Elkins45
Member
I had a case head failure in my Savage 270 bolt action rifle Monday at the range. The load was 56.0 grains of IMR 4831 behind a Hornady 130 grain spire point. It's the same load I have hunted with for 20 years now. I knew something bad had happened the minute I pulled the trigger because there was smoke everywhere, my face was peppered with powder and I could feel the impact of a jet of gas (and could see a black mark) on my right hand. Fortunately I wasn't hurt in any way, although if I hadn't been wearing glasses I'm pretty confident I would have suffered at least some damage to my vision.
The rifle didn't suffer much damage other than to the extractor, which was blown to the outside of the bolt. It didn't pull the damaged case and I removed the bolt and noticed it had been dislodged. I shoved it back into the correct spot and it seems to be working just fine. It was clear that a LOT of gas had been blasted out of the vent hole on the side of the action from the scorch mark on the stock, the amount of smoke, and the displacement of stuff on the bench next to me. Fortunately I was alone on the line so nobody was next to me to absorb the blast. I'm 99% sure the reason for the case failure was my own stupidity in using an old case one too many times without checking to see if the sidewalls were thinning.
So what's the lesson, you ask? Well, it's this: notice how I described the burn on my RIGHT hand? Well, that's because I'm a lefty. My right hand was the one on the forearm when the rifle was fired---and did I happen to mention that my rifle is a Savage 110L? I was firing a LEFT HANDED rifle when this happened. My support hand was on the opposite side from the vent hole and still managed to get somewhat burned. So there's the lesson: imagine if it had been a right handed gun and my hand had been beside the vent hole! I'm not at all sure I wouldn't have suffered significant damage to my off hand. Owning a left handed rifle has been a relatively recent indulgence for me since I've reached middle age. I've done (and still do) most of my shooting with right handed bolt guns. In many cases they are the only ones available. If you want to shoot 98 Mausers, for instance, or 1903 Springfields then you'll be shooting RH guns. I wonder if maybe that's not such a good idea.
I know case failures are somewhat rare, but maybe once is enough. So here are all the lessons I learned:
1) Glasses, prescription or otherwise, should be on your face EVERY TIME you pull a trigger. I'm confident they spared my vision to some degree.
2) Check cases for impending head separation if they've been used more than a couple of times.
3) Maybe buying dedicated LH guns is less of an indulgence and more of a wise precaution. I'm certainly thankful this round failed when I was shooting a gun designed to vent gasses away from my hand rather than toward it.
The rifle didn't suffer much damage other than to the extractor, which was blown to the outside of the bolt. It didn't pull the damaged case and I removed the bolt and noticed it had been dislodged. I shoved it back into the correct spot and it seems to be working just fine. It was clear that a LOT of gas had been blasted out of the vent hole on the side of the action from the scorch mark on the stock, the amount of smoke, and the displacement of stuff on the bench next to me. Fortunately I was alone on the line so nobody was next to me to absorb the blast. I'm 99% sure the reason for the case failure was my own stupidity in using an old case one too many times without checking to see if the sidewalls were thinning.
So what's the lesson, you ask? Well, it's this: notice how I described the burn on my RIGHT hand? Well, that's because I'm a lefty. My right hand was the one on the forearm when the rifle was fired---and did I happen to mention that my rifle is a Savage 110L? I was firing a LEFT HANDED rifle when this happened. My support hand was on the opposite side from the vent hole and still managed to get somewhat burned. So there's the lesson: imagine if it had been a right handed gun and my hand had been beside the vent hole! I'm not at all sure I wouldn't have suffered significant damage to my off hand. Owning a left handed rifle has been a relatively recent indulgence for me since I've reached middle age. I've done (and still do) most of my shooting with right handed bolt guns. In many cases they are the only ones available. If you want to shoot 98 Mausers, for instance, or 1903 Springfields then you'll be shooting RH guns. I wonder if maybe that's not such a good idea.
I know case failures are somewhat rare, but maybe once is enough. So here are all the lessons I learned:
1) Glasses, prescription or otherwise, should be on your face EVERY TIME you pull a trigger. I'm confident they spared my vision to some degree.
2) Check cases for impending head separation if they've been used more than a couple of times.
3) Maybe buying dedicated LH guns is less of an indulgence and more of a wise precaution. I'm certainly thankful this round failed when I was shooting a gun designed to vent gasses away from my hand rather than toward it.
