The interesting thing here is this is the second under lever rifle to come in over the last couple of weeks with bulged barrels, the other being a 44 Remington Magnum and the common factor is they are both under lever rifles.
Now I am certainly not saying under lever rifles are more prone to barrel bulging when a second moving round meets a first stationary round because this could happen in any type of rifle and I have no idea statistically if this sort of incident is more prevalent with under levers, however add reloading to under levers and the type of shooting they are used for here in the UK and there might and I do say just might be an increased risk here.
Let me explain. Under lever rifles are often used for competition shooting which in turn can be against the clock. I shoot a .357Mag Marlin in local club competitions and to be vaguely competitive I need to get accurately placed rounds off very quickly, typically two rounds in two seconds on turning targets which means I acquire the target, pull the trigger cycle the lever to load a second round and pull the trigger. During this period I have very little chance of seeing my fall of shot due to the nature of the target and the lack of splash behind and my interest is getting that second round down range. Whilst doing this I need to be aware of anything that seems different, less noise, a reduced recoil or similar and if that happens I need to stop myself from taking that next shot.
It can be done, by that I mean you can be aware of something not being quite right and accordingly stop yourself, equally I suspect in the heat of the moment a mistake can be made.
OK, so that is one scenario.
Probably the more worrisome is when you are shooting simultaneously with other competitors with low loaded rounds and ear defenders and I believe this is going to give a greater potential for missing something which might lead to a failure. Something we have to be aware of and if there is any doubt never under any circumstances take a further shot until the rifle has been inspected.
This leads onto another thought. Driving a soft lead bullet through a barrel is one thing, driving a jacketed bullet is something else and I have a length of barrel I sectioned a few years ago. The shooter had managed to load without powder in a Remington 700 chambered in 6mmBR. He instantly recognised the error, stopped shooting and took the rifle to a shop, there a long rod was placed down the barrel from the muzzle and given a few reasonable clouts with a large hammer, this succeeded in expanding the bullet further and securely jammed it in the barrel. The barrel came to me in such a state that the only realistic way forward was to fit a new barrel.
My view is if a bullet is jammed in a barrel the only direction it should be moved is in its original direction of flight, that is away from the chamber and towards the barrel and this can be done reasonably easily with the addition of some light lubrication and care. Equally I have seen the job done with a screwdriver on a S&W 686 and it also worked!
Please note, I am certainly not suggesting it is only reloaded ammunition in under lever rifles that has the potential for failure because it can equally be factory ammunition in bolt action rifles and in totally different disciplines.
What I am saying is it is incredibly important to be aware of your reloading process and what is happening when you are shooting for your safety and the safety of those around you.
Finally, don’t forget your safety gasses next time you head down the range!
