Garand blows up in shooters face!

[Exposure]

I hope this is not a repost. I did a search and came up with nothing.

This is NOT my rifle.

But it is an interesting story. Guy buys a repro Springfield Garand and some "reloads in a plastic bag"

The pictures tell the story better than I can here. But I will say that I own one of the Garands and have listened to flack for years about the cast recievers being inferior to forged ones. Look at the damage to the rifle and notice the reciever is still in one piece.

This is also a very good lesson in NOT buying reloads of unknown origin. How this guy i still alive I have no idea.

WARNING: Graphic Garand destruction pics ahead.

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=66812

 

[jaholder1971]

Already been discussed here.

Looks like bad ammo was used. Lots of noise about using reloads but if the shop's selling reloaded ammo for profit then it's commercially made ammo.

 

[crushbup]

It's a repost, but it is a useful lesson in two ways:

Only use ammo appropriate for your weapon (Garands are particularly sensitive to this)

Never buy "gunshow reloads"

 

[Onmilo]

Points of interest,
The investment cast receiver did not fail.
The Garand receiver is well known for being overbuilt and even investment cast versions survive this kind of destructive force.

Not so much so for the investment cast bolt, A forged USGI bolt will split but not come apart.

The culprit in my eyes is a work hardened brass case that was not fully sized.
The cartridge did not fully seat in the chamber but did seat enough to allow the weapon to fire.
When the weapon did fire the case failed at the base and all that gas pressure came back into the action.

The stock failed in such a dramatic fashion because the available walnut wood today is no where near the quality of what was availavle even twenty five years ago, it is much more open grained and porous and will split and crack much easier than the wood of old.
Fiberglass reenforced plastic stocks are a much better alternative for modern rifles than the wood of old.

The shooter was lucky to not have been more severely injured.

If the gunshop did not have the buyer sell a liability waiver when they sold him the ammunition they will most likely be liable for the damages.

The manufacturer of the rifle will do a spectro chemical analysis of the powder loaded in the cartridges and can tell you exactly what it is.

The owner/buyer/shooter should also keep a sample of the cartridges and have them independently tested in the same fashion.

The litigation target in this instance would be the gun store and the reloader but Springfield Inc. would likely replace the rifle for a nominal fee.

The owner would be hard pressed to prove any of this was the fault of the weapon.

Summation, don't buy reloads unless they come from a reputable manufacturer who will back their product fully, in example, Black Hills Ammunition.

 

[30Cal]

Not so much so for the investment cast bolt, A forged USGI bolt will split but not come apart.

I haven't seen a repro M1 bolt. Does anyone make one? Availability of USGI ones is still very good.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Glad he is alright man that stinks!

 

[Shooter88]

He doesn't need a lawyer, he needs somebody to slap him and call him an idiot for destroying a perfectly good rifle via lack of common sense. How much thinking does it take to realize shooting somebody else's reloads of completely unknown specs is a bad idea? I mean really. They could have been packed to the case neck with Unique for all he knew. I always figure, f it wasn't crafted by your own hand or by a company that cranks out the stuff by the truckload and has the kind of QC required to prevent such occurrences, you don't shoot it.