Chris Rhines Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 At the range yesterday, testfiring the AR, did some 100-yard offhand groups, some reloading drills, things are working nicely. Decided to put a few rounds through the G35 while I had it out. Put up a target at fifteen yards, got out the ammo (my own 180grn. Zero FMJs over 4.5 of Titegroup.) Shot some fifteen-yard Bill Drills, working on timing the gun, feeling good. Decided to finish, as I usually do, with a string of strong-hand and a string of weak-hand. Strong hand, fine. Halfway through the weak hand strong, KA-EFFING-BOOM!!! and my left hand feels like I slammed it in a car door. Well, hell. Looks like one of those cartridges might have been 9.0 grains of Titegroup, etc. My much-loved G35 is a total write-off - frame cracked right down the frontstrap, rear slide rails ripped off, chamber hood of the barrel split even with the ejection port. The trigger was completely shattered. Magazine blew out, and the mag catch was in three pieces. I might be able to save the slide, but even that's a question mark. Still and all, I can't get too wrapped around the proverbial axle. I got off easy - just a sore thumb and a couple tiny cuts on my left palm. I could very easily been down a couple of fingers or an eye. But hell. Now I need to replace my pistol, and between Christmas and the upcoming foray to the SHOT Show, my bank account may or may not support the expenditure. Great timing. Hey, anyone out there in DC need some computer or network support? I could use the pickup work right about now... - Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zak Smith Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Dude, that sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Peaches to pits in a flash. Glad you are OK.-------Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisha Lowry Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I hate it when that happens! I double charged a 45 round and had a piece of bad brass at the same time....when the bottom blows off the piece of brass a funny thing happens and the next rounds in the mag blows....I got lucky with some brass fragments in my cheek and a lovely black eye for about a week where my glasses got pushed into my face....consider yourself lucky! A business suit and a black eye are just NOT the latest in womens accessories I did learn my lesson about indexing a 550 reloader!!! Go buy yourself a new toy...it will make you feel better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Glad you're OK and in one piece!! That's scary stuff!! It might be educational if you'd describe your loading press setup and loading habits, etc, so that others might learn how to avoid that situation, if you're up to it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisha Lowry Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 (edited) Sure! I had just switched from a 9mm to a 45 and was adjusting my 550 Dillon reloader to get the grain count on the powder where I wanted it to be. I would adjust the powder level then run about 5 rounds through and weigh it to see if it was where I wanted it to be. The 550 doesn't auto index so you have to index it yourself. If you don't....guess what...double charge. So obviously as I was playing with it I was paying more attention to getting one off to weigh it and forgot to index the next round and double charged one. Since then I have been extremely cautious about what I do and how when I am adjusting my press. Checking EVERY station when you are going thru powder adjustments on a reloader that doesn't auto index is critical My bad luck was in that I didn't check the brass on every round before I loaded my mags and this one had a split or crack around the bottom. Good lesson.....when I reload I do just that and nothing else! And I case guage and check EVERY round before I shoot. That lovely purple and green around my eye did nothing for my normally green eyes! Edited December 28, 2005 by Trisha Lowry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Very glad your O.K.! SCARY! How about some pictures to scare us into paying attention while reloading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R112mercer Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Chris (and Trish); I'm glad to hear you're OK. Guns are replaceable, fingers aren't. Besides, you've got a great excuse to go buy a new gun. Or two (hey, you learned you need a back-up on standby, right?) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Glad to hear you folks are alright. Chris I hate that about destroying your gun. Nail it to the wall for a reminder. dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Glad you are not having to change your screen name to Nubbie.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I'm guessing you load with a 550. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Since then I have been extremely cautious about what I do and how when I am adjusting my press. Thanks for the example, Trisha. I think this statement should be considered carefully by anyone loading on any press (just wait, the 550 bashers are coming ). Dillon updated the powder measure design so you can't easily do this on a 650 anymore, but when I had mine in the past, you could easily throw a double charge while working on load development, etc - if you weren't paying attention. I load on a 550, now. I'm extremely cautious, yet I still manage 500-600 rounds an hour, right now (and I'm still out of practice), so... you can still load smoothly and quickly, and be safe... That lovely purple and green around my eye did nothing for my normally green eyes! Ouch. Good example of why we wear safety glasses, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Glad you are ok. However call Glock, they might help you out. When one of the guys at my range did the very same thing to his Glock 35, he called them, told them exactly what happened (including the fact that he was shooting reloads) and glock "sold" him a certificate for replacement for something less then 1/2 the price of the original gun. It might be worth giving them a call and seeing whats what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 been there, done that, got the t-shirt. (dbl charged on a 1050 to boot!) Glad you're ok and only have a gun to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I've seen more squibs double charges and overall screwups with a 550 than any other press... that said i reload on one. and have been very cautious since day one and only had a couple of squibs mostly due to wet cases left too long. Glad to hear everyone is ok... glocks do a good job of containing things it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Sorry to hear about that one; good on you for standing up to a mistake that many have made (and not trying to blame someone else). I think the lack of serious injury says a lot about the Glock design. Hope things work out w. the replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 It's threads like this that make me consider replacing my 550s with something else but I have seen threads where this has happened with a 650 also.... I have had to throw away loaded rounds because I was interrupted or whatever when weighing loads with rounds in the tray and then being afraid to use the ones I had already loaded because I kept cranking.... As a reloader I try to do the triple check thing and then one more for good measure when doing load development. I am NOT a detail oriented person and realize this about myself. As I do accept this I have tried to modify my behavior to minimize my opportunities to screw up. I just bought enough Loaders to have one for every caliber I shoot and once I get a good load worked up I leave it alone and just crank em out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I never blew a stack of primers until I had a 650. Everybody needs to be careful with every press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Yup. I have about 5K rounds of 40's made up and I'm just wondering if there's one in there............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Been There before I had terminal flinch for two weeks!!! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Get in touch with Glock as a previous post suggests. I assume they still make things right. (or at least better) They used to replace the gun for $250 or something like that for shooter induced kabooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisha Lowry Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Mine was a Springfield Armory 1911 and they did make it good for me :-) but then I turned around and replaced it with a CZ75 :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Replace for $250.00? I have replaced our pistols, When I new damn well it was a double charge for nothing!!!! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishy Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 About 15 years ago I got distracted while reloading on my 550. Double charged a 45acp . Blew the mag out . Chewed up the first 2 rounds in the mag. Split both grips. Gun ok. Hand ok. I changed the lighting in my reloading area . I now reload standing up . You can see inside the cases, and when ever I am distracted while I am reloading I start over and double check everything. I now have a 650. I like it much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 This is one of the main reasons I use a 650 and not a 550. Sorry to hear about what happened and glad you're ok. Is there any way you could send the gun back to the manufacturer and have them fix it? I know a lot of companies will do this. Even if they have to use a new frame they can just swap the serial number over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now