Thread: Another 338 Lapua blow up

Not sure where to put this, but this seemed to be the best place.

Man sustains facial injuries in rifle mishap | theage.com.au

It happened in Aussie last week & has been doing the rounds on the Aussie forums.

Yes it was a Blaser Tac2 338 Lapua Magnum.

Yes the guy is "OK", just got out of hospital.

No, no one has said why it happened yet.

A couple of the more useful posts on this unfortunate incident.

I got this from somewhere else

"not sure of the model but yes it was a blaser in 338lap, shot prone,
I don't think the rifle was to blame at all but the ammo would be what I would suspect IMHO, commercial custom hand loads!
the primers on all other fired cases were flattened to the point it looked to me like the primer pockets looked enlarged, the cases looked like hot loads to me and if a projectile was set longer than the others and touched the lands it would pressure spike to very dangerous levels, but that is only my theory.
the lapua case that blew was separated, the barrel was clear but the bolt had blown back and out gouging out the cheek piece of the plastic stock then went up against his cheek and face broke off the bolt handle and snapped off the butt pad in its travel back, bits and pieces everywhere,
lots of blood, facial injuries and suspected dislocated shoulder, a very sore camper, real good bloke to,
luckily there were some genuine gentlemen there who looked after the injured bloke,
it was an accident plane and simple

Got the above from an Australian forum, at my local range. With a bit of luck it will be well documented through our distributor."


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Just a bit of an up date I seen this on a different forum

mate I really don't think it was the firearm at all but I am no expert, and others that were there do disagree.
the ammo he used was nosler custom hand load's from a shop in Melbourne, I would expect that was the problem as the other cases he had already fired looked IMO loaded hot, the primers were pancaked flat, the primer pockets looked like they were starting to go out of round (I would like to try to seat another primer to see how loose they are) and the firing pin indent looked like it was about to pierce, this nosler custom hand loads are made up of all new and quality components (lapua brass and acubond projectiles ect) but the ammo he had was discounted as it had some broken tips ect... so I was told by an onlooker who had spoken with the injured guy before the accident and maybe there was a longer projectile that hit the lands causing the high pressure in an already hot load.
the lugs on top of the bolt were perfect (so they let go) but the bottom half were bent up and looked like they had been dragged down the concrete for a few mile's, there were more broken bits under the bolt, the bolt handle was snapped off, the bottom of the magazine blew out, the cheek piece was gouged out the but plate was snapped off, and the offending case was separated, the barrel was clear.
as I said I'm no expert but the force came straight back at his face, the bolt let go hit the cheek piece, hit his face, hit the but plate the force broke his collar bone dislocated his shoulder and the bolt stopped about ten feet behind him.
another thing I have thought that maybe when loading they had not emptied the powder hopper properly and left some maybe pistol powder in, I would be pulling the cases that he hadn't fired as you can tell its my just opinion,
I do think he will have everything checked ( hope he does) and we will know more.
anyway I hope this helps and you are dead right about assumptions

I'm sure they will get to the bottom of why this happened

It isn't quite as obvious as this one from the States recently.

Cleaning Rod in Barrel Causes Catastrophic .338 LM Kaboom! « Daily Bulletin

So don't leave cleaning rods in your barrels and don't trust "commercial custom hand loads"?

Couldn't be the ammo. Its gotta be the shitty Blaser.

Haven't had a good Blaser bash up for ages. Phew

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Couldn't be the ammo. Its gotta be the shitty Blaser.

Haven't had a good Blaser bash up for ages. Phew

LOL, it isn't the first one of the 338s that has let go over there so there is a bit of that going on....

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

LOL, it isn't the first one of the 338s that has let go over there so there is a bit of that going on....

Are you suggesting this is an Australian problem then?

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Are you suggesting this is an Australian problem then?

Not at all

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

Not at all

a 338 Lapua problem?

Originally Posted by kiwijames

a 338 Lapua problem?

The only problem is a guy/guys fired a rifle then they got hurt

Hopefully the cause of the incident is isolated and made public so steps can be taken to mitigate it.

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

It happened in Aussie last week & has been doing the rounds on the Aussie forums.

If its from Aushunt I'd take it with a grain of salt, they're all tugboats there, most of whom talk rather than hunt, all the good blokes left because of the abuse thrown around by the wankers that run it (or think they run it)

The Eagle Park Range is a SSAA Range (I have shot there many times) and I believe it now has a resident range officer. So, maybe something more formal in the way of an investigation may occur.
And given he was ambulanced away plod will probably also be involved.

"commercial custom hand loads! the primers on all other fired cases were flattened to the point it looked to me like the primer pockets looked enlarged, "

suggests an excessively hot load....

regards

Originally Posted by steven

"commercial custom hand loads! the primers on all other fired cases were flattened to the point it looked to me like the primer pockets looked enlarged, "

suggests an excessively hot load....

regards

From another Aussie Forum.

Before everyone goes too far on the load it was 91gr of 2225 and a 300gr berger loaded to mag length. I dont know what the mag length is but the charge is not MAX.

Another post following that one.

I use 91.5 of 2225 with 300 scenars in a M700 with no issues so I couldn't imagine any probs with that load in a Blaser, guess we will have to wait and see what comes from the experts (if anything comes out) as to what failed.

Would pay to wait & see what the outcome is.

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

[url=http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/man-sustains-facial-injuries-in-rifle-mishap-20140301-33shw.html]

No need for any speculation. The press has spoken. It was most definitely a "firing mechanism malfunction"...

Yup!!! Bound to be the rifles fault. At least that is what the OP is hoping. Naughty Blaser!!!

You really are Special Dave.......