave a mark...Ray

[Char-Gar]

The poster said, the shooter/loader said ( Boy talk about hearsay) it was an under load that stuck a bullet in the barrel followed by a full snort load. I don't buy that story as a stuck bullet won't turn a rifle into a grenade. There was some kind of monster pressure/over load that did it or some big time failure of the metal.

[Wicky]

I always said those Marlins weren't made well! :kidding:

I suppose if you are going to do make it spectacular.

A good lesson in being cautious and carefull with your reloads, I hope the only damage was too the firearm!

[rockrat]

Little bailing wire and bondo and it should look good as new!!!

[STP22]

I always worry about being at the bench on either side of one of those incidents as well.

[frank505]

I am wondering at the powder in the action, seems to quite a bit and the cartridge in the mag tube seems to be not ruptured. Take careful note of the "thickness" of the web between the threads and mag tube, that is why I will not shoot a Marlin with any type of heavy load. I will stick to my Winchester 71's.

[JeffinNZ]

It is suggested that a 'squib' load lodged a bullet in the barrel then another round was sent up its behind. So the rifle goes 'click', he withdraws case with no bullet, does not check the barrel then fires a second round? That being the case the guy deserves to part with his fingers.

[StarMetal]

Looks to me that something caused an over pressure and the bolt locking lug let go and the chambered case started back, under pressure yet, and thinner part of the case let go blowing gas both up and down. You can see the shiney marks (esp if you go to the website and look at the enlarged closeup pic) on the before it let go.

Joe

[monadnock#5]

Firing pin locked forward causing premature ignition before fully in battery?

The loss of fingers is a tragedy, but will heal long before the damage to the psyche gets resolved. A true, Life Altering Experience.

[MtGun44]

45 gr of Bullseye will do that every time.

Bill

[dbldblu]

I'm with STP22, I don't even like to be around other people that are shooting.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Some folks are bound to learn the hard way. The Marlin is a good rifle, but it ain't no Howitzer, one has to be careful when loading his ammo and when shooting, pay attention. I'm sorry the guy lost fingers, but is everyone that reads this takes a little more care, maybe it won't happen again , soon.

[Daves1]

The reason this happens with Marlins more often,is that they are built strong, so people tend to test them more than a lesser built gun. I hope the shooter is O.K. But the fault is with the shooter, not the equipment.....

[405]

to all of us! I've never blown one up or even damaged one, except on purpose. But, I've also learned to never say never. Fate and guardian angels do discriminate. Dang that's no good at all!

Thru luck of job and opportunity in a past life I've had the chance to blow a few up on purpose and under controlled conditions. To me, whatever the CAUSE was, looks like classic, extremely high pressure. First the pressure starts rupturing containment within the chamber, then the gas does the rest.

[Cap'n Morgan]

I tried running some numbers past Quickload:

15 grain Unique behind a 240 grain bullet (I believe the rifle was a 444 Marlin?) will produce a nice 1550 fps load at 22000 psi. I then tried increasing the bullet weight to see what would happen. You know what? Nothing will happen! Even with an estimated bullet weight of 1000 grains the pressure would only be 37000 psi - well below the 51500 max for the 444 Marlin.

Muzzle velocity would be a whoppin' 800 fps, though...[smilie=1:

I then tried doubling the powder load to 30 grain - still using the 240 grain bullet and still plenty of room in the case. The pressure jumped to 72500 psi - 40% over max!

This accident surely looks as the result of an accidental double charge. A reminder of why we should be extremely careful when using fast powder squib loads in large cases.

[fatnhappy]

sorry for being skeptical, but why would the shooter be mixing squibb loads and full power loads at the bench, and obviously in the mag tube as well? MY BS meter is pegged.

[tonyb]

What was said before the "boom"

Hey ya'll, this is my own bear killer load. This one will clear the barrel of that stuck bullet. :Fire:

[PatMarlin]

Dayanm.

Surely a horrible outcome for a mistake and lesson hopfully well learned. I don't think anyone deserves to loose fingers to pay for a mistake like that.

[26Charlie]

The upper left bullet, case fragment, and powder in the action look to me to be from a burst round in the magazine tube, after the main explosion. Can't see what's left in the barrel, but could be two bullets. The good old SEE (secondary explosion effect) results from a bullet getting started then stalling, whereupon the powder "chuffs" creating reflecting & reinforcing pressure waves which create local overpressure at the breech. This is a random condition but was more often seen with reduced charges of slow powder ( allowing airspace) in bottleneck cases. I could envision a stuck bullet a couple inches in front of the chamber mimicking that, with those long bullets (500 gr.?).

This could happen in 155 mm howitzers too, if ignition was poor, because the shell was rammed forward into the rifling, then the powder bags were inserted into the chamber with the black powder igniter charge against the breechblock to take the force of the primer. If the bags were too far forward, or turned around so the igniter charge was forward, poor ignition could result and the resulting reflecting pressure waves from the chuffing could blow out he breechblock. The breechblock face was actually hemispherical to mitigate the condition as much as possible. These separate loading howitzers had chamber space for bags up to charge 7, but were usually only fired with charge 4 or charge 5 in practice, to reduce barrel wear, so there was always airspace in the chamber and we always had to be cautious about powder positioning. It wasn't good if the shell were not properly rammed and slid back onto the powder, either.

[thenaaks]

I see RED!!!

[TAWILDCATT]

to many are trying to get the most power out of the cartridge.and a lot dont have a clue what there doing.whats with the bullet in the tube looks like plyer marks and where are the barrels threads.that must have been one heck of an explosion.
:coffee:[smilie=1: