Have you ever wondered why people get their rifles modified? Our friends over on FSTV decided to find out.  They have put a .243, .270 and a .308 through its paces with Splatter Shot shooting targets to find out exactly what happens when you make some pretty scary modifications.   

So, how much damage can you do to a rifle before it actually blows up and what are the best rifle targets to gauge the results? FSTV decided to find out! First up, a shorten barrel, followed by a trying a loose moderator, not content with that they move on to floating barrels and super heated barrels. But what if anything will destroy the rifle?   

Find out what happened next...

Have you ever considered modifying your rifle or shot gun? If so we would love to hear from you in the comments. Tell us about the changes you made and did it make the gun more effective or were you disappointed by the results 

All tests were carried out by FSTV Professionals in a controlled environment and we do not recommend trying any of this at home. 

What happened in the rest of this episode? You can watch this Fieldtester in full here.

Here's the synopsis:

They begin by talking about generic issues in terms of safety that could occur. Getting mud or water in the barrel, using a 20-bore cartridge with a 12 bore, and getting the wadding stuck in the chamber and then adding another cartridge thinking it’s clear. They then head outside to test shotguns with issues to see what happens.

They go about building a safety table to keep themselves safe whilst also allowing them to fire the gun with a piece of string. They give short safety demo about treating a gun as live and loaded even when the safety is on and the chamber clear.

The first test is to ram the end of the barrel into some dirt, getting about an inch in the barrel. They set the gun up to fire, and when it does the dirt flies out with the cartridge, clearing the barrel. This doesn’t cause any damage. They then go again attempting to add 8 inches of dirt into the barrel. This time, dirt flies out the end, and the cartridge rips through the side of the gun, smashing a GoPro next to it. They try and bend the metal themselves, and fail, to demonstrate the pressure needed for the cartridge to come out the side of the barrel.

The video cuts to Simpsons Brothers gun shop to talk about wearing out your barrel. Matt Simpson says that when fouling is left in the barrel, it can cause rust. To fix this he must clean the gun out and in doing so makes the barrel thinner. Eventually it gets to the point where the shooter will feel that he has worn the gun out by shooting, where in fact it’s the maintenance from a gun shop that has, because of the neglect.

It moves on to the next test, having a wadding in the barrel. They insert the wadding in and the gun fires and clears the chamber without causing any damage. They try again with two waddings. This time it rips the barrel from the gun and tears the top of the barrel off.

Next, they pour water down the barrel to see what happens. The water fires out the end, and the pressure splits the fore end, and a piece breaks off.

They then test with about 6 inches of ice. The gun explodes and a piece lands just in front of them, despite being behind a screen, and 10/15 metres back. The ends of both barrels have ripped off, and have caused massive damage to the shooting rig, demonstrating the force. They assume that because of the cold, the barrel shattered rather than ripping and bending. There are shards of shrapnel that have lodged themselves into the table.

We cut back to them in the studio to discuss what has happened. They were surprised that it took two wads jammed to cause damage. Also, they discuss the damage that could have been caused by the shrapnel from the ice test, and the seriousness of the damage.

They move on to the final test, which is a 20 bore and 12 bore cartridges at the same time. Mentioning previous experience, they note that the damage usually occurs in the shooter’s hands. They pull the trigger and the gun fires without causing any damage and clearing the chamber. They go to try again with a different gun. This time there’s a small bulge but that’s all. They then load it up normally to see if the bugle will cause damage. They fire and there’s still no damage. They try again and still nothing. Then again nothing. And again nothing. And again.

In an attempt to get the gun to blow up they put two waddings in, and then put a 12 bore and 20 bore in the same barrel at the same time. The gun survives again. So now they fill the barrel with sand completely, to get the shooter end to blow up. There’s still no damage and the sand is cleared from the barrel. They test mud, a 20 bore and 12 bore. There is still no damage. Finally, they cause some damage at the end of the barrel with a 12 bore and mud.

After this the video cuts to the studio, where they talk about their surprise that the double cartridge did nothing and look at some of the damages caused by other experiments.