Blown Apart Cylinder...

[valkabit]

I met a guy at the range today who showed me a Uberti (Italian import) revolver that had been blown apart. The gun is a clone of the Colt Single Action Army chambered in 45 colt. I realize most of the import revolvers are notorious for being made of softer metals, but this guy says he sent a piece of the cylinder back to Benelli (the importer of this particular gun) and they said that they tested the hardness of the piece of cylinder and that it was up to specs.

The guy who showed me the gun claims that the load he was shooting was supposed to be about 8 grains of Unique in a 45 colt case, loaded by a friend. He thinks maybe the case wasn't fully charged with the powder. He's talked to several friends who reload (he doesn't reload) and they've said that a smaller charge of Unique (he mentioned about 4 grains) could be dangerous in a large case like the 45 colt because it will lay low in the case, and will be ignited all at once, possibly causing the gun to explode. I've heard that a really small charge (in a large case) is bad, but will it blow a gun apart? Even a gun made of softer metal?

He said that the load he was shooting was supposed to be approx a 45 Colt+P load. 8 grains of Unique is not a 45 Colt+P load according to my manuals, so maybe he is wrong about the amount of powder that was in the case, and got a true 45 Colt+P load that blew apart his cylinder?

All of the sources that I have seen for 45 Colt+P loads say specifically NOT to use those loads in Colt revolvers or their clones.

[G-ManBart]

For years one of the most controversial topics was .38Spl wadcutter loads blowing up guns with light charges of fast powders like Bullseye. The same theory of all the powder lying on the side of the cartridge igniting at once was commonly thought to be the problem. I'm just not sure if Unique is fast enough to cause the same kind of problem.

I'd bet it was more like 16gr of Unique that was the culprit...a double charge would be easy in such a big case.

[wide45]

A double charge is more likely.

[Viggen]

So the guy at the range trusts someone else to load a +p round for a type of gun that's not supposed to use that sort of thing and he is blaming it on the a lite charge?

First, he is not a wise man - not paying attention to WRITTEN WARNINGS.

4gr of Unique will likely get you a bullet stuck in the barrel.

A blowup is likely the result of a double charge of 16 gr.

Don't hang with this guy he does foolish things.

[valkabit]

I'm thinking it was a double charge myself. I asked the guy if it could have been a double charge, and he said that his friend said that he would have noticed. I'm not so sure, I just put 16 gr of Unique in a 45 Colt case, there was no spill over, and there was room to seat the bullet with a little to spare.

The top strap of the gun was bowed upwards from the blast, and about 1/4 of the cylinder was blown away.

[dillon]

It could be a double charge, but quite honestly from the description of the damage done, it doesn't sound like one. It could be a heavier than normal, but not double charge, it could be two bullets seated into a case, or it could be a mis-timed cylinder causing the bullet to impact the edge of the barrel instead of the center of the barrel. If the case is intact, inspect the firing pin mark on the case, see if it is off-center. It could also be eight grains of a powder faster burning than Unique. A light charge of Unique would not cause a detonation.

[valkabit]

The guy who owns, and had shot the gun (I wasn't there for the mishap) said that he found pieces of the cylinder and pieces of the casing about 15 feet away from where he was standing. He also said that the first indication he had that something was wrong was when he was looking at the gun (still held out at arms length) and saw fire. After putting the gun down he realized that the fire was coming from what had been the next unfired chamber, and was now an open hole, with the remnants of the next unfired cartridge burning away. I saw the gun first hand (I wish I had pictures), the cylinder looks like it might have been aligned properly, but with all of the damage I couldn't be sure. The chamber that was in line with the barrel was blown away, as was the next unfired chamber, and the top strap was bowed upwards.

[IPSCDRL]

Yikes! Sounds like an exciting day at the range.

Edited July 9, 2007 by IPSCDRL

[Carlos]

Double charges and overcharges are proven to create higher pressure and possibly blown cylinders as described.

The concept of "light charge/detonation" is just a theory. There is no evidence to support it.

But, it is a whole lot less embarrasing to blame a blown up gun on the "light charge" myth instead of owning up to a reloading mistake. My vote is for double charge since the company ruled out defective steel.

[rishii]

there was a local cowboy shooter that had a SSA in 45 long colt made by the same manufacture mounted to his reloading bench. it too had the top of the cylinder blown up, which also exposed the chambers on both sides, and the top strap was gone. this guy was the king of the modern cowboy powder puff loads, and I never asked what happened.

in addition to a double charge, check the head stamp on the round, there was a guy at the range who shot a whole cylinder full of 44 mag thru his colt SSA 45.

[Patrick Sweeney]

.44s in a .45? Ouch.

[sargenv]

And this is one more reason why "Trail Boss" was created... light charges are bulky and fill the cases preventing a double charge. It leaves very little air space and the flakes look cool.. little donuts