Blew my Uberti 1876 up

[Crazy Horse]

I borrowed my friends dopler chronograph and was shooting some loads over this morning. I had loaded up some 300 grain csast I got years ago from Buffalo Arms with 26 grans of 4198. They shot great and were clocking around 1450fps. I had about 10 shells that I had loaded years ago in the box with the same bullet that I could not remember what powder I I loaded them with. It was a smokeless load, and I had shot some of the loads several years ago and they shot fine. I decided I would shoot one to check the speed. I shot and it clocked only around 890 fps but I hit the 30-yard 8" steel plate I was shooting at, so the bullet exited. I decided to shoot the other rounds up and get rid of them so I could go back and load them all with the 26 grain 4198 load that was going 1450. The next shot the forearm exploded in my hand. The bullet is lodged about 12" form the bore in the barrel. I can't see anything wrong with the gun other than that. The barrel is no bulged, the action works fine and the tube appears fine. Who can I send the gun to see if it can be repaired? I love this gun. I am just glad I didn't get hurt. I will be out of town the first of this week to see my oncologist in Dallas. I will check back today and when I get back. Hopefully it can be fixed. I have reloaded and shot tens of thousands of rounds all the way from 32 mag to 460 Weatherby and never had a mishap until today.

[JimT]

The bullet is lodged 12 inches from the muzzle or the breech?
Is the barrel bulged anyplace?

EDIT: This is an 1886 made in 1903 that blew because of metal fatigue. It was fired for years with smokeless loads but the metal was not designed for smokeless loads.

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[Crazy Horse]

Wow! That one is demolished!

It is 12" from the bore. It has a long barrel probably 28". 50-95 caliber

I can't see or feel any bulges in the barrel.

Uberti imported by Stoger

[JimT]

If it were mine, I would push the bullet out of the barrel and see if the barrel is ringed.
If it's not .. and if the magazine isn't damaged, all you did was break the forend.

[4t5]

How to prevent it from happening again ?

[ollogger]

Not sure but with the bullet plugging the bore, could the escaping gas blow the wood
into kindling? glad ya didnt get hurt!



ollogger

[GunnyMack]

Like Jim said, push out the bullet and look for a ring. If it's ringed it's shot.
Without the barrel bursting it's not 'blown up'. Its a sealed breech system so no gas could make the forend damage. I find it strange why the wood let go without damage to metal... has the forend been cracked and just decided to part ways due to recoil or are we missing the barrel rupture in your photos.
The suspect brass, did it extract easily? Separate? Stick in the chamber?
Now pull the remaining bullets from those loads, dump the powder and use your 4198 load.

[JimT]

If the barrel is not bulged and if it did not rupture any place .... and if the magazine is not damaged .. the forend had to break because it was cracked in my opinion. Probably internally ... on the inside .. where it was not visible. A bullet stopping the bore does not exert pressure on the outside of the barrel unless another one is fired up against it and it creates a bulge.

So getting the stuck bullet out of the barrel will tell a lot.

If you get the bullet out, then look through the barrel, if it has bulged the barrel at all you will see what looks like a ring in the barrel. That's the bulged part. I've seen barrels with multiple rings.

[AJMD429]

.
On the older guns with the slimmer forends (unlike the moden Marlins), If the cartridge diameter is big, and the magazine tube correspondingly big, sometimes there's not a lot of wood so the forends are pretty fragile.

[Bill in Oregon]

Wow, what a shock that must have been. I love an 1876, too, although I don't have one in the rack anymore. I hope that bullet comes out easily and that you don't have a ring. If you do, it's either rebarrel or reline, although an occasional ringed barrel has been known to shoot better than it should.

[JimT]

Wow, what a shock that must have been. I love an 1876, too, although I don't have one in the rack anymore. I hope that bullet comes out easily and that you don't have a ring. If you do, it's either rebarrel or reline, although an occasional ringed barrel has been known to shoot better than it should.

Yessir. I have had that experience. Some friends brought my Dad a Colt Gold Cup 1911 that they had bulged the barrel and locked it up. Dad got it apart, turned down the barrel so it would work and shot the gun awhile. It would stay inside 2 1/2" at 25 yards with the ringed barrel. Surprised me!

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’m so sorry to hear that this happened and hope that you are ok.

[jeepnik]

Gotta go with Jim on this one. Forearm self destructed. I'd just get with Uberti and see if you can buy a replacement. If you are serioiusly concerned you could find a non destruct testing lab and have them magnaflux it. But I think that is way overkill.

[Crazy Horse]

I think I know what happened. I shot 6 shots of my 4198 load and all the loads clocked in the 1400's. I tried one 350 grain TenX factory smokeless load and it was a disappointing 1050 fps. I then got one of the old reloads and shot it. It clocked around 850fps. I could not believe it was so slow, so I put another round in and shot it and that is when the forearm exploded in my hand. I thought I remembered that 850 fps load hitting the steel plate, but I could be wrong. After it was all over, I went back through the chrno and looked at all the shots. The load that blew my forearm up and didn't exit had read 530 fps???? How did this happen? I don't know? This is one of those new Athelon Rangecraft dopler Chrono's that sits out beside the gun when you shoot. I have borrowed from a buddy several times and it has always worked really well. When I saw that 850 fps reading, I assumed the bullet exited the gun. I bet it did not and they are two bullets in the barrel. I wish I had a wooden dowel to drive the bullet or bullets back down the barrel, but I will have to wait until I get home Wednesday from the Doctor in Dallas to go and buy one.

Well bad news. I just got in some better light, and the barrel is swelled in a spot about halfway down it. It is ruined. The action works fine and is not hurt as far as I can tell.

[JimT]

Sorry to hear that. It can be rebarreled. Once you get the bullet out, clean the bore and then shoot some of your regular ammo, testing the accuracy. It may surprise you.

And more than likely the second shot pushed the stopped bullet out of the barrel and that was the slow velocity reading.

I would use and aluminum shotgun rod that will fit the bore. If the bullet is swelled a bit you will have to move it far enough to shrink it back to bore size. Wood will not usually hold up. I use an aluminum rod almost bore size, with a flat end I can pound on with a mallet and a flat end to push the bullet.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Also suggestions put a little Kroil or other similar oil in the barrel to ease movement.

[Crazy Horse]

Thanks for the tips guys.

If I get the bullet out and it would shoot decent, where could I get a new forearm? I could glue this one back together but there are some small pieces missing.

If I barreled it where would I send it to?

[LeverGunner]

Sorry to hear it. Glad it didn't mess up your hand or arm.

[Crazy Horse]

Yes, I am lucky I have all my fingers.

The news gets worse on the gun. I took the forearm cap off and removed the last piece of shattered wood and I can see a split in the bottom flat on the barrel. I could see where powder gas escaped right near the metal forearm cap.

I found a new forearm, but I have no idea what a barrel would cost. Haven't found one.

[Malamute]

You may be able to buy parts from one of several vendors, if not uberti usa. VTI has lots of parts, and does I believe Midwest. Just google Uberti parts for sale, or be more specific like Uberti 1876 parts for sale. Barrels may be a bit pricey, but it will save the gun.

Hard to imagine the fore end coming apart unless there was a gas escape, either from a crack in the barrel, or maybe the shell was compromised and allowed gas to escape and it went out the mag tube and fore end.

Anyways, the general apprehension as to the strength of the toggle link actions is often shown to be fine after a barrel failure rather than action problems. Of course check headspace before shooting it again (probably worth checking on that barrel regardless just to see if anything moved), and after a rebarrel, but it may be fine once whatever damaged parts are replaced.

Edit: just saw your latest post. Check for barrels as mentioned above.

Look here, barrels https://www.taylorsfirearms.com/uberti- ... parts.html shows out of stock, may be able to back order, but VTI shows them also

https://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopd ... cat=uberti

VTI has a "check stock" which ends up being an email notification in a day or two. When I just try to put a part in the cart, I think it wont allow you to put it in the cart if its not in stock. VTI is less money than Taylors also.

[AJMD429]

.
Glad that little split didn't get big enough to cause more damage - your hand could have looked like that forend...

[JimT]

Wow. I am sorry to hear that, but it makes sense of the forend splitting. Thank the Lord it wasn't worse. Take your time, search around, I am sure you will find a way to repair it and get it going again. It's not impossible but it may take time and patience to find it.

EDIT: I am glad you didn't get hurt. This is from my friend who had the 1886 blow up .. the photo I posted earlier.

059296.jpg

[marlinman93]

If you can't find a factory replacement barrel there are numerous good gunsmiths who can fit and contour a barrel to replace the damaged one. As mentioned VTI in Florida is the US rep, and should be able to bring in a new barrel for your rifle so you can have a gunsmith fit it

[Lastmohecken]

This is interesting. Correct me if I am wrong, but the cracked for end stock looks to me like gas was vented, but if there's no ruptured barrel, and no ruptured case, can the gas be redirected somehow, in the toggle link lock up. Could it somehow vent around the outside of the case, and end up in blowing out the forend?

Anyway, without a release of gas, it baffles me as to what cracked the forend. I know it's already been discussed above but do we have a definitive explanation yet, as to what exactly happened?
Could barrel vibrations or barrel whip, caused enough violent flexing just stressed the forend wood, enough to bust the stock?
I guess the next question was you hand hurt when the wood busted? I am thinking (guessing) that if your hand was not hurt, then it was not from a gas release, so it had to of been undue stress on the wood from barrel flex, recoil, something like that?

[JimT]

This is interesting. Correct me if I am wrong, but the cracked for end stock looks to me like gas was vented, but if there's no ruptured barrel, and no ruptured case, can the gas be redirected somehow, in the toggle link lock up. Could it somehow vent around the outside of the case, and end up in blowing out the forend?

Anyway, without a release of gas, it baffles me as to what cracked the forend. I know it's already been discussed above but do we have a definitive explanation yet, as to what exactly happened?
Could barrel vibrations or barrel whip, caused enough violent flexing just stressed the forend wood, enough to bust the stock?
I guess the next question was you hand hurt when the wood busted? I am thinking (guessing) that if your hand was not hurt, then it was not from a gas release, so it had to of been undue stress on the wood from barrel flex, recoil, something like that?

4 posts up .. he found a split in the bottom of the barrel after he removed the forend.

[veeman]

If your interested, I have a short 20" 45-75 barrel and mag tube I bought from Yahoody several years ago but never used. I'd be happy to sell it.

[Lastmohecken]

This is interesting. Correct me if I am wrong, but the cracked for end stock looks to me like gas was vented, but if there's no ruptured barrel, and no ruptured case, can the gas be redirected somehow, in the toggle link lock up. Could it somehow vent around the outside of the case, and end up in blowing out the forend?

Anyway, without a release of gas, it baffles me as to what cracked the forend. I know it's already been discussed above but do we have a definitive explanation yet, as to what exactly happened?
Could barrel vibrations or barrel whip, caused enough violent flexing just stressed the forend wood, enough to bust the stock?
I guess the next question was you hand hurt when the wood busted? I am thinking (guessing) that if your hand was not hurt, then it was not from a gas release, so it had to of been undue stress on the wood from barrel flex, recoil, something like that?

4 posts up .. he found a split in the bottom of the barrel after he removed the forend.

Thanks Jim,
I guess I missed that part. That makes sense. I saw where he found a bulge but didn't read where he found a split. But that explains everything.

[JimT]

Yes .. it explains how the forend broke.

[Bob Hatfield]

Remove the bullet backwards toward the breech to see if it slides out evenly without any loose spots to help detect a bulge. If you have to pound it out with a dowel all the way that would be good.

[EdinCT]

While I have never purchased anything from this company I have heard they are good quality. Hope you get your 76 up and running.
http://www.winchesterbarrels.com/pricing.html

[wvfarrier]

The important thing is you still have both eyes and all your fingerd

[.45colt]

Sorry to see that this happened to Your rifle but Yes it's Great your not injured. Keep us informed about Your progress with the repairs.

[Eddie Southgate]

Ouch !

[marlinman93]

Remove the bullet backwards toward the breech to see if it slides out evenly without any loose spots to help detect a bulge. If you have to pound it out with a dowel all the way that would be good.

When the bullet gets to the spot where the barrel is split open it's gonna get really loose!

[Bob Hatfield]

Remove the bullet backwards toward the breech to see if it slides out evenly without any loose spots to help detect a bulge. If you have to pound it out with a dowel all the way that would be good.

When the bullet gets to the spot where the barrel is split open it's gonna get really loose!

I see now he found the split.

[Shasta]

The Cimarron Firearms website is showing a new 1876 barrel in .45-60 for $411.

https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/1876- ... parts.html

Shasta

[Crazy Horse]

I drove the bullet out with an Aluminum 2018 arrow shaft. So, the shot before the explosion read around 850fps on this chronograph that I had borrowed. Why was there any reading at all? The bullet did not exit! The gun exploded on the next shot. That shot appeared around 530 fps on the chronograph. Like someone said, that reading was probably the first bullet being blown out of the barrel by the last shot. I posted a picture of the bullet. The tit in the top of the bullet is from the arrow shaft insert when I hammered it out.

I found a barrel that is $495

Have not found a finished forearm yet. I found an unfinished one.

[marlinman93]

Likely will need to have the barrel indexed and head spaced too.

[Streetstar]

The newish (2 or 3 years on the market now) - Garmin chronograph is a decent price and pretty bomb proof (no pun intended)

Im glad this wasnt worse for sure

[Walt]

The Garmin chronographs are very sensitive and I'm guessing yours may have chrono'd the velocity of the gas escaping the split in the barrel.

[Crazy Horse]

That may be what happened with the last shot but the 850-fps reading just before the blow up didn't have a bullet exiting or gas escaping through the split because it had not occurred yet. Maybe just the noise somehow made it show a reading.

I found a barrel and forearm. I also found a gunsmith that will put it on. I plan on ordering the barrel and forearm today.

[Griff]

Sorry this happened. I suppose I've been lucky this hasn't ever happened to me. Glad you found the replacement parts needed and are getting it fixed, I've always admired the 1876.

[Walt]

That's great news, Crazy Horse! I'm happy to hear that you'll be back in business with that fine gun soon.
Heck, it'll be better than ever.