I blowed up my gun!

[meshugunner]

Well not quite but close. Took my LC9 to the range to shoot my handloads - 125gn RN hard cast. First shot I fired, the firing pin flew out of the back of the gun and hit me in the face! Fortunately it had to drive the hammer back on the way out which robbed most of the momentum. It felt like I got hit by a flying case. The hammer has several peen divots on its face suggesting that the pin may have been trying to do this for a while. The pin is somewhere in the gravel at the range.

I called Ruger who told me they never heard of this happening. ( Why is it always me that invents a new species of catastrophe? ) Was I perhaps dry firing a lot with snap caps? they wanted to know. I do dry fire a lot. But always on an empty chamber. I only have a few hundred rounds through this pistol -it's pretty new. Gun is going back to the factory. I'm sure Ruger will do right. They always have.

I've shot this load many times through both my 9mm's without trouble. It's not a hot load. I load soft not hot. It couldn't have been a double charge because that's hard to do with win 231. The case overflows. Also, I am paranoid about that and always check. The primers were all in right. I check when I stack them in storage trays. It certainly didn't feel like a hard recoil.

Question is: Did I do something to make this happen or is it just my usual bizarre karma?

[MtGun44]

Primer punctured? If it had punctured, the gas would really slam the pin back HARD.
Maybe the firing pin has a sharp edge like a punch or a point, or something to punch
thru the primer.

Bill

[swheeler]

Well not quite but close. Took my LC9 to the range to shoot my handloads - 125gn RN hard cast. First shot I fired, the firing pin flew out of the back of the gun and hit me in the face! Fortunately it had to drive the hammer back on the way out which robbed most of the momentum. It felt like I got hit by a flying case. The hammer has several peen divots on its face suggesting that the pin may have been trying to do this for a while. The pin is somewhere in the gravel at the range.

I called Ruger who told me they never heard of this happening. ( Why is it always me that invents a new species of catastrophe? ) Was I perhaps dry firing a lot with snap caps? they wanted to know. I do dry fire a lot. But always on an empty chamber. I only have a few hundred rounds through this pistol -it's pretty new. Gun is going back to the factory. I'm sure Ruger will do right. They always have.

I've shot this load many times through both my 9mm's without trouble. It's not a hot load. I load soft not hot. It couldn't have been a double charge because that's hard to do with win 231. The case overflows. Also, I am paranoid about that and always check. The primers were all in right. I check when I stack them in storage trays. It certainly didn't feel like a hard recoil.

Question is: Did I do something to make this happen or is it just my usual bizarre karma?

I would rather dry fire on a snap cap than empty chamber

[rodsvet]

Is this a new pistol? Ruger is so backed up now that their QC is a little lacking. On another forum there are several posts about shoddy workmanship on guns being shipped. And one guy said that the replacement firearm was worse than the one he sent back to the factory. I haven't purchased any Rugers in 20 years, so I can't speak from personal experience, just relaying what I've read of late. Rod

[meshugunner]

Yes, had it a few weeks and put a few hundred rounds through it. I was about to have Galloway mod the hammer and trigger bar. Good thing I procrastinated - Ruger would have thrown those away.

They are indeed backed up. It took them 6 weeks to send me a Blackhawk they promised me - this was in July and they had just shut down for 2 weeks to revamp their setup. I have no complaints about that - I wasn't in a hurry and they gave me the Blackhawk because I wasnt happy with an LC22 I had bought.

I expect to hear from them this week

[leftiye]

Always have a snap cap or a fired primer to catch the firing pin. Plus 1 on what MtGun44 said most likely it would take a series of perforated primers to cause that. perforated primers have destroyed 93 Mausers. Lossa high pressure gasses.

[dragonrider]

Did you retrieve the case, if so what was it's condition???

[meshugunner]

The range is a gravel pit with a berm raised around it. I could not find the pin nor could I identify the particular case that came from that shot. I picked up all the 9mm brass I could find, some mine, some from others and none showed a burst primer case.

The pin was not unusually sharp and none of the strike marks on the spent primers ever looked close to being a puncture.

The hammer face showed several divots as if the back of the pin had struck it hard a number of times before this incident.

I'm inclined to think this was not due to a freak primer incident.

No where in the manual does it say to use snap caps. Whatever the shoulds and shouldn'ts of dryfiring, the damage should never amount to the pin breaking loose from its retention any more than the wheels fall off a car because you are clumsy with the clutch.

I expect to hear from Ruger CS in the next few days but probably they won't tell me much about what went wrong, just about how the gun is to be repaired or replaced. I will try to talk to a tech.

Browsing the internet, this gun seems to have performed very well with very few failures. For the time being, I put this down as one of those freak things that can happen with any manufacturer and not let it undermine my confidence in Rugers.

[meshugunner]

The LC9 came back yesterday. Ruger sure turns things around fast. Went out last Tues, came back the following Mon. I didn't pay a dime for shipping or repairs. With S&W it takes weeks till they even put the gun in the work queue. The letter said the firing pin had been replaced with no more explanation. However the hammer, which showed peening had not been replaced.

I called CS and asked why the hammer had not been replaced, and more importantly what the @#$! happened that the pin flew out the back and why should I trust this gun in the future? I got through to a tech (the one who actually worked on the gun) who said that the retaining pin, a cross pin that fits through a slot in the firing pin, had not been properly installed. He added that the guys who do the production assembly (which is done somewhere else, not in Prescott AZ) are rather rushed and sometimes this pin gets bent slightly which makes it prone to shearing or buckling. I know Ruger is swamped with orders these days and I have heard there are QC concerns. This is what Rodsvet had suggested.

As for the hammer: The hammer is a block of soft steel striking a hard firing pin. It is designed to seat itself against the pin in the first few firings and the peening I had complained about was just as it should be and should progress no further.

I am still uncomfortable with the whole thing but I am taking the attitude that Ruger has an outstanding rep for ruggedness and reliability and even the best companies turn out the occasional lemon. So I will give them a pass on this one. You don't give up on a trusted friend just because he screws up once.

The good news is that this was not about the ammo. As a new reloader I am always concerned that I did something stupid.

I'm off to buy an LCP

[41 mag fan]

He added that the guys who do the production assembly (which is done somewhere else, not in Prescott AZ) are rather rushed and sometimes this pin gets bent slightly which makes it prone to shearing or buckling. I know Ruger is swamped with orders these days and I have heard there are QC concerns. This is what Rodsvet had suggested.



That statement right there would worry me. They know they got a problem with the pin being bent by workers being in a hurry. That alone could be a setup for disaster for someone. Maybe worse injuries than you sustained. Plus it could become a liability issue for Ruger

[xs hedspace]

I could visualize this pin being bent from the firing pin whacking it when dry firing without a snap cap..BTW, you can make snap caps with emptys, by filling the primer hole with Devcon steel epoxy.

[RobsTV]

The LC9 came back yesterday. Ruger sure turns things around fast. Went out last Tues, came back the following Mon. I didn't pay a dime for shipping or repairs. With S&W it takes weeks till they even put the gun in the work queue. .....

Not to drift off topic on your thread, but seeing as Quality Control is mentioned, have to say recently my experience with S&W was the opposite. My latest S&W service a month ago was on a 1 day old Shield 40 that was dropping mags, had a rough trigger, and front sight blade was too short. Even though they too are swamped with orders, S&W only had it 4 days, and all work was perfect. Shipping both ways FedEx air on their dime. Previous couple times my S&W 500 was in for service this year and had it back within 2 weeks each time.

[meshugunner]

That statement right there would worry me. They know they got a problem with the pin being bent by workers being in a hurry. That alone could be a setup for disaster for someone. Maybe worse injuries than you sustained. Plus it could become a liability issue for Ruger

Yes it does worry me. I made it quite clear to CS that they were lucky I hadn't sustained a serious injury. After all, when sighting the gun, the pin is prettey much lined up with my eye. They didn't seem terribly worried. Either they have thought about it and decided that the potential for injury is low since the hammer is in the way and the pin can't escape at full velocity or ... well... they just aren't terribly worried.

I don't like it but I am not ready to change my assessment of Ruger. Not yet.

I don't know why I've had such a sour experience with S&W CS. I spoke to them a week ago and I am still waiting for an estimate to arrive in the mail. They won't contract for the work over the phone or email which is unusual these days. The gun was sent in for warranty and custom work.

[Bren R.]

To quote Fight Club:

"Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

Bren R.

[meshugunner]

Yes something like that, except a company like Ruger must also factor the cost to their reputation into the expected value.

[JIMinPHX]

Ruger just announced that they are going to pay a $4 dividend around Dec. 9 or so. I wonder if the rush to get things out the door has something to do with them trying to bundle together cash to pay the dividend.

[JIMinPHX]

I'm off to buy an LCP

The LCP is a cute little carry piece. I've seen the price down around $300 lately. When they first came out, they were almost impossible to find & the prices were a bit crazy.

[meshugunner]

The LCP is a cute little carry piece. I've seen the price down around $300 lately. When they first came out, they were almost impossible to find & the prices were a bit crazy.

Yeah it's very cute. One of Ruger's big hits. I got one for $269 on GunsAmerica. This will be my first .380. The Dillon conversion kit is on its way.

I was going to get an NAA mini in .22mag but decided on the LCP instead. Not as small but still an effective SD caliber and one that I can reload.