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 Post subject: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:29 am 
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Staff Sergeant
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Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:45 pm
Posts: 171
Location: South Florida
Went to the range today to shoot a couple of 6.5 Carcano carbines that I gave my buddy. I told him that I would shoot them first. Never had a problem with a Carcano before. We brought a box of older 156 gr. Norma ammo and a new box of 160 gr. Hornady ammo. Loaded a stripper up and I fired three rounds from the first rifle, which had the worse of the two bores. Everything went well. My friend fired a few clips through it and all was well.
Loaded up a stripper (Norma ammo also) and fired the second carbine. All went well. We were about out of Norma ammo and my friend wanted to try the Hornady ammo, so we put three rounds of Norma and two rounds of Hornady. Fired the first round two rounds which were Norma and gun functioned flawlessly. He squeezed the trigger with the Hornady in the chamber and the gun went KABOOM! The receiver held but the stock cracked and the crap flew. There was a guy at the range who did gunsmith work who beat the gun open and verified that it was a Hornady cartridge. He measured the diameters of the remaining Norma bullets and a couple of the Hornady bullets and found that the Hornady was 8-12 thousandths larger than the Norma....not good.
I took my friend to the ER and they cleaned out the crap from his eye, but luckily he had his glasses on. I was next to him and was unharmed. My other buddy behind him got a small laceration on his chin. All in all very lucky.
Attached is a poor quality cellphone pic of the spent cartidge that we removed from the gun. Notice the size of the primer pocket!

I guess there is something to slugging these old barrels!


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 Post subject: Re: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 5:25 pm 
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Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:04 pm
Posts: 11655
Location: On the couch a lot now that I'm retired
There is considerable variation in bore diameter and depth of rifling in these, and slugging the bore is always a good idea.

I am by no means a reloading guru, but when asked, I suggest reloaders try .264 bullets before .268 - the smaller bullets often do well.

I am also waiting for a noob to fire the Hornady ammo in a 6.5 Vetterli. :-o It will eventually happen, and after the dust settles from the lawsuit, we won't have the larger bullet available to us any more. This is a graphic warning to be careful what you shoot in the 6.5 Vetts.

I'm very glad your friend sustained only minor injuries!! SW

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Slava Ukraini!!


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 Post subject: Re: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:20 pm 
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Brigadier General
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Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:26 am
Posts: 18522
Location: Minnesota , USA
glad to hear no-one was seriously hurt , these things scare me , i like going to the range on very slow days when nearly no-one is there ,


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 Post subject: Re: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 2:50 pm 
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Second Lieutenant
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Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:21 am
Posts: 515
If the Hornady bullets were from 8-12 thou larger than the Norma bullets they may have gotten 7mm bullets mixed in with their 6.5 bullets by some mishap at the factory.

PS
The primitive Double Base powder used by Italy, a Nobel formula similar to Cordite, was noted for eroding bores, thats the main reason for the gain twist rifling of the early Carcano.

An eroded bore can allow blowby that superheats the jacket and allows the core to separate and blow through. Military Ball has a fairly thick jacket to avoid such separations, but some sporting bullets may not be so sturdy.
Besides stuck jackets erosion can result in chunks of the bore surface breaking loose to form an obstruction.

After running into several great deals on rifles and handguns with excellent bores I don't think I'll even consider aquiring a rifle with eroded or corroded bore unless I can get a replacement barrel before going further with it.


Ran across an advert for a Crossed Rifles marked post war range rifle at what seemed a good price, photos show the exterior looking nearly new condition. If interested let me know and I'll PM a link.


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 Post subject: Re: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 3:08 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 2:32 pm
Posts: 4
wow, luckily no one was hurt :-o . I've always had great luck with the hornady's in my carcanos but hearing your story will definitely make me a little more cautious about using it in new rifles i buy


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 Post subject: Re: Range Mishap
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:43 am 
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Brigadier General
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Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:26 am
Posts: 18522
Location: Minnesota , USA
i had forgotten this old thread - these events always make me more aware of the folks around me at the range ,


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