Maybe the wad from his last shot was still in the barrel? Never happened to me...knocking on all the wood in my office...but the one time I saw it happen that turned out to be the problem. Was also a re-loaded shell.

Fish on...

Todd

no, not a wad, he hit the bird right before just like normal, not a blooper...

i brought up a double charge, and he said no, and i kinda figured the same, as it would be tough to even get the wad to seat correctly, it would stick out of the top of it before being crimped... you would have to be blind to not see it... plus you would likely see it sticking out after the crimp possibly...

there are a couple theories we have..

his theory is possibly that the chamber just gave out after hundreds of thousands of shells gone through it...

i suppose...

here are my theories..

but there is another issue, right before he started shooting, he had the barrel rested on his foot, and was trying to put on his glasses, and it was still frozen out here on Saturday at 9:30 AM, and, he dropped it... i was watching when it happened and you could hear it his the concrete HARD, and he yelled out "OH SH!T" when it happened... that was probably a "i just [Bleeeeep!] my favorite gun up" tone i think...

it hit the concrete hard enough to dent the aluminum ring that goes around the butt plate and connects to the stock, and it dented it pretty good...

he fired 2 shots before it blew up, so if it turned and hit the top of the reciever, it could have cracked it possibly then the 2 shells started the process, 3rd kaboom...

or, the wad wasnt pushed in all the way down to the powder, and there was a sufficient air gap that created a detonation vs combustion...

the secondary explosion from the gases in a detonation would cause the pressures to rise to 30k+... no shotgun can withstand that pressure whatsoever...

another guy that is an ex olympian shooter, suggested that if he oiled his "sliders"? reloading that maybe oil got in the shell? he said no... i guess the other guy witnessed just that, a guy was reloading, and oil got in there with the powder and created more of a fuel, and it blew the guys arm off almost to the elbow...

whatever it was, it was scary as hell, i will never forget that sound, and i hope to never hear it again...

snit, it "was" a Franchi 2005 from the 70s, had both the single trap barrel and the O/U barrel... "was" a very nice, fairly expensive shotgun...

He said no because he probably didn't want to admit to making that error.
A double charge is quite possible no matter what he says.
I know because I've done it.
Blew up a nice 1100.

Lead shot will sometimes "bridge" during the loading process.
This is where a pellet gets caught between the bushing and reservoir.
If you back off the handle to clear the bridge (jam), you can drop the powder twice on some loaders.

So if you get one of these jams, inspect the round in question before proceeding.

With a double charge, you may notice something odd about the crimp.
Or you may not, depending on the components.

i talked to him just a while ago today, still no definitive answer, but i asked him if he could have made a mistake, and he said its possible.. "sh!t happens sometimes" which is true...

he reloads 15k shells a year, and has been since 1960.. so i guess a mistake can be made in that long of a time, and that many... it can happen to anyone..

he is alright, he has a ruptured ear drum and the bump is now just a slight bruise...

on a good note, i think everything is starting to fall into place...

i shot 1 23, 3 24's, and 3 25 of 25 today...

whats kinda annoying is how dirty Federal bulk shells are compared to Winchester SS bulk... but, with #8 shot is where ive been doing the 25's as of recent, so im likely gonna stick with them...

Just shooting from the 16 yard line..

Evo, you're shooting pretty damn good.

Cool story about the local guy that was the reason for the 27 yard line.
http://www.pssatrap.org/road-to-yesterday/Arnold-Riegger.htm

definitely a cool read, thanks for posting that DD..

i think it has to do with me shooting with a couple guys a lot, they are pushing me to do better, well not them, but me... because they are very very good, Joe shot at the olympics and to be able to shoot with someone like that, is a huge plus...

You are putting it together, congrats. Time to start moving back.

What year(s) was your friend on the US Shooting Team, and which Olympics did he compete at? That's quite the accomplishment.

nah, i forgot...

he made the 92 Barcelona team, but wasnt selected to go or some sh!t.. guess hes not a "real" olympian, but hes gotten farther than you, or probably anyone you know...

shot 3 rounds of skeet with him yesterday, lots of fun, and had a great time learning... shot 4 rounds of 5 stand 2 weeks ago, that was tons of fun, but extremely challenging...

Joe (the "olympian") is one of the "chipper" guys, he will blow a bird up, and shoot another piece of it thats falling out of the sky, yesterday while skeet shooting, we kinda did what we wanted, at one point he was sitting on the bench shooting clays, was pretty impressive, as you cant really move..

hes also left handed, not that it makes much of a difference, but its impressive watching him...

the Beretta has run flawlessly, not 1 issue.. i keep wanting to go buy a Citori or whatnot, but im doing so well with it, why?

yeah, taking over an hour of his time, handing me shells, telling me im going to keep shooting it till i hit it, and telling me im doing well, probably says im an asshole and suck...

i mean who would actually do that if they didnt like someone?

hell i wont even fish with people i dont like, so he must be a weird fvck to actually do that...

he was also in the military (no i dont know what branch), and is an avid LRP shooter, as well as doing some USPSA and IDPA stuff in the past...

he knows his sh!t, and is full of information.. been shooting with him since i got the gun so 3 months?

anyways...

Solid shooting advice is difficult to come by, sounds like your new buddy is legit.

I was invited to the OTC in the summer of ‘90 for a few weeks to shoot bunker (Olympic Trap). I don’t recall your buddy being on The Team (there was a couple of us from Wa) but I ended up not qualifying. Nevertheless, it was a great experience that I’d worked towards for a long time, plus II got to shoot with the top bunker shooters (not skeet) at the time including several future medal winners for 2 weeks. I’ve probably crossed paths with your new friend in the past if he shot trap in the 90’s.

so then sports players that don't end up playing in games aren't really sports players..

Gotcha..

Athletes*

ive been shooting a lot of skeet with the "fake olympian" guy... been using the Superposed 20 guage, i do better with it than my 12 gauge for some reason...

anyone got any 20 gauge trap ammo they want to let me trade for paper?

anyways, almost blew 2 grand on a regular Silver Pigeon 1, but he talked me into the sporting model with the adjustable comb...

hes said on both guns i lift my head when i miss, so we are trying different things..

not missing a "ton", i can do 21 and 22 of 25, the last stage is a bitch as they come at you at 35 mph head on... need more practice, and for that, need more ammo..

did the duck tower last weekend, that was interesting, i hit like 18 on that one, but stage 5 kicked my ass, if it throws to the right, you have like a second to hit it.. think im gonna run the Superposed on that one too, even tho they can get a ways out there, and they are throwing from like 50 feet or more up...


i shot 5 stand 2 weeks ago and was going to leave and buy that gun, he told me not to and to get the sporting model which is only like 200 bucks more, has a few more features so ill listen to him...

skeet is so much fun, i have shot like 4 rounds of trap in the last month...

im gonna take my time on the O/U purchase, wanna make it right..

Beretta 68-X are really good "journeyman" guns. That platform (it's evolved, and I'm not too informed on the newest and greatest models) has been around since the early 80's at least. There are lots of available parts, most gunsmiths can work on them, and they're very reliable. Some models were more adept at refurbishment than others though, fyi (I think the 682 could be fully rebuilt, but the 686 couldn't?) I haven't looked in a long time, but check out Joel Etchen Firearms online (PA). (His dad was Rudy Etchen, a famous trapshooter) They were a large Beretta target shotgun dealer, with very good specials at times. One time my pops and I purchased 7 Beretta Super Trap Combo Sets from them, as they were priced so good!

As to skeet, glad you like it! I haven't shot a round in...I don't know how long? 20+ years? I never took to it, as there wasn't any money in the tournaments (just like 16yd trap, that's why I concentrated on Handicap). When I shot skeet, I got bored halfway through a round, knowing that the target always flew in the same path...not that I always broke the bird though. Small gauge would be fun, for a round or 2 (I just bought a .410 O/U for kicks)

International skeet, now that's a different critter! Never tried that. Like Internation Trap (Bunker), completely different disciplines. I can't help you on the 20ga shells, I have several cases of new laid in that I purchased for $3/box (Rem 7/8oz of #8,#9) at an estate sale 2 years ago for whatever game birds we want to pester. Otherwise, I'm thankful I didn't listen to the naysayers about a year ago in regards to components/ammo stockpiling! I'll be happily reloading for years to come (shotgun anyhow).

BTW...crazy how the price of diesel has increased $1 in about 2 months!

On skeet...
An old timer once told me, "You're throwing softballs with that 28" Modified.
Get a 26" Skeet and you'll be throwing watermelons."

He was right.

im gonna use the Superposed 20 gauge for skeet, i do really well with it for some reason..

im going to get a O/U with 30 inch barrels for trap and Sporting Clays, Joe uses a Citori from the 70s with 30 inch barrels and full chokes (fixed) and is lights out, but he is an elite level shooter and im not... he can literally take any gun and do the same sh!t, he did with my 2 last weekend.. its pretty impressive..

i do want to use the 12 for skeet as well tho, so i just bought a Carlsons skeet choke like the IM choke i bought for trap a while back..

after i get the O/U the A300 will be used for hunting, as that is what it pretty much is built for anyways...

snit, he told me to check the same place, Etchen has a bunch of guns, they do have the sporting model for 2250 as well..

Cole Gunsmithing is another one.. they have some very expensive shotguns there.. 30+K..

well i have been running the Superposed 20 gauge for a while shooting skeet, and today the rib seperated from the barrel, and now needs to be fixed..

its loos from about 2 inches from the rear, all the way to the front...

so now i have like 14-1500 shells of 20 and no 20...

might go buy a another 20, have to get this one fixed...

You piss a lot of money away

Midwest will fix that loose rib for a couple hundred bucks, +/-

Usually followed with the barrels re blueing for another couple hundred or so.