Quote Originally Posted by TDH View Post
I've never seen a rifle blow and don't want to. I have seen a shotgun go though. What he called coon huntin', he fell on a river bank and it went into the mud. He stuck his finger in the ballel and then fired. Peeled like a banana. It was a left handed 870. I never went hunting with him again either.
It probably was the mud that blew it up but 870s did have a problem of barrels letting go. I had one of them.

I was pheasant hunting in the early morning and basically just had assembled the shot gun, checking the bore as I always do. A ringneck flew up and I touched the 870 off. I was greeted was a big explosion at the end of my barrel and the bird flew away.

Barrel was peeled back about six inches. I contacted Remington and they said "Send us the barrel". I di dand they said that. "There was a metal obstruction in the barrel or a stone as the inside of the barrel was scratched".

They sent me a new barrel and about two weeks later a gunsmith told me that there was a recall by Remington due to faulty steel in some 12 guage barrels. Go figure!