i can't believe I did something this stupid !!

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

tonight after work i went to my favorite indoor range to shoot with my youngest son ! While he was having fun with the .22 and .357 I decided to try and dial in the new scope i had just put on my Ruger Super Redhawk .454 casull! So after about 12 rounds ,i get a missfire ! I didnt think it was a squib ! i thought nothing fired! Iwas wrong and I didnt check the barrel to be clear ! BIG MISTAKE !! The next round must have nocked the squib out of the barrel ! I got a keyhole in the target and then checked the barrel and noticed that the front site was missing ! and the barel had a distinct bulge about 2 inches from the muzzle !I cant believe I screwed up my gun and did it 3 weeks from a planned hunting trip !!How could i have been so careless !! i am sick ! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:!

 

[offthepaper]

I know you don't want to hear this and have already given it some thought, but I'll say it anyway.

It could have been a lot worse.

 

[ACORN]

Yeah it could be a lot worse. You could have a new nick-name like ummmmm,"Stumpy".
Pack it up and ship it to Ruger. They may make you a deal on a new pistol.
What can it hurt?
I've done some pretty dumb stuff myself.
Live and learn.

 

[Grey54956]

It could have been much, much worse.

Get a second hunting revolver. Either the same as your current or something else; variety is the spice of life. That way if one is ever out of commission, you have a back up.

 

[strat81]

Don't tell the wife.

And as was already said, it could have been a lot worse. Some things we learn the easy way, some things we learn the hard way. Considering you and your son still have two eyes, ten fingers, and your faces intact, I'd rate this somewhere in between the easy way and the hard way.

 

[gbran]

Hey, at least you can now get a better feel for a 4 inch SRH.

 

[Molasses]

So after about 12 rounds ,i get a missfire ! I didnt think it was a squib ! i thought nothing fired! Iwas wrong and I didnt check the barrel to be clear !

Factory ammo????? If it was, contact the mfg and raise a royal stink. They'll likely buy you a new one.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Like others mention you are very lucky and so is your son who was next to you.
The gun is easy to fix, new barrel no problem. Hurry you only have a few days left to get it done

You were loading this round and it is yours or is it someone elses

You are going to need to weigh and check over your supplies if they are all the same weight, ok...if not pull the bullet and reload them.

Good luck.

 

[bigghoss]

well if nothing else it sounds like a good excuse to have a gunsmith shorten the barrel and do some other custom stuff done

 

[[email protected]]

Factory ammo????? If it was, contact the mfg and raise a royal stink. They'll likely buy you a new one.

EXACTLY. There will be a new one on the way.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Had this same thing to happen to me many years ago. It was Super-Vel ammo 110gr in .357 mag. After what I thought was a misfire I backed the hammer on my Dan Wesson Model 15 to continue. Thankfully my cousin,who was shooting with me,convinced to check the barrel. When I swung the cylinder out I was greeted with a brass gascheck firmly wedged in the forcing cone! It took quite an effort to drive it out! I can only imagine what would have happened had I fired another round. A lesson well learned and a mistake not repeated.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I'm glad that's all that happened. A good friend of ours took the top strap and the top half of her cylinder off of on a brand new pistol when she fired with a squib in the barrel. She was OK but it scared her pretty good.

 

[GrandmasterB]

I had a factory ammo squib like that many years ago in my Ruger Blackhawk. Luckily I checked the barrel and then used a rod and hammer to get that stuck bullet out. I have never bought that brand of ammo again.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I am sure Ruger would replace the barrel, as well as check over the rest of the gun, at your expense, of course. Also, if still possible, try and gather up what is left of the suspect round of ammunition, and contact the ammo manufacturer. If there is a reasonably deep and well centered firing pin strike on the primer -- which means the gun did its job -- the fault is clearly that of the ammo.

 

[45shooter]

If you have the 9 1/2" barrel version just have the bulge portion cut off and cut a new crown. You don't need the front sight since you are using scope and a gunsmith should do the job for about $100. I bet your revolver will still be very accurate with the shorter barrel.

 

[hemiram]

I had the same thing happen about 27 years ago. I was shooting my 6" Dan Wesson Model 15 at the range near my house. I fired a shot that sounded odd, but I swear I heard it hit the trap, so I thought I was ok, and pulled the trigger again. Bang! The gun jerked away from me very hard. I somehow was able to hold onto the gun, it almost flew out of my hands. I looked and it had a bulge about halfway down the shroud. Not much of one, but it was obvious.

I took it to the gunsmith there, who got the shroud off for me by whacking it with a rubber mallet. The actual barrel was bulged about 3", and had a crack in it. $25 got me a new barrel and I was shooting again a few minutes later.
I was lucky it didn't happen with my S&W 28, I had it with me too.

 

[campbell]

Good thing you were shooting a Super Redhawk. If it was able to bulge a bull barrel made of 15-5, that's some serious stress. Probably would have blown up a lot of other guns.

 

[Master Blaster]

What was the brand of ammo???

SOME Folks here will tell you that this only happens to reloaders, and that you should only shoot factory ammo in your gun.

 

[Noxx]

Any lesson learned without bloodshed is a good one.

Earlier this year I very nearly did the same thing to one of the Sigs. While working on speed drills I got Bang, Bang, "pssssst".

"pssst" wth?

Even with the telltale noise, because I was working quickly I had already racked out the bad round, and was back on target about to squeeze when my brain caught up with my hands and said "Woah, that's not a very good idea".

Glad you're alright, guns are cheaper than fingers.

 

[campbell]

Guys, he reloads .454's. Likely not a factory ammo problem.

 

[gandog56]

All I can say is you pull the trigger and don't get a bang, time to check things out.

 

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

Thanks for the encouragement guys !! I know I was lucky ! ruger engineering saved my stupid butt! Just to clear things up ! the ammo was loaded by me 28 grains of lil gun behind 200 grain cast bullit !! The good news is that I talked to Ruger today on the phone !They said box it up and ship it to them and they woulld examine the gun and give me an estimate for repair ! I can also get the 9 1/2 inch barrel installed (it has a 7 1/2 now or at least it did before my inadvertant modification ) which is what i really wanted when I got this one ! i love my Rugers and this one saved me from the everpresent danger of random acts of stupidity ! i know better than to do what I did ! i knew i should have checked the barrel for obstruction ! I just failed to do so !! and I got very very lucky ! Thanks guys ! It isnt easy owning up to this but if someone else can learn from my mistakes then it will be worth the shame ! Thanks again guys ! and be safe ! Kevin

 

[FullEffect1911]

Very glad to hear you are okay.

i thought nothing fired!

This is a good example to trust your gut instinct. A lesson all of us should take home on this one. Sorry FLORIDA KEVIN you had to be the teacher.

On the plus side this speaks volumes about Ruger's strength.

 

[Bear41mag]

This happened to a friend of mine a couple years back, we were shooting with his brother in-law and when my friend shot a squib load that lodged in the barrel of his GP 100, he told us about it and placed the gun in the case, not having a rod with him, he would clear it when he got home. BIL picked it up loaded a full .357 mag load in and pulled the trigger. Blew off the front sight and cracked the end of the barrel.

He sent it back to Ruger who replaced the barrel at NO cost and he had it back in two weeks. All he had to pay was shipping.

Hope it works out for you OK.

 

[mec]

A local guy was shooting 300 grain reloads through his Casull. One round went "click" and the guy with him noticed that he had eared back the hammer for another shot. "Kenny! NOOOOBANG! 600 grains down range and they found the bullets fused front to back. They examined and measured the Casull and could find no damage at all. It did kick alot.

It was Super-Vel ammo 110gr in .357 mag.

butbutbutbut.... I thought Supervel was perfect.