doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Kemen blow up

The pictured MX2000 in Drew Hause's posting is a Perazzi, if I surmise correctly?

The originally posted Spanish Kemen (by Nitrah) is one that we can only speculate about, without pictures. Yet I would tentatively agree with dogon that a mere overload is less likely as cause, than a bore obstruction.

Carcano

I have the situation dogon describes happen with 410 shells occasionally. I always check carefully to make sure all of the hull has cleared the barrel

Having ejectors does not necessarily mean that the separation wouldn't have been noticed. I trap the ejected hulls in my hand as they clear the chambers. I would have noticed immediately that one of them was separated.

I do this in order to either pocket the empties on a hunt, or throw them in the trash can on a course. I'm always surprised that more people don't do this. It's so easy to learn.

A bit of a delay as the fotos arrived in my Spam Folder.....

Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse

Definitely an overloaded shell. Seen it before with firsthand knowledge of the cause.

Short of substituting the wrong powder, a wad in the forcing cone (I do not see a ring bulge), or a manufacturing defect, it is very difficult to rupture the breech of a modern quality O/U; likely > 50,000 psi
The pressure separated the breech at the monobloc, and was enough to fragment the breech.
This MAY have been DDT
http://www.trapshooters.com/threads/smokeless-powder-ddt.245629/

Smokeless shotgun powders CAN, under experimental conditions or with the use of a detonator, be made to detonate.
I have seen no article as yet documenting detonation using shotgun primers or in a shotshell.

Unfortunately a metallurgical failure study is likely to only show rapid deformation (not fatigue) with terminal cleavage, not the cause.
I would strongly urge the shooter to confirm the powder used, and send his reloads for pressure testing.
Did the hulls he was using have a separate base wad??

Drew, the most common cause of detonation that I have documented is old cartridges that have had a lot of vibration during their life. Rifle cartridges that ride on the dash of a truck or in the glove box for many years, or shotgun shells that were in a case in a dog trailer for many years, the powder grinds itself down into a state that when you touch it off it detonates instead of burns.

Other than that, it’s usually reloader error. I don’t really feel like tearing into anybody today so I’ll just let it go with that.

I have only seen one steel load factory fresh that ever damaged a barrel. That was on a Bonelli nova when they first came out. The cartridge stripped a chunk out of the barrel, but the barrel did not split.

That was a manufacturing defect in the barrel forging.

Old men blowing up their shotguns at the trap line is such a comedy event. It’s really hardly worth commenting on.

Not too hard to avoid an obstruction when shooting- when I load my guns I always look down the barrels to make sure they are clear every time. If I have to, I blow out the smoke to see through the barrel. A lot of people don't.

Jimmy, that cartridge blew up the strongest piece of the entire shotgun. In Spectacular fashion.

It’s going to turn out to be a reload where somebody put rifle powder into the cartridge. By accident.

I’m glad no one was hurt, and it’s unfortunate that a reasonably expensive shotgun was destroyed in the event.

Sound like that one "Howdah'ed" old Holland & Holland double rifle with which Buckstix recently regaled us. Also otherwise well documented for those times of yore where "fluid steel" was still sort of a novelty.

Carcano