Another Lee Navy gone.

[madsenshooter]

This can be linked to from several forums, here's one: http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?p=1186753#post1186753 It's what Bob S's might have looked like if he'd taken my suggestion of 5gr more. The poor fellow who lost the gun, and nearly his life it appears, is quick to condemn the Krag case, but I don't think that's the whole story. He had a pressure event very similar to what member Bob S. experienced with his. The 30-40 would be weaker in the head, there's .020" difference in the thickness of the head, Krag vs 30-06. Makes me wonder what quickload would predict for 25, 30, and 35gr of 4895 under a 105gr bullet. 25 and 30 ought to be well below what it would take to make the Krag case fail. Even 35gr should be ok. I think the rough throat, momentarily stuck bullet scenario is the most plausible. It's also known as Secondary Explosive Effect (SEE) and has been giving some 6.5 Swedish shooters who are trying to take it easy on their old iron, more than just a little problem. If Bob had been using the weakened Krag case when he experienced his pressure excursion, something similar may have happened. Guys, if you're going to shoot them, use the thin jacketed match bullets or cast bullets. And for the first several shots with jacketed, tie it down and fire it with a lanyard like Bob S did. Work up to those thicker jacketed bullets if you feel you have to have them, and start with the lanyard again. The fellow who wrote the article in the Nov 14 issue of American Rifleman got away with 32gr of 4895, maybe his sporter rifle had a smoother throat.

Note: I don't feel cast bullets are likely to cause an SEE event. If it were possible, I think it would have happened to me when I took several shots with a rough throated Krag. I was wondering why it was getting hard to chamber each round and found that the rough throat was stripping lead off each bullet. I pulled a ring of lead out of the throat with a jag and patch. A stainless steel brush took care of the roughness.

[Rick B]

I remember when Glen DeRuiter died from the same rifle adn loads. Personally I feel they are not a good rifle to screw with. Rick B

I’m sorry to pass along that Glenn DeRuiter has died,
from a head wound he sustained on Saturday the 29th of
June 2002.

He was shooting at Easton Fish and Game Association in
Easton, PA when his 1895 Lee Navy 6mm straight pull
catastrophically failed. Apparently a fragment from
the rifle lodged in his head. He was taken to St.
Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pa and never recovered
from the wound.


The blast sent out shrapnel, and one piece hit deRuiter in the head, Grim said.

DeRuiter died at 2:30 p.m. at St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill, Grim said.

Grim, who ruled the death an accident, said the malfunction happened in the rifle's receiver ring.

Neighbors learned of deRuiter's death Sunday night.

''Everyone is in total shock,'' said neighbor Beverly Graczyk, the mayor of Bethlehem Township, about 40 miles east of Allentown.

''All of us are just gasping and trying to recover,'' she said.

Dairy farmer Bernie Beatty is another neighbor.

''He was a wonderful man, a wonderful father,'' Beatty said. ''I just saw him the other day. He was always working in the yard, doing something.''

DeRuiter also was a gun enthusiast, Graczyk said.

''He had quite an extensive gun collection,'' Graczyk said. ''I believe he worked for a company that manufactures firearms.''

DeRuiter and his wife, Joan, who is a teacher, have lived in the township for about 20 years.

''Glenn was a quiet, very nice man,'' Graczyk said.

''They are the kind of people you really want for neighbors, to be part of the community. He was just a really good guy.''

Graczyk said she knew deRuiter's wife through her efforts to save the Asbury Bridge, which Graczyk said was a ''wonderful antique'' with iron tresses.

''She fought hard to save that bridge,'' Graczyk said. ''But the county wouldn't listen and put up a new ugly one.''

As word of the accident spread through the township Sunday night, Graczyk said, ''This is a tough one … really, really hard.''

[Floyd1977]

I normally shoot anything I own but this firms up my initial opinion to leave my Lee Navy on the wall.

[Rick the Librarian]

Floyd1977, if I was fortunate enough to own one, I would do likewise.

[Griff Murphey]

Not much chance I could ever afford one, back in the 60's one could buy one from ZM military research in NYC for $39.95. They also had a Swiss made Mexican Mondragon semi for $175.

I settled for a Luftwaffe Stahlhelm which was within my 7th grade budget.

[PhillipM]

Here is a good write up on the blown rifle. The author is going to take a sporterized one and try to duplicate the failure with a long lanyard! At the end he states he hates to blow up another rifle, the first was an incorrectly assembled sporterized Ross.

http://www.forgottenweapons.com/winchester-lee-navy-safety/