Two guns blown up in five weeks...suggestions?

[deerassassin22]

Between me and my wife we go through 4K a month 2k in local matches and 2k in practice. I also load for my dad and some other friends.

[Kolten]

Man I hate to her this! I have a 550 and I LOOK into each brass before I place the bullet. Sorry

This iis the BEST advice to be given never trust it or guess at it or anything that way you get use to eye balling your powder level and you will become familiar with it and know when something is wrong! Or get a 650!

[dmshozer1]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

[RDA]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

[dmshozer1]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

Yes, #9.

When you push the plunger up into the slide the striker is allowed to move forward and sticks out of the breech face. If the plunger remains in the up position the striker stays protruding from the breech face. Going forward it will strike the loaded shell and may cause the shell to fire out of battery.

I will agree that to do this the gun would have to be very dirty and that was my point in the post.

Bar- Sto barrel.

[RDA]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

Yes, #9.

When you push the plunger up into the slide the striker is allowed to move forward and sticks out of the breech face. If the plunger remains in the up position the striker stays protruding from the breech face. Going forward it will strike the loaded shell and may cause the shell to fire out of battery.

I will agree that to do this the gun would have to be very dirty and that was my point in the post.

Bar- Sto barrel.

I'll have to check tonight when I go home to confirm, but the firing pin should not stick out of the breech face once the gun has fully cycled (whether the plunger is present and functional, fully removed or fully depressed).

[gigs]

With plated bullets like berrys you will see OAL variation. Don't worry about it unless it's way off. It's almost certainly a double charge or squib issue and not setback (people are overly paranoid about setback IMO, when I get cheap factory ammo that has bullets mashed in too far, I just shoot them. No difference in recoil or noise)

[dmshozer1]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

Yes, #9.

When you push the plunger up into the slide the striker is allowed to move forward and sticks out of the breech face. If the plunger remains in the up position the striker stays protruding from the breech face. Going forward it will strike the loaded shell and may cause the shell to fire out of battery.

I will agree that to do this the gun would have to be very dirty and that was my point in the post.

Bar- Sto barrel.

I'll have to check tonight when I go home to confirm, but the firing pin should not stick out of the breech face once the gun has fully cycled (whether the plunger is present and functional, fully removed or fully depressed).

I think you are in for a surprise.

I have personally seen five Glocks go boom. Two, I was the RO. The other three I saw the result.

All had the top of the slide blown out. Very little damage if any to the frame or mag. To me, that indicates an out of battery explosion.

I don't really know that but it is what I believe happened.

I have seen detonations from NOT ENOUGH POWDER and double charge blow ups. Damage was to the slide, frame and most of the time to the mag and some of the top bullets in the mag.

No expert but that is the conclusion I have drawn.

This is not a rant on Glocks. I shoot one in competition almost every week and clean it after every event!

That's all I got.

Merry Christmas

.

[RDA]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

Yes, #9.

When you push the plunger up into the slide the striker is allowed to move forward and sticks out of the breech face. If the plunger remains in the up position the striker stays protruding from the breech face. Going forward it will strike the loaded shell and may cause the shell to fire out of battery.

I will agree that to do this the gun would have to be very dirty and that was my point in the post.

Bar- Sto barrel.

I'll have to check tonight when I go home to confirm, but the firing pin should not stick out of the breech face once the gun has fully cycled (whether the plunger is present and functional, fully removed or fully depressed).

I think you are in for a surprise.

I have personally seen five Glocks go boom. Two, I was the RO. The other three I saw the result.

All had the top of the slide blown out. Very little damage if any to the frame or mag. To me, that indicates an out of battery explosion.

I don't really know that but it is what I believe happened.

I have seen detonations from NOT ENOUGH POWDER and double charge blow ups. Damage was to the slide, frame and most of the time to the mag and some of the top bullets in the mag.

No expert but that is the conclusion I have drawn.

This is not a rant on Glocks. I shoot one in competition almost every week and clean it after every event!

That's all I got.

Merry Christmas

.

No surprise here, your theory is incorrect. Even with the firing safety plunger fully removed, the firing pin will not operate as you suggest (i.e., remain protruding from the breech face and striking the primer before fully into battery). Once a Glock is fired and the firing pin is protruding from the breech face, the firing pin could remain protruding as the slide cycles rearward (and could remain exposed for the full rearward travel). Once the slide begins to travel forward to go into battery, before the slide would travel the remaining ~1/2" forward, the trigger bar will contact the rear of the firing pin and pull it rearward (and away from the breech face) as the gun continues into battery and therefore there is no way the firing pin could be exposed.

In summary, the firing pin will not strike the primer before the gun goes into battery in a Glock, whether it has an operable firing pin safety or not.

If the same guy blew up two Glocks within months of each other, I would be questioning his loads, and not the cleanliness of his Glock or the operation of his firing pin safety.

Edited December 5, 2013 by RDA

[dmshozer1]

So what are the possible reasons for a KB that exclude human error with the powder charge? It seems we are all quick to say reloaders fault if it's reloaded ammo. I'm not a metallurgist so what signs of wear or stress are there in guns chamber or barrel? How important is the brass to the containment of the shot? Does the chamber fully support the brass or is the brass more important than that. What is the possibility of a bullet that is slightly over sized getting over crimped or causing too much back pressure exiting the barrel?

I never hear any of these items discussed but always hear the Human error side because most of the evidence for anything else disappears whit the KB. I also notice that most cases where firearms blow using factory ammo are not discussed much online and seem to disappear fast. I'd love to hear from a real gun expert on what other issues aside from powder overcharges can result on an explosion of the gun.

I have been the RO when the same shooter blew up two different Glocks a few months apart. SCARY!!

Being a 1911 shooter, I knew nothing about Glocks at that time. He always bragged as did many Glock shooters that cleaning their guns was a waste of time because they ran so clean.

I started shooting Glocks. I am a clean freak. For a year or so I often cleaned my 17 but never stripped the slide down. When I finialy did I found a LOT of crap in the striker channel and around the disconnect plunger. A LOT of crap. I run both lead and jacketed.

If the disconnect sticks in the down position from crap, the striker hits the primer before the gun goes into battery. BOOM!

Not saying I am an expert, just my own experience with Glocks.

So, maybe the Browning was a loading problem? Maybe the Glock was a cleaning problem?

I don't know. Just trying to help.

You shot lead bullets in your Glock? What barrel?

Disconnect plunger? Are you referring to the firing pin safety (#9 in the following image)?

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/files/2012/01/G17-Gen4-Exploded-View-with-legend3.jpg

If so, if it was stuck in the down position, the gun could never fire as the firing pin wouldn't be allowed to move forward. If it was stuck in the up position, it simply would remove that safety mechanism from operating safely but it shouldn't change the firing pin from hitting the primer in a normal fashion (it would simply take away from the prevention of the firing pin striking the primer if the gun was dropped for example). The firing pin safety does not affect the firing pin during normal operation (i.e., it doesn't hold the firing pin back from hitting the primer until in battery).

Yes, #9.

When you push the plunger up into the slide the striker is allowed to move forward and sticks out of the breech face. If the plunger remains in the up position the striker stays protruding from the breech face. Going forward it will strike the loaded shell and may cause the shell to fire out of battery.

I will agree that to do this the gun would have to be very dirty and that was my point in the post.

Bar- Sto barrel.

I'll have to check tonight when I go home to confirm, but the firing pin should not stick out of the breech face once the gun has fully cycled (whether the plunger is present and functional, fully removed or fully depressed).

I think you are in for a surprise.

I have personally seen five Glocks go boom. Two, I was the RO. The other three I saw the result.

All had the top of the slide blown out. Very little damage if any to the frame or mag. To me, that indicates an out of battery explosion.

I don't really know that but it is what I believe happened.

I have seen detonations from NOT ENOUGH POWDER and double charge blow ups. Damage was to the slide, frame and most of the time to the mag and some of the top bullets in the mag.

No expert but that is the conclusion I have drawn.

This is not a rant on Glocks. I shoot one in competition almost every week and clean it after every event!

That's all I got.

Merry Christmas

.

No surprise here, your theory is incorrect. Even with the firing safety plunger fully removed, the firing pin will not operate as you suggest (i.e., remain protruding from the breech face and striking the primer before fully into battery). Once a Glock is fired and the firing pin is protruding from the breech face, the firing pin could remain protruding as the slide cycles rearward (and could remain exposed for the full rearward travel). Once the slide begins to travel forward to go into battery, before the slide would travel the remaining ~1/2" forward, the trigger bar will contact the rear of the firing pin and pull it rearward (and away from the breech face) as the gun continues into battery and therefore there is no way the firing pin could be exposed.

In summary, the firing pin will not strike the primer before the gun goes into battery in a Glock, whether it has an operable firing pin safety or not.

If the same guy blew up two Glocks within months of each other, I would be questioning his loads, and not the cleanliness of his Glock or the operation of his firing pin safety.

Sounds good. I hope you are right.

I will continue to clean my Glock.

[RDA]

Sounds good. I hope you are right.

I will continue to clean my Glock.

I am and sounds good, it certainly can't hurt to keep it clean so that it can fully function as it was intended. When I was double checking all the function of my 19 last night, it was filthy and surely had 1,000s of rounds through it since I last cleaned it. Despite that, the firing pin safety and all other attributes were still fully functional. Then I disassembled it and manipulated various configurations before posting above.

I'll clean it this weekend as I have a new product I plan to test.

[TonyT]

I use either Bullseye or WSF in my 9mm loads. With either Bullseye or WSF it is very easy to see a double charge.

[gaijin]

Bulkier powder that fills case 1/2 way.

Agreed-- and will add my preference is a slower powder that (especially in 9 mm) will fill a good portion of the case.

[bubbhas]

Thanks for the replies. I was very cautious this last time after my daughters oops and installed a LED light right over the powder stage but then again, with 3.1 gr I might not be able to tell if it double fed. At least thought I was cautious.

I am likely to switch to a bulkier powder and will defiantly check the OAL after seating chambering it. The first time I can understand a double powder as my daughter was distracted, but my OCD was in overdrive when reloading this time and heck I even measured the powder every 10th round just to make sure.

Brass was virgin pre-primed so I'm doubting it was a brass issue. I really do appreciate the comments.

How about weighing each charge with a static and electronic scale for a while

[Brooke]

I load 3.3 gr of Titegroup. A double charge fills a 9mm case to the brim. You can't possibly miss it if you pay any attention at all. Three point one is not that different. You either pay no attention whatever to what you're doing or you have another problem.

There is a chance you have the opposite problem...no powder. That can give you a squib and if you fire another shot it can have negative consequences. In todays idiot resistant guns even that is unlikely to blow up a gun, but it could. I talked to a gunsmith who found 5 bullets in a cops Glock 17 barrel and the gun and barrel were undamaged.

So what is your problem? I don't know. I do know it is not the powder. Titegroup is widely used. In fact the combination of 3.2 and 3.3 gr of Titegroup under 147's was the most widely used load at the 2014 IDPA Nationals and nobody blew up a gun. Correspondingly, the same loads are copied by many local club shooters without any problems that I have ever heard about.

It isn't the powder. Do you have a reliable scale? Do you know how to use it? Do you calibrate it regularly? Have you carelessly mixed two different powders together? Until you realize you are the problem you will continue to have problems. Many of us use Titegroup without any problem at all. Personally I load about 2000 rounds per week with it....no issues!

[jmbaccolyte]

Well about a year ago a local competitive shooter with a ton of years reloading experience helped me set up a Dillon 550B for reloading 9mm ammo for my daughter and I to use at matches. Well for the first 10 months things went smooth. The load he suggested that I use was 3.1 gr of Titegroup pushing a 147 gr Berry's bullet.

Six weeks ago, my daughter got distracted while reloading and double charged a round and it cost me a customized Browning HP.

Last night I loaded 100 rounds, with plenty of powder weight checks, and I know I was watching each round as I loaded it yet today one of those reloads blew up a Gen 1 Glock 19 that I've had and fired prob about 200,000 rounds through.

Well now I dont have a clue what is going wrong. Any suggestions? I'm considering changing from Titegroup but right now really am confused and nervous about putting anything I've made into any of my guns till I get this figured out.

So I come here and instead of just reading am making my first post and its one asking for your opinions and thoughts.

Till then,

Stephen

PapaBonez/Stephen- You say you put 200,000 rounds through your pistol? Either you make a lot more money than me or you've reloaded for years (in which case you should have been able to set up a Dillon 550B. I don't want to accuse a guy of not being honest, but you haven't posted since December 2013 and have a grand total of seven posts.

[Williamb]

Lots of good suggestions. I used a 650 with a powder check station. even with that I visually checked every case by looking into prior to placing a bullet on top of the case. When I went to an automatic bullet feeder I was no longer able to visually check the powder. I have 2 safeguards first is that I use a bulky powder. Number two I weigh every finished cartridge. Very easy and very fast. I am looking for a weight variance. I have been reloading for about 15 years and to date I have never seen or weighed an overcharged cartridge.

[MNshooter]

Lots of good suggestions. I used a 650 with a powder check station. even with that I visually checked every case by looking into prior to placing a bullet on top of the case. When I went to an automatic bullet feeder I was no longer able to visually check the powder. I have 2 safeguards first is that I use a bulky powder. Number two I weigh every finished cartridge. Very easy and very fast. I am looking for a weight variance. I have been reloading for about 15 years and to date I have never seen or weighed an overcharged cartridge.

Wow! Weighing every single completed round sounds really time consuming. Out of curiosity, what is an acceptable tolerance before you'll pull a round? I'm newer to reliading myself but have noticed variation in bullet weight and case weight (mixed brass). What scale do you use?

[bugsy]

Get a Progressive Press with Powder check. An Auto-index Turret press will also do the trick. Powder Check will not guarantee an over-charge but will only indicate a double charge or a no-charge at all. Always do a FULL STROKE of the lever to advance to the next operation. When you visually see a powder-drop without hitting the bottom of the stroke, there is a chance of under charge. Always complete a FULL STROKE before advancing to the next operation. A regular visual confirmation and weighing of the dispensed powder will minimize unsafe situations. And as a rule of reloading, FOCUS. Stop reloading at the first sign of any distraction.

Safe Shooting

[5pins]

I'd be looking at possible bullet set back. Push a loaded round against a bench and see if the bullet moves into the case. You could also chamber a round a coule times and then measre it's oal.

Especially if using old brass.

And mixed brass.

[GrumpyOne]

Lots of good suggestions. I used a 650 with a powder check station. even with that I visually checked every case by looking into prior to placing a bullet on top of the case. When I went to an automatic bullet feeder I was no longer able to visually check the powder. I have 2 safeguards first is that I use a bulky powder. Number two I weigh every finished cartridge. Very easy and very fast. I am looking for a weight variance. I have been reloading for about 15 years and to date I have never seen or weighed an overcharged cartridge.

Not a good plan to catch a double charge. The brass alone can vary by as much as 10 grains.

[GrumpyOne]

Get a Progressive Press with Powder check. An Auto-index Turret press will also do the trick. Powder Check will not guarantee an over-charge but will only indicate a double charge or a no-charge at all. Always do a FULL STROKE of the lever to advance to the next operation. When you visually see a powder-drop without hitting the bottom of the stroke, there is a chance of under charge. Always complete a FULL STROKE before advancing to the next operation. A regular visual confirmation and weighing of the dispensed powder will minimize unsafe situations. And as a rule of reloading, FOCUS. Stop reloading at the first sign of any distraction.

Safe Shooting

A progressive press is a good thing, but in no way is a complete safeguard against a double charge, even with a powder check. The only 100% reliable safe guard is the human machine. Visually check every case before seating the bullet. Pay attention to what you are doing. When in doubt, stop, pull the rounds off the machine, set aside, and start over.

[dauntedfuture]

Ok, I might have missed something here. I must ask the question again; how do you know that it was a double charge? Did you pull down all the ammo and find a double charge. Even with a 550, if you two stroke it, your going to have an idea that something is wrong as when you size a sized case, it will be easier then normal to do. 6.2g would fill the case way up, and you might notice that.

I say all this because with out looking at the cases its hard to know if it was a double charge or a case failure and these are two different things. If...you picked up someones well worn 9mm major brass and reloaded it, you could have a case failure. If it was really hot 9mm major brass thins might could do it.

Is the primer real-real flat? What does "blown up" mean? Are we talking pieces or are we talking blown out magazine and broken plastic glock frame?

I say all this because I "blew up a 2011", well actually, I had a case failure. The case split at the bottom of the case, the grip blew apart and the magazine blew out. IF it had been a steel 1911, it would have just blown out the magazine and magazine catch. There was no other damage to the pistol.

Its just a theory. After that incident, and just to be safe, I replaced a bunch of the parts in the pistol as it was used and checked a few things over. Soon after I also bought a 650 and put in a powder check die.

I use SOLO 1000 and a double charge would spill over. In 9mm Minor with a 147 im almost filling the case as it is.

[9x45]

OP, you ran over 200,000 rounds thru a G19 before you started reloading??? If you can afford to run that much new ammo why bother with reloading? Yea, the Dillon 550 requires operator input after each pull of the handle. If you use high density powders, such as TiteGroup, you better look at each case, and don't stop and check every 10 rounds either. If anything goes wrong, empty all the stations, and start from scratch. Your other choice is to use a very low density powder so that a double will spill out of the case. And don't be so sure it was a double, years ago we ran a 230 groin 45acp on top of 12 grains of TIteGroup in a test barrel and didn't blow it up. Now set the bullet too deep, yes, instant KaBoom. See for yourself, measure the OAL on a round and chamber it over and over again. It setbacks slowly at first, but then changes rapidly. .100" shorter and the pressure doubles.

[kingmedicine]

This is why i always use a large volume powder. No way i can double charge. Oh man, this is what always scares me tho...