Thread: Close call!

Holy shit that's incredible!

Having just started shooting again after more than 25 years away I'm being super cautious about everything I'm doing. And this story is a good reason why we all need to stay cautious.

Having just bought a Howa (turns out they shoot bloody well!) it's reassuring to see how when the worst happened the gases were directed away from the shooter so successfully.

wow, would be interesting to hear how that happened.

Originally Posted by timattalon

Looking closely at the picture, I would say a few things. Yes one very very lucky shooter.

From what I know about the Howa design, (But I am no expert) the venting holes in the bolt / action design are such that in the event of case failure or dare I say it, explosion, the bulk of the force is directed down through the mag well. Looking at the bottom metal and the way the stock has shattered, to me this looks like the design has done this. The action has clearly also split from the excess pressure meaning the remaining gasses etc could go somewhere away from the shooter. Not sure if these failures are intentional for situations like this, but one way or the other, it would still be as scary as hell.

I had a fellow shooting at the local range. He had just bought two new packets of 30/06 Hornady from a local retailer. He could not figure out why it wasn't hitting the target, He checked the boxes and they were 30/06, but when I checked the 3 fired cases they were 3x 270. He went straight back to the shop to sort out the swap issue because if someone had put the 3x 270 into his packet, it seemed likely the same person could have placed the 3x 30/06 into the 270 packet. Now I check my new boxes of ammo when I go to use them even if they are a new one.

Now that's a dirty trick

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Now that's a dirty trick

When this situation goes persuaded like the original posters pictures you Got to wonder if the supplier of the ammunition would end up in hot water over it, they supplied a falsely labelled product that caused damage to a person and property....

lets not go down that rabbit hole or we will have ammo sealed in tins and price will go up. maybe the packets need to be selotaped or given a seal of some sort...if seal is broken make sure and triple check sort of thing.....has made me think as own both .308 and poohseventy...

I have seen similar destruction a few times but the causes vary. Bore obstruction near the chamber, overloaded ammo, or a .308 accidently mixed with ammo could be likely causes. I would need to section the barrel to be sure. In all the cases I have seen there was no injury of any consequence, apart from one chap who lost a bit off the end of a couple of fingers when the barrel burst near the end of the fore-end. People using multiple calibres should always check their ammo packets to make sure the cartridges are true to label. Insurance companies will pay out on such happenings if you have the appropriate cover for sporting equipment.

Have any of you guys ever seen .25-06 Rem brass formed from .270 Win? Back in the day there were a couple of blokes that used to do that.

Originally Posted by 223nut

When this situation goes persuaded like the original posters pictures you Got to wonder if the supplier of the ammunition would end up in hot water over it, they supplied a falsely labelled product that caused damage to a person and property....

In the case I mentioned, I suspect a customer at the shop was comparing one with the other (potentially considering a rifle purchase) and someone has dug a few rounds out to show differences and put back into the wrong packet. And it may not have been a salesman as some shops have customer access to ammo. At the end of the day, it is your face that is inches from the action, so I would suggest that you check ammo you load whether it is your fault or not. It does not matter to me who makes the mistake, it only matters that the mistake is found before someone gets hurt.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Have any of you guys ever seen .25-06 Rem brass formed from .270 Win? Back in the day there were a couple of blokes that used to do that.

Ive made 30/06 from .270 and vice versa......

Here in the uk I've heard of guys that own 20bore and 12bore shotguns. The ammo bags get mixed our stored together one 20gets mixed with the 12 and your shooting a lot 20 will fall right down that 12 bore barrel. You think you might have dropped it so load a 12 in on top. It's happened. That's why all 20 bore cartridges are ment to be yellow only. Have seen a few spanish yellow 12 that sure gets people hopping.
But year end of the day it's you pulling the trigger so your the one responsible. Check those head stamps

yip the .20ga/12ga thing is real and will pop your eyes when you try it to see...... have always not owned a .20ga for that reason.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Have any of you guys ever seen .25-06 Rem brass formed from .270 Win? Back in the day there were a couple of blokes that used to do that.

In the 1990's Belmont NZ manufactured a .25-06 round made from pulled-down .30-06 military rounds, necked down and loaded with Hornady 117 gr. SP

The first 200 rounds I used were excellent but the next lot (headstamp LC69) were well over pressure, savage muzzle blast and accuracy gone to hell. I stopped using them and still have half a box in my ammo cupboard!

Not an expert by any means but i am sure the head stamp "LC69" is a military brass from "Lake City" manufactured in 1969. It may be those case where tolerances are very different to allow military specs to be fired, saying it, case capacity may be smaller because wall thickness and affect pressure when loading same load as a commercial brand brass case.

Please, CORRECT ME if i am wrong and teach me for further references…

Mac

Originally Posted by rockland

In the 1990's Belmont NZ manufactured a .25-06 round made from pulled-down .30-06 military rounds, necked down and loaded with Hornady 117 gr. SP

The first 200 rounds I used were excellent but the next lot (headstamp LC69) were well over pressure, savage muzzle blast and accuracy gone to hell. I stopped using them and still have half a box in my ammo cupboard!

Am guessing you are going to dismantle those and bin them. Might save some misery down the track for someone.

Very scary and something I never want to see again.