I just saw this yutube video.
My son owns a Wingmaster that was built by his uncle from parts when he worked for George Pohl. The gun was BLOWN UP when a hunter put a 20 gauge shell in by mistake and put a 12 behind it after the 20 failed to fire or eject.
I remember seeing the picture of it when it came into George's shop. Big blasted out piece of the barrel, forend blown off, rib blown half off the barrel, a complete mess.
Just because someone did it once( or twice) on Yutube does not make it gospel!
Cat
Cat, I am with you …. and I would never try the 20ga shell in front of 12ga shell with that gun in my hands. This is definitely unsafe territory where anything could happen!
However, there are many accounts out there about this scenario … and they all basically show the same, with some exceptions and as your son experienced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TZIUINptvk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GguN4KyGQCM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9NUs580-j0
I guess my point is …. and this is something that many don’t understand … that modern shotguns don’t generally blow up because of over pressure in the chamber …. but because of an accelerated projectile (and shockwave) hitting an obstruction down the barrel. And I guess your son's experience is an exception to this.
And the key word here is “accelerated”! The obstructions needs to be some distance down the barrel and away from the chamber …. The projectile needs some distance to accelerate ... and the shockwave needs some distance to build up ...
And I am quoting here Tom Roster:
” Now let me make it clear that none of the above reporting is to encourage or to foster a blasé attitude about excessive shotshell pressures. It’s just to report that it takes a heckuva lot of pressure before a shotgun barrel will actually blow up from the pressure developed by the shotshell load itself. The vast majority of shotgun barrel blow-ups are caused not by the pressures developed by the shotshell load, but rather by obstructions in the barrel. Obstructions can take the form of lodged wads, plugs of snow or mud, etc., and are notorious for causing barrel bursts if they are not cleared before a following fresh round is fired.”
https://www.shotgunlife.com/shotguns/tom-roster/important-information-about-shotshell-pressures.html
With all that said, lets get back on topic ….. cut shells! Who knows of an incident and where a cut shell did blow up the barrel or gun?? We want to hear it!!!
And for now …. lets say the story you heard from a friend who’s friend’s gun blew up when he shot a cut shell … (basically hearsay) … is all good for now. And if you have a link to a YouTube video or an online article … even better ….
How about we build our understanding on empirical evidence?
Lets hear it ...