[QUOTE=tomhenry;1234948


Speculation as to what happened:

20 guage shell loaded ahead of 12 guage shell;
Barrel obstruction;
Double charged handload.

If anybody has any further info, I'd like to hear it.[/QUOTE]


Doubt the 20/12 gauge thing. While it certainly wouldn't be a smart thing to do by any means, there have been a number of tests lately that just "blew" the 20 gauge hull right out of the barrel. Never even setting off the 20 gauge. Remington 870 for one, along with a H&R single shot, plus a Benelli that ran 7 sequences of the test without damage.

Double charge? I don't think so. I think one would be hard pressed to purposely load a shell that would do this. Double charge wouldn't leave enough room for enough shot to be much more than a blooper. Double charges in a shotgun hull are almost impossible not to notice.

Barrel obstruction, yes, check the previously fired hull. Lots of today's two or three piece hulls have a habit of coming apart. Leaving either a base wad or a portion of the plastic tube itself stuck somewhere in the barrel. Would have had to have been a pretty good obstruction within inches in front of the loaded hull though. An air gap seems to be more dangerous than something up pretty tight to the front of the loaded hull. (As in the 20 gauge above.)

Or, was it a "detonation"? Rifles and pistols are prone, usually with large volume cases and light charges of slow burning powders, to such. Shot guns, there never has to my knowledge been any such blame laid out. But lots of these types of destructive incidences have reported that there was first a "pop", slight pause and then, "KABOOM"!

Now we all know, or most of us do, that the primer alone will move the wad and shot forward. What if it did so, but the powder didn't ignite like it should, instantly, things moved a few inches, spreading the powder thinly on the bottom of the hull/barrel and then the powder ignited, all of it, istantly. Sort of a "hang fire". (Or maybe even some "smolering" in the meantime, turning powder to gas?) No progressive burn, just all of it detonating instantly. Like some of those rifle or pistol blow ups?

I think it might just be possible. Especially in light of some of those reports of "Pop----BOOM"!