Short Neck 7x57 Cartridges causing Rifle blow-ups

[303Guy]

It's not myth. I witnessed it! Lighting farts can burn holes in nylon underpants and can burn the butt! I witnessed both - it burns with a blue flame. Others who tried it got no results so it's not a given that it will burn. It may be a myth that a fart can burn inside the butt but I have heard that one. I'm not so sure. There needs to be oxygen present. Apparently it has been documented that dropping a lighted match into a portaloo can burn your eyebrows! That came out on a safety course.

Back on topic.

.. they were commonly used and I've never heard of them causing any damage to rifles then or now.

Some researches looked into it and found that while there were rifle blow-ups there was no substantiated proof that it was caused by the kortnek although the kortnek got the blame. That part seems to be a myth. I knew the kortnek was used but not whether it was common or not. Do you know the origin of the kortnek? I believe the kortnek was obtained from across the northern borders from Mozambique from the Portuguese.

The research was undertaken some seventy years after the event so although the records existed (and there were several dating from that conflict), there were no surviving witnesses. It was speculated if I recall, that whatever ammunition caused it could have been a case of heat damaged ammunition which could coincidentally have been kortnek. It may simply have been isolated incidents of heat damaged ammo if it was that at all. It could have simply been hot rifles firing hot ammo. Don't underestimate the heat of the hot African sun in the Transvaal and Northern Natal where the Boer war was being fought (and Mozambique). One can fry eggs on a rock (or even on a car bonnet in the sun). During the bush war there was a report of heat exposed ammo blowing out the magazine of an R4 rifle causing forearm injury (the R4 rifle is a Galil clone). There have also been reports of hunters having magazines blown out possibly from the same cause. Hot rifle with hot ammo. The South African army was known to destroy expired ammunition. Anyway, the validity of the reports themselves were not under question, just the actual cause of the blow-ups.