FMJ Jacket Separation

[herky]

I had an unusual situation on the ninth shot of a stage on Saturday. Evidently the FMJ bullet's jacket came off the lead core and stuck 3/8" from the muzzel, while the lead core hit the target. On the next shot, the bullet was swaged thru the stuck jacket, exited the barrel and the gun locked up. My gunsmith happened to be the RO and we had discussed how well the gun was working as it was one of first 40 Limited guns he built. (I should have known at this point that something was going to go wrong.) He called today and told me the barrel was bulged where the first shot jacket lodged. Good thing it was a Shueman bull barrel or the slide could have been damaged also. From what I remember, there was nothing different about either the ninth or tenth shot, no sound or feeling to indicate anything was wrong other than the slide was locked up solid. He told me he had never heard of this happening.

[XRe]

I've seen the results of something similar, but w/ a .355 caliber bullet. Typically, that would indicate a pretty major pressure problem in the round that shed the jacket in the barrel... at least, that's my understanding. You may want to do some serious thinking about your loads

That said, if the bullet and jacket fragment left the barrel, how do you know that's what happened?? Is that just a guess???

[herky]

I have been shooting this same load since 1996 and in this gun since 2000. The target had one clean hit and 2 or 3 "other" holes, so everything from the two shots, except the first jacket, left the barrel. I have not yet seen the barrel or the removed jacket and am relying on what my gunsmith relayed in a phone call.

[XRe]

I have been shooting this same load since 1996 and in this gun since 2000. The target had one clean hit and 2 or 3 "other" holes, so everything from the two shots, except the first jacket, left the barrel. I have not yet seen the barrel or the removed jacket and am relying on what my gunsmith relayed in a phone call.

Ah, so the jacket was still in the barrel....

Regardless of how long you've been shooting the load, things can change - you could've encountered setback, you could have somehow gotten a heavy charge, your press could need an adjustment check, etc.... In an FMJ bullet, the core doesn't easily leave the rest of the jacket behind.... The other option is that you're so grossly overcrimping that you're cutting into the jacket and causing it to shear, but that's rather unlikely

[Gregory_k]

What type of bullet?

[herky]

200 gr Precision Delta