Saw a gun blow up...

... and have handled a few remains after they blew up. OK, I'm being expansive in defining "blow up". At least a blown case/bulged bbl/damaged frame/slide if not a hand grenade. ;)

From 1980 - 2004:

S&Ws w .38 w reloads

Colt, SA 1911s w 38 Super and 45 ACP reloads

Ruger GP100 w factory Federal 357 Mag

Glock, Beretta, Walther, HK, Ruger, FN autos w reloads and factory ammo from Federal, Remington, PMC, Armscor, and Wolf in 9/40/45/357.

Stuff happens. To everybody. I'm amazed some folks have been around as long as they have and never seen one. I haven't gotten around as much since 98 as I did before, but I still don't have to go out of my way much to come across them.

Get what ya like, or flip a coin and like what ya get. ;)

Hmmmm, even Glocks with lead or reloads?

Well, I've had a double charge go off in my Taurus 669. Fortunately it was a double charge of a very light target load in a 357 Mag case. I was shooting bowling pins at the time. It was bang, bang, bang, bang, BOOOM!!
I didn't shoot the 4th or 5th pins. Looked like a 454 Casull had gone off with all the flame. I even hit the pin. Bullet went clean through without knocking it over.

Openned up the gun, ejected the cases, checked it for damage. It was fine. The RO's only comment "Well, there's your proof load." Gun is still going strong and a real tack driver. Made me feel pretty good about the $250 I had paid for it :)

I've not just seen but experianced a rifle blowing up. No handguns. For the rifle story, you can check here: FAL Kaboom. (http://home.kc.rr.com/bsmith1952/img/Guns/falboom/falboom.html)

I'm sure there are flaws in metalurgy from time to time. Seeing a GP 100 blow up with factory ammo, however, may be the tip of the iceberg. When a gun is overloaded, it may show no signs whatsoever, but after a time, when sufficiently fatigued, give way under normal conditions.



munk

One of the members of my platoon had a M2 with excessive headspace blow the top cover off. The platoon sergeant had told the gunner he did not need to use the headspace and timing guage. Just screw the barrel in until tight and back off two clicks. Right! Too bad the platoon sergeant was not the gunner that day. No injuries, but pretty well shaken up.

I have seen several glocks blow due to double charges. Plus I saw a brand new Kel Tec .32 blow with factory ammo.

Battlespace,

The Plt.Sgt. was right that is how we set headspace for a M-2- snug then back off 2.

I think somebody miscounted.

Worst one I've been around was a Colt Anaconda .44 magnum. But then, that wasn't the only gun blown up by that gentleman, may he rest in peace. (No, he didn't die from anything firearm-related.)
We have another fellow who likely has his name and picture posted at Beretta's repair facility. They certainly don't fix his Model 92 or 96 for free anymore. The capper with this knothead was when his reloads cracked the forcing cone area of his GP-100 pretty badly. A Ruger engineer I mentioned this to at the SHOT Show one year got the vapors and almost fainted! :eek:

Munk and Broken Arrow, in my experience you're the only other persons that've ever mentioned knowing about a kersploded GP-100.

Years ago, I was using someone elses reloads on a Glock 17. The Glock jammed constantly, so I was used to having to mess with it. Well, I got a squib. The next round came and hit it in the barrel. Bulged the hell out of the barrel, and I had to take it to a gun smith to get the slide to close...

I was lucky I didn't loose part of my hand or face...

Brian D; No, I didn't say I'd seen a GP100 blow and haven't.
A guy came into the gun store once missing part of his thumb. His 35 Whelen blew. He thought it was Barnes fault; he'd followed their loads. Miking the bullets in the box, he found some of the bullets oversize. I shoot a 35 Whelen and noticed Barnes had rather warm loads. Never had a problem, but I'm careful.

For a while a lot of the folks I worked with stayed away from Barnes. I noticed last time I saw one of them he was hunting with Barnes reloads.

Even if a bullet is a couple thousands over, it shouldn't blow your gun.

(please don't take this to mean munk advocates throwing any old bullet in any old barrel!)

I cannot imagine blowing up a GP100. The blk hwk 45's would blow sometimes because people thought the cylinder was as strong as a 44's when they loaded them. It isn't.

munk

Ditto with reloads in a Glock 17 back ~ 1989. The last round in the magazine blew out at the bottom where the chamber is relieved a bit. Thankfully the bullet went down range, the magazine ejected a bit more vigorously than normal, and hot gases came out the frame openings. Surprised the heck out of me, but the only lasting effect was a lingering distrust of Glocks.