Another Bergara 6.5 Creedmoor Explodes

[heli_av8tor]

October 14th, 2021 I was at our Club benchrest range when a Bergara 6.5 Creedmore rifle exploded resulting in serious injury to 2 members and minor injuries to at least one more.

The shooter was shooting factory ammo and had fired one round (successfully). It blew up on the second round.

Not being familiar with this rifle I did an internet search and learned that this is not an isolated incident.

The attached pictures show the damage.

 

[Bill Norris]

WOW! Not good.

 

[1885Winman4590]

Hope those guys are ok. Something like this makes you wonder about pulling a trigger again.

 

[caihlen]

Hope those guys are ok. Something like this makes you wonder about pulling a trigger again.

not me it doesn't

 

[jamesdmock]

Bergara chambers rifles in both 6.5 Creedmore and 6mm Creedmore. I don't know if their 6mm will accept the 6.5 or not, but this scenario could cause the problem if a 6.5 cartridge found its way in the 6mm Chamber. I know that it is unlikely that the 6.5 would chamber...BUT .....

 

[358WCF]

Bergara chambers rifles in both 6.5 Creedmore and 6mm Creedmore. I don't know if their 6mm will accept the 6.5 or not, but this scenario could cause the problem if a 6.5 cartridge found its way in the 6mm Chamber. I know that it is unlikely that the 6.5 would chamber...BUT .....

Well maybe, but the barrel in 4th pic is marked 6.5.

 

[Just Say Moe]

What kind of injuries? Looks like the bolt shroud is missing.

 

[Jason Boersma]

Before coming on here did you contact the manufacturer? Always best before saying things about the maker

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I bet there’s more to the story.

 

[whatsupdoc]

The receiver and bolt look fine so without actually seeing the rifle it looks like a case head separated
allowing gas to escape blowing out the shroud and cracking the stock.

I have a B14 and the bolt shroud is poorly designed and made from some type of "pot" alloy.

 

[Riesel]

Hmm, I got a lot of questions but I'll just pass

 

[boltfluter]

The receiver and bolt look fine so without actually seeing the rifle it looks like a case head separated
allowing gas to escape blowing out the shroud and cracking the stock.

I have a B14 and the bolt shroud is poorly designed and made from some type of "pot" alloy.

This is very true about the shroud. Very poor design in the advent of a ruptured case or primer.

Paul

 

[Kracken McGraw]

This is very true about the shroud. Very poor design in the advent of a ruptured case or primer.

Paul

Is there a after market fix for the bolt shroud ?

 

[boltfluter]

Is there a after market fix for the bolt shroud ?

Not that I am aware of. Kind of a weird shroud with the fine threads cut in half lengthwise if memory serves me. And really, really cheap pot metal!! They should really think about redesigning it at the very least.

Paul

 

[whatsupdoc]

October 14th, 2021 I was at our Club benchrest range when a Bergana 6.5 Creedmore rifle exploded resulting in serious injury to 2 members and minor injuries to at least one more.

The shooter was shooting factory ammo and had fired one round (successfully). It blew up on the second round.

Not being familiar with this rifle I did an internet search and learned that this is not an isolated incident.

The attached pictures show the damage.

Curious, do you have any pictures of the cartridge case or looking through the magazine opening?

What ammo was he using?

 

[whatsupdoc]

Not that I am aware of. Kind of a weird shroud with the fine threads cut in half lengthwise if memory serves me. And really, really cheap pot metal!! They should really think about redesigning it at the very least.

Paul

They did update the shroud, Bergara sent me a new one that looks identical to the original
but is made of steel.

My rifle is a older B14 made in 17 on its second barrel with over 4K rounds through it. Now
the main issue with the rifle (older ones at least) was that the firing pin hole in the bolt
was large and if it pierced a primer the gas would push the firing pin into the back
of the bolt shroud and break it.

My particular rifle would crater CCI450 primers so I had the bolt bushed and now it is
good.

 

[jelenko]

Was the second round from a different box of ammo?
Since it blew up after the second round fired that day, does that mean that a .303 round was actually fired with no bad effects? That would seem impossible.
How many rounds in total had been shot through the rifle?

 

[KMart]

Is there a after market fix for the bolt shroud ?

Somewhere I read that they were aware of a bad bolt shroud and have a factory replacement for it.
I have no way of knowing if this is the upgraded shroud.

 

[heli_av8tor]

I'm sure there is more to the story. Wish I had all of it. The rifle owner is still undergoing surgeries and recovery. AFAIK he hasn't contacted the manufacturer/importer yet. I agree that it should be done.

I was hesitant to post and waited 3 weeks before decided to let others know of the incident. If I owned this model I'd sure want to know that there's a potential problem with the design so I could do my research to assess the risks. I found several forum posts detailing a problem with sloppy fit of the firing pin in the bolt caused primer cratering, sometimes piercing it.
This caused the pin to be blown back hitting the bolt shroud turning it into shrapnel. Discussion ensued as to the composition of the shroud (MIM, pot metal, zinc???).

The cause is speculation at this point. I guess it could be a case head separation but wouldn't think so on factory ammo. When I tried to clear the rifle the bolt wouldn't open with reasonable force. I didn't force it open. A rod down the barrel proved the gun was "safe".

 

[boltfluter]

They did update the shroud, Bergara sent me a new one that looks identical to the original
but is made of steel.

My rifle is a older B14 made in 17 on its second barrel with over 4K rounds through it. Now
the main issue with the rifle (older ones at least) was that the firing pin hole in the bolt
was large and if it pierced a primer the gas would push the firing pin into the back
of the bolt shroud and break it.

My particular rifle would crater CCI450 primers so I had the bolt bushed and now it is
good.

Good to know! Thanks for pointing that out.

Paul