Challenger Target Load Blows up on extraction from chamber

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gttsc

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Here is one I cant figure out. Yesterday I went out to shoot a few pigeons who have been freeloading in my barn. I loaded 3 challenger #9 1oz first class target loads into a browning gold 12ga autoloader. After determining there were no pigeons to be shot, I proceeded to unload the shotgun. State of the gun at the time was safety on, one round in the chamber, two rounds in the magazine. The gun is in excellent shape, has never malfunctioned and in excellent condition and well maintained. As i began to pull the bolt back with the operating handle, the round being extracted went off. There was one big bang, and the noise was incredible. After I came to my senses and determined that I had all of my fingers and was not bleeding from anywhere, i examined the state of the gun. there was an empty hull in the action with the primer, brass and base wad all separated just laying there. The bolt was locked in the rearward position, and an unfired shell laying on the magazine ramp. There was also a wad sticking half way out the end of the barrel. I took the parts of the exploded shell out and removed the live shell on the carrier. There was no shell in the magazine, so the remnants of the shell in the action, was actually the second shell. I found the first shell ejected on the ground, crimp still intact, but the shot and wad had blown out the side of the shell. The brass base and primer were missing (still cant find them). The base wad was still in the hull. As near as I can recollect, there was just one big bang. It appears that the first shell detonated as it was being extracted, driving the bolt back, releasing the second shell, which made it partially into the chamber before going off. The primer of this shell did have a straight edge mark on it like it had been struck by the bolt face. It was blown up at both ends. All of this with the safety on and my finger no where near the trigger.

I disassembled, cleaned and inspected the gun. Not damage and it functions perfectly. (with federal ammo this time :))

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P5YrsyWLrusVmtaYA

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Sounds like the second shell came out of the magazine tube quickly and the primer struck something and set it off. Primer could’ve been defective and extra sensitive or perhaps wasn’t fully seated and more exposed.

Either way you are damn lucky!
 
Thanks for sharing. If you just said it went off unexplained, I'm sure we'd all just be rolling our eyes, but clearly something happened here that design should make impossible. I wonder if Browning would look into it and comment? Readers are sure to be questioning the product.
 
Any chance of dirt around the firing pin allowing it to protrude from the bolt face when it shouldn't have?

My least-favourite thing about tube-fed firearms is having to unload rounds through the action; it's definitely pointing downrange at that point, and remembering to keep the open side of the action facing away from self and others is good too.
 
WOW...FN...ZERS !!!!
Mannnn....you are one lucky sob...damn lucky you weren't hurt...or that no one was along side you. scoot out and grab a lotto ticket...lol

You said the gun functions fine once again with other ammo...but I think it'll always be stuck on your brains sticky note pad every time you pull that trigger again !! would be on mine.
I'd forward the pics to Challenger showing and telling them the details of this catastrophic failure. Perhaps there's previous knowledge of the problem (recall...???...if possible can you get the lot number off the ammo box)
..and then perhaps, forward them on to Browning...asking them if they thought the gun is still ok or if there was a risk of the receiver metal being over stressed to the point of being unsafe..
There has to be an explanation of what occurred....either way, this had to be some very Scary chit for you man...very scary !

Glad you're OK !!
 
Hi
Glad your alright.
As "Old303" says check to see if firing pin is protruding out bolt face.

I had a mishap years ago with a Winchester Super X .it slammed shut and fired .
Broken firing pin . Pin was protruding out boltface and the other piece locked it in place.

Muzzle pointing in safe direction saved the day.

It's a long shot but worth looking at.
 
Call Browning in Utah. Report your incident.

Go to that huge U.S. shotgun website and post your incident. There is a huge population of Browning Gold owners on there.

Report back to us CGN folks.

Thanks.
 
The gun is 100% fine. Shot several rounds of skeet with it (federal ammo!) not a single issue. Never had an issue with the gun previously. Definitely the ammo.
 
Also, the shell went off when the bolt was half way open during extraction. The firing pin cannot be released when the bolt is out of battery. Safety was also on.
 
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I am wondering if the primer was proud on round number 2 and struck the edge of the bolt causing it to fire.
Click to expand...

X2 that is the most plausible answer if the gun is mechanically sound . I have seen two 1911's do that with handloads and poorly seated primers That being said I have not used Challengers but a lot of gunners on our clubs clay course use them with no complaints .
 
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I’m just wondering if the brass separated from the hull when being extracted and was pulled back into something that hit the primer. Definitely a scary one.
 
Mystery solved. The browning gold has a defective design. The so called "speed load" feature that allows the first shell loaded into the magazine to go directly into the chamber is the root cause. When the gun is loaded (one in the chamber and two in the magazine) operating the bolt handle will cause the first round in the chamber to be released onto the carrier. There is a small lever that is activated by the first shell coming out of the magazine that is "supposed" to prevent the second shell in the magazine from also being released. If this catch doesn't get properly activated, the second shell in the magazine also gets released, slamming into the the first shell in the magazine that is already on the carrier. The design of the browning gold, unlike say a Remington 1100, releases the first shell out of the magazine when the bolt is 1/3 to half way open. So in my case, when I went to unload the gun (which was on safe btw), I got the bolt part of the way open, which released both shells in the magazine simultaneously, detonating both the shell on the carrier and the shell being extracted from the chamber. This was an as new shotgun that was well maintained and in good shape. After disassembling, inspecting and cleaning, I ran the process with snap caps and the problem was clear. If there is any variance in your ammo (particularly if it is slightly under size, the shell coming out of the magazine will not properly activate the catch that prevents the second shell from coming out. This phenomenon was repeated during subsequent firing of the gun with different ammo. Was the biggest problem with 2 3/4" shells, and lessened with 3 and 3 1/2" shells.
My conclusion is that it's a bad (or at best weak design) that is compounded by trying to design a gun the will shoot three different shell sizes. The speed load "feature" is poorly designed and can lead to a catastrophic event as a result of the unloading of the gun.
 
A defective design? Sounds more like bad ammo. I shot Browning Golds exclusively for many years, some models having the mag cutoff, and never once did I experience any kind of malfunction. My guns were always maintained regularly, and with the ones with the mag cut off I always made sure the switch was down tight. May have been some underlying issues with your gun but it's far from a defective design as its also been used on Auto 5's for many years as well.
 
The second shell should not detonate the first one if it follows it onto the carrier. The carrier is designed to have shells slammed into it every time the gun is fired!
I don't know what happened in your case but I don't think your explanation is correct.
 
Last year I had an issue with Challenger Ammo as well. Gun was an SX3 20 ga. Upon firing, the extractor tore the brass off the plastic hull which remained in the chamber. Second round tries to cycle, jammed. Cleared, happened two more times. Changed ammo, all good.
Email Challenger with the fault, and lot numbers. They did not care. They blamed the firearm. Last box of Challenger I bought.
 
The magazine cutoff is not the issue, it's the small internal lever that is activated by the first shell out of the magazine and is designed to retain the second shell in the magazine.
Under normal circumstances, one shell would be released into the carrier and lay on the carrier until the shell is ejected. However, when the second shell in the magazine came out at the same time, the weight and inertia of that shell drove the shell on the carrier back into the trigger assembly, and you could see a square impression on the primer. The design of the "speed feed" is dubious at best, as is the supposed "benefit"
It makes the gun more complicated than necessary and obviously dangerous. I would never own one or would inspect it very carefully before using it. To my surprise, there are many reports on the internet with regards to the malfunction of this system.
 
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