Bad Morning At The Range!

[centershot]

If you don't find a light charge it means you inadvertently threw a double charge. It can happen to the best of use even with all the precautions we take. I never put any case into a loading block unless it has powder in it ....for any reason. However, even so I still always use a small light to visually check all the powder charges after all are in the loading block. Good thing you were not injured. Hopefully the rifle wasn't too.

Thanks for that tip Larry, that will e part of the procedure going forward. Sure enough, one of the remaining nine had a light charge, 1.2 grains. That would put 31 grains of powder into the round I fired. According to the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual the max load with a 185 gr. bullet is 29.0 grains. I wouldn't think a 2.0 gr. overcharge would result in this, but every gun is a story unto it's own. Ugh! Be careful gents, I'm certainly grateful that this is no worse than it is! My wife reminded me that if the gun is permanently out of commission it only cost me $20.00 as I won it at a gun drawing at a local club...........Women truly do think differently, that Venus and Mars thing.........

[centershot]

Gunsmith called this afternoon, "Got the case out and OOOOEEEE, is that one FLATTENED primer!" he says! He went on to say that there was a "significant" extrusion of the case head into the extractor cut and that the firing pin won't de-cock. Hmpff! He said he'd call when he got the bolt apart, figures it it will need a new pin and maybe a new tailpiece, we'll see.

[Dale53]

Centershot;
I believe you can thank the good Lord for a STRONG rifle! Whatever the powder charge, when you extrude brass to that extent, you can be ASSURED that the pressures were out of sight!

Accidents can happen, but let this be a “wake-up call”! Just do a serious check of your procedures, and change what needs to minimize this sort of thing going forward.

Dale53

[dverna]

Thanks for that tip Larry, that will e part of the procedure going forward. Sure enough, one of the remaining nine had a light charge, 1.2 grains. That would put 31 grains of powder into the round I fired. According to the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual the max load with a 185 gr. bullet is 29.0 grains. I wouldn't think a 2.0 gr. overcharge would result in this, but every gun is a story unto it's own. Ugh! Be careful gents, I'm certainly grateful that this is no worse than it is! My wife reminded me that if the gun is permanently out of commission it only cost me $20.00 as I won it at a gun drawing at a local club...........Women truly do think differently, that Venus and Mars thing.........

I find it hard to believe a charge 2 gr over max would have done that much damage either, but I do not use that powder and do not know how "touchy" it may be.

Hopefully the repairs can be made and luckily you and others were unharmed.

Funny comment about your wife and how she thinks....

[44Blam]

I've seen pressure spikes with a 1 grain increment. Went from each grain adding about 15-20fps to the next charge up going 200 fps faster! That was with a 45-70 and h335 powder.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Chagrin-had a no charge revolver load recently. Had to tap the boolit back into the case

[Buck Shot]

I do the same as Tazman. NO CHARGED CASES IN A LOADING BLOCK. In fact I stopped using loading blocks. Primed rifle cases are in a box or bin. Pick one out, charge case, and immediately seat the bullet. Not only safer but less handling and faster.

Same here, except when I grab a primed case, before charging, I tap it (neck downward) on the bench before charging, to make sure nothing is in it first. Then charge from the powder measure, then immediately put it into the press and seat a bullet. I also watch the clear green tube on my RCBS thrower to make sure powder dumps through. If anything doesn't look consistent, I'll weigh that charge, and I also generally weigh every 10th charge.

[centershot]

Centershot;
I believe you can thank the good Lord for a STRONG rifle! Whatever the powder charge, when you extrude brass to that extent, you can be ASSURED that the pressures were out of sight!

Accidents can happen, but let this be a “wake-up call”! Just do a serious check of your procedures, and change what needs to minimize this sort of thing going forward.

Dale53

Yes sir, that's what the 'smith told me when he got the case out. He said that had the gun been built on one of the WWII era actions it's entirely possible that the bolt would have come back through the action and killed me! My guardian angel is truly working hard to keep me safe, no joke!

[whisler]

The Good Lord sure was looking out for you.

[Mk42gunner]

Yes sir, that's what the 'smith told me when he got the case out. He said that had the gun been built on one of the WWII era actions it's entirely possible that the bolt would have come back through the action and killed me! My guardian angel is truly working hard to keep me safe, no joke!

So what is the rifle that held? As opposed to a spontaneous disassembly of said rifle.

My experience with guardian angels is that they mainly like to work in the background; if you require them to actually confirm their presence, they may take a day or two off.

Be careful out there.

Robert

[centershot]

So what is the rifle that held? As opposed to a spontaneous disassembly of said rifle.

My experience with guardian angels is that they mainly like to work in the background; if you require them to actually confirm their presence, they may take a day or two off.

Be careful out there.

Robert

Robert,
The rifle in question is a Mossberg Patriot chambered in 30-06.

[Mk42gunner]

Thanks for answering my nosy question. I didn't even think of the newer Mossberg rifle.

Robert

[P Flados]

FYI,

Quickload is probably not super accurate for this application but I ran some numbers anyhow.

Even with a bullet seated 0.5" deep, a double charge (32 gr) would have a case that is 55% full and is predicted to produce 50,000 psi.

My guess is that pressure was well over 85,000 psi.

Quickload says 85,000 psi would required just over 38 gr and the case would be 74% full.

A full triple charge (48 grs) with a bullet seated only one diameter deep has a case that is 88% full and is predicted to have a pressure of 129,000 psi.

[BigAlofPa.]

I had some brass getting hung up. After some light loads in my 770 30.06. Here is the brass. Take note of the rings on it.

[Mk42gunner]

Might be interesting to section one of those cases, to see just how big the groove is. I could see the ring without enlarging the photo.

Robert

[Mr_Sheesh]

I saw a friend had a case with a small wasp nest in it once (30-06), filling 2/3 the case interior or so. And I've seen pebbles stuck in cases etc. after cleaning.... I tend to keep my brass in sealed places since, and inspect the case interior before loading. Not SURE that a wasp nest would cause a kaboom but I'd rather not take the chance!

[P Flados]

B. A. P.

A bright ring is sometime caused by localized wall thinning due to case stretch. This is usually a headspace issue.

The ring looks lower than normal for a "stretch problem", but it could be a cause.

Cutting a case up just enough to inspect might be worth considering.

[15meter]

I put uncharged cases in a loading block but they're mouth DOWN, solves the issue. Inspect Primers for proper seating then pull, charge, seat & crimp, done.

I make my own loading blocks so the tall cases I load will stand upside down with no problem. Pick up case, give it a flick while still upside down, turn over, drop the powder. Depending on the powder, scale anywhere from each case to every tenth case. Crunchy powder, EVERY one is weighed, Winchester 296 every tenth round after weighing 5 in a row when I start.

Then the flashlight comes out and visual inspection of each case, even if I scaled each and every case.

I have even been known to lock the door to my shed so no one can interrupt me when I'm dropping powder. It annoys the wife, but I try not to blow my self up.

The tall blocks work especially well with most of the stuff I reload, did some 450 Nitro Express this evening. In a "normal" loading block, right side up or upside down they would have been flopping all over the place.

[Wayne Smith]

For me it was Unique that bridged in every powder measure I owned, except the B&M where it is not possible. This is after an excursion in my 32-20 where I had a mild overcharge - and found an underchanged case afterwords. I have a relatively large variety of powder measures and they all failed. I only use Unique in the B&M now.

[dale2242]

There are 2 possible solutions to this problem.
1. Buy an electronic dispenser if you can afford one.
2. The cheapest, weigh every load.