STI Kaboom at tonight's USPSA Match

[thegreatdane]

Tonight was Whistling Pines' indoor USPSA match. During the second stage a very competent shooter's STI suffered a KBoom. Apparently it fired out of battery which locked the action with blown case. Needless to say, he did not complete the stage.

Thankfully, he walked away with all his digits. It did not damage the pistol in any noticeable way. It just goes to show, even those $3000 handguns can and do fail. Of course this commentary is made without knowing the exact details of his load, etc.

Glad he was ok.

Oh a separate note, I placed 5th of 25 overall! Hot dang. I don't know how that happened. Anyway, it has been a while since I've competed and I was exceptionally happy with the results. :lovebooli

[mike in co]

ok so someone explain to me how a 1911 format gun fires out of battary.......

( on my guns..if the slide is not 100% forward and locked..it will not fire)


mike in co

[fishhawk]

well mike i would suspect a primer that wasn't seated and sat to high and when the slide face hit the primer stripping it from the mag it went off only thing i can think of. steve k

[scrapcan]

Mike,

Here is one way it can happen.

a high primer and rapid fire with a lighter or progressive recoil spring.

Slide rapid to the back after fired round, slide back much faster than design for, force overcomes spring and over compresses it, then spring works and slide goes forward quicker than designed for, and then it contacts the high primer. And the rest of the story can be shown in the original post.

[thegreatdane]

Hey Mike, that's what the shooter said after the blown case was removed.

He may not have been 100% correct, and the exact cause is not known; however, it did kaboom with a target load.

My post was to report witnessing a Kb in person. It sounded different, gun locked up, and it was indeed a 1911.

[thegreatdane]

a high primer and rapid fire with a lighter or progressive recoil spring.

I do recall a super light spring (from how he cycled it during make ready), and yes he was one of the faster shooters. That's probably the best guess.

[dubber123]

I would think a chunk of crud sticking the firing pin froward could do it also. Last year at a match a fellows Colt malfunctioned. When I looked at it, I noticed the pin was sticking out of the boltface, and woudn't retract. I disassembled it, expecting a broken and lodged pin. I found nothing wrong, and after reassembly, it was fine. I can only think I must have missed a chunk of primer or something else hard lodged in the firing pin hole.

[BeemerMark]

I don't know about an STI but I assume we're talking about a 1911. I've had this happen to me and at first I thought my 1911 fired out of battery. I think it is impossible to fire out of battery though. However, most 1911s do not have a ramped barrel. The rear of the case is not supported. A hot round, or a bad case, can blow out the the base of the unsupported case. The blast is directed downward thru the magazine stack. I doubt if it is really dangerous unless your not wearing saftey glasses. I had a very small bid of powder residue puncture my face, which drew a little blood. Split my wood grips. Otherwise no harm no fowl.

[exile]

Just curious, was this STI chambered in .40 S & W?

exile

[mike in co]

my guess is a double charge in a lite target load........
and

it must be an out of battary....

cause I, THE LOADER OF THE AMMO, NEVER DOUBLE CHARGE..


mike in co

[MtGun44]

I'll bet on dbl chg, too.

NEVER seen a 1911 fire out of battery, and in 30+ yrs of IPSC competition most Fri nights
and many Sats I have see many millions of rounds fired thru them, and nearly every
failure that you can imagine, many types more than once. In a 1911 high primers cause
a first try misfire as the fp seats the primer. They ALWAYS fire on the second try.

Dbl chg is about 100,000 times more likely than firing out of battery. Embarrassment
is a common cause of lying.

Bill

[waksupi]

I have managed to find other ways of over charging a cartridge. I've been loading .44 magnums in my winter reloading marathon. I saw one case had a powder level higher than the others, so dumped it, and re-charged it. Still too much!!???
So, I dumped the powder out again, and looking inside the case, I found some tumbling media stuck in the case. Had I ignored, or not seen it, it would have certainly led to high pressures.

[thegreatdane]

Just curious, was this STI chambered in .40 S & W?
Nope .45


my guess is a double charge in a lite target load........
and

it must be an out of battary....

cause I, THE LOADER OF THE AMMO, NEVER DOUBLE CHARGE..
Quite possible.

Who knows. I'm merely the reporter. I just found it interesting and though ya'll would too.