Robinson Arms XCR. 223 - Bolt carrier blew up **UPDATE**

C

cyclic

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Now before I go any further , these were handloads, I believe after getting input from everyone here that I had a case failure. No way it was a dbl charge. Bullet left barrel but after that something went terribly wrong. I want to say that I was not injured in any way, body of rifle is in tact. Everything BUT the bolt + carrier and + extractor are ok. P Mag also got blown out of the bottom. Bolt + carrier got pushed back and stuck in half open position. Light mallet tap sent it home after removing blown cartridge.
I am diligent about checking every piece of brass, and chamber checking every cartridge, so this particular piece of brass (FC headstamped) straight up FAILED



***UPDATE*** New bolt and carrier arrived from Wolverine Supplies (Awesome service ) hit the range this morning, rifle functions fine.



Load make up
2.25 OAL (case was within spec 1.145)
25 grains BLC-2
62 grain projectile

This was after I tried to pull out the case with pliers so it wasn't this far out after it happened
IMG-20120623-001081.jpg

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Bolt.jpg

Carrier.jpg

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Glad your ok!!

For an overpressure the rifle actually held up very well. If that was an AR it would have been a total lose, (cracked upper / lower receivers) Was the op-rod damaged in any way?
 
Operating rod is ok, looks straight and still functions. Just the carrier and bolt will need replacing.

Copy that Blaxsun, rifle held up well.
 
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Stevo said:
And how did it all end up in the chamber/breech area if the round fired in battery?
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Because of the pressure. When the case exploded and sent the bolt/bolt carrier/magazine flying the pressure exited from the back as well. Glad your ok.

PS. Those parts cost a lot $$$, still better than picking AR pieces up the floor I guess ;p
 
OldFrankHog said:
Because of the pressure. When the case exploded and sent the bolt/bolt carrier/magazine flying the pressure exited from the back as well. Glad your ok.
Click to expand...

Given how mangled the casing is, it doesn't look like it was in the chamber when it went boom.

Look at the way the neck is bent towards the rear of the casing.
 
Ya, it musta blown out the back of the casing, can't be more than $200 for new parts. (here's to hoping) It was just a louder bang, other than that some smoke out of the receiver where you don;t usually see smoke, wasn't scary. My wife was with me shooting, glad she wasn't behind it. Her reaction "Huh, that can't be good"
 
cyclic said:
I don't know what caused it but likely that some media was left over in the bottom of the brass after cleaning.

I am pissed I missed the media , must have been moisture in the bottom that allowed the media to stick in there. I am usually diligent checking every piece of brass, this one slipped through (if that is what caused it)
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Sounds like a good reason to go ultrasonic. :rolleyes:

On a serious note, how is the mag catch? If the mag got blown out it might be damaged too. Glad to hear everything else held up well though.

Thanks for the photos, very informative.
 
Looks very much to me like it fired out of battery. Unless you mangled the case getting it out of the chamber. Hard for me to believe that a little media would cause that much pressure. And if there was lots of media in there typically your powder charge wouldn't fit in there as well.
 
You should post that in the Reloading section as well. Lots of experienced hanloader hang out there and they may be able to figure out what exactly happened.
 
Stevo said:
Given how mangled the casing is, it doesn't look like it was in the chamber when it went boom.
Look at the way the neck is bent towards the rear of the casing.
Click to expand...

8 ball said:
Looks very much to me like it fired out of battery. Unless you mangled the case getting it out of the chamber. Hard for me to believe that a little media would cause that much pressure. And if there was lots of media in there typically your powder charge wouldn't fit in there as well.
Click to expand...


Look at the face of the casehead. Its normal, primer is normal. No sign of excessive pressure.
This wasn't caused by an overload - the rifle fired out of battery. That's why the case is blown out. Case won't blow out like that if it is in the chamber.
 
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