If you shoot a bolt action rifle in competition, do you wear protective glasses when in actual competition? This is not about other types of firearms or other types of shooting besides formal competitions such as training, practice, testing guns or loads, etc.
(I didn’t include a “I’m not a bolt action rifle competitor” response because I’m hoping that if you aren’t, you won’t feel compelled to add a meaningless reply.)

Question:
Do you?

Choices:
Yes, always.
No, never.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

Always, without fail. Bolt guns aren't generally susceptible to slamfires as semi-auto's can be, but a case can fail in any rifle. I saw it happen in a 1000 yard match up at Fort Lewis. The guy was lucky in that he only had some powder burns on his face and scratches on his arms from the shattered stock.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I saw it happen in a 1000 yard match ....

Do you know what caused the case failure?

I use a bolt action rifle in competition.

I do not have special protective glasses, but I sometimes wear my prescription glasses during a competition.

However, when it's hot and humid and the glasses fog up, I remove them and continue shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I saw it happen in a 1000 yard match ....

Do you know what caused the case failure?

Nope. I don't know what caliber he was shooting, it could have been a .223 or a .308, or even a .300 Magnum, but in any case a double charge shouldn't be possible. But theoretically it could have been the wrong powder. If I had to speculate, I'd lean toward a defective or (more likely) worn-out case.

Would just a case failure with an otherwise-correctly loaded cartridge and a bolt rifle in good repair really fail violently enough to shatter the rifle's stock?

I get that the case seals the chamber, and with a case failure you'd get gas escaping around the bolt, but as far as strength goes, the case might as well be made out of tissue paper compared to the action. Does that much gas escape that violently in a bolt gun? (Obviously an out-of-battery failure is something else entirely.)

S*** happens. Hasn't happened to me. But I did see an out of battery event (stuck firing pin was the alleged cause). I can't see any downside.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to argue against wearing eye protection, I think it's cheap insurance (and it's especially easy for me as I'm always wearing glasses to begin with). I was just surprised by the story.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Would just a case failure with an otherwise-correctly loaded cartridge and a bolt rifle in good repair really fail violently enough to shatter the rifle's stock?

I get that the case seals the chamber, and with a case failure you'd get gas escaping around the bolt, but as far as strength goes, the case might as well be made out of tissue paper compared to the action. Does that much gas escape that violently in a bolt gun? (Obviously an out-of-battery failure is something else entirely.)

When you fire a round and the case remains intact, all the pressure is contained within the case and (after it pushes the bullet forward) the barrel. It has an outlet at the muzzle and whatever pressure remains in the chamber and barrel after the bullet exits the muzzle is quickly bled off forward. The case, bullet, and barrel form a sealed vessel for the pressure.

The chamber and bolt are not a sealed vessel. They're not airtight. When a case fails (in a bottleneck rifle cartridge, normally at the case head) the pressure escapes backward around the bolt face and into the receiver area. There it tries to expand in all directions, and a wood stock isn't much of a barrier to 40,000+ PSI.

I'm guessing a little at that number. Most modern rifle cartridges operate normally at between 50,000 and 60,000 psi, some a little more than that. After the case fails the gas will flow backward into and around the bolt, and will start to lose pressure fairly quickly. So by the time it hits the wood, it might be down into the 35,000-45,000 range, I'm just guessing. Maybe somebody here knows where to find more accurate numbers. But even 35,000 will present a pretty strong wallop to a stock that's maybe 1/3 of an inch thick on the sides.