Bad day at the rifle range

Thanks for sharing and for us handloaders it's just a reminder to be extra careful. Wow, I've never seen that much damage and then for the poor fellow to lose his hand, that's just unbelievable. If possible try to let us know what the finding are in this case.

Anything in the local news?

Glockula
Maybe you could go and check on him if he is still at the hospital
It might be good for him to have someone to talk to about it and give him some encouragement and that he is alright now. Everyone here are concerned about what happened and you can get an idea as to what happened.

Thanks for sharing this story. It's extremely sobering. I concur with many here that I presume we'll never really know what happened. The speculations that a pistol powder may have been used instead of a rifle powder seems like a very plausible explanation.

While us reloaders have (or should have) multiple safety checks in our procedures, this story has caused me to add yet another safety check to my repertoire: All my powder bottles are going to get labels with category of firearm they're for, as well as the calibers I use that powder for.

On the net: Some time back pictures of an KB with one of those smokeless power Savage muzzle loaders appeared on the net. The guy had a seriously mauled hand and the rifle was in pieces. It was bad sight enough so it was banned on one of those social network things. OP and others involved could have had it much worse.

Exactly why I don't reload. Never do anything yourself you can get someone else to do better than you can. The poor guys life will never be the same, to say the least his shooting days are probably over.

Paul7 said:

Exactly why I don't reload. Never do anything yourself you can get someone else to do better than you can. The poor guys life will never be the same, to say the least his shooting days are probably over.

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It is very possible that it wasn't reloads at all. A quick Google search of ammunition recalls and you will see that someone else doesn't always do it better. There is always a level of risk involved when shooting firearms. I will trust my own reloads as opposed to factory ammo made by someone else.

Bandit67 said:

I will trust my own reloads as opposed to factory ammo made by someone else.

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Yep..^

If you’ve ever watched commercial rounds being made, your faith in them might be shaken a little. There’s a place not too far from where I lived that reloaded rifle and pistol. He bought whatever powder was cheapest that was appropriate. You might buy his product three times and have three different powder/bullet combos. The machines spit out rounds so fast that they were impossible to follow.

someguy2800 said:

Bullet setback wouldn't have caused something like this in a rifle. Bullet setback can be very dangerous in a pistol cartridge because it can literally reduce the case volume by half or more, but in a big rifle case it doesn't have that big of an affect.

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Unless it's a large straight-wall - then it acts much like a pistol round only more exciting...

I agree it's not the cause here. I think squib, wrong powder, and reduced load double charge are leading candidates.

redneck2 said:

Yep..^

If you’ve ever watched commercial rounds being made, your faith in them might be shaken a little. There’s a place not too far from where I lived that reloaded rifle and pistol. He bought whatever powder was cheapest that was appropriate. You might buy his product three times and have three different powder/bullet combos. The machines spit out rounds so fast that they were impossible to follow.

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Not quite the same as buying Federal ammo. You seem to hear a lot more of these from handloads than factory.

Not slamming Federal: Ok, here's were I am as we speak. I had traded into a 300 WSM Browning A bolt II. The rifle came with two boxes of Federal factory cartridges less three rounds. On the first firing the primer pocket were expanded as in a overload. What would have happened if this faulty brass had been used to make heavy magnum reloads? What else could be wrong with those cases? Looks like there are all kinds a factors that can make for a bad day at the range. I'm not slamming Federal...it was just something that happened. Point here is to be careful picking components. Be alert. Have you heard that everything was perfect and my gun just blew up?

OT: That Browning shoots as well as my Tikka T3.

Paul7 said:

Exactly why I don't reload. Never do anything yourself you can get someone else to do better than you can.

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So I take it you’ve gotten a new car with automated driving? No home projects, huh? Not sure someone with that attitude evens fools with guns, honestly. May as well look at photos of a car accident and swear off driving.

Paul7 said:

Exactly why I don't reload. Never do anything yourself you can get someone else to do better than you can. The poor guys life will never be the same, to say the least his shooting days are probably over.

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I can reload ammo better than the factory... so I do. Does this apply to oil changes, teeth cleanings, and lunch/dinner as well?

Paul7 said:

Exactly why I don't reload. Never do anything yourself you can get someone else to do better than you can. The poor guys life will never be the same, to say the least his shooting days are probably over.

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Handloading offers huge advantages over factory loads. I have two rifles I’d probably have sold if not for finding the handload for them. And now my handloads offer vastly superior accuracy and performance for much less money than I can buy factory ammo that shot like crap. If factory ammo is so superior, why do competition shooters shoot handloads? I don’t even shoot competition and I handload. All that’s required to produce superior ammunition over factory is to pay attention. It’s not that difficult.

Do you have pots and pans in your house? Seasonings? Why? Restaurants can produce a higher quality of food than you can.....But they can’t always produce exactly what you want.

Guns just don't KB: The concern here is about safety reloading. Some of the stuff I load would cost $100.00 a box of twenty. Reloaded these rounds are just another cartridge. For me, yesterday it was working up loads for 300 WSM. Looks like the store bought rounds, for the most part, run between forty and fifty bucks for twenty. The reloaded 300 WSM has proved to be non-problematic. The exception was some older factory cartridges with bad cases. There's a world of solid data out there for this round. In this thread we are uncertain exactly what happened with the KB'ed Savage. It's hard get wrapped around a receiver broken into three pieces with lost barrel. Rounds correctly made and used simply to do not wreck rifles. Many of us could not shoot if we had to depend on store bought cartridges. That is, unless we call shooting three rounds yearly. Do any of us actually need to justify reloading our cartridges?

When I was younger I was captivated by the idea of getting my private pilot's license. While I didn't "enjoy" plane accidents when they happened, I was fascinated and interested to learn from those accidents and see how that might help me be a pilot that doesn't get too cocky - as well as do things I might not have thought to do had I not understood what happened.

That's exactly how I try to approach these kaboom stories. I very much don't "like" it when they happen. But I appreciate it (immensely) when people post them because it gives us an opportunity to get into detailed processes and situations where Murphy can make an appearance.....and hopefully from that we learn.

I'd love to hear more from the guy who had the accident - but I know that's not practical for multiple reasons. If that had happened to me (loss of a hand) I honestly don't know if I'd be able to walk up to the firing line again.
At one end of the spectrum I've seen people online say things like "When I pour the powder into the case how full should it be? Kind of close to the top?". The poster had no idea about different types of powder, weighing charges, etc. Another would consistently say things like "I weigh every charge. I'm guaranteed of never making a mistake or having a problem." (Except, for example, you grab the wrong powder by mistake. Or the wrong bullet. Or whatever.) He was turning off his brain because one step in his process seemed solid. But at the other end of the spectrum there are guys who have been reloading for 40 years with no problem ever, and they set the scale incorrectly. Or didn't look to confirm powder just one time.

We don't know whether the guy who had the accident falls into the first category or the second. I wish we could learn more so we here could learn more.

I think reloading is exactly like shooting itself: If done carefully and responsibly it is safe. However that does not mean the risk is zero. Every time we pull the trigger we're taking a risk.....reloads in the chamber or not. Hopefully precise, consistent and thorough reloading practices keep that risk low when reloads are in the chamber.

In looking back at the photos of the three different Savage 116s posted earlier, it appeared that all three had failed in pretty much the same way. The receiver ring sheared in about 3 places and the receiver was sort of pealed back like a banana. Is this typical for this type of failure or is there something about the 116 actions used for WSM rounds that makes it prone to fail like this?

Dr T said:

Is this typical for this type of failure or is there something about the 116 actions used for WSM rounds that makes it prone to fail like this?

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Interesting question. What I do know is that, shortly after Savage introduced the WSM's, they redesigned the receiver/barrel dimensions to make the receiver ring/barrel shank larger. It would be quite telling, but hard to know, if the failures are specific to the older small shank Savages or include the newer large shank units.

http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?127-Savage-Barrel-Shank-Sizes

Is this the same Savage receiver used for the 338 Laupua caliber rifles? Also, I have a Savage where the factory barrel has been replaced with a aftermarket barrel. Were there any aftermarket parts on this Savage that failed including the barrel?

Mowgli Terry said:

Is this the same Savage receiver used for the 338 Laupua caliber rifles? Also, I have a Savage where the factory barrel has been replaced with a aftermarket barrel. Were there any aftermarket parts on this Savage that failed including the barrel?

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no the 338 actions are a tad longer not much and beefed up.

rbernie said:

Interesting question. What I do know is that, shortly after Savage introduced the WSM's, they redesigned the receiver/barrel dimensions to make the receiver ring/barrel shank larger. It would be quite telling, but hard to know, if the failures are specific to the older small shank Savages or include the newer large shank units.

http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?127-Savage-Barrel-Shank-Sizes

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i had a 1999 savage 111 in 300 rum. it was the first months production, it was a small shank crf flat back action. the only think the changed was they went to a large shank like the target guns for the wsm and rums.

It's sad the shooter was seriously injured.

Many years ago an EOD tech colleague and i manufactured an tested pipe bombs using various powders. For the receiver to fragment like that the cartridge must have been loaded with something like Bullseye.

The late Frank de Haas tested an Arisaka type 99 rifle by firing a .30-06 cartridge full of 2400 powder with a 180 grain bullet. The action did not burst and the bolt stayed in the action .

i've seen just how cluttered some reloading rooms are with various powders everywhere.

i don't reload handgun ammo: There are no powders faster that IMR4227 or Alliant 2400 on hand. Only one powder is visible when i'm reloading.

Same thing happened at my range a few years ago, although it was the guy's kid (about 13 to 15 years old) when the gun blew up, chunks of his finger everywhere. The blown gun wasn't as bad as the one in this thread and it was a lever action, looked like a older Winchester.

Horrible, being that another passion of mine is guitar, loosing a finger or hand would devastate me.