USP bullet lodged in barrel test, fact or fiction

[chickenfried]

Hey guys. I've seen references to a USP being tested with a bullet lodged in the barrel, and coming out still functioning. Is this fact or internet bs? Thanks for the info.
Here's one of the places I saw it usp torture test

 

[10-Ring]

I'm voting fact.

 

[Tamara]

Obstructed bore tests are common in service sidearm competitions. USP's, SIGs, Glocks, Rugers, Berettas, and others have all passed them.

 

[Brasso]

Embarassing as it is, I had a reload of mine, a .45, lodge in the barrel of my SA once. It was a standard power load. Not max, but not light either. I didn't know it and fired another round. All that happened was I had two bullets stuck in the barrel. I punched them out with a wooden dowl and the gun still shot as good as new. No buldge or anything. I did spend the next hour making sure the rounds actually left the barrel though.

 

[444]

I also vote fact.

I have personally fired two of my guns with an obstructed bore, not that I am proud of it or anything. One was a Ruger PC9. The first shot sounded perfectly normal. The second shot definitely didn't. I assumed there was a problem and was right. No damage done at all.
I filled the barrel of a S&W Model 27 from one end to the other with bullets and it did no damage to the gun (or shooter) at all. That is a longer story and one which I have told several times before on this board.

So, based on that, I wouldn't find it hard to believe at all. I am not sure what you mean by "coming out still functioning". I assume you mean, after the bore was cleared of the obstruction.

 

[chickenfried]

well I learned something new today. I always thought firing a second bullet when one was already lodged in the barrel would result in serious damage to the firearm and maybe the shooter.

The second bullet cleared the barrel, resulting in a barely noticeable bulge. The pistol was then fired for accuracy and the resulting group measured less than 2.5 inches at 25 meters.

 

[444]

I am not saying it couldn't under the right conditions. I don't know, maybe a rifle operating at much higher pressure than a handgun would cause serioius damage. But, my experience with handguns doesn't show those results. I am still shooting both guns and with my unaided eye, I can see no damage at all. As I mentioned, I once fired something like seven rounds out of a Smith 27, one on top of the other until the cylinder wouldn't rotate because a bullet was stuck between the cylinder and the barrel and once the bullets were removed, it worked fine.

Not to take anything away from standard safety practices, but several of the things I constantly read about being horribly dangerous are things I have done by accident and it was pretty much a non-event.

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

In the H&K catalog, it has a picture of the barrel and bulge and test targets from before and after. It's not hard to believe, so I would say it is fact.

 

[New_comer]

Go to HKPRO.com and search for "doctabako" and his recent experience with a USP 45 when he cleared out a squib with the subsequent shot. It resulted to a slight bulging near the barrel's throat

Still uses the same barrel until now with no change in the gun's performance. Tough, huh...

 

[hksw]

Fact. When the USP first came out, HK had the photos of the tested gun in their official catalogs for 2 or 3 years. Pne of the photos was of the bulged barrel cut in half, IIRC.

 

[Checkman]

A couple of weeks ago one of the detectives in my department had a round stuck in the barrel of his G23 during qualification. He didn't know it at the time and fired another round. The gun and barrel are fine, but Glock is replacing hte barrel for nothing. The ammo manufactuer is replacing the lot of ammo as well. There were other squibs that day - is that the right word?

 

[Master Blaster]

As I mentioned, I once fired something like seven rounds out of a Smith 27, one on top of the other until the cylinder wouldn't rotate because a bullet was stuck between the cylinder and the barrel and once the bullets were removed, it worked fine.

We have a model 27 made in 1963 at our club that blew to pieces firing light wadcutter loads. When the first one was stuck in the barrel the shooter did not relize it and fired a second shot. The forcing cone cracked the frame lost a chunk of the topstrap and the barrel seperated from the frame.

So while you may have been lucky, I would urge everyone to check the barrel if anything sounds or feels funny before you fire the next shot.

 

[cidirkona]

How often an occurence is this...?

-Colin

 

[444]

"I would urge everyone to check the barrel if anything sounds or feels funny before you fire the next shot."

I completely agree; as I mentioned, I am not trying to present a attitude that this is in any way safe. You need to be aware of what is going on and practice safety at every turn.

 

[chickenfried]

Hey guys . I ended up buying a full size usp 9mm today. Well put a deposit down at least have to jump throught all the california hoops. Man what a shock after months of trying to decide on my next firearmspurchase, I was considering a rifle, handgun, or even a shotgun. I thought I had made up my mind a blued colt 1911 to go with my stainless Kimber. But a sale ad caught my eye and a dealer closer, price matched. Ran over after work put a deposit down.

 

[Gunhead]

One bullet is nothing guys...

Check this out!

 

[DragonRider]

Isn't that the MP5 Barrel you showed us on HKPro??

 

[Gunhead]

Yes.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Master Blaster and guys.

MB, that is not the result I would expect from light wadcutter loads. Maybe the first round had no powder while the second had a double charge (very possible when diddling with a progressive loader).

Barrel damage from a stuck bullet depends also on where the stuck bullet is. If it is directly in front of, and in contact with, the bullet being fired, both bullets will usually exit with no damage. But if the stuck bullet is some way up the barrel, the bullet being fired has time to build up velocity and energy. When it is stopped or slowed by the stuck bullet, the built up kinetic energy has to go somewhere. The result is high heat and usually a bulged barrel. Even if the barrel is apparently undamaged, it may have been weakened in that spot.

Jim