Marlin .45-70 blow up

Slick13 · Post by **Slick13** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:34 pm

Don't know if these have been posted here yet. Found these at trapshooters.com

Seems the guy doing the reloading mixed up his bottles of Reloader 7 and Accurate No. 7 and grabbed the wrong one. 48 grains of the wrong powder and a touch of the trigger later.... destroyed the Marlin, lost part of two fingers and tore up the meat of his palm. Lucky it wasn't any worse.

~Michael

jbm1968 · Post by **jbm1968** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:35 pm

I had not seen those before, thanks for posting. I am glad the injuries were not worse.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:56 pm

Good safety poster! Ouch!

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:58 pm

I wonder if anybody could estimate the pressure of such a mis-load? The pressure must have been horrendus.

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:03 pm

Flaming nora. I bet his ears are still ringing!

Post by **Old Savage** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:22 pm

Hatcher filled a 30-06 case full of bullseye and blew up a Springfield. I believe they figured that at 137,000 lb.

Slick13 · Post by **Slick13** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:30 pm

Charles wrote:I wonder if anybody could estimate the pressure of such a mis-load? The pressure must have been horrendus.

One of the posters pointed out at trapshooters.com that No. 7 is 53rd, and Reloader 7 is 93rd on the burn rate chart. Heck of a difference!

~Michael

Bigahh · Post by **Bigahh** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:30 pm

WOW! That's scary! Something everyone can learn from, hope the shooter wasn't hurt.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:40 pm

(Said with all sincerity) OH MY!!!

Joe

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:45 pm

Scary stuff!
Thanks for posting, it helps to be reminded of what can go wrong if we are not careful on the reloading bench!

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:05 pm

On the Leverguns coverpage under articles there is one about blowups for those that haven't seen it.
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/blowups.htm

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:18 pm

OUCH!

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:38 pm

Ouch, really ouch. Lucky he didn't lose more than that.

ohwin94_61 · Post by **ohwin94_61** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:47 pm

Is that what you called a hot load

1886 · Post by **1886** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:48 pm

It looks like the bolt is still locked in the receiver. Looks to me like a great if not unfortunate example of just how strong the 336 action is. Glad no one was hurt too badly. 1886.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:48 pm

Not much to salvage out of that. Shame. All the more reason to be fanatical about the number of powder containers out while reloading and the need to check and recheck before charging cases.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:50 pm

I've seen that before, but never knew the explaination. Thanks!

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:19 pm

Not only does it look like the bolt is still there, but the bottom part of the shell is still in what is left of the chamber!

Holy Cowabunga!

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:24 pm

I've seen before it too.. Notice the rust on the bare metal...I seem to remember from before that it was found in the woods..or left in the woods for a time before it was retieved..Never heard about the load that wrecked it untill now..

airedaleman · Post by **airedaleman** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:32 pm

Note where it appears to have let go... the web between the barrel and the magazine tube. 358 experimenters beware.

homefront · Post by **homefront** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:40 pm

How the heck does one confuse Rel. 7 and AA#7?
The powders look completely different (I use #7 a lot) and the containers are nothing alike.
That's like confusing Red Dot and IMR 4350.

don Tomás · Post by **don Tomás** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:56 pm

ohwin94_61 wrote:Is that what you called a hot load

More like a proof load...

Tom

Jarhead · Post by **Jarhead** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:06 pm

Not too swift...as my Dad always said, "safety first," especially at the reloading bench and when handling any firearm....

including a BB gun!

jazman · Post by **jazman** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:12 pm

I've heard of those Marlin "jams" but WOW!
Kidding aside, he is a lucky man to not have been hurt much worse.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:19 pm

Had that been an 1886 Winchester it might have bound the lever, making extraction difficult.

MikeS. · Post by **MikeS.** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:22 pm

Ouch, I'm gonna put this up at my new loading bench as a reminder.

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:13 pm

I doubt it was found in the woods. It takes bare gun steel virtually minutes to rust once it's exposed to wet weather, or blood. I'd guess it was one of those that id the rust, as it would be way rustier if it sat in the woods outdoors.
Looks like a candidate for the Darwin awards.

KWK · Post by **KWK** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:01 pm

Charles wrote:I wonder if anybody could estimate the pressure of such a mis-load?

The QuickLOAD simulator can make an estimate, but it is not likely to be spot on.

I'll assume the shooter was throwing charges, that is, the charge of AA#7 was equal in volume to 48 gn of RL7. I'm assuming this because if he was weighing charges, he would surely have noticed he was using the wrong powder.

Looking at Alliant's data, 48 gn of RL7 suggests the bullet was likely 300 gn if he was trying to stay within SAAMI pressure specs. However, he might have been using 350 or 400 gn and trying to use pressures over SAAMI. Sticking with the 300 gn assumption, QL estimates a pressure of 37 ksi for this charge. Switching to a like volume of AA#7 gives over 52 gn and 124 ksi.

Running similar numbers for 350 gn bullets, QL estimates 45 ksi with RL7 and 144 ksi with AA#7.

Don't put too much faith in these pressure estimates. Alliant's data suggests the pressure with RL7 and 300 gn bullets would be in the mid to upper 20's, not the 37 that QL predicts. Instead, we might say he was running on the order of triple the pressure he usually did.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:46 pm

Measure twice,cut once. Same with reloading, I check twice before loading one cartridge.

airedaleman · Post by **airedaleman** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:40 pm

+1 on the closing comment, Vall.
One can of powder on the bench at a time. Before you start, Pick the can up and READ THE LABEL.