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January 13, 2012
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Has anyone ever had a DW barrel fail? I was shooting my Model 15-2 yesterday (.38 spec reloads purchased at the range). I put about 50 rounds through my 8" barrel. When I was cleaning the barrel later, I looked down the bore and could see a concentric circle of disturbed steel (perpendicular to the length) about 3.5 " from the muzzle. Running my fingers down the outside of the barrel, I could feel a bulbous expansion in the same area, approximately 0.5" in length before returning to the barrel's original diameter.
It looks to me that the steel in that area failed, don't know why, and I've taken the barrel out of service. Now I'm looking for a replacement, e.g., from Eric.
In the meantime, just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.
Best,
PCC
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Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Just an educated guess, but I bet you had one lodge in the barrel and fired another one behind it.
Was this ammo Factory or "range bought" that may have been reloaded ammo.
SHOOT
January 13, 2012
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Hey, Shoot, thanks. It was reloaded stuff that I purchased at the range, definitely not "new" factory stuff in the box. The ammo I was shooting is sold in bags of 50 rounds, and I didn't really think too much about the quality of the reload, frankly. Stupid, perhaps, but I don't claim to be the most experienced shooter. I hadn't considered the prospect of a lodged bullet, followed by a second firing. That would make some sense, I guess.
Thanks for the "educated guess," because it's a lot more than I had before!
PCC
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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Shoot's probably nailed it. I wouldn't shoot any more with that barrel if it were me, go click the EWK link to the right of this screen & order up a fresh one.
April 25, 2008
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If you are not the original owner, that could have been done by someone else. Bulged barrels are somewhat when very light charges of powder and wadcutters are used. I have seen a barrel that had 5 bullets stacked one after another inside it. The shooter didn't even realize he had a squib load and emptied the cylinder.
I have an old Mauser .22LR that has a bulged barrel...you can barely tell it from the outside, but you can sure feel it when cleaning. The thing still shoots very well.
The Savantist
January 13, 2012
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Hey, guys, thanks for the collective wisdom of the Forum once again. I've already taken Charger Fan's advice and emailed Eric to see what his stock is for an 8" bbl. I'd like to think I was more "situation-aware" while I was shooting but I guess I can't claim that based on the evidence in hand!
PCC
May 10, 2011
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I did this exact thing with my 15-2 last year but I had no idea. I thought I just couldn't get the barrel nut off, come to find out it had bulged and split inside the shroud, expanding inside the nut and basically lodging it there. None of the local smiths could get it off. I ended up sending it back to DW, whereupon I was told about the barrel and learned what a squib is. Before you order another barrel, make sure you can get the old one out.
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