Banana Peeling A Shotgun

[Scuba Steve33]

I wanted to make this thread last week but it'd be useless without pictures so I had to do some digging. I know Mythbusters did a segment about banana peeling a shotgun barrel and they said it couldn't be done. Wrong.

Back in '09 my unit was in Louisiana and Vermont training. I honestly don't remember where this happened at. We were using regular Mossberg 500 Cruisers with the normal 18.5 inch barrels during our training in the two states. Anyway we were conducting a live fire of a battle drill know as "platoon attack" which is self explanatory. The other team leader in my squad pushed ahead from us to the edge of a house with his team and were getting ready to clear it. The entire couple days before and including this day it had been pouring. Everything was soaked and slippery. He slipped on his way and fell. The barrel of the 500 slung on his side went straight into the mud. He continued to the door and told the NCO on the lane what happened. Not exactly sure what measures were taken to try and clear the barrel as I was making sure my team was straight. Anyway I don't know why they didn't have him clear the gun and then clear the barrel or maybe they thought it was clear but he was given the clear to breach the door. He fired at his first hinge and the barrel blew up. Needless to say it was pretty scary. No one was injured.

I'm not sure if any of you guys have done this or heard of this but this has been the only case I have ever heard of it so thought it was worth a share.

Note, these pictures are of after we used pliers to pull the barrel forward. When it happened the separate pieces were completely folded back against the barrel. I don't know why we (I didn't personally) pulled them forward. Sorry for the bad quality pictures. This was with my cheap phone at the time.

[bjl333]

You could always get a barrel to blow up by plugging them. It seems like this particular barrel get mud stuck in it when he fell!!

[Ubermcoupe]

SBS!!!

Glad no one got hurt in the matter. I think it’s time to send MB another email and get them to start shooting some shotguns!

[scglock]

Thats crazy! Glad no one was injured when it blew up

[Kerplow]

http://postworthy.com/?p=39186

[Scuba Steve33]

You could always get a barrel to blow up by plugging them. It seems like this particular barrel get mud stuck in it when he fell!!

I had never heard of a case like this before. It makes perfect sense that it can be done if the barrel was clogged. I'll have to re-watch that Mythbusters episode. The barrel definitely had mud in it. Like I said I'm not sure what exactly was done to clear it. Maybe the NCO on the lane didn't think it was that bad, I dunno.

On deployment all the regular barrels were swapped for short barrels. I never knew why we didn't regularly train with them. I forgot to add that no one was injured and as you said definitely a good thing. Especially during a platoon live fire.

Thats crazy! Glad no one was injured when it blew up

I can tell you it scared the **** out of him lol.

[CK_32]

Yea it's always possible. If you get it plugged good enough the barrel and it's stronger than the walls then the shot has to go somewhere. I think they pushed like dry dirt and a finger and bannana.

Look up Remington 700 blow up guy hunting stuffs his barrel takes a shot and boom.

[bjl333]

I had never heard of a case like this before. It makes perfect sense that it can be done if the barrel was clogged. I'll have to re-watch that Mythbusters episode. The barrel definitely had mud in it. Like I said I'm not sure what exactly was done to clear it. Maybe the NCO on the lane didn't think it was that bad, I dunno.

The clincher is breaching the door with his shotgun. The barrel had mud in it and he stuck it up against a solid object like a hinge. I don't know how close to the hinge he placed the barrel. If it was pretty close then that there is the second obstruction... The stuck mud had no where to go but sideways. Maybe the shotgun had a little rock/pebble stuck in it along with the mud!

[MrExel17]

For a second I thought that it only can happen in cartoons!

[justjeff]

This happened to me 15 years ago while deer hunting. I was using an old savage single shot 12 ga. Needless to say i fell in froze over mud/ permafrost. Didn't check the bbl I was 14 and didn't think anything went in the muzzle. It did exactly what the OP posted peeled back to the forearm.

[coyotebait]

My uncle had an old Damascus barreled shotgun, I believe, that did that. I didn't see it happen but I saw it afterword. So, yes, it IS possible.....even if Myth busters says no.

[shy 7th]

I think the Mythbusters myth was that you could banana peel it with a finger in the barrel, a la Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd. It was more of a test of the finger doing it, not the shotgun itself.

[paratroop]

My best friend did that several years back to his 12 guage. The barrel didnt peel all the way back like that, but kind of split and ballooned out a couple inches back from the muzzle. So he measured it at 18 inches, thought he had enough barrel left, and chopped off the damaged part. Well he ended up being just shy of eighteen and ended up getting caught with it and picked up an SBS conviction. Be careful out there!

[glock 357]

Mythbuster seriously? Dude this theory was proven when bugs bunny plugged elmer fuds shotgun barrel.

[Scuba Steve33]

The clincher is breaching the door with his shotgun. The barrel had mud in it and he stuck it up against a solid object like a hinge. I don't know how close to the hinge he placed the barrel. If it was pretty close then that there is the second obstruction... The stuck mud had no where to go but sideways. Maybe the shotgun had a little rock/pebble stuck in it along with the mud!

We don't place the muzzle right up on the door/hinge so it was all from the mud and anything else that got stuck in there. Just glad no one was hurt.

This happened to me 15 years ago while deer hunting. I was using an old savage single shot 12 ga. Needless to say i fell in froze over mud/ permafrost. Didn't check the bbl I was 14 and didn't think anything went in the muzzle. It did exactly what the OP posted peeled back to the forearm.

Glad you didn't get hurt. I remember when they called the cease fire (to make sure everyone was ok) I went around the corner to see what was going on. Before I got up to them I wondered why he had gotten a short barrel and I still had the regular 18.5 inch slung on my side haha.

I think the Mythbusters myth was that you could banana peel it with a finger in the barrel, a la Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd. It was more of a test of the finger doing it, not the shotgun itself.

Thanks for the info. I saw it a long time ago and just know they said it was busted. Couldn't remember exactly what they used just knew they said something about a shotgun barrel not being able to peel back.