Remington 7400 boom.

[Bavarianbrit]

I was talking today to my buddy who runs the shooting range for the Saarland hunting organisation. A newly qualified young hunter was given a Remington 7400 30-06 semi auto as a present by his parents for passing the tests if new or S/H I dont know. My pal shot the first 6 rounds in it to sight it in for him using the Sellier & Bellot ammunition the young man had brought with him then the young man fired no 7 = OK then he fired no 8 and the rifle exploded into pieces. The police have taken it away with the ammo for forensic tests or what was able to be found. Poor young chap.

 

[ashray]

did he use factory loaded ammunition or a "friends" reloaded ammunition . be interesting to get the truth on that one.

 

[Smellydog]

Most likely the ammo.

 

[jthyttin]

Must be S/H since it's been out of production for over 15 years. Quick browse suggests that they're quite crap, and start developing serious issues at 500-1000rds.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

did he use factory loaded ammunition or a "friends" reloaded ammunition . be interesting to get the truth on that one.

It was a fresh pack of factory S&B ammo (shite and billig is the nickname for their products over here).
It is not really relevant since the mid 1980s in the UK as semis were forbidden under Thatcher but overseas SD members might find it interesting or maybe just the possible issue with the factory ammo?

 

[Ronin]

I was talking today to my buddy who runs the shooting range for the Saarland hunting organisation. A newly qualified young hunter was given a Remington 7400 30-06 semi auto as a present by his parents for passing the tests if new or S/H I dont know. My pal shot the first 6 rounds in it to sight it in for him using the Sellier & Bellot ammunition the young man had brought with him then the young man fired no 7 = OK then he fired no 8 and the rifle exploded into pieces. The police have taken it away with the ammo for forensic tests or what was able to be found. Poor young chap.

Did he survive

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Did he survive

A tiny scratch to his hand, lucky beggar, my pal said the sound was very different a whump compared to the normal rifle crack he hears all day every day at the range. Been no feedback yet from the police about it.

 

[dobber]

I shot the 7400 carbine 30-06 for years, only time I had a problem was when I didn't clean it, had some spruce needles causing me issues, other than that worked great, was a good "bush" gun

 

[Ratwhiskers]

Lightly loaded (reduced powder charge) case of medium or slow burning powder, and the dreaded "Pressure Excursion", all away and gone with no explanation from the police if there's not another as evidence in the box.
Plugged Bore, or simply metal failure, should leave obvious signs one would hope

Either way, it's good to hear the lad has only a bad memory of the event and a nasty flinch to get over the next time he gets behind a rifle.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Lightly loaded (reduced powder charge) case of medium or slow burning powder, and the dreaded "Pressure Excursion", all away and gone with no explanation from the police if there's not another as evidence in the box.
Plugged Bore, or simply metal failure, should leave obvious signs one would hope

Either way, it's good to hear the lad has only a bad memory of the event and a nasty flinch to get over the next time he gets behind a rifle.

I am sure the police will pull the remaining rounds and check the charges. If they are as being new ammo from the factory were undercharged then there will be all hell to pay IMO, but how German legal system translates into Czech product law is anyones guess perhaps the German importer will get stiffed or the perhaps the dreaded EU directives will cover it.

 

[Ronin]

A tiny scratch to his hand, lucky beggar, my pal said the sound was very different a whump compared to the normal rifle crack he hears all day every day at the range. Been no feedback yet from the police about it.

That’s good to hear

 

[alberta boy]

I shot the 7400 carbine 30-06 for years, only time I had a problem was when I didn't clean it, had some spruce needles causing me issues, other than that worked great, was a good "bush" gun

The 742 /7400 series are still really common around here . As you point out , they are a decent rifle as long as you keep them clean . I've worked on a lot that were having cycling issues , apart from one broken extractor , they all just needed a good cleaning . I think most balk at the task because you have to pull the barrel off to give it a deep clean , which is actually a fairly simple job . Personally , I prefer the 760 / 7600 Jerkomatics to the Semi Auto , but that's just me . I really like the Browning BARs , especially the Belgian made versions , very slick . An old hunting buddy has used one in 338WM for more years than I can remember , an absolutely reliable , and accurate rifle . I've offered to buy it a number of times over the years , but he just swears at me and hurts my feelings .

AB

 

[dobber]

but he just swears at me and hurts my feelings .

Rotten SOB lol

 

[Smellydog]

I'd have lost brass cold sweats using an auto. And I ain't hanging no bag off the freaking side!

 

[Foxyboy43]

When you think about the number of bullets churned out in a single day by manufacturers and just how little it takes to get one wrong - with sometimes disastrous results, it really is a wonder this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often. Only yesterday I had an update on a recent report of three 9mm pistols (yes we do still have them) exploding in NI - all using the same well-known lower priced ammunition - it turns out there were actually seven! So it does happen - fortunately no-one was injured.
All said ammo has been returned to dealers and presumably onward to the manufacturer and all seven pistols have been quietly replaced by the ammo manufacturer.
NI is a small place and the pistol-shooting community is well networked so I wouldn’t give much for the chances of anyone ever buying that ammo again!

 

[Smellydog]

I was in my 20's that's how long ago it was and shooting my 222 BSA with S&B ammo and one went BANG! Blew the primer pocket out and spat debri in my face!
It happens....

 

[TringSaint]

Years back a friend of mine has a river .40 semi auto pistol and one of his rounds separated in the barrel, leaving the copper jacket in the barrel and the lead in the target.
Fortunately he realised something was wrong and checked the barrel before pulling the trigger again, else ????!!

He was very well compensated for that factory ammo error!!

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I have just discovered the pictures my pal sent to me about the 7400 blowup, they were in my whatsapp account and I never bother looking there.
So. Enjoy.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Here are the next five pictures.

 

[jthyttin]

Seems like out of battery ignition. Something like stuck firing pin might cause this when breech is not yet closed.

Also breech giving up and bolt moving rearward at the time of ignition might get similar results, but I kind of doubt that since the timing doesn't make sense (case shouldn't move rearward under such pressure).