Take this one to bed

[Trophyhunter01]

You only have to run faster than the slowest person in the group.

 

[TNDave]

Only virgin or once fired brass as stated above by others that has been meticulously prepped and inspected, if it’s used for hunting any game.

 

[Mekaniks]

In the situation described by the OP , the rifle just become a very expensive club..... swing away!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I had a No. 4 Enfield do that to me. Headspace was out.
I would have been screwed, as I had to used a bore brush to get the old one out.

My 375 FL O/U splits cases on the top barrel. Reload once and there is a high probability on will split on the second firing, virtually guaranteed on the third. This is all with normal loads to get the recommended 2400fps with 300 grain bullets. Heaps of investigation later and the problem is excess head space, a full 24 thou. New cases stretch by 12 thou on first firing on top and bottom barrel but the bottom barrel then stops. My excellent gunsmith has done all he can, lockup is now a smidge closer on face space, but bottom line is that it is what it is. Solution? Only ever use new brass. A good double is like a Ferrari, you can only use premium fuel.

 

[Zambezi]

This is one of the situations that prove you should always carry a very good blade with you! All you have to do is slash the Achilles tendon of anyone with you and you can definitely outrun them.

 

[mark-hunter]

What do you do?

You mentioned DG? It has to be noted, that not all wounding of DG results in charge.
And in most cases wounded DG will probably retreat before the charge, giving the time, to clear any issue with rifle. (in that case clear the jam, and proceed hunting)

But by defining actual charge, you have discounted that option.

Casings rarely fail in this way, and in thousands of rounds fired, I have never seen casing broken in such way, but by that picture, non failure of casing as most probable option, is discarded.

It may suggest a hot load of a reloader, not a wise option, for ammo to be used in tropical heats.
(quality casings, temperature stable powders and not making hot loads suggested)

But this has all been discarded, and with a theoretical chance for this particular situation being 1:1.000.000 (at least) now we have:
casing failure, possible rifle jamming, wounded DG, and ongoing charge.

Seconds count. So, clearing the chamber, and loosing time is not option.

But, generally, in the entire hunting party, on a DG hunt, hunter is not the only one with rifle.
DG is hunted in a team.

Rifle will have at least PH, a government ranger in the party (probably ak), if the ranger is required as it is in some hunts in some countries, another hunter (if hunting is 2:1, or father-son, etc), and hopefully back up rifle of some kind will be carried by gun bearer.

So, the option that a hunter will have - first to take back up gun, from gun bearer, and try to stop the charge, providing that there is an extra second or two, to get back up rifle, and gun bearer did not flee the scene, and is in a hands reach.

But this is just an extra safety effort, because by that time, the PH gun should already be firing.

Second, most likely option, try to move away from harms way, hoping somebody else with a rifle will stop the charge, most probably a PH, who should already be in best possible position to do that, and he should put him self in that good position before the first shot was fired, to cover all contingencies.
(At least two rifles to be trained on DG, before first shot was fired)

Moving from harms way by hunter with unusable gun means:
a) away from line of attack of charging animal
b) away from the line of sight for people with guns in hunting party

This all above should be in theory.
In practical terms, anything can go wrong, luck, or bad luck can also play a part.

Resolving the situation in reality will be on the rest of hunting party, and experience of PH to keep hunting party at all times in good "tactical" situation to utilize best all the guns in situation like that, and two guns to be on target before first shot is fired..

Thats my way of thinking...

 

[Randy F]

Maybe you get really lucky and the DG will die laughing.

 

[Firebird]

I had a similar problem last year with a 7mm stw. I solved the problem by fixing headspace issue which was largely caused by me pushing the shoulder too far back when fl resizing and of course using brass beyond its expected lifespan.
So when I see this issue I remember how I had to use a gunsmith to remove the casing still thoroughly stuck in the chamber. You won’t clear that jam in the field!
Hope there is a second gun being handed to you or you have a good ph.
—-global rescue. . .

 

[chonk34]

Our PH said that if things went pear-shaped on my dad's buffalo hunt, he should drop the gun and climb a tree. I'm not sure the tree was a much safer option...

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I would that it also depends on your ability to climb a tree.

 

[YancyW]

Hope you can outrun at least one other person in your hunting party....

 

[Randy F]

I would that it also depends on your ability to climb a tree.

And it would also require a tree. There isn't always one available.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Take some fast drying two-part putty and a 30 inch dowel on safari, you will get that stuck case out in 30 minutes max. Plenty of posts on the internet on how to do this. I dare say put this kit in the hunting vehicle, it is so easy you can do a quick fix out in the field. By that time the buff will have stiffened up a bit and you can resume the followup!

 

[Newboomer]

Said he found that round on the range. That should have been a red flag. If someone left a loaded big bore round lying around there is a pretty good chance he had a problem and left the scene. He might have blown up his own gun and had to seek medical attention or something. If I find a centerfire round on the range I put it in a separate container. When I get home I break it down, shitcan the powder, inspect the case, full length resize and reload with my powder. I don't take a chance on found rounds.

 

[CBH Australia]

Said he found that round on the range. That should have been a red flag. If someone left a loaded big bore round lying around there is a pretty good chance he had a problem and left the scene. He might have blown up his own gun and had to seek medical attention or something. If I find a centerfire round on the range I put it in a separate container. When I get home I break it down, shitcan the powder, inspect the case, full length resize and reload with my powder. I don't take a chance on found rounds.

I don't think he found the loaded round, only the case end with the headlamp, he the posted the question wondering what might happen if this happened in the field.

 

[Philip Glass]

Thoughts on DG Prep
1. Don’t use reloads. Too many stories to tell here. Just ask some PH’s.
2. At the range try hard to make your gun jam. Do everything you can think of besides complete and total abuse.
3. Read DG stories and get advice from those who have been many times and been in dangerous situations.
4. Don’t use reloads!

 

[Hogpatrol]

I can see where a reload could be problematic. I've found hundreds on the ranges. They are usually without a primer, primer upside down, no powder, wet powder, or bullet loose and pushed back in. Having said that, I trust my reloads more than factory ammo, at least for consistency and accuracy. Unfortunately for PHs, when it comes to hunters and reloaders, they sometimes have to deal with the lowest common denominator.

 

[crs]

" Having said that, I trust my reloads more than factory ammo, " +1

Making no excuses to anyone for my choice of ammo, arms, and hunt preparation. Another reason to do business with people (guides, outfitters, a PH, etc) that you know and can trust.

 

[fourfive8]

" Having said that, I trust my reloads more than factory ammo, " +1

Making no excuses to anyone for my choice of ammo, arms, and hunt preparation. Another reason to do business with people (guides, outfitters, a PH, etc) that you know and can trust.

+2 Absolutely.

 

[Hunter4752001]

From what I've seen, read and experienced, case head separation is generally caused by a miss match between the sized length of the case and the length of the chamber. Full length sizing back to minimum aggravates the problem. If you're lucky you can spot a potentially failing case by a fine line appearing on the case in front of the case head. Some people use a bent wire to try and detect the thin spot but it hasn't worked for me.

Under even normal pressures, the case expands to fill the chamber. This stretches the case and typically creates a small thinned section just in front of the case head. Over repeated firing the case gets to the point of letting go. In days gone by, it was one of the reasons many shooters only neck sized fired cases. These days Hornady, Wilson and others make gauges which measure a fired case and allow you to adjust the sizing die to suit your particular rifle.

Part of the design (or maybe folklore) of the 375 H&H was that chambers were made slightly long so that the round would still chamber even if there was an amount of dirt or fouling. (Kinda importatant if something full of teeth and claws was headed your way ). Headspace wasn't affected because the round headspaced on the belt. Of course this concept was based on the use of factory ammo and not reusing the brass.

With Lee Enfields a similar problem is caused by the amount of stretch in the rear locking action and military chambers which were also designed to be longer for reliability in dirty conditions.

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