doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Tri Star Hunter Barell Failure

The following observations, based on a single unclear photograph, can only be considered casual without the benefit of physical inspection, actual measurement and closer failure analysis.
A the fore-end loop probably lies between 5.5 & 6.5" from the breech. IF conventionally bored it is unlikely that a 20 ga shell would enter that far.If bored with a different internal profile measurement is required.
B The failure may have eminated from directly in front of the loop.Method of attachment and possible Heat Affected Zone issues need to be considered
C Actual wall thickness before & after the failure need to be measured,recorded and analyzed. Merely measuring WT at edge of break will only show degree of elongation and thus thinning prior to ultimate failure.This will typically be 6-10% depending on the alloy.
Other areas to consider are fatigue , blockage and material defect.
I strongly suggest your friend do the following.
A. DO NOT CLEAN THE GUN! Store in a silicone impregnated sleeve
B. Save all remaining cartridges from box/ batch . Note where and when purchased.
C. Ask any and all witnesses to record their observations, what guns and gauge of guns they were shooting.
D. Clearly record whether or not he had any 20 guns/shells at on his person , when and for what he last used that hunting coat ,pants etc.
E. If he feels he has a valid claim against another party consult a personal injury lawyer.
FYI. If he goes to an attorney this afternoon it will typically be a year before it goes before a judge to decide jurisdiction and start the process of admissions, discovery and depositions.
Good Luck and I hope your friend makes a speedy recovery.
If I can be of further assistance, feel free to contact me by phone 920 876 3745.
Hugh Lomas

This is a gun that is currently being sold here http://www.tristarsportingarms.com/product_hunter.html

As such, they are open for law suits.

If I am seeing this photo correctly, material appears to be missing from the barrel where it ruptured.

Is that scoring on the interior of the barrel?

Pete

One goes bad every now and then; new guns or our old faithfuls. We always want to blame the burst barrel on an obstruction, and that may well be what happed here, but we need to keep in mind that we are sometimes dealing with modern manufacturing flaws or with metal fatigue in the oldies.

Be mindful of barrel obstructions and what loads you use in any gun and at least you will be matching the load to the gun. There is not much we can do about an old gun barrel giving out due to metal fatigue or about a manufacturing defect that gets through quality control and proof. At least failures due to these last two factors are rare...Geo

Years ago, I was taught to use a "pull tab" from a beer can (Bud) as a quick way to check the gap on my old TR3. The beer tabs used to be 16-17 thou. Those barrels look thinner than a beer tab to me.

Perhaps a previous owner had the barrels backbored or forcing cones lenghtened too far up the barrels? Since the gun was purchased used, there really wouldn't be a way to know withoout measuring the remains of the other barrel and comparing to the proof marks.

Joe

Glad your friends okay....I'm also glad I don't own any Turkish made guns.

Thanks for the detailed reply. There was no sign of scoring.

I will borrow something like a vernier caliper to measure at the rupture and a little back.. i know the edge is very thin from the pressure of the rupture.

Thanks

Pat

I can't provide any further expertise in this matter because the gentlemen on this thread have a far better trained eye than I do.

That being said, I do hate 3" chambers because I feel they invite 3" shells. (I'm brilliant, huh?)

Whenever I see 3" loads they are always magnum loads and I can't help but feel I'm proofing a gun with every shot. At least with 2.75" shells I have a better selection of moderate loads, even at wallyworld.

I shot 2.75" high brass bismuth nontoxic a month ago in a Spanish best modern sidelock and even that seemed rough. The gun was hard to open after I took the shot and it made me realize they were needlessly overpowered and I could feel how rough they treated my gun. I looked up the pressures when I got home and they were really hot loads. Within spec, but needlessly hot.

In response, I now only shoot classic doubles heavy shot to treat my gun better when hunting. When shooting clays I shoot light target loads. These decisions really reduce my chances of ending up like your unfortunate friend.

I wish their was a concerted effort to teach people to understand what is sufficient in a load as opposed to what is the maximum allowed.

This season I had the best pheasant harvest using 2.5" vintager loads of 1 ounce shot. It actually seems the low pressure loads performed better for me when it came to hitting game with a good pattern.

Perhaps a real expert can discuss the pros and cons of light loads and the reduction in ruptures that occur with mild loads?

There is no visible bulge ring before the rupture. Also there is a clear cut slice along the rib. These two observations lead to thoughts about possible scoring of the barrel along the rib-barrel joint being the cause and not an obstruction. In obstructions there usually is a visible bulge before the rupture.

Can you post some more and perhaps clearer photos?

When something is mass produced sometimes a bad one will get through. Turks can turn out pretty good guns Kilinc 2000 aka Armalite AR-24 on these shores is world class pistol. I'm not blaming the shooter but when 3" shells are needed I reach for my 9lb Winchester 12Mag. He is lucky that injuries were not more severe.

I really don't think shooting a 3 inch shell in it had a whole lot to do with it.