1875 Paperweight

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My wife, my granddaughter, my daughter and her b/f all went to the range this afternoon.  We took a variety of guns.

I brought out the 1875 Remington and put the first 5 shots into 4 1/2 holes at about 30 feet. 
So I reloaded the cylinder with 5 more and was repeating the process until #10 shot went BOOM! and the upper part of the cylinder disappeared.   Amazingly shot #10 was only an inch away from shots 6 -9 (I had switched to a new red bull for the 2nd group).

Apparently I made a goof I have never done in 50 years of handloading and doublecharged a round.  My heart is broken and I am highly pissed at myself for making such a stupid mistake!  I am guessing at the cause based on examining the remains.   The bore was not obstructed, leaving only one other explanation.

I'm sure gonna miss that gun .............

                                   












[For the eagle-eyed folks out there, the chamber is no longer lined up with the barrel forcing cone because I tried turning the cylinder after the explosion.]

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You put 5 shots in 4-1/2 holes? I don't understand.
Sorry about the boom. Good thing no one was hurt.

[oujour76]

Nov 5, 2017 20:51:44 GMT -5 @muttthemaster said:

My wife, my granddaughter, my daughter and her b/f all went to the range this afternoon.  We took a variety of guns.

I brought out the 1875 Remington and put the first 5 shots into 4 1/2 holes at about 30 feet. 
So I reloaded the cylinder with 5 more and was repeating the process until #10 shot went BOOM! and the upper part of the cylinder disappeared.   Amazingly shot #10 was only an inch away from shots 6 -9 (I had switched to a new red bull for the 2nd group).

Apparently I made a goof I have never done in 50 years of handloading and doublecharged a round.  My heart is broken and I am highly pissed at myself for making such a stupid mistake!  I am guessing at the cause based on examining the remains.   The bore was not obstructed, leaving only one other explanation.

I'm sure gonna miss that gun .............

                                   












[For the eagle-eyed folks out there, the chamber is no longer lined up with the barrel forcing cone because I tried turning the cylinder after the explosion.]

Damn.

[Deleted]

Nov 5, 2017 21:03:44 GMT -5 @kelliers said:

You put 5 shots in 4-1/2 holes? I don't understand.
Sorry about the boom. Good thing no one was hurt.

1 hole was an elongated one cut by two bullets that hit almost in exactly the same spot.  So instead of being one perfectly round hole, it's an oval shaped one.  It's the hole right above the frame in the bottom picture.  Hole #5 is hidden by the topstrap.

Yeah, I'm thankful no one was hurt, either.   That's the most important point.   Lesson to be learned here ---- no matter where you are, never stand directly in line laterally from a gun being fired.  On this indoor range, there are panels that separate the shooting stations, but a lot of outdoor places have none, especially if you are shooting informally.

I've never experienced this before, as an observer OR a principal, and it was not violent like the pictures would suggest.  Obviously I saw the cylinder come apart, but the only difference in feel was almost NO recoil.  Most of the pressure went sideways, with enough to send the bullet downrange and hit the target.

I now have a $500 paperweight, minus all the internal parts.  I can't remove the loading gate since the cylinder won't come out, because the cylinder PIN won't come out.  I can take it to a gunsmith and salvage the barrel, but I don't know what for.  


After the Remington fiasco, I moved to the rifle range and shot 1.5" groups at 25 yards with my Mini-14, using cheap ass ammo. 
Shooting with iron sights and my old eyes, I'll take it.  25 is as far as the indoor range goes, and that accuracy would be enough to kill JFK.
I'm not Lucas McCain.