No there haven't been any recorded incidents of vanguards blowing up.There was however a safety concern with the vanguard bolts that could have caused injury or death and the bolts of these rifles were recalled.However once any company has had such an incident the chances of a second incident occuring are extremely slim since the companies responsible usually take extra care to insure their products are safe.I certainly would not avoid buying either a vanguard or a tikka just because of the previous recalls.