Kaboom today

[bbbass]

Yikes! Not going to look... I'll take your word for it and be even less likely to use 9mm reloads in my polymer pistols!!! ( I buy factory ammo cuz it's nearly as cheap as reloading 9mm in most cases)

 

[Member 34319]

Damn glad to hear you aren't injured.

Never fun having anything go wrong with reloads.

 

[Vaultman]

Yup, double charges are bad juju...

I've often thought of buying a progressive press, but honestly, running a single stage allows me the opportunity to visually check all the charged cases in the reloading block.

Kinda satisfies my OCD need.

reloading with a single stage is really hard on us OCD folks. There are to many things to check off as you go. And don't forget to check off that you completed the checklist.

 

[Vaultman]

Damn!!! Being new to reloading this one of my biggest fears. Glad you are ok brother!!!

Double charges are not that common with rifle. And with single stage. That is all I reload for, but then again I do not shoot a lot of pistol.

 

[KaniksuKidd]

I started shooting in 1976 and reloading in 1977 with two friends using an old RCBS Rockchucker that I still use today for rifles loads. Reloading manuals back then often listed separate loads for handguns and rifles of the same caliber which is NEVER a good idea. I figured if it was safe in a handgun it would be safe in a rifle but NEVER vice versa. One of my friends and I bought Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mags. We spent a lot of money sending them off to be Armalloyed and Magna-ported. He also had a Ruger .44 Mag Carbine which was kind of like a 10/22 on steroids. Being newbies, we used Unique for our .44 Mag loads. I followed the directions and started with loads that were 10% below maximum. My friend loaded right up to the maximum and built loads for handgun AND rifle. I advised him that was not a good idea but he had been in the Marines so what did I know about shooting?

We got our Super Blackhawks back from the gunsmith. Mine was a sweet shooter and was now weatherproof with the Armalloy hard chrome finish. We had picked up our guns separately and a couple of weeks later I asked my friend how he liked his. He started going on about how the Armalloy finish had weakened the metal and his Super Blackhwk blew apart. WHAT? He showed it to me. The cylinder had blown up and had taken the top strap right off. Now a Super Blackhawk is a very sturdy revolver and I didn't believe his BS about "weakened metal". Right away I told him "You fired one of your rifle loads in there didn't you?" At first he protested and then admitted that "Well, its possible. I mixed up the handgun and rifle loads and don't know which ones are which now."

He finally surrendered all of his .44 Mag reloads to me and I broke them down and reloaded them with a safe level of powder. Some of them had 20gr. of Unique in them. YIKES!

It is now many years later and I'm still reloading and have learned a lot. Now I use slower burning bulky powders for all of my handgun loads and a Dillon 550 semi-progressive loader. As I recall I have had two double charges due to getting distracted during the process BUT the powder charge overfilled the case and there was powder spilled out all over the loading plate. You just can't seat a bullet into a case that is overflowing with powder. And no, I don't use Unique for .44 Mag loads anymore.

 

[skeezix]

W231, 4.5gr

I don't think you could get a double charge of 4.5 gr W231 in the case and still seat the projectile.

 

[crstrode]

I'd like to Suggest you contact Ruger about sending it back for a Full Check up since you were using reloads I'm sure it won't be Warranty work it but IMO would it would be for the Best!!!

Sending a Remington to ruger will be a waste of postage.

 

[koolminx]

A good accurate digital scale will also help prevent double loads...

Very happy you were unscathed

 

[KKG]

Your Right my bad!!!

 

[a6m5]

Okay, you got me! The only tupperware KB's that I have seen the accounts of were on HK pistols.

My "kaboom" from 2015:



I think I get the tupperware reference. lol Nearly zero injury with gloves & Oakleys. I'm glad to hear that you were okay also.

 

[P7M13]

My "kaboom" from 2015:
I think I get the tupperware reference. lol Nearly zero injury with gloves & Oakleys. I'm glad to hear that you were okay also.

I loved my USP, but that is painful to look at!

 

[fredball]

Very happy you didn't get hurt

 

[Pete F]

The unfired bullet setback is what bothers me. It can happen in the magazine from recoil if not properly crimped and could have caused setback and overpressure on the case that exploded, but very rare to see something like that.

Very glad that you are OK. Guns are cheap, hands and fingers not so much.

 

[s1xty7]

I'm really glad everyone is okay!

With that said, this is why I don't reload. Worth the little peace of mind paying extra for factory rounds. I'm sure those have a failure rate too, but I would imagine lower than reloads. Reloading seems to be a great way to shoot cheaper and you are independent from manufacturers and runs on ammo (somewhat), not to mention the fine tuning you can do, but I think I'll avoid it for the time being.

Again, glad you came out uninjured. I'd send it in to have it checked, as previously suggested.

 

[a6m5]

I loved my USP, but that is painful to look at!

Pieces were all over the ground. My buddy managed to pick up every single pieces while I stood there in utter shock. lol

The unfired bullet setback is what bothers me. It can happen in the magazine from recoil if not properly crimped and could have caused setback and overpressure on the case that exploded, but very rare to see something like that.

My apologies if I'm mistaken, but is this what you guys are referring to?

P.S. Just to share info with my situation( @s1xty7 especially): While I decided not to disclose the manufacturer name, mine was a factory ammo, I don't load/reload.

I looked up as many online reports/write-up of USP "kaboom" as I can at the time, and every single one I found involved reloads. It does seem to be very rare occurrence with factory ammo. *edited

 

[RaceyRaider3]

Glad to hear no injuries.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

I don't think you could get a double charge of 4.5 gr W231 in the case and still seat the projectile.

I have to agree with this. A double charge would either overflow the case or be right near the top, and powder can only compress so much.

Looking at the bullet setback on your other cartridge, I'm thinking either your crimp or weak brass is the most likely suspect.

Rather than just try the push test, have you ever actually measured your crimp at the case mouth? I crimp to 0.376-0.377" and only get setback if chambering the same cartridge multiple times. You should also pull at least one of the bullets and examine the depth of the crimp ring.

~10 lbs before setback seems low to me, especially considering most recoil springs are usually in the 18 lb range iirc.

If it's range brass, it could have also just been a piece of pregnant Glock brass, or even 9mm Major brass. If it did have the Glock belly bulge, I'm surprised it chambered. I get a few every now and then that are still bulged enough to jam, even after resizing and a Lee factory crimp die.

Sorry to hear about your experience, but I'm glad to hear you were unscathed.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

Seems it's almost always reloads. And if it's factory ammo the manufacturer will be liable for damages.

Not necessarily. There have been certain batches of military surplus ammo, usually foreign, that have a history of blowing up rifles and machine guns. The problem is that you often have no recourse with the factory, as it's surplus ammo.

In my particular incident, TZ-80 (Israeli 7.62mm ball ammo) did this:



Yes, this is a case where the front fell off.

 

[bimmerstuff]

Blasphemy! A Glock would have taken the hit and still made you breakfast with a smile.

And a "happy ending"...

 

[Member 52301]

God smiled on me today. Brother and I were out at the end of the range of Wolf Creek where North Fork Road turns into Sunset Grade. We're both shooting 9mm pistol loads I developed for my R51, he shooting his Hi Power, me using my R51. We are doing slow fire, and our shots are nearly synchronized. I take a shot, and my gun, which had been recoiling very nicely, suddenly feels like a very hot 44 Mag load. I think, WTF? and watch as the contents of my magazine drop out.
There are black powder marks on both hands, the slide is only partially opened (~3mm), and it dawns on me, "I just had a kaboom."
Nothing in my face, and no injuries.
I eject the formed magazine sleeve (all that remains). Found the spring, spring retainer, and follower, but never found the heel plate.

The R51 handled it very well. My presumption is double charge.
When I loaded these rounds, I double checked OAL and bullet retention (i.e. could I push the bullet back into the case).
Now to completely strip and clean the R51 and do close inspection for any damage.
Looking at all the bullets I picked up from the ground, I note the unfired one in the photo has been severely pushed back into the case and the mouth belled.

View attachment 563021 View attachment 563022 View attachment 563023

I am glad that you are okay.

Take care.

Cate