EXPLODING BARRELS

[Zonie]

I can see the picture fine.
I'm not sure that I can figure out what happened to the musket though.
The barrel tang seems to be bent but it is still in place at the breech of the barrel. The barrel itself doesn't look like it was damaged.
If I had to guess, it looks like someone slipped and tried using the gun to keep him from falling and this busted the stock right behind the lock mortise and thru the screw hole for the lock screw.

Here's the picture I'm seeing. (I took it from your post)

 

[Robert McPhee]

Okay. We know that a person can blow up a ML rifle, or handgun, by use of smokeless powder. And that antique shotguns, especially those with Damascus barrels, can be hazardous. And that we can find photos of damaged rifles.
We are a large group of, mostly, seasoned shooters. I would guess that between all of us, we have spent hundreds of thousands of hours at the range and would have witnessed most things that can go wrong with firearms. I, personally, have seen cartridge rifles blow and have friends that have been present for the infamous Glock malfunction. I have seen barrels bulged by obstruction.
So, the question remains: Have any of you witnessed a Ml rifle barrel burst that was due to a faulty barrel? I'm not implying that it can't happen, only that it is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Am I wrong?

 

[ugly old guy]

I'm not implying that it can't happen, only that it is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Am I wrong?

No. I do not believe you are mistaken.

 

[Zonie]

...
So, the question remains: Have any of you witnessed a Ml rifle barrel burst that was due to a faulty barrel? ...

No.

 

[Dr5x]

Looking for some guidance on how clean my barrel might be. I've attached a picture (hopefully clear enough) of the last patchs we ran through the bore after several sessions of cleaning. Now I am guessing that this is an older rifle which has not been used all that much. We are using diluted Ballistol. My son is concerned that the breech end of the barrel may have some light rust from the previous owner.

View attachment 19838

IF YOU USE ONLY DAMP WIPING PATCHES , AVOID WATER AS MUCH ASPOSSIBLE AND SEAL THE BORE WITH A PENETRATINGOIL, YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER PULL RUST. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT BALLISTOL AS A PENETRATING SEALANT. I USED WD40 WITH VERY GOOD LUCK.
BALLISTOL WAS AGERMAN INVENTIONABOUT 120 YEARS AGO PLUS OR MINUS AND SHOULD BE OK BUT IF YOU ARE PULLING RUST PROBABLY NOT.
DUTCH SCHOULTZ

 

[Dr5x]

No.

NO, ME NEITHER.I THINK MOST COULD BE TRACED TO A FAULTY OWNER.
NEVER WIPING AFTER SHOTS, MULTIPLE LOADS OF POWDER AND THE REALLY STUPID USE OF MODERN POWDER BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO BE BLACK IN COLOR OR THE GOOD OLD FASHIONED, "WHAT COULD IT HURT?"
THIS LST WOULD BE DENIED DURING THE TRIAL,
DUTCH

 

[Dr5x]

I don't 'swab'!

I'm a 'wiper'....twixt every shot!

Hawken Caplock Accuracy by Sharps Man, on Flickr

GOOD GROUP AFFECTED BY A FEW MINI FLYERS.

DUTCH

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

...So, the question remains: Have any of you witnessed a Ml rifle barrel burst that was due to a faulty barrel? I'm not implying that it can't happen, only that it is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Am I wrong?

NO witness to a burst barrel. The closest personal event was almost 50 years ago, when as a new, young (ignorant) BP fan, I attempted to shoot out a stuck cleaning jag while on a hunt, my own sheer folly being the cause. The 15/16" forty-five cal barrel fired, but ever-after there was a 'loose' spot where a slight ring occurred. I cut the barrel down, creating an 11" pistol and a 20" buggy rifle from it. [original length was 32"]

 

[troy2000]

One of my second cousins blew up a Damascus twist shotgun barrel, back in the fifties. I didn't see it happen, but I saw his maimed hand every time he visited us.

He was a baseball pitcher, and received a $10,000 bonus for signing with the Washington Senators. That was a remarkable amount back then... But he went hunting with some buddies over the winter while awaiting spring training, and fired smokeless handloads in an old goose gun. When the barrel blew it took off his left thumb, his forefinger, and half of the next finger. Since he was a left handed pitcher, that put an end to his career before it ever got started.

 

[Rudyard]

I was going to say some thing but in the above there is really nothing to say both shooter & gun paid a high price . Rudyard

 

[nhmoose]

Okay. We know that a person can blow up a ML rifle, or handgun, by use of smokeless powder. And that antique shotguns, especially those with Damascus barrels, can be hazardous. And that we can find photos of damaged rifles.
We are a large group of, mostly, seasoned shooters. I would guess that between all of us, we have spent hundreds of thousands of hours at the range and would have witnessed most things that can go wrong with firearms. I, personally, have seen cartridge rifles blow and have friends that have been present for the infamous Glock malfunction. I have seen barrels bulged by obstruction.
So, the question remains: Have any of you witnessed a Ml rifle barrel burst that was due to a faulty barrel? I'm not implying that it can't happen, only that it is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Am I wrong?

Also NO

 

[Erwan]

I've seen a lot of rings and swellings but never explosions.I think that is because the BP is working at very low pressures, may be no more than a maximum of 700 bars (this is the proofing presure for Spain)...
The only other accident in ML is a chimney that blew up and went through the firing post...

 

[Rudyard]

Dear Erwan the exploding chimney reminds me of Mark Twains ' Roughing it' & his" Stove heap gone!' incident . Other than the twig in my old single ML down a rabbit hole one night I've had no experience of barrels bursting , and it only unwrapped a bit .It was a farmers gun plain utility gun, Probably 'Two penny Wendesbury scelp' or some such Greener warns us about . Worked just fine after I docked it back a bit . Rose Bros Barrel c 1860. Did use an old Sam'l Nock double that leaked a bit half way down the left Brl , small grey but sound enough . I used to load it a bit lighter but one day a old Hare came by me I missed with the right but bowled it over with the left . But a burst I never saw .
Regards Rudyard

 

[Erwan]

Did use an old Sam'l Nock double that leaked a bit half way down the left Brl

It's not the most serious thing that can be done...

Joyeux Noël Rudyard.

 

[RiverRat]

I had a CVA Mountain rifle percussion in 50 cal that I bulged the barrel 4 inches from the muzzle. I continued to shoot the rifle with no concernable loss in accuracy. In fact I won a turkey shoot with that bulged barrel. One could slightly see the ring from the outside of the barrel when held up to the sun. When I sold the gun, I told the buyer about the bulge and how well the rifle still shot but it was no concern to him. He collected CVA Mountain rifles and was thrilled to find another one at a good price. I miss that rifle.................

 

[fourbore]

I had a 1970 Dixie catalog that shows a 12" section of barrel with a plug at both ends and hole for a fuse. This was their current new product. It was tested by filing with BP and lighting a fuse. All the fire came out the small hole. No explosion.

I recently(this week) witness a friend test fire his cva inline and get a 1 inch 5 shot group at 100 yards. He pulled the plug and wiped down between every shot. He cleaned the plug too. All he cares out is 1st shot accuracy. He showed me a 2nd shot result and that was about 2" low. I am going to assume a 3rd shot would be close to the 2nd but; he did not show me.

 

[Ezeikel]

I have a friend that wanted a blown up damascus double for a display. Hes not a fool and a very good metal worker. The lengths he had to go to would never occur in normal working practice. Everyone was amaized how hard it was to do

 

[troy2000]

I have a friend that wanted a blown up damascus double for a display. Hes not a fool and a very good metal worker. The lengths he had to go to would never occur in normal working practice. Everyone was amaized how hard it was to do

I'm no expert, but I believe it might be easier to do if the barrel is a hundred years old or so. It's my understanding that over time, corrosion can eat into the joinings between the welded pieces. also, I work for a natural gas utility. Back when I was a pipeliner, I worked on replacing sections of pipe where the welded joints were eaten out while the rest of the pipe was in good condition...

My earlier post about my dad's cousin Dale mutilating his pitching hand is a prime example of what could happen. And I found this in a thread at another site:

I personally knew two fine old gentlemen who lost fingers off their left hands shooting Damascus barrel shotguns with modern trap loads. By all appearance, both guns were in remarkably good condition, before they blew up.

If someone's hellbent on wanting to fire an old twist barrel, I suggest they have it X-rayed first; on our major pipelines, every welded joint has to pass such an inspection. The contracted technicians who do that for us might not be interested in such a small job, but I'm sure someone out there must offer such a service...

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I once sat next to a guy at a State Range in Pa. he was cooking smokeless in a Muzzleloader.
After a brief conversation he stated that it was a custom made modern Barrel that a friend of him had engineered for that specific purpose.
I had noticed that he was loading an amount tantamount to about 5cc,s of smokeless power which would be your average lee load for 9mm.
He shot it and it shot accurate.
I tip my hat to those who are into metallurgy and specifics of such.
Anyhow I moved a few seats down from him.....just in case.
SM

 

[Carbon 6]

I had a 1970 Dixie catalog that shows a 12" section of barrel with a plug at both ends and hole for a fuse. This was their current new product. It was tested by filing with BP and lighting a fuse. All the fire came out the small hole. No explosion.

So that was done based on testing by William Greener back in the 1850's
Here is what he wrote:


"In another experiment, I took a common musket barrel, having a plug of iron firmly fixed into the muzzle; the breech being unscrewed, and a ball introduced one-tenth of an inch less in diameter than the bore of the barrel, together with one drachm of gunpowder, I then fired the gunpowder, and the explosive matter escaped by the touch-hole. On examination, it was found that the ball was flattened to the extent of one-third of its sphere. The charge for the next experiment was increased to two drachms; when the ball in the discharge struck the muzzle very slightly, altering its shape in the least conceivable degree.[50] The charge was next increased to three drachms, and the ball was extracted without any perceptible defect. In the fourth trial, another drachm was added, with which the effect was greater than the tube was able to resist; it was in consequence burst, about three inches from the muzzle.
From this I infer that, in the first trial, the velocity of the ball was not so great, but that the air escaped past it, by what is technically called the windage, allowing it to strike the plug at the end of the barrel with sufficient force to alter the shape of the lead in the manner described. The second trial gave an increased velocity; the opposing forces being so nearly balanced that the ball scarcely reached the end of the barrel, and was very little injured. In the third trial the velocity became so great, and the air was condensed to such an extent, that the ball struck upon a cushion-like surface so highly elastic that it was extracted without the least injury to its shape. The last charge was too powerful, inasmuch as the lateral pressure of compressed air rent the tube asunder."