M14 Forum

1KPerDay

I was acting as SO for a shooter in a stage of a 3-gun match yesterday. In the middle of the stage (after 8 or so rounds of birdshot) 2 slugs were required. The shooter loaded 2 Wolf slugs, attempted to fire, *click* (we all thought it was simply a dud)... he quickly performed a malfunction clearance, ejected the first and chambered the next slug, aimed, pulled the trigger, and BOOOOOM.

For a second the shooter didn't notice the burst barrel and was preparing to load up with birdshot and continue with the stage until I stopped him (I think he would have noticed something wrong once he brought the gun up and sighted down the barrel...)

First thing I said to him (after "stop! Stop!" and safety checking/chamber flagging the weapon--I suppose it could still fire, theoretically--and asking if he was hurt, which he wasn't... otherwise he probably would have noticed something was wrong ) was "is it possible you chambered a 20 gauge first by mistake?" It was kind of chaotic/confusing for a minute, as you can imagine.

It wasn't until afterward that we looked at the hulls on the ground and noticed they were both empty. Until that point we assumed he just ejected a dud cartridge as you normally would during a malfunction clearance. It all happened very quickly. One of the guys waiting to shoot said he thought it was strange that the "dud" that was ejected first was smoking on the ground, but he didn't really have time to think about it. It was just one of those things you only realize after it happens. And by the time he could have said anything the shooter had already pulled the trigger on the next round anyway.

The shooter had borrowed the shotgun from his brother, who wasn't very happy, understandably. Thankfully nobody was hurt. I was almost directly behind the shooter, a position which probably protected me from any schrapnel, which looks to have gone up and to the right from what we could guess.

From what we could tell the magazine tube wasn't damaged, but obviously the forend was destroyed. The owner says he's going to attempt to get compensated from Wolf (and there were many witnesses). It was a bit scary because we all just heard a "click" as the hammer fell, not a "pop" that would indicate an obvious squib. I suppose it's possible that a slow/late/incomplete powder burn occurred quietly just before he racked the bolt, and thus had just enough power to drive the slug into the barrel. Or maybe the round had very little or no powder and the primer's 'pop' was insulated by the barrel and the slug in front of it.

I've gone over this and over this in my head and tried to determine what we could have done better, and short of examining every *click* "dud" cartridge and examining the bore to ensure it's clear before the next shot is fired, which is obviously not the norm in a "competition" environment... I can't think of anything that would have prevented it in this specific case. If there had been an obvious "pop" of the primer we all would have stopped him, as has happened before (primers loaded backwards, etc.). But tactical/combat/competition malfunction drills emphasize clearing the dud/malfunction quickly and moving on.

In any case... in my private/informal shooting I'm going to take a good look at the bore and the shell after a "dud", before I load another round. Be careful out there, guys. Wear your eye protection.

Zero0

Reread the post and I was wrong.

2336USMC

Ouch... Yeah, about the only way around that would be to have a range rule that malfunctions are never cleared by immediate action, any malfunction would be an automatic ceasefire for investigation... and that defeats the purpose of combat competition which is to develop skill at arms under high speed high stress combat simulation.

Curious, was anyone wearing active electronic muffs? This is the kind of thing they can help with, they will amplify the sound enough to maybe tell the difference between a click and a pop. Maybe...

2336USMC

Ouch... Yeah, about the only way around that would be to have a range rule that malfunctions are never cleared by immediate action, any malfunction would be an automatic ceasefire for investigation... and that defeats the purpose of combat competition which is to develop skill at arms under high speed high stress combat simulation.

Curious, was anyone wearing active electronic muffs? This is the kind of thing they can help with, they will amplify the sound enough to maybe tell the difference between a click and a pop. Maybe...

Oh, and another way to avoid this would be to never ever shoot Wolf ammo. There, consider the dead horse to have been flogged.

1KPerDay

2336, yeah that's pretty much the conclusion I came up with. In competition it's just a risk you take by going quickly.

I was wearing electronic muffs and had them adjusted to "normal" conversation levels. It was definitely a "click" not a "pop."

very strange.


Also FYI I didn't see any damage to the receiver, and the bolt still moved freely.

I and several others commented about the quality of modern steel barrels... rather than simply grenade into a million fragments, the barrel stayed in large pieces and for the most part, held together (though "peeled").

I'd use a 930 without reservation. I'm not so sure about wolf slugs. However any mfg can occasionally produce undercharged or squib loads. The really high-end "hand inspected" stuff may be less likely, but I don't have any statistics on that.

1KPerDay

Just heard from the owner... Wolf is refunding him the cost of the shells and reimbursing him the cost of gunsmith/repair. Very cool of them IMO. Cheap positive public relations.

tostado22

I think the owner of the weapon posted the video from the competition. I dont remember the make or model but everything else is the same.

I hope its the same incident, simply because I would hate to see Wolf causing two catastrophic failures. Either way it makes the think twice about going the cheaper route on ammo.

1KPerDay

Post the video if you can find it. I'd be interested to see it. You sure you weren't thinking of the video in my first post above?

mkd357

That is a prime example on why I shoot Winchester Super X slugs out of my Mossberg. They always work & in my particular gun they are darn accurate! Tried a few others for shotgun season over in IL over a few years & switched back to the Winnies. I know they are a little more in cost, but to avoid that kind of damage I think it is worth it. Glad nobody was injured.

drx

If there was enough to force the slug into the barrel, there was enough to cause the gun to recoil slightly. Should have been picked up by the shooter.

1KPerDay

I'd be very surprised if it were perceptible. We should do a test.

Domestique

Good to know the receiver is still intact and action working. I own a 930SPX and it is a blast to shoot (no pun intended).

I have noticed some shells are harder to seat than others and are too light to function....


I have had no problems with low recoil buckshot or slugs from Remington, Federal, Winchester, and Hornady..... But my 930 will not cycle Fiocchi low recoil buck to save it's life... I think just another 50 FPS and I would be ok.

I went with the 930SPX because it was cheaper than the M4 benelli, at the time there were not many "USA made parts" to make it 922 r. compliant and I have found I can shoot a wider range of ammo at lower FPS due to Mossberg's gas system compared to the Bennelli.

Wayne M

The price of Wolf is a result of it already having gone through the horse....if ya know what I mean!

Veritas

Well this makes me not want to complain about my 930SPX's poor cycling ability despite an extensive break in and an upgraded non-binding follower. At least my front sight post wasn't bent way to the side like a large number of owners discovered upon buying.

I'm having a Mossberg armorer look at it here soon, hopefully I will get her running right/reliably!

mgraffam

This isn't the first time Wolf has reimbursed someone for a blown up gun.

I guess it is nice to have your gun repaired. But I'd rather not shoot Wolf ammo and have it blow up in the first place. I know it can happen with anything.. and yet I only hear about it happening with cheap foreign ammo.

That said, I use Wolf ammo all the time at the range. But when I get a malfunction, I check. I've never had a squib load, but stories like this continue to reinforce my belief that for training drills and competition and such, Wolf just isn't worth the risk of injury.

As much as I love shooting, I love my hands and face more.