Why did xd blow up?

[Arrow]

My buddy has an xdm 5.25" 9mm. He just swapped out the barrel for a stormlake threaded barrel for a suppressor. The ammo we are shooting has been shot in my Glock 19 with a factory barrel and a Kkm threaded barrel. Also shot through his xdm factory barrel. No problems other than a bit of leading that we can't seam to get rid of. We are casting mihec 125 penta 9mm bullets with 20:1 with 3.6 grains tight group. Very mild load. We have tried different size bullets from .356 up to .3585". When his barrel blew up (split the top of the barrel in front of the chamber for a couple inches) he was shooting .3585" with same powder charge. The barrel was brand new and blew up halfway through the second mag. There was not a squib load before hand. My question is what could have caused this? Is .3585" too big for a 9mm? Could this diameter billet with leading cause enough pressure to blow up? Looking at the brass leading up to the incident there were absolutely no pressure signs. I'm all nervous now, should we not shoot bullets that fat in a 9mm? We didn't get a chance to slug his new barrel and it's too late now anyway. Thanks for the help.

[Blackwater]

From what you've given us, it's strictly a complete guess, but something that often crops up in these cases of blown up autos, is simply having a bullet get pushed back into the case, thus sometimes skyrocketing pressures. Can't say this is it, but .... all I can do is guess. That or a double charge of fast burning powder? It happens. Powder can sometimes bridge the opening of the powder funnel at the bottom of a powder measure, and thus throw a light charge in one case, and then when the next charge is thrown, the caught up powder drops PLUS the regular charge. If the first one fires, the next one can, especially with fast powders like TG and others, be enough to take a gun apart. The fast burners, like TG, also can react to a bullet set back into the case from feeding rather strongly, and really CAN blow up a gun.

No way to know what happened in your buddy's case, but this is my best guesses. I see so many relative newbies reloading now, and taking all the shortcuts they can, that I often at least TRY to point out where mistakes like these can happen, but most of the younger crowd are in too big a hurry to take them seriously, so I don't do this nearly as often any more. Have been called "crazy" and all manner of other things, but after having blown up a Super Blackhawk once, I really AM leery of a repeat!!! Believe me, it's a POWERFUL lesson, and one I'll never forget. Yet, things like just replacing the little .22 cal. drop tube on the powder measure with the large .30 cal. one seems to be "too much trouble" for many of the young lions in reloading, and that alone can and often does prevent powder bridging, even with long stick type powders. If that's just too much trouble, then .... oh well, at least I tried.

Another relevant factor is crimping for autos in a separate and last step. Most young lions today want to speed things up, and poo poo this, but it's the best way I know to get reliable ammo for autos. Crimping and seating in a single step always pushes up a little "ring" of very thin lead at the front of the case mouth because the die is still going down, pushing the bullet deeper, as the crimp is simultaneouslyy applied. This little ring of lead often sticks to the mouth of the chamber, and is sometimes even sheared off as the ctg. is fired, leaving that little ring at the front of your chamber, shortening it. This won't likely blow up a gun, but it sure makes reliability of feeding go south rapidly! However, it can also mask things like a particularly thin sample of brass that doesn't want to hold the bullet well, and thus, could, at least in rare instances, let the bullet be pushed down into the case, and thus skyrocket pressures. This CAN blow up guns.

Unfortunately, many (no, not all, but "many") of the young lions getting into reloading have more enthusiasm than they seem to have discretion, and our beloved hobby CAN be wrought with dangers if we're not attentive to simple logic and reality. There really do seem to be more "young lions" experiencing what your friend did these days, with all the new interest in reloading, and so many newer people doing it. Combine that with the stress on a young man's time, and it's "natural" to want to cut corners here and there, but they really DO have consequences sometimes, as I'm sure your buddy can attest to now?

There are REASONS why we old timers give out the advice we do, and though we can't help if it's what many young lions WANT to hear, it's at least what will keep them out of most troubles that we deal with when we take it upon ourselves to take up reloading our own ammo.

Just glad your friend wasn't hurt physically. It's an awfully humbling thing to blow up a gun. I know from experience!

[Arrow]

Thank you very much for all the advise. I don't think it could have been pushed back into the case. Like I said, these bullets are pretty big diameter and it's pretty tight going into the casing. It would take some serious force to seat them in deeper unintentionally. I don't see how a double charge would be possible. The ammo was loaded on a Dillon 650. I have been reloading for 11 years now and him about 8. Anything could have went wrong with the load I guess but for future ammo, my concern is bullet diameter. Is .3585" diameter too big for a 9mm? Could this raise to dangerous pressure especially in a leaded bore? Thanks again for all the help.

[dragonrider]

The only way to know if the boolit is too big is to slug the barrel, however it seems you missed your chance to do that. Shooting boolits and not slugging the barrel means all you can do is guess at what happened. I shoot 358 boolits in my nines they both slugged at 356-357, I have no leading to speak of. By the way you can double charge on a 650, I use one and I have done so, fortunately I visually check the powder in each case before inserting the boolit.

[Char-Gar]

Questions about folks blowing up their autopistols with cast bullet show up here from time to time and the most likely reasons are well known. Here they are;

1. An overcharge of powder...yes it happens..even though folks day they didn't do it.

2. The bullet being shoved back into the case as it hits the feed ramp of the pistol, due to wrong type or inadequate crimp. This sometimes happens when folks over crimp reducing the size of the bullets and then the brass springs back leaving insufficient case tension on the bullet to prevent set back. This is far more common than folks thing.

It is not likely the use of a .3585 bullet had anything to do with the blow up or a possibly leaded barre. I would estimate that to about a 99.5% certainty, it is one of the two above causes. Yes, I know that your or your pal could not have done any of those two thing, and you are convinced of that, but you most likely did. Dillon machines are good machines, but only as good a the man operating it. Over powdering the case is not that hard to do.

Lead alloy bullets will compress in the crimping process whereas gliding metal jacketed bullets will not. Lead alloy bullets are also "slicker" and require less pressure to move one in the case.

[DougGuy]

I will go along with Char-Gar on the two most likely reasons.

It wouldn't necessarily have to be a double charge but if the rhythm of the press was disturbed and vibration allowed powder to settle in the measuring chamber it's possible to have an overcharge. Presses have a "cycle" about them where the normal operation produces a semi predictable amount of powder in the measuring chamber, and less vibration tends to reduce the powder, more vibration tends to settle it and increase the amount of powder in the chamber.

If the loads are already near max charges, you could get an overcharge in this manner. If for some reason the one piece of brass did not have as much neck tension or the crimp didn't affect it in the same way, set back could easily occur when the boolit is fed into the barrel. IF the boolit was a little bit tight going into the throat of the barrel, it's very possible that set back could occur here because as the slide closes the last little bit, it could have more leverage against the case head and instead of cramming the boolit into the freebore of the barrel throat, it could cram it back into the case.

You DO want to check the boolit fitment in the throat. For best accuracy, you DO want the sides of the boolit fully into the freebore when the round is seated in the chamber. There should be NO resistance to this, hence they call it the "plunk" test when you drop an assembled round into the chamber. It should drop in easily with no resistance and you will hear an audible "plunk" when it headspaces on the case mouth.

Freebore that is too tight can shave lead as boolits are fired, and lead can build up in the throat until the resistance to chambering the round is greater than the resistance to movement of the boolit provided by neck tension and/or crimp, then guess which one is going to win.

Using .358" boolits in a stock barrel is iffy. Even the KKM barrels that have been sent here would not accept a .358" before throating. Almost no factory barrel will plunk a .358" and you guys were using .3585" boolits?

So.. It's hard to say exactly what caused the KB but my guess is that there was more than just one thing going on. My guess is that some leading of the throat had something to do with it simply by my experience with throating barrels and I am guessing that barrel when it was new might not have plunked a .358" unless it was seated farther in the case. I think had a .358" boolit been used with a .3585" throat on a proper 3° taper, there is no ledge or purchase left there where lead could build up. This could allow a longer COA which in most guns feeds better, and the longer the COA the more forgiving the round will be of tiny amounts of setback.

Take 2-3 elements here and add them together, suppose there was very slight leading at the case mouth and caused and interference with the boolit thereby setting it back in the case a tiny bit, this would raise pressure. If the round was already seated deep even a tiny bit of set back can raise pressures dramatically, and if this round had gotten shook in the press and a little heavier powder charge was dropped, now you have an over pressure event.

[hithard]

Your squib load should have caught your attention, that powder ended up somewhere....I'm gonna say in the round that blew the barrel.

slow down in your reloading, you shouldn't be asking questions of boolit size in reference to a blow up at this point. Start out with the simple loads, I can tell you that you will learn plenty by just doing that, if you keep your eyes open. Then start to build on the things you notice. I say notice, as in noticing things that are there and more importantly things that are not.

Remember, big ammo manufactures' have R-D labs as well as quality control. Your reloading bench is no different, so you need to be doing all of these things.

if your not asking questions your probably going to make a mistake. Ask these questions before you make your moves. No one here that is worth there salt is going to look down their nose at you for asking even the simplest of questions.

[Char-Gar]

The reasons the previously fired rounds showed no abnormal pressure is because they were not the ones that blew up the gun. The bad round was an anomaly and did the deed.

There really is no mystery to this thing. The pistol blew up due to a serious over pressure round. Operator error in the reloading process was the cause of the over pressure round. There are no gremlins or hobgoblins out there trying to blow up your gun, it is s$%& we do ourselves. We need to own that and stop trying find strange, quirky and esoteric reason to explain common reloading screw ups.

[badbob454]

My thought is possibly the leading in the barrel and the slightly fat boolit, may have caused it possibly running out of lube ?near the end of the barrel ?

[Beef15]

I've shoved .360" bullets through a 9mm that slugs .3565 in the widest grooves, no issue other than having to seat deep to pass the plunk test.

I've also Loaded some commercial cast coated .356" 147s that as it happens were very inconsistent making a regular occurrance of jamming the lands hard enough to make "unload and show clear" near impossible. No obvious pressure, no damage, not sure how many of the five hundred actually did this, most were shot in practice before the match, zero chambering issuses. I plunk test as much larger sample now.

TG is known as a unforgiving powder, and it is very dense, powder cops and visual confirmation may not catch a variance large enough to cause problems. Set back is of course another potential.

[mozeppa]

Your squib load should have caught your attention, that powder ended up somewhere....I'm gonna say in the round that blew the barrel.

slow down in your reloading, you shouldn't be asking questions of boolit size in reference to a blow up at this point. Start out with the simple loads, I can tell you that you will learn plenty by just doing that, if you keep your eyes open. Then start to build on the things you notice. I say notice, as in noticing things that are there and more importantly things that are not.

Remember, big ammo manufactures' have R-D labs as well as quality control. Your reloading bench is no different, so you need to be doing all of these things.

if your not asking questions your probably going to make a mistake. Ask these questions before you make your moves. No one here that is worth there salt is going to look down their nose at you for asking even the simplest of questions.

he typed that there was NOT a squib before hand.

[MrWolf]

I found that my radio which is near my reloading press when playing would slightly distort my powder drops. No it was not loud but the vibrations were enough that when I turned it off the slight variations went away. Now no radio or anything while I reload. Just an observation that may or may not be relevant.

[country gent]

Many things or combinations of things can cause a blow up. Wrong bullets, to hot of load ( just because a load is safe in 1 or 2 firearms dosnt mean its safe in all due to chamber throat diffrences bore dias and such), Also cases have diffrent capicities tension meaning a bullet could be pushed back nto cases with hard functioning loads. One other that comes up here is the "new barrel" was it properly fitted and checked for headspace lock up and timing? Just because a barrel is new dosnt always mean its right. Metalurgical problems can happen occassionally with parts. Alot affects this and trying to trouble shoot after the fact with very basic information is next to imposible.

[MT Chambers]

I don't believe that it was the fat bullet, most likely a double charge, or bullet pushed in on chambering, these things are what makes me load all my metallic cartridges on a single stage press. I always peer into the charged cases with a flashlight to ensure powder levels are the same, before proceeding.

[oldfart1956]

As has already been stated it's almost certainly an overcharge/double-charge with the added possibility of bullet set-back. All I'm going to add is be very careful when using Titegroup. I'm running it now in 9mm and testing it in .45acp. I plan on trying it in .40s&w and .45 colt as well. I'm on my 2nd. pound in 9mm and at 3.5 grains that's about 4K. rounds loaded and fired/tested. What you have to watch with Titegroup is the difference between working and handing you a basket full'a pistol parts is very small. Lyman shows the beginning load for the 147gr. boolit at 2.5gr. and max is 2.8 grains. Not a lot of room for error there. Even josteling the powder measure might compact enough to do that. I doubt a double charge would even be noticed unless you stuck an eyeball right down in the case. So be careful out there. And I do love that powder so not a critique of Titegroup here. Audie...the Oldfart..

[Ramjet-SS]

Based on the location of the damage I would say double charge. After market barrels usually have much tighter chambers than factory so I over charge will climb in pressure dramatically faster.

Squib would still be there if that was the case the second bullet and next and frankly I have seen an Model 29 with three bullets stacked up with no barrel damage. Now it is possible you had a detonation with grossly reduced load it is rare but I have seen that happen and the barrel usually blows in front or at the chamber end.

[dragon813gt]

I have to ask since you mentioned a Dillon 650. Were you using a powder cop die?

[MtGun44]

Almost all blown up pistols are due to double charges of powder.
Most folks spend forever "proving" that it couldn't happen to them,
but it did. Powders and boolits are pretty predictable and do NOT
do weird stuff like this. However, twice the normal charge is a very
reliable and proven way to blow up a gun, tested by thousands.

Human error.

[waksupi]

I firmly believe anyone who uses a progressive reloader will eventually experience an event like this. If you are going to use them, accept it, and don't look for excuses afterwards. Between mechanical and human failure, it's just how the odds work out. Single stage reloaders can still have the event, but it is less likely, as each cartridge is inspected multiple times during the process of reloading.

[captaint]

And the OP seems to insist on believing it was the .3585 boolit. Which it WAS NOT. What are you gonna do ????

[CJR]

Here's what I did, when my sons were teenagers and I taught them how to use a Dillon 550B to reload 45ACP. I wanted to minimize the possibility of a double charge, a poor crimp that allowed the bullet to be pushed deeper into the case on chambering and cause high pressures, and seating a bullet into an empty case where it could lodge in the barrel for the next live round. Here's what I did;
1. Picked a powder, that if double-charged would spill all over the 550B and prevent the seating of a bullet and require clean-up. I picked Blue Dot.
2. Assembled dummy rounds (i.e. no powder, no primer) and taper crimped them and measured the OAL. Then I chambered them into the semi-auto piece 20 to 30 times, measuring the OAL each time to see if the OAL got shorter. If the OAL got shorter, I increased the taper crimp until the OAL did not change.
3. I placed a hi-intensity light over the bullet insertion station to visually check if the case had powder before I inserted the bullet.

These steps worked well for me and my sons are now adults with their own families. Hope this helps someone.

Best regards,

CJR

[Teddy (punchie)]

Any one hurt?

Brass where is the empty? May tell something. Only so many things that can be cause. Pressure, something in the barrel, bullet damaged and twisted in barrel?

[Char-Gar]

I firmly believe anyone who uses a progressive reloader will eventually experience an event like this. If you are going to use them, accept it, and don't look for excuses afterwards. Between mechanical and human failure, it's just how the odds work out. Single stage reloaders can still have the event, but it is less likely, as each cartridge is inspected multiple times during the process of reloading.

You are not the only one to hold such a belief. Count me as another.

[Ramjet-SS]

I firmly believe anyone who uses a progressive reloader will eventually experience an event like this. If you are going to use them, accept it, and don't look for excuses afterwards. Between mechanical and human failure, it's just how the odds work out. Single stage reloaders can still have the event, but it is less likely, as each cartridge is inspected multiple times during the process of reloading.

Agree 100% and yes I use a progressive press.

[dragon813gt]

You'd have to do the math but statistically I'm thinking there is a greater chance for error when loading on a single stage. Yes, you will have more time to inspect the cartridge. But the more times you handle them the greater the chance for an error. W/ a progressive you handle each case one time. I'm talking strictly statistics.

No matter what it's human error. There is more going on at once on a progressive which is where people make mistakes. Still haven't heard if a powder cop die was used because they help prevent a charge error.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

We can probably agree that custom barrels are usually cut very close to the "standard" bullet diameter for a particular caliber. In this case, most off the shelf bullet for 9mm are .355. So, .3585 in a tight bore might contribute to a problem, and is a size more like what I might load for my .357 Mag. Did an individual bullet slip through unsized, or were the bullets sized at all? Maybe the one that did the damage was even larger? And the O.P. says that he fires the same load in his Glock factory barrel, and there's a little leading that they can't get rid of, so I see the next problem coming. Glock factory barrels are known not to tolerate cast bullets and leading. :not listening:

[dragon813gt]

Glock factory barrels are known not to tolerate cast bullets and leading. :not listening:

Wrong, there is a lengthy thread about shooting cast in Glocks. It's one of those rumors that is spoken as fact. We've put thousands down then barrel of my Uncle's G23 w/ no issues.

[jmort]

"It's one of those rumors that is spoken as fact."

Wrong. It is a fact beyond dispute that the manufacturer, Glock, specifically says do not shoot lead bullets out of their guns. If I had one, I would do it, but Glock says otherwise. So your choice is to believe posts on a forum or the manufacturer. They also say no reloads, I would also shoot reloads. But Gocks can and do lead as do other types of rifling, but the polygonal rifling is less tolerant comparatively. Hence the manufacturer warning. I don't believe there are any other manufacturers that do not recommend lead bullets.


"Can I use lead bullets?
No, we recommend the use of jacketed ammunition only."

What kind of ammunition should I use in my Glock pistol?
Do not use reloaded, remanufactured, or handloaded ammunition because it may not meet applicable SAAMI, CIP or NATO standards and could cause death, serious personal injury, or property damage. Only use high quality commercially manufactured ammunition in the same caliber as your Glock pistol. (Note: Use of reloaded, remanufactured, or handloaded ammunition will void the warranty).

https://us.glock.com/customer-service/faq

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Yeah--I know. But the Glock factory warns not to do it and will void your warranty in case of mishap or proof that you've been using cast regardless of an incident or not. Since they make the gun, I wonder if they know what they're talking about? Some folks get away with following poor practices for a long time. Luck? Others get hammered the first time. Your eyes and fingers...your call. My last word about a much debated subject.

[dragon813gt]

Glock saying not to do it and saying the barrels don't tolerate it are two different things. All things being equal conventional rifling is more forgiving when it comes to cast bullets. Every manufacturer says no reloads. Bet everyone here follows that one as well.

If you shoot cast and don't check barrel condition routinely you are asking for trouble.

[35remington]

Glock advises not using reloads and it's okay to ignore that advice. Glock says not to use lead bullets which are almost always reloads and it's okay to follow that advice.

Given my experience with Glocks it's a bit of a stretch to follow one set of advice from Glock but somehow arbitrarily ignore the other advice.

Either way you're on your own. Some of the speculation about just how lead bullets cause problems in Glocks makes better entertainment than informative analysis.

A double charge is the probability with greatest odds in its favor.

[Larry Gibson]

Arrow

Did the case involved exhibit any sighs of flattened primer, enlarged primer pocket or rupture at the case head?

Was the frame or slide damaged?

Larry Gibson

[376Steyr]

An overcharge heavy enough to split a barrel should have also destroyed the brass case and done other damage as well, which the OP didn't mention. I'll throw out another possibility: A defective aftermarket barrel. The OP also said the barrel was threaded for a suppressor, but didn't say if a suppressor was attached at the time of the incident. Bad things can happen when a suppressor is installed misaligned. I'm staying tuned for updates.

[35remington]

The problem with all this gun blowup speculation is that it tends to distract the OP from looking for clues to solve the problem.

More information and pictures would be helpful. Absent that information these blowup threads tend to degenerate into an exercise in conspiracy theory.

[DougGuy]

For all the Glock guys who are listening in, I believe the OP said it was a Storm Lake barrel that split so that leaves out all the possibilities (and the cautions) from Glock about shooting cast, or reloads, or handloads, etc...

[35remington]

Point taken.

As as for cause, if you wanna know you've got to show everything. The ability of this forum to troubleshoot is pretty decent.

[Blackwater]

Let me see if this'll help. I blew up a Super Blackhawk once, many years ago now. I couldn't believe it, either, and was sure enough it wasn't a "bad load" that I'd have sworn on a stack of Bibles that it wasn't my fault. I'd loaded many, many thousands of rounds by that time, and just could not, in review, find ANY room for error. I'd charged cases and checked them all for proper powder level in all cases, etc., etc., etc. There just APPEARED TO ME to be NO WAY I could have caused it, and yet, I was mystified how it could have happened any other way but an overpressure round. In my case, the round under the hammer blew, welding what was left of the ctg. case to what was left of that cylinder, and blew out the chamber next to it as well. The top strap was cracked 2/3 of the way across the top at the rear sight cutout, and the topstrap was buckled upward slightly. Even the bottom strap that houses the trigger, etc. was very slightly bulged outward! EVERYTHING pointed to an overpressure round, but because I just couldn't see how it was done, I just couldn't let myself accept that. After a week, and several conversations with my gunsmith and friend, and other really good realoaders, they all said it was an overpressure round - it HAD to be. I understood that, but .... well, HOW? If I didn't find out HOW I'd done it, I couldn't accept it, AND couldn't be sure it might not happen again.

It had been a week after the blowup, and I kept going back over and over again every little thing I'd done, and could find nothing. One afternoon, I went back to the reloading room, and poured some of my "2400" into a saucer to visually examine it. It didn't look right. it was shiny, and 2400 is pretty dull gray, usually. I suddenly had a sinking feeling in my heart! Then I thought back to the previous loading session BEFORE I'd loaded the round that blew the SB up. I'd loaded 231 because my can of 2400 can was nearly empty! "Uh oh!" I immediately thought. So I got my can of 231 down, and poured some of THAT in another saucer. Hmmmm. Looked identical! Same sparkly shine, same granule size, same color. This was disturbing, and I began having a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I rode over to a buddy's house who had some 2400, and I immediately recognized its very different look compared to the 231 I'd brought with me in an old film canister. It took a while for me to LET it all sink in, but the scenario was plain. The session before I loaded the blowup round was late - very late. I began reloading at after midnight, and when I was done, it was after 3:00 a.m. I'd just spent a week in training and didn't get home Friday night until late, warmed up some dinner and started to go to bed because I was so tired and worn out. But deer season was opening in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to take one with my SB. I hadn't been shooting that one much, so thought I'd load up a bunch of rounds and "re-groove" my hand with it. I loaded up 300+ rds. and had reached for my can of 2400, my usual powder for that gun and bullet, and found it was nearly empty. Then I picked up a can of 231 I'd meant to try for a while, and loaded up the 300+ rds. with that, in two different charge wts. This is where my own little epiphany happened. AFTER loading those 300+ rds. up, I'd taken my powder hopper, and emptied it back into the can. UNFORTUNATELY, out of sheer force of habit, and probably due to my fatigue, I reached for my 2400 can, and poured my hopper full of 231 into the can of 2400, THUS SETTING MYSELF UP FOR THE NEXT SESSION TO CREATE THE LOAD THAT BLEW UP MY GUN. That sinking feeling in my gut immediately hit its bottom-most position! Yeah! I'd screwed up! I wasn't quite as "fool proof" as I'd thought, and always tried to be. I was one of the most careful and meticulous and just plain crabby reloaders you'll ever see, but .... well, I DID screw up - BIG TIME! I'm just grateful to Bill Ruger for "overbuilding his guns, and even then, I dang near blew the top strap off that massively strong gun!!!!

It's VERY humbling to realize that you CAN make mistakes, but it CAN also save your or someone else's life! People ARE harmed when guns blow up, and though we all (well, "most of us") TRY to be perfect, none of us quite makes that grade. People HAVE loaded half a million and more rounds with zero blowups, but if you take note of them, they're always the ones who never get in a hurry, always check and recheck their equipment, components and techhiques, and are leery of blowup materials. They'll check powder level, particularly, in EVERY case they load, all the time, without ANY exceptions, and they don't make mistakes, in brief, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN! If that seems paradoxical, keep reading it until it makes sense. There's no way to defend against mistakes if you don't think you CAN make one, is there?

This is embarassing every time I tell this story, but if it'll illustrate how things CAN happen, then it's worth it. My ego has never been much of a problem for me. I just want to know the Truth with a capital "T."

And BTW, yes, I did take the rest of those blowup rounds apart. Spoiled the bullets in the process, but I was NOT about to leave double charged cases laying about lest one might be chambered in my or another's gun, so it was a very small price to pay for my mistake, I figured.

I know it's difficult to accept that you made a mistake unless and until you find out HOW it happened, but I'll guarantee you that whoever loaded those rounds DID, by some means or another, let a double charge get in, almost surely. If you are sure it wasn't bullet setback, which is hard to believe having been loaded on a progressive, then it HAS to be an overcharge, and that really CAN happen rather easily. Check the nozzle on the powder measure and if it's a .22 cal., replace it with a .30 cal. unless you're loading something smaller than .30 cal., and you may (probably will) never see another problem. That bigger hole in the .30 cal. drop tube nozzle is MUCH harder to "plug up" or get bridged with any powder than the .22 cals. This is one of those "little things" that many won't take the time to do, that I suspect have caused more than a few problems for folks along the way. FWIW? Just hope it helps. Now I'll go lick my wounds that seem to open up every time I mention this mishap. Remember, stay humble (out of fashion these days, I know, but still valuable) and never take ANYTHING for granted. NOTHING!

[dragon813gt]

And that's a perfect example why you only have one can of powder on the bench at a time. Pull out what you're using and leave it on the bench while you're working. Always pour any remaining powder back into the can when you're done. And then put the can away. If you only have one can out you can't mix up the powders.

[canyon-ghost]

9mm is also prone to pressure spikes, as per Speer #13.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Thank you, Blackwater. It takes a big man to be able to admit his mistakes and to share them for the benefit* of others.

*hopefully

[FergusonTO35]

Storm Lake tubes are excellent, I use them on my Glock 26 and 19. However, their throats are pretty tight from the factory. This can cause lead and fouling to build up quickly in the leade, raising pressure. I sent my barrels to Storm Lake with inert samples of my ammo, they opened up the leade to match my ammo free of charge with super fast turnaround.

[A pause for the COZ]

An overcharge heavy enough to split a barrel should have also destroyed the brass case and done other damage as well, which the OP didn't mention. I'll throw out another possibility: A defective aftermarket barrel. The OP also said the barrel was threaded for a suppressor, but didn't say if a suppressor was attached at the time of the incident. Bad things can happen when a suppressor is installed misaligned. I'm staying tuned for updates.

I am not an expert, But this is were I was leaning.
I saw photos of an example of this with a Ruger Single 7. Split the barrel down by the ejection rod.
If there was a defect in the barrel this certainly could have happened.

[Blackwater]

Dragon, you are SO right! And the only time I can ever remember failing to do just as you say was that one evening, probably because I was so tired. I knew better. I just didn't DO better. And it COST me, too! All it takes is ONE mistake. The reasons for it don't matter when you're holding a blown up gun, trying to stop the bleeding, or you're on your way to the hospital .... or dead. We DO deal with a pursuit where all of those CAN happen. I was lucky all it cost me was the price of a gun.

I went back to my 'smith/buddy and told him how it happened, and that he was right and I was WRONG, and it WAS indeed just as he'd said it was. One thing about being humbled, is that if you admit it, you REMEMBER it better, and THAT really CAN be important! No sense making the same old mistakes more than once when there's so many others out there to make, right?

[376Steyr]

For years, a now-departed gun store in Boise had a wrecked Super Blackhawk displayed in the handloading section, with a tag on it saying "This is what happens when you confuse W296 with W231"

[shorty500M]

People never seem to want to hear it but the simple facts of loading for handguns are that if you use too much fast-burning powder, double charge a fast- burning powder or get a bullet seated too deep on top of a fast-burning powder- VERY BAD THINGS happen because pressures go through the roof

[Arrow]

I have no problem admitting when I have screwed up. For example I load 220 grain hard cast wfn bullets of 8.4 grains of longshot in 10mm for my kkm barrel in Glock 20. For whatever reason I shot them through the factory barrel to see how they ran. Well after 6 rounds, the unsupported chamber of the Glock barrel blew out the 6 o'clock part of the case web which shot the mag out of the gun and burned my hand pretty good. This was completely my fault. I shouldn't have shot them through a factory barrel. That being said, I am not trying to save my pride here. I wasn't even the one loading them. It was my Dillon my buddy was using. It sounds like it was a double charge. If it was loaded on a single stage stage I would have no problem accepting that. I just don't understand how it's possible on a Dillon 650 with auto indexing and the powder thrower won't throw more powder until the next case is indexed. Once again I'm not saying it didn't happen, for future loadings how would this be possible so I know what to avoid. Also "captaint" I am in no way stuck on the fact that it was the .3585" bullet. I was just asking to see if that bullet diameter is too big and should discontinue use. Like I said, if I screwed up I would have no problem admitting to it, just trying to learn what to avoid next time around.

I Am sure tight group was used. It's the only 8 lb jug he has over at my place. All of it was a different powder, anything we have is a slower burn rate and 3.6 grains wouldn't have blown up the gun. All other rounds from that loading session were fine.

Thanks for all the help.

[country gent]

Believe it or not the 650 will throw multiple charges being short stroked just to the point of rotation starting then raised a second time from there. Some calibers dont take this much down stroke for measure to reset even. With the case activated measures lower a case enough to come out of die and run back up its a good chance of a double charge. Attention to detail when running these machines is important. Not being interuppted or distracted is aso as important. Its dificult to throw a double charge under normal operation but with a interuption or distraction not impossible.

[Blackwater]

Has anyone noted an increase of blown up guns since progressive tools have become common? I think I have, but that's only an impression, and I have no hard data, nor do I recollect having seen any. Just curious.

[Forrest r]

Has anyone noted an increase of blown up guns since progressive tools have become common? I think I have, but that's only an impression, and I have no hard data, nor do I recollect having seen any. Just curious.


Not sure about progressives but titegroup in 9mm or 40s&w's and kabooms sure are the leading the pack!!!!

I've loaded 9mm's for 20+ years now and never had a problem. But I also am extremely picky about the brass I use along with using slower burning powders that are more forgiving.

The op never said if he was using range pick-ups for brass & reloading them?????

I've always said a reloader is only as good as their worst rounds. If a powder throw is only good to .2gr and the seating die varies 20/1000ths oal then the worst round is just that +.2gr over the target weight and the bullet is 20/1000th's deeper.

Personally I try not to use bullets that are too big for the bbl. Had 4 different 44cal that ranged from .430 to .432 & I'd size the bullets accordingly to the needs of that firearm. For the heck of it I tried using 1 size for all of them, it wasn't the smartest thing to do. The same load/bullet combo (pretty hot/high pressure) with the .430 bullets in a revolver that slugged .430 was no problem. When I used the .432 bullets I had to a hard time removing the sticking cases. Same firearm, same load, but the oversized bullet spiked the pressure enough to stick the cases.

It very well could of been a combination of thing that caused the bbl to split. Namely a oversized bullet combined with a unforgiving powder and something as simple as bullet setback and a bad case or even worse, a imi 9mm case.

[scattershot]

Here's one way a double charge can happen on a Dillon. Say you feel something funny when you seat a primer in the first stage of the press. You remove the case, look at the primer, and decide for whatever reason you can't use that particular primed case. Soooo, you insert another empty case in station one, and go on your merry way. When you resize that case, another load of powder is dumped in the already charged case in station 2, and presto, a double charge.

there are probably other ways to do it, but that's one way it could happen.