doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Damascus gun blow up in Md last weekend?

Have there been other blow ups of guns at these "vintager" shoots? There are a number of shoots throughout the year and all of them feature shooting composite barreled guns in excess of 100 years of age. To my knowledge there has never been a similar incident at a vintager shoot, this would include the Southern (fall and spring), Hausmans shoot, etc. This was an unfortunate incident, but in IMO the safety record of Damascus guns is remarkable because the shooters are (generally) educated about their safe use. Remember, Damascus barrels were discontinued because of manufacturing costs not over safety concerns. I will continue to shoot mine. Glad no one was hurt here.

It looks to me like strongest reply ever just means good stuff. I follow along with interest, and I appreciate your contribution.

If anyone could put me in touch w/ the owner, I would be interested in purchasing the remains of that Parker.

Since I was standing there with JoeinCharlotte when the remains of the gun were brought in, I'll put in my 2 cents worth too.

I've been going to the VGC and other SxS shoots since 2008, and this is the first blow-up at one of those events that I'm aware of.

The shooter was borrowing the gun from another member of the shooting squad. After calling for the target, the shooter said the next thing he remembered was everyone asking him if he was OK.

The gun came back to the tent area with both hammers down and it could not be opened. Nobody was sure if both barrels had gone off or not. The 2nd barrel was checked with a cleaning rod and found to contain an empty shell, so both went off in quick succession.

There was much insistence and agreement among the squad of shooters that the shooter was using factory ammo. I did not get a chance, or think to, check the remaining ammo in the box to see if the shells appeared to be factory fresh or reloads. I have no reason to doubt the word of those shooters.

Looking at the pictures, that screw hole does seem deep and wide and well into the chamber wall of the other barrel. The Parker hammer guns with the dolls head extension all have that screw to secure the steel piece of the extension and rib. I double checked mine and it has that screw too. I have to wonder if what we see in the picture is what was correct for the factory, or if it was bored-out or deepened during a repair.

Everyone who saw the gun was thankful and amazed that nobody was injured and walked away shaking their head, and probably thinking something along the lines of "There but for the grace of God go I". I know I did. We all know that Damascus barrels are generally very strong, but you can't be too cavalier about what you put in them. The ammo still have to be appropriate for the gun.

Can't agree with JoeinCharlotte enough that this may well have been preventable. If you borrow a gun, always ask if your ammo is appropriate for the gun. If you lend a gun, make sure appropriate ammo is going to be used in it. And if you see something that looks amiss to you, say something.

---Matt

The only other case of maybe a damascus gun letting go was years ago at Sandanona. A 28 ga who's maker I can't recall. I think the verdict was very thin walls and again inappropriate cartridges. It was discussed here back then. I'll try to find the discussion.

Well, if that's the story, it's an almost unbelievable chain of errors.

Accident reports frequently read thus.

Break the chain at any point, and the accident does not happen.

Owner loans gun
Does not specify shells, assumes user knows
User does not know
User picks something inappropriate to say the least
Squad says nothing
Owner is right there(!)
Gun shows no sign of distress OR
Nobody even thinks to check
Gun blows

Even so....

Why? I know the law of Murphy is all pervasive but... sheesh.

Remington STS is an industry leading product. While no product is perfect, STS is likely 5 sigma reliable.

Many, many of them are used each weekend. What are the chances the ONE defective one ends up in that gun given the rarity of use in that application? Approximately zero.

The gun should not have blown like that, even given that the reported events are true.

At any rate, no injury and hopefully the community as a whole can learn from this.

A couple guys have noted the rough chambers in the most recent pics that Drew posted. But there are a couple other little details seen especially in the 2nd and 3rd pics that caught my eye when I blew them up. Most interesting is the band of RUST color from the extractor, running forward an inch or so. This rust colored band is approximately half the thickness of the barrels at the rear of the chamber. Could this be an old crack that went unnoticed for years until someone fired an inappropriate load?

Add to that the dark spot about 1/4" from the extractor that appears to be a deep pit or inclusion extending from inside the rough chamber down to that rust colored band that looks so suspicious.

I mentioned earlier that the pics of the Parker barrels blown up in Bell's tests appeared to peel open starting near the top. Both tubes appeared similar, and the rupture opened at the top, but did not tear loose on the bottom as this hammergun did. It seems like the water table supported the bottom of the barrels in Bell's test. That makes me think that the rupture in this case originated at the bottom of the barrels in that rust colored area, and peeled upward until the section broke off at the thinnest point around the extractor guide pin. If there was a pre-existing crack at the bottom of the chamber, further compromised by a pit or inclusion, that could explain why this particular barrel failed at a far lower pressure than Sherman Bell ended with. If Bell had used this particular set of barrels in his experiment, he might have concluded that Damascus was far weaker.

Naturally, I'd like to see these barrels end up in the hands of someone who was qualified to make a conclusion from a very close examination, rather than conjecture based on pictures. But I will continue to use my Damascus guns with appropriate lower pressure loads... same as I'll use in my 100 year old fluid steel guns.

Anyone with a little common sense would know it only applied to the barrels he was testing and they could've exploded on the very next shot....

Trying to look cool at the gun club is not worth the risk.

Might try seeing a head shrink...

When you shoot a gun that should be hanging on a Cracker Barrel wall or in a Gun Museum I don't think that holds true.

Question iz...

Just how thick is the head that can't comprehend the hidden flaws naturally forged into Damascus barrels ?