Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

I am OK


AlamoShooter

Recommended Posts

7bl of BLC2 is now spread out over my yard.

<_< I really liked that gun ...I wonder how long my flinch will last?

Glad you're OK and I appreciate you calling me shortly after the "event" to talk it out. Some really scary stuff for sure - it could have been SO MUCH WORSE, especially considering you were at the private range by yourself. Count your blessings my friend!

If I can do anything to help you get your gun rebuilt, or if you need to borrow my back-up rifle - you know it's all yours. The TX Multigun is only a couple weeks away, so we gotta get you back up in the saddle and riding tall prior to that. Just let me know what I can do to help. :cheers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 79
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

By some strange coincidence my brother's father-in-law, exploded his 300 win mag bolt gun, and it blew him off of the bench and on the ground, this Saturday. He called my brother because he knew the speed dial button by feel. He damaged one eye, and was cut up pretty bad on his scalp and face. I wonder what his final conclusion will be after examination.

At least you figured it out! I bet it would eat you up even more "not knowing" what happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is INSANE! Glad your ok!

Like The Brown-Dog said ...I may not be OK =just uninjured, But please don't call me Insane :lol:

I made a mistake that cost big, My reason for sharing my mistake is to save some-one from the same.

A problem normally takes a combination of errors.

'Insanity Recipe'

Loading late & tired

Switching set-ups late and tired.

Allowing a short laps in a system

Any amount of powder in an unlabeled container

Doing something you know to be wrong, and thin putting it out of your thoughts

Again thanks for the kind words, I will continue to pay for my misstakes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First off, very glad you are uninjured....and a big Thank You for being humble enough to share what and how it happened.

This thread should be mandatory reading for all of us who reload.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First off, very glad you are uninjured....and a big Thank You for being humble enough to share what and how it happened.

This thread should be mandatory reading for all of us who reload.

Big +1. It takes guts to put your self out there like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is INSANE! Glad your ok!

Like The Brown-Dog said ...I may not be OK =just uninjured, But please don't call me Insane :lol:

I made a mistake that cost big, My reason for sharing my mistake is to save some-one from the same.

A problem normally takes a combination of errors.

'Insanity Recipe'

Loading late & tired

Switching set-ups late and tired.

Allowing a short laps in a system

Any amount of powder in an unlabeled container

Doing something you know to be wrong, and thin putting it out of your thoughts

Again thanks for the kind words, I will continue to pay for my misstakes

I cannot thank you enough for sharing. As I am new to relaoding, I have only one powder but will take the steps needed to ensure this doesn't happen here.

Experience is not the best teacher, wisdom is. Wisdom comes from others sharing their experience, and heeding their warnings. I am thankful that you were not seriously injured.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the FWIW category...

I ONLY have powder in the factory canisters or the hopper. Whatever powder is in the hopper, the canister sits right behind the press or measure. NO powder canisters are ever allowed on the bench unless I have just poured powder into the hopper from that canister. NO canister ever goes into the powder cabinet unless all the powder has been drained from the hopper back into the factory canister.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the FWIW category...

I ONLY have powder in the factory canisters or the hopper. Whatever powder is in the hopper, the canister sits right behind the press or measure. NO powder canisters are ever allowed on the bench unless I have just poured powder into the hopper from that canister. NO canister ever goes into the powder cabinet unless all the powder has been drained from the hopper back into the factory canister.

+1000 on this. also, if you can stick with 1 powder for say all yer .223 needs, less chances of mixing rifle powders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a mistake that cost big, My reason for sharing my mistake is to save some-one from the same.

And I for one thank you for it. I used to pour the powder out of my measure back into the jug after each loading session and refill it next time. I've gotten lax at that lately but after this thread I'm going back to that practice just for the peace of mind. Don't worry about making the mistake, that's all it was, nobody got hurt and all you lost was something that can be replaced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the FWIW category...

I ONLY have powder in the factory canisters or the hopper. Whatever powder is in the hopper, the canister sits right behind the press or measure. NO powder canisters are ever allowed on the bench unless I have just poured powder into the hopper from that canister. NO canister ever goes into the powder cabinet unless all the powder has been drained from the hopper back into the factory canister.

+1000 on this. also, if you can stick with 1 powder for say all yer .223 needs, less chances of mixing rifle powders.

+ 1 for me too

I, for one, thank you for sharing your expierence for us who reload to hopefully avoid such catastrophes in the future. i reload for the wife and myself both 223 and pistol. what seems to help for me is use of just 1 type of powder for rifle and 1 for pistol. and what others have posted, that you only have 1 canister on the table and that is what you are loading. when complete, i return the contents back to the canister and remove it form the table. i only reload at night after work and the possiblity of mixed up can easily happen to me (or anyone is tired or unfocused) but heck the reality is not enough time. so organization for me is what keeps me (hopefully always) avoiding possible mistakes but heck, we are just human and a mistake may be bound to happen.

again, hope you are ok

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was watching a High Power match 15 years ago in Minnesota. The shooter in front of me shot his first scoring round when his M1 detonated with a very loud roar. The barrel flew up in the air, did a flip and landed on the ground. Luckily the barrel landed on his left since his brother was standing on his right watching through his spotting scope. The shooter leaned way over backward holding the stock vertical which was split all the way to the trigger guard. I stopped the match and I checked his eyes then felt back and forth across his forehead to see if he could feel any metal under the skin. He was really, really bleeding. After awhile the bleeding stopped and match restarted.

The next day the gunsmith who'd built a new M1A (M14) for his brother drove to see the guys. He was worried that they had done something stupid that could jeopardize the new rifle and themselves. He asked to see their reloading area. On the counter sat a can of AA5. He asked what powder they used. They said that powder right there, 2495. Turned out they loaded 43 grains of AA5 pistol powder making themselves a bomb which luckily didn't maim or kill themselves or someone else. We all learned a lot that summer!

I keep my powders in a separate room form where I reload and only have one container at a time near my bench. I, if loading a bunch of ammo, write the name of the powder on a slip of paper and drop it in the powder measure. I am truly, truly paranoid.

TED

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent advice! I follow these guidelines myself.

In the FWIW category...

I ONLY have powder in the factory canisters or the hopper. Whatever powder is in the hopper, the canister sits right behind the press or measure. NO powder canisters are ever allowed on the bench unless I have just poured powder into the hopper from that canister. NO canister ever goes into the powder cabinet unless all the powder has been drained from the hopper back into the factory canister.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the FWIW category...

I ONLY have powder in the factory canisters or the hopper. Whatever powder is in the hopper, the canister sits right behind the press or measure. NO powder canisters are ever allowed on the bench unless I have just poured powder into the hopper from that canister. NO canister ever goes into the powder cabinet unless all the powder has been drained from the hopper back into the factory canister.

Same for me. Never more than one kind of powder on the bench at a time.

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I appreciate this post & sounds like you identified the probable source (pistol powder).

Couple of AR-KB observations:

1) When bottle-neck rifle rounds have a bullet set-back, it actually LOWERS pressure - the opposite of what pistol rounds do when the bullet sets back.

2) The bolt is locked into battery. When some event locks the bolt in that position, AND the bullet passes the gas port, then massive gas pressure travels into the carrier through the tube (gas tubes are obviously over-engineered). The carrier tries to move to the rear while rotating the bolt. Since the bolt is locked, the carrier can't rotate the bolt. Instead, the bolt forces the carrier to rotate. Since the mass of the locked bolt is effectively the a part of the mass of the barrel now, the carrier rotates with great force.

3) When the carrier rotates this way, it pryes the upper appart like a clam-shell. Notice the cam pin canted to one side? You will find a deep gouge in the left half of the upper right in the track that the cam pin follows.

Glad you are OK. I hope your flinch goes away quickly & you are back in the saddle again soon.

Edited by Carlos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

First off, very glad you are uninjured....and a big Thank You for being humble enough to share what and how it happened.

This thread should be mandatory reading for all of us who reload.

Big +1. It takes guts to put your self out there like this.

Agreed. We are all human and make mistakes and it takes a good person to share his experience so the rest of us can learn from it.

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I appreciate this post & sounds like you identified the probable source (pistol powder).

Couple of AR-KB observations:

1) When bottle-neck rifle rounds have a bullet set-back, it actually LOWERS pressure - the opposite of what pistol rounds do when the bullet sets back.

2) The bolt is locked into battery. When some event locks the bolt in that position, AND the bullet passes the gas port, then massive gas pressure travels into the carrier through the tube (gas tubes are obviously over-engineered). The carrier tries to move to the rear while rotating the bolt. Since the bolt is locked, the carrier can't rotate the bolt. Instead, the bolt forces the carrier to rotate. Since the mass of the locked bolt is effectively the a part of the mass of the barrel now, the carrier rotates with great force.

3) When the carrier rotates this way, it pryes the upper appart like a clam-shell. Notice the cam pin canted to one side? You will find a deep gouge in the left half of the upper right in the track that the cam pin follows.

Glad you are OK. I hope your flinch goes away quickly & you are back in the saddle again soon.

Thanks for posting this. I had a feeling set back in rifles would not be the same because the bullet goes down into the powder but I did not know for sure.

pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Set back ? As in the bullet gets jambed back into the case?

Aha :unsure: John Paul told me yesterday that at JP they have found the bullet getting jambed back will act like a barrel obstruction some times and cause a Boom. Not like my boom But bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

even though I load 27.8 gr of Hodg BLC2 same load I have used for three years

My Speer manual has 27 gr. MAX for 55 grainers. Plus, I have heard that BL-C2 is VERY temp. sensitive. Running a HOT load in a HOT environment with temp sensitive powder maybe caught up to you. Glad you're OK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

even though I load 27.8 gr of Hodg BLC2 same load I have used for three years

My Speer manual has 27 gr. MAX for 55 grainers. Plus, I have heard that BL-C2 is VERY temp. sensitive. Running a HOT load in a HOT environment with temp sensitive powder maybe caught up to you. Glad you're OK.

If you go to Hodgdon web site you will find the data This year data is at 27.5 two years ago it was at 27.8

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it seams like the gun fired and thin the boom just a fraction of a second after I pulled the trigger

I've had similar issues when a piece of polishing media was in the flash hole. Do you de-prime then polish? I suspect the bolt pressure chamber failed first. Definitely peg you thrill-o-meter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Storing powder in the hopper instead of the original container...

Huh? How is this dangerous? The powder stays in the powder-thrower until I either (1) use it up or (2) am ready to switch to a different load/ powder.

Are you supposed to be dumping the powder-hopper out after every reloading session?

That's a lot of hassle, and potential for spilled powder.

Edited by SlowShooter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...