Muzzle loader barrel blowout

[elkantlers]

Definitely a barrel blockage.

I'm guessing the truth will come out many years from now sitting around a campfire.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Double loaded or short started is my guess. I almost double loaded one. I can't talk and shoot muzzleloaders.

 

[gouch]

Double loaded or short started is my guess. I almost double loaded one. I can't talk and shoot muzzleloaders.

My first thought as well. Someone was shooting the breeze with his buddies while loading. I have never double loaded but I did once forget the powder. Just rammed the ball on down. I know two people who sent their ramrod down range. One never did find his. Every time it was the same thing, too much talking and not enough paying attention to the task at hand.

 

[Nick87]

That picture scares the shit out of me. So glad your boy is ok, nothing short of a miracle.

 

[Nick87]

With the aerolite, if you are not using the proper bullet seating jag, you'll easily plug the end of the ramrod with the bullet tip and can pull the bullet back up with the ramrod and have it fall off, way up off the charge. I don't know if the shooter uses a short starter or not, but if he does not, I'd have to say it was either just thumbed into the muzzle, or what i explained earlier. This certainly is not a barrel failure, but an obstruction.

That makes sense I could see that happening without the right jag.

 

[MJE2083]

My first thought as well. Someone was shooting the breeze with his buddies while loading. I have never double loaded but I did once forget the powder. Just rammed the ball on down. I know two people who sent their ramrod down range. One never did find his. Every time it was the same thing, too much talking and not enough paying attention to the task at hand.

This is soo true, pay 100% attention to what you are doing! Almost happened to me at the range last week. I was explaining something to my wife as I was loading and I was just about to ram the bullet down the barrel when I noticed that there was 2 pellets sitting on the bench. Pulled the breech plug and sure enough I forgot to drop the powder pellets in.

 

[406LIFE]

Glad everyone is ok minus the soiled underwear!

You should look up a hunters Ed instructor in your area and see if they would be interested in using the firearm during their classes. We have a shotgun that is blown out and the kids are always amazed by it and I think it hammers home many points.

Awesome idea! I'd take it for that.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Yowza!!! Glad that no one was hurt.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Post # 19 is my best guess.

 

[David58]

My first thought as well. Someone was shooting the breeze with his buddies while loading. I have never double loaded but I did once forget the powder. Just rammed the ball on down. I know two people who sent their ramrod down range. One never did find his. Every time it was the same thing, too much talking and not enough paying attention to the task at hand.

I have a very proudly displayed certificate of accomplishment for dry loading the muzzle loading rifle, received at the Oregon State Shoot some 30 years ago. I have shot a ramrod (talk about recoil), have double loaded (attention getter, that was at 240gr of black behind a round ball), and forgotten to cap. I suppose I am fortunate that I never short started, though I used to hunt with two balls, one atop the other.

All of that stuff happened early on in my ML career, in my mid-30's. I was too easily distracted, didn't have the "rhythm", and caught myself before screwing up many more times as well.

The worst time for me, for making mistakes, is shooting from the bench. My routine is all about shooting from the pouch, off hand. So if I am bench shooting one of my muzzleloaders, I still wear my pouch and horn and load that way - my "routine" way.

All that said, if the kid is not a recreational ML shooter, and by that I mean shoots for fun on frequent occasion in addition to the sighting in and hunting trips, it is very easy to make an error. No "routine". And, that error was made unintentionally and unawares, so of course he is going to remember having done it right rather than just short-starting the projectile.

Very glad he is ok, he got a very cheap lesson. Could have been much more expensive, and we are all glad it wasn't.

 

[Bullshot]

Agreed with most if comments on short started or came off the powder. Even if he 100% thinks it was done by the book, sometimes autopilot or distractions or something else random occurs. I have fired a ramrod, same cause, operator error (NOT a trivial mistake). Glad he’s OK.

 

[duckhunt]

After talking more with him we came to the conclusion that he didn't have the right jag on. With a plastic tip bullet we think when he pressed it down and pulled the ram rod out it pulled the bullet off the powder.

 

[OleRedbeard]

Glad everyone is ok minus the soiled underwear!

You should look up a hunters Ed instructor in your area and see if they would be interested in using the firearm during their classes. We have a shotgun that is blown out and the kids are always amazed by it and I think it hammers home many points.

This is an excellent idea! I have taught a few hunters ed classes and there is nothing better to really bring things home than visual examples.

 

[Western Traveler1]

This is an excellent idea! I have taught a few hunters ed classes and there is nothing better to really bring things home than visual examples.

The photos and video did it for me! I am not an avid ML hunter but had a ML elk tag a couple years ago. I am so unfamiliar that I shut out all distractions when loading and practicing with my rifle, but sure didn’t know about the effects of the wrong jag on certain projectiles.