Man dies after rifle explodes

The Morning Call (Allentown) ^ | July 1, 2002 | Joe McDonald

[AnAmericanMother]

nightdriver, you could be right, if it was 11 gr of Unique in a 6mm.

My standard load for .45 ACP is 7.5 gr Unique, and it's not a hot load for the .45. Without filler a 6mm load could have detonated.

I can't think of any of the IMRs that would have a small enough load to detonate. Even 4895 would fill it pretty full. That's my standard powder in the .303, it fills to just below the shoulder, and 4320 and 4350 fill up the whole case.

mameluke, why would I want to do that? ;-) I can always re-barrel. Lord knows I have enough extra parts around here . . . and besides, that would mean I'd have to buy another set of dies! Too many wacko calibers around here as it is (ask me about .455 Webley!)

[AnAmericanMother]

I found the reloading data for the 6mm Lee Navy in my old 1948 copy of Sharpe's "Complete Guide to Handloading". Mostly for old pistol-type powders that no longer are made, just two loads for IMR 4064 with no pressures given.

Unique IS a recommended load . . . with a 112 gr SP the data recommends between 10 and 14.1 grains. It's supposed to develop between 22,500 and 37,000 lbs pressure . . . that's not extreme at all. Sharpe did not consider the 112 gr bullet satisfactory, and did not like the rifle particularly. Apparently barrel erosion was severe (as in the .220 Swift).

So not underload or overload . . . just bad luck or bad metallurgy. What a shame.

[rockfish59]

Damn!

[Mr_Magoo]

Yeah!

I posted that because that forum is set so that old posts expire. If true, it gives a few clues as to what caused the ka-boom. The one fired brass on the table showed massive signs of overpressure. Why he fired a second one is crazy. My feeling is the first round weakened the reciever and the second one destroyed it.

I reload. So far I have not had a rifle blow. I read every report of a ka-boom and try to learn from others mistakes. That and I don't push my luck. I use moderate loads that should not overpressure, or detonate.

[AnAmericanMother]

Ain't it the truth.

I imagine he just wasn't thinking. Horrible penalty for a moment's lack of attention . . . but, you know, we've all had moments like this in reloading or in shooting oddball stuff. It's just that circumstances didn't combine to produce such a dreadful result. My husband and I reload together and check each other's work . . . we have occasionally found a round that weighed short or a bullet seated too deep, despite all our care. I of course have had plenty of case ruptures with the Lee Enfields, but since I use moderate loads and the receiver is very sturdy, no harm done. And since I started neck sizing only (and consequently assigning 50 pieces of brass to each of my rifles for use in that chamber only) I haven't had any more problems.

I have stopped using surplus ammunition from WWII, it's just getting too old. Even when you break it out of an apparently untouched case, it's got corrosion on the brass and just looks crummy. The Greeks continued to use the Lee Enfield up into the Cyprus conflict, and I've run across some Greek stuff from the early sixties, and it looks and fires O.K. But it is pushing fifty (so am I if it comes to that) so after I use this up, no more. You can still buy new brass, and I am hoarding it. With neck size only and moderate loads, it should last a good long time. My father brought an Italian Mannlicher-Carcano back from the war. He never would fire it, just hung it on the wall. My father in law had a couple of Arisakas and a Nambu he took off dead Japanese soldiers at Iwo and Guadalcanal. Same thing. Sharpe in his book has very ugly things to say about both these rifles. Recommended that they NEVER be fired (he was not a man to hide his opinions).

[Tailback]

Here is better info on what he was shooting that I pulled from a shooter's bulletin board.

He was shooting at Easton Fish and Game Association in Easton, PA when his 1895 Lee Navy 6mm straight pull catastrophically failed.

Interesting that the newspaper didn't include that the gun was over 100 years old.

[white trash redneck]

I got a report on this mishap via one of the firearms mailing lists I receive:

I'm cross-posting this to all the email lists that have mentioned this
incident (that I'[m subbed to). Some have had accurate pieces of info,
some have not. Since I was there, I want to let everyone know what
happened, as I saw it. There are some lessons in this and in the hope that
Glenn's death not be in vain, I will present them so others will not make
the same mistakes that Glenn fatally made.

I was at the Easton Fish & Game on Saturday, taking a Defensive Shooting
class. During a break in our class, someone came down from the 100yd range
and said, "Does anyone have a cellphone? Someone call 911. A guy shot
himself. I think he's dead." I looked down and saw a cellphone on the
table. I dialed 911 and handed the phone to someone standing next to me
and took off around the corner to see what happened.

I was one of the first to arrive at the scene. Glenn was lying on his
back, bleeding from a single wound to the center of his forehead. A quick
survey of the scene showed his rifle in two pieces, looking like it
separated at the receiver ring. I knelt down to Glenn and check for a
pulse. I easily found the pulse in the carotid. A couple quick shouts to
see if he were conscious were futile and he wasn't breathing so I pulled
the jaw down and pushed the tongue down to open the airway. He took in a
deep raspy breath. I then moved to the forehead. I gingerly felt the open
wound for protruding metal. Finding none, I began to apply pressure to the
wound. About this time, Pete showed up and immediately began to
assist. For the next 12 minutes, Pete maintained his airway and I kept
pressure on his forehead to stop the bleeding. He was unconscious the
entire time, most likely from the initial explosion. Pupils were dilated
and fixed for the entire period as well. When Pete & I handed him off to
EMS, Glenn was still breathing on his own and had a good heartbeat.

After EMS took Glenn away, I began to examine the scene. Mixed in with
the blood was brain fluid. This meant the skull was breached. Since there
was no exit wound, this meant that either there was piece of metal inside
the brain area or he had been dealt a glancing, ricochet type blow that had
cracked the front of the skull. It looked like he lost about 1.5 to 2
pints of mixed fluids.

I looked at the pieces of the rifle. The barrel metal was completely
intact, with the expended cartridge still in the chamber (more on that
later), and the wood was badly splintered. It didn't take long to see that
the receiver had failed. The upper half of the receiver ring was missing
as were tops of the rails for about 1-2". Upon closer examination, the
metal showed an obvious crystalline fracture, with the outer edge areas of
the ring and maybe 1/2" back showing stretching/tearing, rather than
crystalline breakage. The missing metal was nowhere to be found, although
some wood splinters were recovered. The bolt would not return to
battery. I couldn't tell if the bolt had been completely in battery when
the round was fired but I am unfamiliar with the Lee so I don't know if it
is possible to fire a round when the bolt is out of battery.

I then turned my attention to the barrel. The brass was stuck in the
chamber. There was a hole in the brass, in the extractor area. The primer
was missing, the base of the cartridge was blackened and slightly bowed out
into a convex shape. Surrounding the hole in the brass was obvious flow
into the unsupported area of the extractor. The semi-rimmed brass was now
obviously rimmed. Obvious, major headspace problem. Obvious, major
overpressure situation.

Looking through the barrel, I saw that it was plugged. Obtaining a rod, I
slid in down the muzzle until it stopped. Marking the length with my
thumb, the obstruction was at or near the end of the chamber. A shake of
the barrel was silent. Driving the rod into the barrel to drive out the
brass took a few sharp strokes, the first couple feeling like something was
wedging in the barrel. After popping out the brass, I inspected the
barrel. It was free of bulges and the barrel actually looked quite nice -
dark but with strong rifling. The chamber was in good shape as well, with
no obvious deformities. Examining the brass, I immediately noticed that
the bullet had never left the barrel because I had driven it back into the
powder area of the brass when driving it out and that it was what I had
felt for the first couple blows. I did not notice any rifling marks on the
bullet but could not see it that clearly inside the brass.

I next turned to the shooting table, where Glenn had his box of
ammunition. Glenn was apparently testing handloads because he had a few
pieces of paper with different loads written on it. I recall them being
30gr or so of IMR powders but don't remember the numbers (I'm not a big
reloader) with 100gr and 150gr bullets (Hornady and Speer). I do recall
that one of the loads was 11gr Unique. Looking at the ammo in the box, I
realized that the fatal shot was his second as there was only one
previously expended round. Picking it up, it was obviously deformed as
previously described: obvious brass flow into the extractor area, blackened
& rimmed base, missing primer, except no hole in the brass. Looking at
this first round, I have to wonder how hard it was to extract. It looked
like a hammer-beater to me.

And that's as far as I got before the police started to impound everything.

It wasn't until later that I found out that when Glenn was taken to the
hospital, x-rays revealed that a piece of metal 40mm on its long side had
penetrated the brain, ending its straight though travel at the rear of the
skull; destroying his sinus cavity in the process.

Lessons:
It doesn't matter how much experience you have, if the brass is obviously
deformed, stop shooting.
If something looks wrong, it's most likely because it is. Resist the
temptation to take "just one more shot". Figure out what's wrong FIRST.
Always have a first-aid kit with you.
Always have latex gloves with you.
When you go shooting, make sure that EMS knows how to get to you, wherever
you are.
A cellphone is no longer a luxury. If it works, it can shave valuable
minutes off the emergency response time.

Glenn didn't need to die. From what I've read about him over the past
couple days, I wish I would have met him in better circumstances, he
sounded like a helluva guy. He was smart enough to notice that there was a
problem. He either wasn't paying attention and missed it or he choose to
ignore it; and continued shooting. Learn from his mistake.

No fancy closing words here, just a reminder that this is a dangerous sport
and to be careful out there.

[mamelukesabre]

The reason you would want to do that is so you DON'T HAVE TO REBARREL. You use the same barrel. The russian cartridge is slightly longer than the british one. So when you get the chamber enlarged to make room for the russian cartridge, the worn part of the barrel is removed.

TADA! just like having a new barrel.

[mamelukesabre]

I got some surplus 303 one time that was really REALLY old. I mean like ww1 vintage stuff. The brass was really brittle, it was almost like cast brass. The slugs were nickel plated. They were loaded with REAL chordite. I don't know if you are familiar with real chordite, but it looks like spaghetti, only smaller, maybe like uncooked angel hair pasta. And this stuff burned really slow. It was like shooting an old flintlock. You could hear the firing pin fall, and then a second delay before the powder(?) exploaded. About one out of two were duds.

I wonder how they get an accurate measure of propellant when the propellant is long sticks? What do they do?...count the sticks by hand and then stuff them into the case?

[AnAmericanMother]

They did it by weight (same as all sensible people do when reloading! I am not a big fan of powder measures, I weigh every fifth load.) It's called "cordite", BTW, because it was extruded in long cords and cut to length to fit in the case.

Cordite is closer to black powder than modern smokeless powder, you're absolutely right about its behavior . . . acts like BP but it's somewhat safer than the old stuff. However, it remains much more unstable than modern smokeless, so I would keep a close eye on it if you still have some around.

I have put a lot of ammo up the spout of the Long Branch sniper rifle & it seems to be still in quite good shape. I wouldn't rebarrel because it was tuned by Holland and Holland, & I'd hate to spoil it!

[mamelukesabre]

Unless your handloading with the stuff, I don't see what difference it makes how "stable" the propellant is. That word doesn't have a very precise meaning. I hear people throw it around alot, but what exactly are they talking about? Shelf life? Tendency for unintended or accidental ignition? I wonder if people even know themselves what they mean when they say "stable".

Store bought ammo is loaded and sealed up for you. You are never in contact with the propellant. Who cares how flammable it is? It's sealed. THe dangerous part of it(handling naked propellant) was already done for you.

By the way, I know first had the dangers of black powder. A spark set off an ounce or so of it( 500+ grains) just this fourth of july and I was only about 2.5 feet away from it. I got some powder burns and a bruised ego to show for my carelessness, but otherwise unharmed.

Also, Chordite is not even close to black powder on the "danger" meter. Not in my opinion, at least. Naked(unconfined) chordite burns slow..sorta like a forth of july sparkler. It spits and sputters and burns along the length of it almost like a slow burning fuse. Naked black powder goes up all at once like a bomb.

I don't see how you can get an accurate measure of chordite when the smallest incremental amount is approximatly one twentieth of the total charge. If you're off by a grain theres nothing you can do to get closer to the desired amount. Except maybe break a stick in half and weigh it to see how close you can get. That doesn't sound practical in a factory that is pumped up for maximum wartime production.

[AnAmericanMother]

Instability has to do with the powder breaking down into its component chemicals (e.g. cheap aspirin breaks down leaving acetic acid, hence the vinegar smell in a big bottle of cheap aspirin). It MAY be harmless, but IF it breaks down into an acid or a less stable oxidizer (e.g. chlorate) or heaven forbid both, it may spontaneously combust or heat up. At any rate, once it has decomposed it will not fire off properly. I do not know the decomposition products of cordite, having never dealt with it, but both my husband and I used to be fireworkers, and decomposition is an ongoing and dangerous problem in fireworks.

As for cordite, I find in Chapter 15 of Sharpe's "Complete Guide to Handloading" that the British patent stuff is 30% nitroglycerine, 65% guncotton, and 5% petroleum jelly, with acetone as a solvent. I have no idea how unstable it is, (although guncotton is notorious unstable) but it is certainly sensitive, that is, it is subject to ignition through static electricity, impact, or being struck with a metallic object. (Modern smokeless powder is mostly made of nitrocellulose). If you have any more of that stuff around, THROW IT AWAY!

[tracer]

Reports such as this make me appreciate the policy of the indoor range of which I am a member. Firearms and cases are examined by range personnel and members may not bring ammunition onto the premises......

[tracer]

"The 20 guage blew up like in the cartoons at the end of the barrel."

Therein was your problem. The cartoons at the end of the barrel obstructed the flight of the bullet...... 8~)

[mamelukesabre]

Hey, thanks for the info. I never had that explained to me before. I never knew the products of decomposition could themselves be dangerous.

As for the decomposition problems of fireworks, I can certainly verify that. I got some bottle rockets that are 10+ years old. They are a little hair-raising to shoot off since you don't know what they're gonna do...sometimes they just blow up like an inch and a halfer and sometimes they lift off only a foot and then drop to the ground. As long as you are careful, and keep your eyes protected and wear good clothing(cotton only), you are ok. Being an avid motorcyclist and having some experience as a welder, I am in the habit of wearing protective clothing at all times regardless of the heat and humidity. Having fair skin that sunburns easily is an added incentive for me as well. Bottle rockets aren't too awfully powerful. Even if one went off in your fingers, it is still harmless.


Oh, no offense, but I think you are over reacting a bit about the old british chordite. Real black powder is also very sensitive and lots of people still use it, including myself.

[bwanamkubwa]

The account of the unfortunate accident with the 6mm Lee Navy was very informative. The two important clues were the pierced cartridge case and the fact that the bullet was still in the barrel.
I am confident that what we have here is a case of excessive case mouth thickness. In other words, when the powder charge ignited, there was insufficient clearance between the case neck and the chamber walls to allow the bullet to exit the case. This is a condition which results from the wrong ammunition being used in a rifle (8mm Mauser in .30-'06, a frequent occurance after World War I, causing numerous blowups in Model 95 Winchesters and carbon steel [low number] Springfields), from excessive case length (the case protrudes into the throat of the chamber) or, as probably was the case here, from cases formed from another caliber cartridge case, with no attention paid to neck clearance.
Since the 6mm Lee Navy cartridge has been obsolete since the '30's, the unfortunate handloader probably formed his cases from something else. .220 Swift cases are the obvious choice, since the Swift was based on the Lee Navy case. Somewhere in the course of forming, the critical neck dimension was overlooked, which caused the catestrophic rise in pressure, the ruptured cartridge case and the destroyed action.
The sequence of events was apparently this: upon ignition, when the pressure began to climb inside the cartridge case, the bullet, which would have normally been propelled down the barrel, increasing the volume of space into which the burning gasses could expand, remained obstinately stuck in the neck of the cartridge, causing the gas pressure to continue to rise to the point where the cartridge case, inevitably the weakest link in the system, gave way, releasing gas under pressure in excess of 50,000 lbs/in/sq
into the action, wrecking it, and propelling the fatal fragment into the shooter's brain.
A practical test for insufficient neck clearance consists in attempting to insert a bullet into the neck of a fired, but unresized cartridge case. The bullet should fit closely, but not encounter resistance when pushed all the way into the fired case. Had this test been performed with the fired case found with the loaded ammunition, the final bit of evidence might have been in place.