A buddy of mine was shooting Czech surplus 7.62x54R through his 91/30 today when one went off prematurely. It looked as if the round was about a third of the way into the chamber when it went off. The casing was peeled back like a jagged banana peel with the back of the round intact. Oddly enough, there was not a mark on the primer. Apparently he was being somewhat forceful with the bolt when he chambered the cartridges so I think it was a combination of an old overly sensitive primer and a cartridge being shoved a little harder than it liked. I don't think the rifle was at fault.
His hand had a number of lacerations and a lot of blood on it, but didn't really look all that bad. It was starting to swell up pretty badly however and we thought he should go to the ER since it was likely that he might have some metal embedded in his hand. I guess it's a good thing he was wearing glasses.
Just something to think about. I know there are a lot of people here like me who like to get out and shoot these old mil-surps with whatever surplus ammo we can get for cheap and Mosin Nagants have a reputation for being rifles that are meant to be cycled vigorously. Next time you go to chamber a round in one however, don't just cram it on in there.
His hand had a number of lacerations and a lot of blood on it, but didn't really look all that bad. It was starting to swell up pretty badly however and we thought he should go to the ER since it was likely that he might have some metal embedded in his hand. I guess it's a good thing he was wearing glasses.
Just something to think about. I know there are a lot of people here like me who like to get out and shoot these old mil-surps with whatever surplus ammo we can get for cheap and Mosin Nagants have a reputation for being rifles that are meant to be cycled vigorously. Next time you go to chamber a round in one however, don't just cram it on in there.
