Kaboom at Manatee today!

rapid field striping of the savage
I imagine that newly acquired flinch is gonna be hard to get rid of for quite a while.

That's funny shit.

I doubt you would get that same excitement out of a 300 blackout... But a 338 Lapua... You get into the super magnums you need to pay attention to WTF you are doing.

Didnt someone else report a Kaboom with a 338 where the shooter loaded it up with varget?

I never cared much for those weenie barrels savage uses but I bet it was that weenie barrel that saved that guys head today. A big fat Bartlein in a stiller probably would have blown the bolt back.
 
There was a benchrest guy that bought it a few years ago, just like this. It was either a cleaning rod or a boresighter, I do not recall which was left in the muzzle. First shot afterwards, drove the bolt into his head, not good, not good at all.

Glad to hear you guys were all OK. I built a 338 last year, on a big Surgeon action. Let me testify, that was the most measured, and checked/rechecked job I have taken on in a long time! Lots of Bang, right under your face.....
 
Photos of ceiling taters!

The ceiling was cleanly penetrated by something that went vertical very swiftly!
 

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Holy shit is he ok? I'm guessing it was a little too hot? I'll be joining you guys there once I'm all tuned up. I usually go to Okeechobee, but for 1000 obviously manatee is where it's at.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
 
Who was the nutswinger that a few weeks ago was saying that savage actions are bomb proof and you can't blow them up if you tried?

Your reading comprehension still sucks, and just because somehow you wizzled off my ignore list, didn't make you any smarter or less annoying. Read the post right above the one you quoted ....
a) It ain't going to "blow up" unless you obstruct the barrel.

But, hey, you got me, if it makes you feel any better! We found "how" to split savage action. If you think something is fool proof - you just haven't met the right fool yet

338 Lapua with the custom "brass stuck in chamber" load + cleaning rod.

P.S. I guarantee, with any other action the shooter would have ended up with firing pin through the face.
 
Glad nobody was seriously injured or killed.

Some of the responses here are interesting, though; almost as if some people would not expect to see a catastrophic failure if they shot a .338LM with a cleaning rod stuck in the barrel. Really? :confused:
 
Holy shit is he ok? I'm guessing it was a little too hot? I'll be joining you guys there once I'm all tuned up. I usually go to Okeechobee, but for 1000 obviously manatee is where it's at.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

He's OK.

Humbled, has a nice ding on his left arm above the elbow and probably a profound memory that won't soon fade!
 
Thanks for sharing. Those are some scary looking pictures for sure. This is a good reminder to always wear eye protection! I know I am sometimes guilty of touching off a few rounds without the glasses. Hate to admit that, but it is the truth.

So, thanks for the reminder! Glad everyone is okay.

This also reminds me of a catastrophic failure at a local range a few years ago. Guy shot some really bad reloads (can't remember if it was wrong powder or what, but something like that) in a 1911. The shooter walked away without a scratch. The guy on the bench next to him took a piece of frame through the neck and had to be life flighted out of the range. Guy nearly died.

Food for thought.

Ya'll stay safe!

Mark
 
It was my girl and myself to the right of this person and she was laying prone and I was videoing
Lucky for us she suggested we go heat something up and eat.

He might be a nice guy but hes got more money then brains
Ive seen him go in from the muzzle end every single time he is out there
He likes to do the shoot and clean, thats fine but good lord man use a bore guide and go in from the breach ......WTF!!!
Then he did it again not more then a hour later (cleaning that is) that afternoon with his other rifle, going in from the muzzle end

I fucking knew as soon as he set up next to us that it was a bad idea

And yes Im still upset cause I was standing up next to that bullshit and even more so cause my girl was right with me (Thank God She Came With This Day)

AL
 
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Glad nobody was seriously injured or killed.

Some of the responses here are interesting, though; almost as if some people would not expect to see a catastrophic failure if they shot a .338LM with a cleaning rod stuck in the barrel. Really? :confused:

Unless you've seen the results before, I don't think it's a necessarily obvious thing to expect. I'll admit I was a little surprised at the extent of the damage the first time I laid eyes on the results of trying to shoot a cleaning rod out of a rifle.
 
You do know that the rods normally go from breach to muzzle don't you? :)
Bore sighters at the range worry me most. I saw a Remington M7 with a split barrel due to one being left on at the range.
Just thank one's lucky stars no one was seriously hurt by this one.



You mean laser bore sighters like these? Remington 7600 gamemaster 243
 

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I fucking knew as soon as he set up next to us that it was a bad idea

And yes Im still upset cause I was standing up next to that bullshit and even more so cause my girl was right with me (Thank God She Came With This Day)

AL

I dont blame you dude......thank god you and your little girl werent hurt. Damn thats scary, it was a freaking grenade.
 
Bore sighters at the range worry me most. I saw a Remington M7 with a split barrel due to one being left on at the range.

Lets just say that I know a guy :) who did this. Didn't split the barrel but all rounds after that happened started impacting the 100 y target 3" Right and 6" higher.

I now use only a bore sighter that fits in the chamber and bought a new barrel. I guess I just needed an excuse to buy a new Benchmark Barrel :) :)
 
He was probably knocking out a stuck round, which is the more common use for a cleaning rod at the range. It's also more dangerous, because it's usually done in a moment of mild frustration.

A simple cure, something that will make sure one doesn't leave the cleaning rod in, is to make a 6" circle of cardboard and poke the cleaning rod through the center of it. Only remove stuck rounds when using the cardboard "circle". This will obscure any sight picture and give the shooter a warning that the rod's still in the bore. The cardboard will also keep the handle and it's parts from dinging the crown when the case is knocked out.
 
Never forget the day on the MG Range. DIs would always rod the MGs to clear them after each firing order. One of them left one of the Steel GI Rods in the MG that was 2 down to my left. When the order to commence firing was given, I will never forget the sound when that one went KABOOM! That shooter, one next to him, and one of the DIs were all transported to the Hospital with shrapnel wounds.

Also just saw this same scenario about to happen 5-6 months ago at a local range. Shooter was having to rod out stuck cases, fortunately the RSO was on the ball and after he caught the shooter leaving the rod in the barrel, he told him he was done for the day.

Hopefully others can learn from this, thanks for sharing, I will be using it as example for the new shooters that I am working with.
 
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This is a great reminder for me personally, as I have knocked dozens of stuck .338 cases out of my 110BA. Glad nobody was seriously injured.

-J

This is a reminder to me. NEVER buy a Savage 110BA in 338LM. When I saw the rod in the barrel I knew what he had done because I have read too many times about sticky chambers in Savage 338LM rifles. Is it not time to say there is a problem there (even if you worship Savage)?
 
This is a reminder to me. NEVER buy a Savage 110BA in 338LM. When I saw the rod in the barrel I knew what he had done because I have read too many times about sticky chambers in Savage 338LM rifles. Is it not time to say there is a problem there (even if you worship Savage)?

This is in no way savages fault.... Generally "sticky chamber" is caused by hot loads or people who load into the lands(raising the pressure). I've seen just about every type of rifle have this problem from time to time.
 
I have a strict rule that if my gun malfunctions in any way, including a stuck case, I first notify the RSO and then take the gun off the line.
Since Nelson at Okeechobee is a grumpy old fart like myself, I usually drag the gun back to the shop and let him rag on me while fixing the problem.

My AO 6.5 has never given me a problem although I did sweat once while closing the bolt after not hand feeding a round. 139 Scenars are a LOT longer than 120 Amax (0.95") and won't feed from the mag on my gun. Close bolt, re-afirm sight picture, squeeze trigger, "CLICK". Wait 30 seconds, open bolt, nothing in there, Oh well. A simple craniorectal inversion.

The other simple rule is even simpler, if at all possible, clean from the breach. My 10/22 is the only exception, even my ARs get the rifle broken down, the BCG removed and then I clean.
 
InkedIan, don't misunderstand what I am saying. I am not shitting on Savage rifles in general (I do have at least one). I am saying there is obviously something amiss when guys are getting cases stuck in the 338LM when they are NOT anywhere close to above published loading data for the cartridge. And this one is not an isolated case.
You are absolutely correct in that this was not Savage's fault. It was a moment of carelessness that will never be forgotten. BUT, why should anyone have to rely on having a cleaning rod to knock out the fired cases on any brand of rifle???
 
InkedIan, don't misunderstand what I am saying. I am not shitting on Savage rifles in general (I do have at least one). I am saying there is obviously something amiss when guys are getting cases stuck in the 338LM when they are NOT anywhere close to above published loading data for the cartridge. And this one is not an isolated case.
You are absolutely correct in that this was not Savage's fault. It was a moment of carelessness that will never be forgotten. BUT, why should anyone have to rely on having a cleaning rod to knock out the fired cases on any brand of rifle???


As far as the case getting stuck, if it's a headspacing problem then obviously it is a problem savage needs to look into but we know that people love to push and get every little bit of velocity out of there rifle and when they run into a problem they are too hard headed or egotistical to blame themselves and want to blame the rifle.
 
As far as the case getting stuck, if it's a headspacing problem then obviously it is a problem savage needs to look into but we know that people love to push and get every little bit of velocity out of there rifle and when they run into a problem they are too hard headed or egotistical to blame themselves and want to blame the rifle.

I think headspace has nothing to do with it. The problem is more likely reamer specs or rough chambers.
Pushing the envelope may be great at the gym but, even there, you work your way up.
 
I think headspace has nothing to do with it. The problem is more likely reamer specs or rough chambers.
Pushing the envelope may be great at the gym but, even there, you work your way up.

I doubt it would be chamber specs since they very rarely vary in factory chambers and being that there are plenty of ones that don't have that problem. Maybe a rough chamber.... Both of mine(308 - 243) have pretty rough chambers and haven't had this problem but they also aren't 338 LM's
 
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This is a reminder to me. NEVER buy a Savage 110BA in 338LM. When I saw the rod in the barrel I knew what he had done because I have read too many times about sticky chambers in Savage 338LM rifles. Is it not time to say there is a problem there (even if you worship Savage)?
I have seen a couple write ups about this. There is something going on there. IIRC polishing the chamber didn't always cure the problem.
 
I didn't realize stuck cases were common in these. I know a guy who had the one in the tacticool looking stock and had stuck cases constantly with factory hornady ammo. He just assumed it was tight brass. It wasn't shot much though and was sent to savage for poor accuracy (3" groups). They replaced the barrel and he sold it when he got it back.
 
The fellow 2 benches west of me, right next to Ren, had a very bad day! Damn sure could have killed him and quite likely Ren as well.

Something blew clean through the roof in two locations!


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Just curious, how did the sound differ from a normal shot? Im just wondering if everybody could tell or was it all the gatherers that clued everyone in.
 
Stuck 338L cases in the 110s is pretty common.
A guy I shoot with was having the problem with his 110ba 338L and determined that his FL sizing die was leaving a barely perceptible "ridge" near the head of the case. He changed FL dies and the problem went away.

I feel bad for the guy this happened to. One thing is for sure: he will never do that again. A lesson like that is not soon forgotten.
I'm just glad he (and especially no bystander) was not injured.
 
300 Winny,

I was at bench 13 and Ren was at 12. We're both right handed so he was shooting behind me. As his AI has a brake on it, I was getting a good deal of blast from his rifle that was considerably more loud and direct than a typical .308. When the .338 guy's rifle blew, I heard an unusual boom but felt no blast. I guess I thought it was something else being fired farther back down the line, something I wasn't previously aware of. It was only a second or so later that I heard Dale ask "Are you alright?" I turned to see who he was talking to and saw the fellow at bench 10, sitting there in stunned form, with gun parts all over the place.

I got up and starting looking to see if our friend Al was alright as he was effectively underneath the "blowed" up guy's bench. I saw that Al was not there and the guy's barrel lying on the ground with the rod sticking out of it. I blurted out, "Holy fuck, the cleaning rod is still in the bore!!!" and Ren told me to ease off a bit as we hadn't fully determined the extent of the exlpoder's injuries.

I was mistaken earlier, per Ren's correction, that bench 11 was Al's though he was shooting prone between 10 and 11.

As to Al's comment that the guy is always running a bore brush from the muzzle, I can't say as he was behind me and I never saw him doing it to his bolt guns. He does have a few M1A's however and was running a brush down the muzzle on one of them a little later. Ironic as when he asked me to bandage him up, I mentioned my aversion to "Break in" procedures and the concomitant waste of ammo and time it entails, as well as throat erosion. he mentioned that he too did not believe in it which then begged the question as to why he was running his rod in the rifle every few shots.

It was then he told me about the occasional stuck case that he had to knock out.

As to the sound, no sir, it did not sound dramatically different than sounds I have heard on the rifle range i n the past. Certainly not louder than the braked 50 cal.s that show up there, though there wasn't one there on Sunday.
 
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I have a strict rule that if my gun malfunctions in any way, including a stuck case, I first notify the RSO and then take the gun off the line.
Since Nelson at Okeechobee is a grumpy old fart like myself, I usually drag the gun back to the shop...

I strongly second this^^^. Too many times I have seen guys wrestle with stuck bolts and clearing squib loads on a hot line. I HATE being next to these folks as in the back of my mind I envision a catastrophe involving my bodily tissues being ripped apart. The worst I have seen was when an RO allowed a guy to clear 3 consecutive squibs during a course of fire. After the 2nd one most of us were retreating quickly for fear that the guy would pull the trigger on a stuck round, which is exactly what happened on the 4th squib. No one was hurt but his HK pistol was done. Not wanting to be the guy who ended someone else's day turn out to be a poor decision.

I'm glad this guy wasn't seriously hurt. I have to admit I'm a little shy about saying something to others about anything other than flagrant safety issues. In the future I should be more vocal about removing such a weapon from the line for a detailed inspection of the problem, and offering assistance. And to whomever mentioned it first, I also hate seeing the guys who are shoving cleaning rods down the bore between shots.

Thanks to the OP for posting.
 
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OK OK come on guys, lets get back down to earth here... We all got to see the amazing pictures so now lets move on, this thread is starting to take a whole different direction.

We all now have learned what happens when you leave a cleaning rod in a Savage 338 and fire a round. Moral of the story: don't leave your cleaning rod in your gun and fire a round.

We don't need to analyze his primers, we don't need to analyze the Savage chamber, we don't need to gripe about people with squibs, we don't need to make a mountain out of a mole hill... We just don't need to be leaving our cleaning rods in the bore of a 338.
 
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