M1 Garand Explodes in Shooter's Hands

I would not be quick to point to the weapon as a fault point. If you watch the video closely the round fired before the rifle blew up was weak and there is significantly less muzzle report, then the shooter had to manually cycle the rifle. I would almost bet there is a barrel blockage as a result of a squib load.

I would point to faulty ammo and a shooter not knowing the signs of a possible barrel blockage.

 

Was that just the stock that blew off or the whole front barrel. That looked pretty serious

 

WOW that was definitely what I would call a catastrophic failure, what/whoever the fault.

I believe as FN FAL suggested that the round prior to the one that caused the blow up did not exit the barrel, but was far enough away from the throat to seat the next one. thats pretty scary as im sure it just seemed like it didnt extract the case and needed to be re-racked so-to-say.

What a reminder to always check the bore after a jam.

 

^^ Different gun though from first video. interesting non the less.

 

What a shame. It was a gorgeous rifle. Now a tomato stake.

 

wow! I hope that girl is ok. there were some pretty big pieces flying around. I agree that it most likely a squib round.

 

I wonder if the one in the first video was a .308 converted m1 also..

 

I hope that she is ok. that rifle just went to pieces.

 

Aw man, shame to blow up an M1. But the important thing is that it appears she was okay. Definitely scary because those were some big pieces of the stock flying around

I also think it may have been a squib, then she cycled that live round in the rifle and pulled the trigger, with disastrous consequences

the EXACT same thing happened to me with my SKS back in February, but fortunately, I was suspicious after the rifle failed to cycle, and I decided to check the bore and sure enough there was a bullet lodged in it, but note I had manually cycled the action and had a live round in the chamber, thank God I didn't pull the trigger. Based on the way the recoil was beating her around I assume she was a fairly inexperienced shooter, and that she did not think to do this

Just for kicks here's the thread about my incident with my SKS last year. Glad I didn't pull the trigger and grenade my beloved Norinco
https://gunandgame.com/threads/squib-load-with-norinco-sks-with-tulammo.167534/

 

Steel. Cased. Ammo. In. A. Garand. The horror.

 

She was dinking around with the bolt towards the end of the video. I wonder if she did NOT get it locked back into full battery, and then got it to fire, and then the catastrophe?

 

Girl was fine, was not a squib but a rifle fired out of battery. This was discussed at leangth several years ago when it happened

 

What does 'fired out of battery' mean?

 

It means the bolt was not in the locked position prior to the firing pin being struck. Rare, but it can happen.

 

Can also be called a slam fire when a cartridge is either factory or handloaded accidentally with a high primer and/or a relatively thin walled one. And it does not feed smoothly. One reason I do all of my rifle reloading with CCI Military Primers. Worth the extra expense when you own semi-auto rifles with free floating firing pins.

 

Firing out of battery?? The rear of bolt on M1s and M1 carbines have recess that does not allow hammer to strike firing pin if bolt is not fully locked. Former small arms repairman (Viet Nam)

 

Accidents like this can happen to every type of firearm, made by every factory and cottage industry. It could just as easily be your M1 Garand, 1911, SKS, AK, AR, FAL, Hi-Power, S&W/Colt revolvers, Winchester 1894, Remington bolt action, top break shotgun, etc. In most cases it's bad ammo or operator error, so that's why you need to train and know your weapons like the back of your hand, that way you don't lose it to something like this!

 

didn't go into full battery. The bolt wasn't completely closed. I had this happen recently with a Henry lever action 17 hmr. Luckily the result was a 'love pat' compared to the one in the video. After close examination, the hammer would fall when the bolt wasn't completely closed. Customer Service Report: Henry replaced the rifle after they paid for shipping it back. Got a new rifle and a newfound respect for Henry. Winner, winner!