Kaboom at the range today.

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foxbat

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Bummer.
A guy who does a fair amout of gun servicing had one of those "life's unpleasant moments" today...
Borrowed a buddies 10.5'' Armalite AR, loaded up some commercial Sellier &
Bellot .223, chambered a round, pulled the trigger and "KABOOM!"
No one was injured..
Bottom of the mag was blown out, and after removing the take down pins,
saw that the case head had separated, and the case body was stuck in the chamber.
The extractor was bent out 30 degrees, and several of the lugs on the bolt
had sheared off their posterior halves.
(Nope, don't have any pictures!)
The owner doesn't do a lot of routine maintainance on the unit...
The gun has at most a couple of thousand rounds through it.
I'm thinking either:
1) double charge...(unlikely on commercial ammo).
2) (More likely) the gun fired out of battery....
The individual to whom it happened is pretty upset and feels liable...
(He has offered to pay for any damage).
I feel that he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Gentlemen, your collective experience, thoughts and comments would be
appreciated.
 
foxbat said:
...chambered a round, pulled the trigger and "KABOOM!"
Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but, I don't think it was an out of battery.

I've played with my AR in the past and if the bolt doesn't close all the way, the round is usually loose and not touching the bolt (not the same as a pistol with control feed if you get my meaning).

I'd be more likely to lay blame on the ammunition or an obstruction in the barrel (which is why I always run a snake through before I start shooting). Although unlikely it's also possible the bullet could have got pushed-back into the case when it was chambered.

Sorry to hear - keep us updated, I'd also like to hear what others think.
 
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TheCanuck said:
Wich is a good occasion to remind people to WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.
Click to expand...

That is so true. Things like this might be one time freak occurence, but it takes only tiny, tiny piece of metal for you to lose your sight. It's horrible and I've seen it in the past. That shouldn't ever happen to anyone.
 
Thinking about it some more, it could certainly have been a case of a non or
weakly crimped bullet migrating in to the case on the feed ramp, resulting in
a +++ high pressure situtation.
I guess that's why I stick to commercially loaded stuff in my AR's...
But I guess it could still happen with any brand!?
 
foxbat said:
1) double charge...(unlikely on commercial ammo).
Click to expand...

Someone once mentioned that too little powder can have a bad effect: the powder burn happens too fast and you get an explosive case rupture.
 
Very difficult to fire an AR out of battery. The firing pin won't project forward enough to ignite the primer....it'll dent it, but won't ignite it.
This sounds like bad ammo. I really feel for the guy who pulled the trigger, but as you say, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would have happened to anyone who pulled the trigger.
 
sigger69 said:
Someone once mentioned that too little powder can have a bad effect: the powder burn happens too fast and you get an explosive case rupture.
Click to expand...

That's SEE, and it's almost as much mytical as real. I doubt that's the case, accidental over-charge seems more likely. It happens
 
Ulikely a double cgarge as the case won't hold that much powder. Why is it always AR that have this problem? There seems to be a KB of this type every month on AR15.com. MAybe pay a visit there and see what other have found in the past.
 
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