Scary moment at the Nanaimo F&G club

You have difficulty placing a double charge of powder in a shotshell, not able to crimp the shell closed.
That is a classic obstruction caused blow-up, perhaps caused by the wad of the previous shell staying in the bore, low powder or no powder, the primer alone will propel the wad up the bore 12" or so.
Lucky no-one was seriously hurt
 
m39a2 said:
My question is, why were the police involved?
Scott
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My guess: Range staff calls 911 to get an ambulance for firearms related injuries. 911 dispatch only has the callers word that this was a malfunction, or no further information at all. Police are requested to attend to make sure place is safe for the paramedics and others. No conspiracy, just plain common sense....
 
mbonner said:
You have difficulty placing a double charge of powder in a shotshell, not able to crimp the shell closed.
That is a classic obstruction caused blow-up, perhaps caused by the wad of the previous shell staying in the bore, low powder or no powder, the primer alone will propel the wad up the bore 12" or so.
Lucky no-one was seriously hurt
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X2. My first guess would be a 12/20 burst.
 
People are not taking safety seriously--a guy at oshawa skeet club put's a loaded semi on the rack---another shooter picks up the gun and without checking it --pulls the trigger--"bang"--- luckily the gun was pointed upwards and only made a hole in the 5 stand roof---
 
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bangbang said:
People are not taking safety seriously--a guy at oshawa skeet club put a loaded semi on the rack---another shooter picks up the gun and without checking it --pulls the trigger--luckily the gun was pointed upwards and not at someone---
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That's how easy it is. A little inattentiveness combined with not following basic safety rules and that is the result. Thankfully one safety rules was followed and the gun was pointed in a safety direction.
 
I came back to this section to read this. Brings back bad memories, shouldn't have done it. If some of you recall my leg was damaged when a shotgun blew up a few years back. The (butt end) side plate of the O/U flew off the gun and swathed through the back of my leg and out the side. I will never be the same. I am still dealing with a leg that doesn't work well. I can't go back to shoot trap as mentally I can't deal with standing beside someone depending on them to be safe.

I shoot my rifles and pistols and still hunt. I am to the point now that I can be next to someone else shooting rifle or pistol which is good. I am fortunate in that I can still walk, hike...etc. In the sense of being unlucky I am very lucky if that makes sense.

and 90% were the end result of a wad staying behind from a previous shot
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Although it was never determined what happened this is what I think.

Check your barrels guys everytime. I wouldn't wish what happened to me on anyone.
 
I am having a bit of trouble with the stuck wad theory. At our club, we have had the odd incident of a reload that missed the powder. It is immediately obvious and we shut down the shooting line, find a cleaning rod and push the wad out. It takes maybe 5# of force to push out the wad, 10# at the outside which equates to no more than 20psi in a 12g barrel. When the charge from a normal cartridge goes off there is a column of air moving down the barrel at about the muzzle velocity of the particular cartridge. Even if it took 200 psi to dislodge the stuck wad, this incremental pressure certainly would not rupture a barrel. Don't forget you have a wad in a normal cartridge and it takes the same force to move it down the barrel as it does to dislodge a stuck wad. If a stuck wad is going to cause a barrel blowup, then the normal wad will do the same thing. A stuck 20g hull, certainly. A separated hull, most likely but I question the stuck wad theory. It would have to be a bizarre set of circumstances. Could a plastic wad somehow tip in the barrel and then the shot charge gets wedged between the wad and the inside of the barrel. I can't see it. Maybe a fiber wad could do this is some obscure manner but they blow out easier than a plastic wad.

The stuck wad is somewhat similar to taping the muzzle of a rifle to keep snow and mud out while hunting. I had people who wouldn't go hunting with me because I always taped the muzzle of my rifle while hunting with snow on the ground.

Has anyone come across some informed research on this.
 
salter said:
I am having a bit of trouble with the stuck wad theory. At our club, we have had the odd incident of a reload that missed the powder. It is immediately obvious and we shut down the shooting line, find a cleaning rod and push the wad out. It takes maybe 5# of force to push out the wad, 10# at the outside which equates to no more than 20psi in a 12g barrel.
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That's what happens most of the time. Sometimes they are stuck in so lightly you can blow them out and don't need a rod.

However, I've also had wads get stuck in barrels that needed to be pounded out with a rod and hammer. These were caused by a bad lot of Winchester AA premium target factory ammunition where the power was probably contaminated. It was obvious when the round was fired that the ammo wasn't right.

If a round doesn't sound right check your barrels. If someone else's round sounds off DEMAND he check his barrels.
 
I think I need to be more specific. When I say wad I mean a base wad, that little round thing inside at the bottom of the shell. The shot goes off fine, another shell is loaded without trouble but a base wad is stuck in front of the loaded shell. KABOOM
 
salter said:
I am having a bit of trouble with the stuck wad theory... Has anyone come across some informed research on this.
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Yup, as the guy above me specified, when it's well and truly stuck in, it's probably a base wad, not wad.

shotshell-01.jpg


It's the extremely hard piece in the bottom of the two leftmost hulls that essentially forms the interior base of the hull. It's also why most reloaders will only reload single-piece hulls in which the base wad is actually formed from the same piece as the hull. Reloading two-piece hulls, in my mind, just isn't worth it. All it takes a little moisture and that base wad could loosen up after just one firing.
 
You can't get a double load of powder into a shotshell, not enough room. But you can have no powder and the primer may well blow the wad halfway up the barrel and the shooter does not notice it, next shot, boom.
That's why you may see long dowels at the firing point on a lot of ranges, to punch out stuck wads, it's a frequent occurrence
 
Looking at the picture of how it split open at the chamber, I wonder if it was a 20ga shell dropped in front of a 12ga shell?

Always check your shells if you own different gauge shotguns.
 
johnl said:
Just make a rule, no reloads, case closed.
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I am not trying to be rude, but going by that kind of logic we would need to ban any kind of human activity and any kind of tool including sharp stone and stick, with which, if improperly handled, one can poke out somebody's eye.
But that how civilization started.
Accidents will occur. Accept that. Train and be prepared, observe basic rules, do not rush, trust your instincts, if it does not sound right, stop, think.
I have seen batch of bad reloads; nothing occurred, barrel was cleared, we kept shooting…
 
^^Remember your words. If you happen to lose an eye or your kid loses his life because buddies gun explodes because he screwed up. "Accidents happen, Accept that". On a serious note. Doesn't club insurance cover these type of PREVENTABLE events?
 
johnl said:
^^Remember your words. If you happen to lose an eye or your kid loses his life because buddies gun explodes because he screwed up. "Accidents happen, Accept that". On a serious note. Doesn't club insurance cover these type of PREVENTABLE events?
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Accidents ( or incidents) do happen , yes, it's a fact of life.
HOWEVER, minimizing the chance of injury in the case f an incident is paramount.
Safety glasses and ear plugs go a long way in preventing injury, even further than insisting on factory loads.
I say this because even with factory stuff you cannot say exactly when a gun is going to "let go", even a high dollar one.
That being said, we can also minimize that by checking our fire arms constantly and making sure they are in as good as shape as we can make them.....
Cat
 
mbonner said:
You can't get a double load of powder into a shotshell, not enough room. But you can have no powder and the primer may well blow the wad halfway up the barrel and the shooter does not notice it, next shot, boom.
That's why you may see long dowels at the firing point on a lot of ranges, to punch out stuck wads, it's a frequent occurrence
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Sureeee you can i just tried. The press felt weird, i would like to think anyone would notice something is up.
 
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