Your Worst Nightmare: Catastrophic .338 Lapua Magnum Kaboom
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We first ran this story a couple years back. We’re republishing it today as a reminder to our readers that safety should be their paramount concern at the range. Avoid distractions and always check your barrel for obstructions before you chamber a round or pull the trigger. A moment of inattention can result in a catastrophic kaboom …
Discharging a .338 Lapua Magnum round with a cleaning rod in the barrel — that’s a recipe for disaster. What happens when a fired .338 caliber bullet and a cleaning rod try to occupy the same place at the same time? Well you get a catastrophic kaboom, with metal pieces flying all over the place, and a shooter very lucky to escape without serious injury. This incident occurred recently in Manatee, Florida, as reported by Sniper’s Hide member Queequeg. We thank SnipersHide.com for granting permission to publish these revealing images in the Daily Bulletin. CLICK HERE for more Kaboom info on the ‘Hide.
This story should serve as a chilling reminder to follow proper safety practices whenever you are at the range. Always check to make sure there is no obstruction in the bore BEFORE loading a live round.
.338 Lapua Magnum + Cleaning Rod + Inattention = Kaboom!
Kaboom at Manatee!
Sniper’s Hide member Queequeg recently published shocking photos of a catastrophic kaboom involving a .338 Lapua Magnum (Savage action). The action was blown off the rifle, shrapnel went through the roof, and the barrel split at the tenon before taking an excursion downrange. The action did crack in the front but the lugs remained engaged so the bolt did not slam to the rear (luckily for the shooter).
Here’s the report: “This happened [January 20, 2014] at the Manatee Gun and Archery Club. Al, Ren and myself were there with a couple other folks. Ren was at bench 12, I was at 13. The fellow at 11 was running a Savage .338 Lapua. He had a very bad day! He damn sure could have killed himself and quite likely Ren as well.”
Queeqeg added: “After the boom, I heard Ren ask ‘Are you alright’ and then turned to look in time to see the fellow reacting in total shock — literally stunned. Ren and I went over to him and could not see any major injuries. Ren was uninjured as well but had a lot of fiberglass splinters on him. The barrel nut is what I presume punched the two holes in the roof. The shooter is a regular there[.] He had been having a problem with sticky cases though he said he was certain the loads were mild. That’s why he was content to knock the sticky ones out with the rod. He simply forgot to remove the rod after knocking out the last stuck case. You can see what happened next.”
To learn more about this incident, go to the original Snipers Hide Forum Thread. There you’ll find more details and over four pages of related discussions.
The Important Lesson Here
What did the .338 LM shooter do wrong here? You will say — “Well that’s obvious, he left a cleaning rod in the barrel and then shot a round.” Yes, that was a potentially fatal error. But that was his second mistake — one that occurred only because he made a more fundamental judgment error first.
The FIRST mistake was not acknowledging the problem with his ammo. Had he heeded the warning signs, he would still have a rifle (and an unsoiled pair of trousers). When he first observed that he was having problems with extracting cases, a warning light should have gone off in his head. Presuming his extractor was not broken (and that the chamber was cut properly) he should have been able to extract his brass if he was running safe loads. The lesson here we all need to learn is that if you observe a serious ammo-related issue, it is time to stop shooting. Don’t try to invent work-arounds just to extend your range session, when there are clear signs that something is wrong, very wrong.
Similar Posts:
- Cleaning Rod in Barrel Causes Catastrophic .338 LM Kaboom!
- Big-Bore Blast: .338 Lapua Magnum Cleaning Rod Kaboom
- Cleaning Rod in Barrel Caused Catastrophic .338 LM Kaboom
- Cleaning Rod in Barrel Causes Catastrophic Rifle Destruction
- AR-15 Kaboom — “The Worst … I Have Ever Seen”
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Tags: .338 Lapua Magnum, Blow-up, Catastrophic, Cleaning Rod, Kaboom, Manatee, safety
hi,
Thanks for such a great cover, you have covered good points for self safety.
Have a customer that did the same thing , interrupted by a phone call then resumed shooting. I have the bolt barrel and the ROD . The rod tells a great story as the bullet tried to flow around the rod it started twisting the 6mm stainless rod which expanded to 6.5mm. Spiraling the back in then the rest of the rod as the bullet spun the full length . I had fitted this barrel and used minimal counter-bore in the back of the Remington 700 barrel to closely fit the bolt. In the attempt to open the bolt the bolt handle was broken off and the lip around the front of the bolt obterated and sealed so that no gases got into the action except the firing pin hole! The firing pin spring was totally collapsed and looked more like a slinky than a spring have retained that as well.The barrel could not be unscrewed as the WSM case left the chamber wall thin and expanded the barrel into the action . The barrel had to be cut off and a X cut from a vertical position to relieve and extract the remaining barrel. Shooter had no injuries except his pride and joy that was shooting 1/4 groups was ,, ahh “SPIKED” as the ole canonniers would say . This is one of the reasons I do not like Sako type extractors in Remington’s, Mike Walker did an excellent job when he designed it with safety in mind !