Want to venture an

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

ljnowell

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
6,200
Location
The Peoples Republic of IL
Opinion on this one? Claim of a blown up Blackhawk. Is it likely to have happened as described? Your opinion and why.


http://www.lee-loader.com/viewtopic.php?t=801

This is what happens when you fire a 44 Mag in a 45 Long Colt, it happened I think about 10 years ago. I rotated the cylinder 90 degrees to show the damage better.

Factory ammo was being used, new box of 45 long colt. Apparently there was a 44 mag cartridge in the box. Our best guess was the cartridges got accidentally switched in the sporting goods store. I was told by the owner that they never found a piece of the metal that is missing. Nobody standing around got hit with anything. Even the guy firing it did not get hurt. The case head was still in the battery position, that is how they know for a fact that it was a 44 mag case.

9363F4E1-D7AD-47EF-8B5F-3669882A19D0.jpg
 
Bee ess, especially in a good, heavy revolver like a Blackhawk.

A .44 Mag. in a 45 Colt cylinder has EXTRA space by which pressure can be displaced, plus the bullet would fit very loosely in the barrel thereby allowing expanding gas to pass it further reducing pressure. It's like shooting a 20 ga. shotshell in a 16 ga. shotgun.

A few months ago during a busy, crowded shooting session here at the house, I inadvertently loaded my 45 Colt Vaquero out of the box of .44 Special handloads sitting on my shooting bench. I had a bunch of funky looking swelled .44 cases and I missed my 50 yd. gong every time!

35W
 
I didn't want to outright call anyone a liar, here was my reply:
That is really surprising. The Ruger Blackhawk cylinder will take 44 magnum pressure without blowing out. John linebaugh tested them to destruction and said that it took 60kpsi to destroy one.

When you take into consideration that the brass would swell to 45 colt case capacity(fireforming) and the fact that the .429-.430" bullet would have plenty of room in the bore the "over pressure" situation should not occur.

Something just doesn't add up in this story.
 
I don't really go along with the cause of the blown up handgun, but I do for a fact know that factory ammunition can get mixed up on occasion. We were shooting a large match in Cody, WY, a few years ago and two of the shooters were having a terrible time hitting the targets with their .45 Colt handguns and rifles, and they were shooting factory ammunition, since they didn't reload. Upon examination, it was found that all the .45 Colt boxes were filled with factory new .44-40 ammunition, and he had a whole case of it..........

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Truly an amateur at this so take this with a grain of salt...

Looks like those edges are jagged and sharp in most locations indicating an overpressure situation truly did cause the issue rather than fatigue cracking the cylinder as that would appear more stretched rather than sheared. Also from the photo it appears that the gun may have had a double discharge as in the shell in the 2 o'clock position discharged when the one at 12 o'clock did (likely high primer, very likely handload). If that round went off the bullet would impact the frame of the gun and could potentially have squished to seal the gasses in enough to cause an overpressure situation which blew out the 2 o'clock cylinder walls taking portions of the 12 o clock and 4 o clock walls with it as they are adjacent.

The round to question is not the round under the hammer but the one next to it.


Please feel free to correct any errors I have made in my observation.
 
I agree, there is really no way to build pressure when firing a .429"/.430" bullet in a gun made to fire .451"/.452" bullets. MAYBE if there was a barrel obstruction but I'm doubtful of that too.
 
I don't believe it.I've seen it done. one time one shell didn't do anything.Like other said less pressure
 
Sounds pretty hokey to me.
I know a .44-40 won't hurt a real Colt .45 Colt. True, not operating at stratospheric pressures, but you could see the mechanism that vented gas around the undersize bullet.

WestKy's scenario might well have demolished the gun, but can only be speculation.


Elmer Keith would have had the gun repaired and back in service.
 
I wonder why people waste so much time and effort posting ridiculous things such as this?? (Not talking about you lj) I can think of million things I'd rather be doing besides fabricating stories to post on the internet.

35W
 
I don't really go along with the cause of the blown up handgun,
Click to expand...
Me either. There will be a lot of blow by letting pressure escape. Not going to try it though.

Looks like a classic overload of fast burning powder.
 
That almost looks like the same revolver in my Speer #10 page 315. That picture is an example of what a 10 gr. over charge can do to a BH. The fracture line are very, very similar. However, the frame looks a bit more lifted up in the Speer example.

I can't personally buy that story of a 44 mag. cartridge being responsible for that 45LC coming a part like that. I would think worst case scenario would be a split piece of brass.

GS
 
looks like someone tried reloading and got confused between "ruger only section" and .454 casull.
 
Wow!
Perhaps the 44 bullet didn't have enough pressure to get it out of the barrel due to gas leakage and it lodged there. When the next 45 fired, the gun went boom.

Or as stated, just an over loaded cartridge
 
Seabeeken said:
Wow!

Perhaps the 44 bullet didn't have enough pressure to get it out of the barrel due to gas leakage and it lodged there. When the next 45 fired, the gun went boom.



Or as stated, just an over loaded cartridge
Click to expand...


I don't know, unless it tried to tumble a .429-.430" bullet shouldn't have a hard time getting down a .451" bore.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

murf
  • Locked
44 super
Replies
4
Views
655
murf
murf
F
  • Locked
Anybody loading 44-40, if so....
Replies
6
Views
563
Foto Joe
F
N
  • Locked
The Best Platform for Handloading? 45 Colt?
Replies
15
Views
2K
cheygriz
cheygriz
D
  • Locked
fired case and new bullet test
Replies
3
Views
668
dodgestdshift
D
B
  • Locked
RCBS Cowboy dies
Replies
5
Views
762
Wil Terry
W
Back
Top