Scary finding

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czhen

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Today sorting my all the ammo that picked Idk for how long. I've found a scary brass showing what I can see is a detonation of a round 9mm on a .40 cal barrel.
You guys with more experience than me on the reloading bench have seen it many times, I've read on THR countless of time but never on hand.
There is no other info on the subject, but I submitted to prevent it happen to us.

czhen 20200611_182419.jpg 20200611_182359.jpg 20200611_182433.jpg
 
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The one I saw fired in a .40 completely split the case. I would think more of the case would have been blown out to a larger dia (or split) than just the front, but maybe that one is stronger brass and didn't split.
I don't own a .40 and have never tried it, so all I know about is one that happened next to me.

BTW I moved a couple bays down after the second piece of mangled brass bounced in front me.
:eek: Shouldn't be that hard to tell 9mm ammo form .40 and use .40 for a .40....
 
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Happened to me once. At the time I owned both a G23 in 40 and a G19 in 9mm. Some how at the range I put a G19 mag in the G23. Shot fired, missed target and the slide never moved. I had to manually eject the brass. Didn't take long to figure out what happened.

I have nothing against 40 caliber, but I already have a couple of 10mm's that I like better. That incident was at least partly why I decided to sell the G23.
 
I did that one time and one time only. I have two Star Firestar pistols, a 9mm and a 40S&W. I accidentally picked up a loaded 9mm mag and put it in the 40. I noticed right away with the first shot and the case looked very similar to the OP. Needless to say, if I take both Firestars to the range, one stays in the case while I fire the other.
 
I have found brass like that and...
I was timing a guy at a speed steel match that shot a 9 out of a 40.
The extractor will hold back the 9 against the breach/slide of a 40 and it will detenate.
It was in the middle of the ammo in his mag and made a tubular sound when he shot it.
I could see the bullet in flight because it was going slow, and I was standing right behind him.
He actually scored a hit but the gun didn't feed in another round and he had to rack it to continue on.
The whole squad had a good laugh about it and ribbed the guy as he was the match director.
It was awsome to see,
:rofl:
 
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I wish I had photos of the 256 win mag cases fired out of a 300 Weatherby, no neck and “fluted”. Never underestimate the destruction of people that don’t know or can’t pay attention.

Knowing people can do things like that make me really cringe when things are developed without some degree of saving them from themselves. Like the 300 blk, that is a mediocre round to begin with but had(s) a cult like following, that can be catastrophic when chambered and fired in a .223 rifle.

I suppose that’s just the Darwin theory at work but when college aged kids need a safe place to draw with crayons so their feelings don’t get hurt, seems kind of reckless. However, back in my day, if I stubbed a toe because I was bare foot riding on gravel, I had to soak my foot in diesel fuel, so the pendulum swings both ways....
 
. . . Like the 300 blk, that is a mediocre round to begin with but had(s) a cult like following, that can be catastrophic when chambered and fired in a .223 rifle.
You're correct that good cartridge design limits this possibility, but .300BO is not really that bad a design. If you look at drawings, or experiment with chambers, you'd need a hammer to beat the bolt into battery for most .300BO rounds in a .223Rem chamber, because you'll be beating the bullet back into the case.

It's no worse than .308/.270 or .358/.30-06, but with compatible magazines and a larger customer base, it does happen more often.
 
You're correct that good cartridge design limits this possibility, but .300BO is not really that bad a design. If you look at drawings, or experiment with chambers, you'd need a hammer to beat the bolt into battery for most .300BO rounds in a .223Rem chamber, because you'll be beating the bullet back into the case.

It's no worse than .308/.270 or .358/.30-06, but with compatible magazines and a larger customer base, it does happen more often.

Not so. A lightweight bullet loaded into a 300 Blackout case will headspace on the shoulder of the 223 chamber.

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None of my 300 BLK loads will chamber in a .223 without severe bullet setback, but yes, one more reason to be very careful about putting the wrong ammo in the wrong gun, but heck, they put the caliber on the gun for you....... :)
 
Hang around a public access range very long and you’ll inevitably be able to pick up a 9-40 or 40-45 fireformed case. Seems to be pretty common.
 
Knowing people can do things like that make me really cringe when things are developed without some degree of saving them from themselves. Like the 300 blk, that is a mediocre round to begin with but had(s) a cult like following, that can be catastrophic when chambered and fired in a .223 rifle.
That is the only reason I do not own a 300blk. I wish that they would do all the same stuff with 30 carbine as they do with 300blk, but no such luck. Isn’t the 350 legend the same set except made for the AR10 platform (slightly larger bomb waiting to go off)
 
I took my stainless Vaquero in .38-40 to the range and was getting ridiculously poor buckshot groupings. Turns out I actually had taken my stainless Vaquero in .44-40 to the range and was shooting .38-40 out of it. The cases fire formed just fine...
 
I have seen the results of .300blk in a .223 mistake. It wasnt something I would want to do. The inside of the shooters left arm took a nice peppering.
 
Fortunately I've only had two ammo mix ups and they never reached the gun. I loaded my 30-30, drove 1 hour on LA freeways to a range. Started unpacking and saw I had brought along my .223 handloads. The other time was not so bad as it was at an indoor range and I was able to buy the proper ammo. I was working on loads for my new 3" 38 Special and getting set up in my stall I unpacked two boxes of 357 handloads. Sometimes the light bulb over my head is really dim...
 
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That is the only reason I do not own a 300blk. I wish that they would do all the same stuff with 30 carbine as they do with 300blk, but no such luck. Isn’t the 350 legend the same set except made for the AR10 platform (slightly larger bomb waiting to go off)

The 350 Legend is an AR15 platform cartridge. Not AR10.

I doubt the 350 has the same problem due to the difference in brass length.
 
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