He was shooting Winchester Lite 20g shells.

I agree sxs's and o/u's are safer for the ability to visually check bores between shots. I try to do it but don't always. This reminds me to work harder to check every time.

Identity is not important and I would not want to talk about it either. I just hope for the best.

Looks like an obstruction. I have for years as part of my pre shot routine, blown through my barrels to clear smoke and and check for daylight then align two new rounds with the headstamps vertical. Praying for a speedy recovery.

Good routine, Daryl.

When I'm shooting sporting I have a tendency to load and shoot fast, especially so when I kill the first pair cleanly. I know then that my lead pictures are right and I want to get to the next pair asap. I really need to change my routine to accommodate a quick view down the bores.

Has any research ever been done to see if a wad in the barrel can cause a rupture?

I agree identity is not important, frankly it could have happened to any us. It's terrible that someone was seriously hurt and a beautiful gun catastrophically damaged. I guess one of the next questions is how thick are the barrel walls at the point of rupture. It certainly appears to be a barrel obstruction. I have often wondered if such a thing could happen by a delayed detonation of the powder where the ejecta moves forward by the force of the primer and a slow burn and then detonation of the powder occurs further down the barrel rather than in the chamber where the barrel walls are much thicker. Mike mentioned the shooter was using "Winchester Lite", if those shells use the AA HS hull I don't believe there is a base wad. I hope the shooter heals up back to normal and that an investigation/inspection can determine what caused this. Thanks for sharing.

Judging by the pics Mike showed the wall thickness there looks perfectly adequate, leading me to believe it must have been an obstruction that caused the rupture.





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Mike, I've had wads that had been stuck in a barrel and could be blown out, others needed a rod to clear them. So yes, I believe that a stuck wad could cause a dangerous momentary spike in pressure and cause this. But I don't want to find out.

Usually the only place a wad gets really stuck is in the choke. Which reminds me. As a long time ATA shooter on the rare occasions I had a squib with a stuck wad I would open the action, push the wad back into the barrel with my finger and then blow the wad out the back end of the barrel with my mouth so as not create a longer disruption for the squad. I did not invent this method of clearing a barrel lol. It worked 90% of the time and ya carbon doesn't taste that good but there was a water bottle waiting for me when the round ended. Trapshooters, we are the same guys that rest the muzzle of a gun on our toes between shots lol.

I'm just the opposite Stan, I like to slow down and be deliberate, running the visual sequence through my mind's eye. We both know sometimes you're on and sometimes you're off. I still blow through my barrels and more than once someone on the squad makes mention of it. Every now and then a shot will sound "off". Don't ignore that.