Best thing to do is send it to Dr Drew

An over-charge would not cause that kind of burst that far from the chamber.





.

I agree that it certainly appears like an obstruction failure. So... no telling what the obstruction was. A cleaning patch?

Ironically, the blow-out does give one a rather analytical look at the classic Deeley latch...

BTW... a W. Richards gun IS different than a Westley Richards. Completely separate shops, with William (W.) Richards originally based in Liverpool. And W. Richards supplied mostly mid-level guns.

A good reminder to check a guns barrels every time we load. And don't forget to check your rifle barrels too. I do, every time. All it takes is some loose bit of debris in a gun case that finds its way into your barrel.

Wow! Glad to hear he's unhurt, though looking at that I don't understand how he's not!

It amazes me that he did not have a severe injury to his left hand....must have been wearing gloves at a minimum! Had a friend years ago have a similar explosion, finally figured out that his "old fashioned" oil mop that hooked on to the end of the rod to pull through the barrels had unhooked itself in the bore, and he got distracted between that and putting the gun up with the mop in the bore. He figured it out when he found the mop missing from his kit. My friend got some permanent black freckles in his left ear and cheek, and donated half a pinky finger.

About fifteen years ago I took my 20 ga. repro out of the safe to go hunting. I opened it to remove the snap caps and the ejectors shot them out on the floor. I could not find one of them for the life of me, so off I went. When out in the field as I loaded the gun, I always look down the barrels. At the end of the left barrel was the snap cap. It was the plastic type with a visible coiled spring you can see through the hull. The flanges were plastic and had sheared off allowing the hull to slide down and lodge in the choke.

It doesn’t take a total obstruction to cause extreme pressures. This guy is fortunate!

Yes, very lucky. There's an older trap shooter at our local club that I have watched for who knows how many years. He performs the same ritual every shot. Break gun open, remove spent shell, blow down barrel, hold gun up and look down barrel, reload. He does it on the sporting clays range as well. I have a new respect for him and his diligence now.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Being a southpaw, I'd be one hurtin' cookie right there.