I saw an inncedent yesterday that reinforced why it is important for a left hander to shoot left handed guns.

A group of us took some kids hunting for Ohio's youth deer hunt yesterday. We quit about 3:00 (some of the guys said something about a football game that they wanted to watch) As we were coming back to the buildings from the woods the landowner was out sighting in a brand new 870 slug gun.

I pulled up as he was firing and a ball of flame came out the ejection port. Not a flash but a slow growing ball of fire. Kind of like how loose powder burns. Dan is right handed and shooting right handed. His only injury was a minor burn on his wrist.

This was his second shot so there was no obstruction. The slug was lodged about 8" down the bore. The case was split (the plastic not the brass) and deformed from the heat.

It appeared like the gun locks up properly. Brass showed no pressure signs. He was using Remington Copper solids.Not sure if the gun or ammo caused it. Any ideas what happened. My guess is the the breech wasn't closed tight or didn't lock up right. Dan was going to contact Remington.

Glad he wasn't seriously hurt. It's a good reminder about gas handling design.

Thought I'd let you know how this was resolved. When Dan called Remington the lady he talked to had a little bit of an attitude. She told him that if he sent the gun back he had to give them a credit card # so they could charge him with the repairs. He refused to give a CC# when he sent it in. Long story short they sent him a brand new Wingmaster to replace an Express. They didn't tell him what the problem was.

Did they give him the same serial number on a different model shotgun?

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Did they give him the same serial number on a different model shotgun?

Don't know all the details. He emailed me that they sent him a Wingmaster to replace the Express. The Wingmaster is a higher grade gun then the Express.

The Express was a combo, he returned both barrels. The Wingmaster came with both barrels even though Remington doesn't offer the Wingmaster as a combo. If the gun is a different serial # it would have to go through a dealer, which I assume it did.

well he made out good getting rid of the express that rust for a quality wingmaster

Fjold; Just curious, why would it matter about the two guns' serial numbers?

Jeez, that's a scary thing to happen. My primary shotgun is a Winchester 1300 that is right hand ejection. I've had it for more than 10 years now, and never had a problem with the shells bothering my face (after thousands and thousands of rounds). It still bothers me a little bit the hulls get sent across my face, but they've never hit me or distracted me otherwise. The worst I usually get are a couple of flakes of unburnt green or blue dot stuck to my face and right arm!

After reading this story, it makes me wonder if this is just a ticking time bomb until something bad happens. Guess I'll just have to go out and buy another pump gun...

quote:

Originally posted by Bulletbutt:
Fjold; Just curious, why would it matter about the two guns' serial numbers?

The manufacture can't ship a new gun directly to you. They have to go through an FFL holder in your state. They can however replace your action with a brand new one if it has the same serial number as your original gun, then send it directly back to you.