I was at the range with a buddy last week and we were playing with the Remington 870. We burned through some #2 shot and some 00 buck then broke out the Winchester discarding sabot slugs for some fun. My buddy pulled the trigger on the first round and there was a small 'pop', less noise than a .22. We both looked at each other, emptied the magazine and looked down the barrel and about 3" from the end of the 20" barrel was the slug, just sitting there. I poked it out at home with a wooden dowel and it was in perfect shape the paper wads had a bit of powder burn and the plastic wad was a little melted but otherwise no noticeable deformity. I cleaned out the barrel and it looked OK, no bulging, abut what could have caused this? I was using 2 3/4" slugs in a barrel marked for 2 3/4" or 3" only. Thanks in advance for any helpful insight.
Stuck Slug!?
- Thread starter yank
- Start date
hvmetalhead
Regular
- Location
- St. Paul AB
sounds like a bad round. try putting another one through, and see what happens. if it keeps happening let me know which ammo not to but. 
good luck
good luck
Exactly what Woodsman said. VERY serious issue for factory ammo.
If you had not heard that "pop", and loaded another shell, it would have been catastrophic. This could have easily been a very bad situation for the shooter, and maybe some bystanders. Good thing you guys were thinking and paying attention.
Inform the manufacturer of the situation anyway with the lot number of the ammunition. If this is not a "one-off" case, you may save someone else some personal injury as well.
Glad to hear you guys are o.k.
Did the right thing. Heard something that didn't sound right, stopped, found out what was wrong. Would have been a catastrophic failure, had you fired another round. Just keep doing what you're doing, paying attention, and being safe, and you don't need to worry. But definitely call the manufacturer, and let them know.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
I agree this is something that I see every so often at my range. Some guys reloading rounds with no powder in them and get this same problem. I have had to personally stop a guy who didn't notice, and looked like he was just gonna clear it and fire again. I didn't wait to see what he was gonna do. You did the right thing and everyone should pay close attention like you did.
That's not what stopped the slug. The barrel would have relieved (blown up) if it was a restriction that stopped a full-powered slug. This shell was obviously low on powder.
PerversPépère
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Shawinigan (Quebec)
Beware!
If you still have all the other rounds from that batch, I'd be careful not to shoot them: the rest of the missing charge could well be compressed in the following round...
Instead, call them, give them the lot number and the story, then send them the remaining rounds back at the factory.
I'm pretty sure they'll thank you for this.
PP.
If you still have all the other rounds from that batch, I'd be careful not to shoot them: the rest of the missing charge could well be compressed in the following round...
Instead, call them, give them the lot number and the story, then send them the remaining rounds back at the factory.
I'm pretty sure they'll thank you for this.
PP.
Well I have seen this happen before with rifled slugs. What has happened is the powder has leaked out of the shell casing. I have a box of slugs that are no longer any good. I take it you have had these shells for awhile. The biggest thing we have found is carrying these shells loose in their pocket while hunting. This causes the slugs to become loose enough to rattle the powder free.
We came across this after what happen to you happened to one of our hunting guys. He was shooting at a deer and had the small pop happen, but he was shooting a semi and continued firing. Blew his barrel up to. So He went to Federal (his were Federal slugs) and they replace his barrel, and the slugs and informed us what to look for.
Now we all carry our slug in shell belts to avoid having them bang against each other. Federal told us this can occur in any type of slug, rifled or sabot. I'm glad you guys looked down the barrel before firing another shell.
We came across this after what happen to you happened to one of our hunting guys. He was shooting at a deer and had the small pop happen, but he was shooting a semi and continued firing. Blew his barrel up to. So He went to Federal (his were Federal slugs) and they replace his barrel, and the slugs and informed us what to look for.
Now we all carry our slug in shell belts to avoid having them bang against each other. Federal told us this can occur in any type of slug, rifled or sabot. I'm glad you guys looked down the barrel before firing another shell.
Howdy all, Back at the keyboard. The gun is a Remington wingmaster combo that came with a 28" barrel and this one, which is a 20" smoothbore slug barrel. The rounds were discarding sabot and not rifled slugs. I had not thought of following rounds having extra powder in them. Maybe instead of firing the rest of them off, I'll contact Winchester and retire the box. Thanks for the opinions and insight to all. I think I'll stick to 00 buck from now on
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
If you still have all the other rounds from that batch, I'd be careful not to shoot them: the rest of the missing charge could well be compressed in the following round...
Instead, call them, give them the lot number and the story, then send them the remaining rounds back at the factory.
I'm pretty sure they'll thank you for this.
PP.
When I first read this I sort of discounted it, then I remembered why I quite using flake powder in my powder measure. Good point PP.
The right thing was done. Off sounding shell, check and confirm. Was a large amount of powder noticeable in the action when the gun was opened? If not then there was no powder in the shell and the strength of the primer was enough to move the slug forward.
If a large amount of unburned powder was seen in the action or barrel then there are a couple of possibilities including contaminated powder or a misaligned or missing wad.
I've had more shell and primer failures with Winchester than any other brand. FWIW, they've never seemed to care when it was brought it to their attention.
If a large amount of unburned powder was seen in the action or barrel then there are a couple of possibilities including contaminated powder or a misaligned or missing wad.
I've had more shell and primer failures with Winchester than any other brand. FWIW, they've never seemed to care when it was brought it to their attention.
