Had a bullet go boom in my gun

[Jman]

Have had a few but ONLY with federal brass. Looks like yours is federal also.

Benny, I really didn't need to hear that as I have several thousand once fired I bought to go through an open Glock.

I've seen a lot of people say that "FC" headstamped brass was junk, but that "Federal" headstamped brass was fine.

Same here.

[G-ManBart]

A fluke in my book.

Technically, a fluke can only be something positive, or so I've been told

Edited March 9, 2010 by G-ManBart

[Vulture]

While RO'ing this weekend had a guy on the line and at the beep his first round went "click" so he ejected it into the mud and continued on with the course. His last shot went "BOOM" and blew out the side of his XDM. Gun ruined, hand stinging. Had that first round gone bang then the bad round would have been the ULSC round which would have ended up in the mud, never to be shot. Karma or, maybe fate is a better word, can be a bitch someimes.

[Law_Man]

Thanks for all the thoughts and concerns

[matt2ace]

Glad to hear you were not seriously hurt

I had a 9mm major case blow in a similar manner. I my case, it was

incorrect (short) OAL that caused pressures to spike blowing out the case. Except for a face full of burnt powder, there was no real damage to me or the gun.

[Sam]

Sweet! I loved the vid. I've blown up 3 times. 2 double charges and one wrong powder.

You handled yourself like a pro!

[kfd147]

Ouch!

Jason

[racine]

I've shot & reloaded 40sw for over 12 years and had my first squib a few months ago on my 550. It was my fault I'm sure. I just finished a major match but I did case gauge all my ammo and came up with 5 rounds in 500 reloaded that did not fit and could have been a problem during the match. A buddy at the match did have a case separation that blew out the entire bottom of the case. He did not case gauge his match ammo. He elected to dig out the hollow case from the chamber and still finished the stage albeit in 60 sec. I believe the 40 is still a high pressure even with 165+ power factor so I will be more diligent in inspecting cases I shoot at matches like I used to do. It probably wouldn't hurt to inspect crimps and OALs as well on a statistical basis. I know I want a new gun but the KB method is not the way to do it.

Edited May 18, 2010 by racine

[Pezco]

Glad you and the gun are okay!

[SA Friday]

Bullet set-back, heavy (but not double) charge, or out-of-battery discharge. I suspect all the smoke is the gasses melting away lead from the bullet below it. I suspect bullet set-back from the looks of the primer hole and the short OAL.

[GentlemanJim]

Very glad you are ok!

Guns and parts are cheap...eyes and body parts, not so easy.

I load my own ammo...period!

As far as I can remember, the only ammo I have shot other than my own, or factory..was Barts loads in super .

But I KNOW that he is as serious as it gets when it comes to safety in reloading!

Jim

[kgunz11]

That was a tough video to watch. Everytime you pulled the trigger I flinched just a little bit until it finally ended in a cloud of smoke.

Good that you are OK. How did the gun fare?

And for the comment by the RO, "Bill, what did you do?" Who is Bill and what did he do to your loads?

My gun is OK and Bill is a friend of mine that does my reloading from me. He has load over a thousand rounds from me an had no problems.

I would remove your friend's name from the conversation and never speak of that again. Even though it is a common practice, it is against Federal Law to reload ammo for another, even if you GIVE it to them.

[wsimpso1]

I had a similar thing happen to me with one of my 45's two years ago in an IDPA match. The case looks the same, blown out case wall, primer pocket grossly enlarged, lots of erosion on the next round in the mag...

Definitely an overload, but probably not a double charge. Double charges take grips off the gun, blow the magazine out the bottom, and usually bulge the barrel and slide. You did better than I did when it happened. Mine hit me hard in the face with fragments of case and bullet - out through the gap between frame and slide - I was stunned, dropped the gun, and almost fell down from being smacked in the face. Facial cuts bleed a lot too... My hands were striped with smoke, and stung a bit, but there was no lasting damage to the gun or me. Definitely check the chamber dimensions(chamber cast)to make sure that the barrel is not bulged even a little.

I had been getting a soft round here and there, so I went searching for something that could accumulate powder and dump it later. Sure enough, my pistol powder measure had a parting line with a little flash on it that was holding powder fines. I removed the flash and polished the inside of my powder measures. They are all more consistent now...

Glad to hear that you are OK...

Billski

[VegasOPM]

I've got 3 cases that look just like that- 2 9mm and 2 .40. All 3 have blown up in my hand. Mine were from severely bulged brass that was resized to take a noticeable bulge out and the case was too weak where the bulge was sized out. The 9mm rounds were both out of the same gun (not mine) that had a DIY ramp job. The .40 was from one of my early Gen 2 Glocks.

[cletus9mm]

First off glad You are okay. Secondly thank you for taking the time to remind me of how important safety is when reloading. I wind up watching a video like this and it snaps me out of my complacency. I believe videos like this keep us all a little more in tune with our techniques when we are at the bench for our next reloading session.

[TimWarner]

Glad you're ok.

A word of advice though. Don't take your glasses off while someone's messin with a malfunctioning gun.

If it would have been a different problem and it went off while the RO was messing with it, it probably would have hit close and sprayed debris.

[bobtorre]

Madre de Dios... Glad you are ok Jefe

Thanks for sharing the video

[g10mm]

added some more pics of the case

I never pick up range brass because I have seen this befor . You never know how many times the case has been loaded or if someone was loading dam hot loads

[Dwight Stearns]

+1 on the probable bullet setback. I believe a double charge of titegroup would have done a lot more.

Glad you and the gun are still in functional condition.

Chalk up another one to titegroup.

[EEH]

Wow I am glad to see by the video you were ok,,looked like you were shaking your hand,,did it hurt your hand or just give it a good jolt...I think I would load my own fron now own,,good luck

[Carmoney]

Even though it is a common practice, it is against Federal Law to reload ammo for another, even if you GIVE it to them.

That's just not true. An ammunition manufacturer's license is required if the person engages in the business of selling or distributing reloads for the purpose of livelihood and profit. It's perfectly legal to load ammo for a buddy as a favor.

[see 18 U.S.C. 922(a) (i) and 923(a), 27 CFR 478.41.]

[EEH]

Even though it is a common practice, it is against Federal Law to reload ammo for another, even if you GIVE it to them.

That's just not true. An ammunition manufacturer's license is required if the person engages in the business of selling or distributing reloads for the purpose of livelihood and profit. It's perfectly legal to load ammo for a buddy as a favor.

[see 18 U.S.C. 922(a) (i) and 923(a), 27 CFR 478.41.]

you tellem counselor--

[CSEMARTIN]

Everytime I read a thread like this one, I have the following thoughts:

1) 40 cals are unforgiving

2) 40 cals like to ignite when the ejector hits the primer when someone's hand is over the ejection port

3) I still can't believe there are people out there that will shoot other peoples guns and reloads at the chrono stage. It blows my mind.

edit: corrected grammar (I think).

Edited June 23, 2010 by CSEMARTIN

[FN fan]

I had the same thing happen a few times and found it was the brass I had gotten.

[OpenDot]

Do you normally mix brass and steel cases in the same mag?