I'm extremely reluctant to post this thread. I know I'll get a bunch of flack, no one can say anything I haven't already said to myself. My leg is sore from trying to kick my own butt.
First a few pics;
The last group the 44 shot. Last it will EVER SHOOT. Load data is, LEE 310 grain gc, 11.7 grains OF blu-dot, ww-lp win case oft used. Boolit lubed with mule snot, dipped and sized in a lee push through die I honed out to size to .431
Average velocity on that target is 1235 fps. These were loaded last winter. I know I was using my lee classic turret without the disc powder drop, measuring powder with my pact-RCBS dispenser. Then dumping it into the shell with the red lee funnel through the expander bell die. I was thinking right after it happened that it couldn't be a double charge. It would over-flow the case, or be impossible to seat that long boolit. Wrong on both counts. I must have dumped 2 charges and then seated a boolit. I took all the rest apart except for the three still left in the cylinder. It was the first of five shells in the cyl. I purposely seated a boolit in a double charged shell, it crunched the powder but seated without any extra force.
The top strap hit the roof of the covered range,(put a hole in it, almost went through), came back down ahead and to the left of me. No sign of where the chunk of cylinder went. Luckily I was shooting alone, and my dog was in the car. I was shooting groups, had already shot 10 shells.
I wasn't hurt! Hard to believe that much going on in my hands and not a nick on me. Some black powder stains on my left hand,(I was shooting off the top of a rifle tripod rest 2 handed grip). Felt a gust of gas above my right eye, no damage to my 2 week old glasses.
Boolit didn't register on the chrono, and did not hit the clean target either.
I've had this SB since 1973, I bought it used. I've had 2 new barrels put on it over the last 38 years. I'm just sick about it, that handgun was my favorite.