German shotgun blew up

[aadhaulya]

Although I own 3 guns, I love the 12 bore the most. It is a pleasure to shoot and maintain.
But this incident has badly shaken me up. I suppose that it is time to sell it and buy a new one now. Probably identify a good manufacturer and replace the shotgun every 2 to 3 years.

Atul

[marksman]

I suppose one got hold of similar recycled shotgun from a dealer and now would want to continue the chain. This shotgun will patiently await its next victim.
I have heard of .32 ACP pistol made by Glock sold in some part of india....What say?????

Marksman

[mundaire]

I have heard of .32 ACP pistol made by Glock sold in some part of india....What say?????

When government policies skew a market in the way done in India, not surprising at all. The government is basically creating massive incentive for perpetuating these sort of scams.

Bet it sold for a small fortune as well

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[aadhaulya]

I suppose one got hold of similar recycled shotgun from a dealer and now would want to continue the chain. This shotgun will patiently await its next victim.
I have heard of .32 ACP pistol made by Glock sold in some part of india....What say?????

Marksman

You are right marksman, But no more 12 bore for me without checking the barrel before each shot and with industrial gloves and eye protection till I identify and get a new gun.
But if my gun blows up there will be one more gun in the market awaiting its next victim.

Atul

[Ruari]

I would not care to give a professional opinion on photos alone, but looking at the enlarged view of the burst site I would venture to say that an obstruction had been in the barrel.
The spots of rust and corrosion on the outside would indicate that the gun had not received the best of care and it has been my experience that those who don't worry about the outside care even less about the inside.

[aadhaulya]

Looks very much like a typical barrel burst caused by a cleaning patch left in the barrel. But no way to tell for sure, especially with all the pitting and rust. Repairable ? Yes, but not on the cheap. Replacing just one barrel would be near impossible and cost prohibitive. And given the gun's poor condition , not worth it.

Unless the barrel is totally choked, will a piece of cleaning cloth left in the barrel cause such a massive buildup of pressure to burst the barrel??
Specially talking about a 12 bore gun and without using a slug cartridge. The cartridge had multiple pellets the size of 4.8mm each. My doubt is that an obstruction caused by a cleaning cloth would easily get blown out instead of restricting the movement of these small pellets to cause a buildup of pressure.
I know that it should not be done, but I would still like an opinion on the above point.

Atul

[TwoRivers]

Yes, it can and will. One cleaning patch will do, especially so if the barrel is weakened by rust. Not every time, but one time is enought. I have an L.C. Smith double here belonging to a friend, whose wife did not look through the barrels after cleaning the gun, or before loading it again. It was a duck hunt and the reason was obvious. What remained of the patch was floating on the water. In this particular instance the barrel wall was thinner than recommended, not too unusual in older doubles, where the barrel profiling was done by hand. Look through those barrels before you chamber a cartridge!

[Ruari]

"Although I own 3 guns, I love the 12 bore the most. It is a pleasure to shoot and maintain.
But this incident has badly shaken me up. I suppose that it is time to sell it and buy a new one now. Probably identify a good manufacturer and replace the shotgun every 2 to 3 years.
Atul"

Not to worry, I still regularly use a 20 gauge, Westley Richards double, a percussion muzzle loader built in 1835.
If a good well made gun is looked after it will last for many, many years.
I have a BRNO double 12, made in 1960 that my youngest son has claimed for his own and I expect that he will hand it on to one of his future sons in due course.
If it is looked after there is no reason that it should not still be going in 200 years.