We’re probably all familiar with the term “kaboom.” It’s used to describe the sudden and unexpected disassembly of a firearm while it’s being used.

Up until Saturday, it was used almost exclusively to describe a firearm that was blown apart when the shooter pulled the trigger and Bad Things happened that caused the gun to detonate from the inside out under the explosive force of gunpowder.

That isn’t what happened here.

Folks, you are looking at a police-issue Remington 870 that was ripped apart by Alliance police officer/instructor/former Ranger Bill Clark during the Sentinel Concepts Practical Shotgun class in Alliance, Ohio this past Saturday during a drill called “Rolling Thunder” that stresses firing and reloading a shotgun quickly and safely under the pressure of time limit.

The officer (gray pants) fired a shot, and then pumped the action hard to the rear to eject the spent shell, then violently forward to chamber the next round.

When he did, everything forward of the receiver (except for the magazine tube itself) went downrange. The magazine spring, the grip and action bars, along with barrel, came of the gun.

No one present—and that includes a cadre of very serious military, police, professional, and amateur shotgun shooters—had ever seen anything like it.

It was later determined that the magazine extension tube had been overtightened, and threads separated inside the tube.

Several shotguns from different manufacturers went down during the course, but that’s to be expected when you run your gear hard, and shotguns are run more violently than other weapon systems.

This was one highlight of the Sentinel Concepts Practical Shotgun course at the Alliance Police Training facility. You’ll be hearing a lot more about both during the course of the week, as we have several stories that might make home defense and law enforcement users give this weapon system the respect it deserves.