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Should I back down on this load? Pressure signs...

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11 July 2004, 20:01
HerrBerg
Should I back down on this load? Pressure signs...


Just kidding.

A guy I know made a test at Norma, Sweden, of the Varberger rifle (www.varberger.com) which again is being produced in Sweden. The test aimed to go for catastrophic pressures to see what first gave away in the rifle...

They filled a .30-06 case with Norma R123 to the rim (pistol powder, roughly equivalent to Vihtavouri N110 or Alliant 2400) and put a 180 gr Oryx bullet in! They blew the primer of course, got a ruptured case too, but the gun didn't break.

So.... They HAMMERED ANOTHER 180GR BULLET INTO THE BARREL AND THEN FIRED THIS LOAD AGAIN!!!

The case, well, you can see it here. Notice the elegant fire-formed belt (!!!) on the case. At least the primer stayed put.

But mind you, both bullets came out the barrel and the gun was still shootable. Must feel kind of nice for the Varberger owners who reload.

Regards,
/HerrBerg
12 July 2004, 02:58
Hot Core
Quote:

... So.... They HAMMERED ANOTHER 180GR BULLET INTO THE BARREL AND THEN FIRED THIS LOAD AGAIN!!!But mind you, both bullets came out the barrel and the gun was still shootable. Must feel kind of nice for the Varberger owners who reload. ...



Hey HerrBerg, That is quite impressive. Do you have any flicks of that kind of rifle?

Concerning the "Hammered In" Bullet. I'll guess they hammered it in from the chamber end so it would be located just ahead of the fully loaded cartridge. Is that correct?

...

By the way, do not interpret the below as doubting you.

There used to be a RUMOR about shooting stuck Bullets out of "old" Weatherbys. The Stuck Bullet position was irrelevant in the RUMOR. But, I never knew of anyone trying it either on purpose or by accident.
12 July 2004, 03:02
Major Caliber
Do Swedish owners have a habit of firing two bullets at once?
12 July 2004, 03:32
HerrBerg
Major Caliber,

if it is, I guess that is a habit one gets rid of the hard way, cold turkey.

Hot Core,
have a look at the rifles at www.varberger.com. The bullet was indeed hammered in from the chamber side, I dont know how far into the barrel though.
12 July 2004, 04:47
Hot Core
Thank you!



Just tried the link and couldn't get in. I wrote it down and I'll try later.
12 July 2004, 05:32
<eldeguello>
Now, HOTCORE, there's a pressure ring than can be measured! Please do so and let us know what the pressure was.....
12 July 2004, 07:47
Clark
Looks like some gas cutting on the brass.

What happened to the rifle?

Anything besides brass deposits?
12 July 2004, 07:58
HerrBerg
The guy who did the test described the gun as "fully usable", though I haven't seen the gun myself. But I've seen the brass, it's my fingers on the picture

Anybody who would like to try that load with a Blaser R93, raise your hands!

Best Regards,
/HerrBerg
12 July 2004, 09:43
<9.3x62>
I read once that Remington, when developing the 721 and 722 actions, did a similar thing. If I recall correctly, they not only tried it with one bullet lodged in the barrel but with three bullets lodged in the barrel!

Over built is a good thing...
12 July 2004, 12:42
Atkinson
Notice the bright brass exposed in the break, that is not consistant with a blow out case, it should be blackened and that has been torn off my hand or pliers perhaps. Also the primer should be missing or at the very least sat back to some degree or at the very least flattened more with some black leakage apparant.....It is an unusual damage to say the least...
13 July 2004, 04:10
Hot Core
Quote:

Now, HOTCORE, there's a pressure ring than can be measured! Please do so and let us know what the pressure was.....



Hey Rookie eldeguello, Kind of hard to do by measuring the "picture".

However, so as not to leave you hanging, I did a bit of "adjusting and compensating" and determined the Pressure to be - a good bit above SAFE MAX!
13 July 2004, 13:38
Robban
I have the video on the tests and they used a full case of Norma R1 not R123. The things that happened to the rifle was a damaged extractor, a little crack in the bolt face and a ring in the barrel where the bullet was placed. They did about 20 tests with different loads to blow the rifle before the one on the image.
14 July 2004, 01:02
<eldeguello>
In this case, Senor, I'd be more interested in the VELOCITY of the two bullets......