Blow yourself up

[35remington]

Another big, BIG hint:

Look at the primer pocket. Anyone seeing this case would drop the "out of battery" idea immediately......even if they did not (as so many don't) know how autoloading pistols work.

No other cause need be considered save for maybe the bullet being pushed back in the case on feeding. The out of battery idea is clearly a nonstarter here.

[35remington]

If the firing pin wasn't broken after the event, the firing pin can also be ruled out. Burst cases are almost always due to something other than "out of battery" if not every single time....which is the likely way to bet.

[9w1911]

Unsupported chamber

[35remington]

Slipping the burst case in the chamber will likely reveal it goes all the way in. Lack of case head support is also very unlikely. It burst because pressure was too high, and for no other reason.

An unsupported chamber will not have a hugely enlarged primer pocket and the primer would still be in place. Wasn't an unsupported chamber, quite clearly.

The clues are screaming for your attention, if you'd only look and see them.

[SavageMan2506]

Reloading is no joke, you need to be extremely careful...

[Spawn-Inc]

The pictured shell was most definitely fired in a gun that was in battery when the firing pin fell. Take a good close look at it and try to figure out how the photo proves it. And it does.

Incidentally, the burst case pictured is a 9mm, not a 45 ACP.

the pictured case is of mine reloading mishap, not the OP's 45acp case. if you watch his posted video you will see his case.

the cause for mine was to much powder from a newb reloader.

[35remington]

Sorry my bad! The OP can resolve this by examining his case. Nevertheless, out of battery firing is extremely, extremely unlikely to be the cause.

Whenever a reloaded case is involved.....a mistake is the way to bet.

[MtGun44]

Sorry, but the "out of battery" claim that comes up is baloney. I have to laugh
also when someone says "brass just fails" sometimes. No doubt a new case could
theoretically be soft all the way through, but once it is fired, it is tested and will
not just fail spontaneously.

The cases shown in post #12, and the case in the video are CLEARLY overpressure
failures. Most likely cause is a double charge. The little "smile" is the only area where
the case is not supported by steel, at the feed ramp, so that is where the brass lets
loose when it gets severe overpressure. I had a long discussion with a lady here on
this board where she had done the same thing - but didn't see how it was that this
little area blew out. Finally, I took a pistol barrel from my Sig 9mm (she had a Sig
.45) and shot a short squirt of black paint at the feed ramp area with an empty case
in the chamber (barrel dismounted). The black paint was exactly where the case
failed, showing that this area, while a bit hard to see, is unsupported when the case
is fired. So, this is where it blows out. Put the failed case back in the dismounted
barrel (once you get the gun apart) and the blowout and maybe even some bent
over edges will exactly match the feed ramp area. The case was in battery, fired
normally, but was far overpressure. I have personally observed about 10 of these
over the years in person, and a few more in photos here - all exactly the same.

ONE POSSIBLE OTHER CAUSE: More likely in a 9mm than a .45 due to case size,
but still possible, --- boolit pushing into the case on feeding. Reducing the combustion
chamber size a lot increases the pressures a lot. I don't think any where near what
a double charge will do, but a large increase is possible. Proper neck tension is
critical, a crimp helps a lot, but the neck tension is key. Take a loaded round every
so often a push the boolit as hard as you can against the edge of the bench, see if
you can move it at all. If you can, you need a smaller expander insert in your die,
or larger boolits.

I have done exactly ONE of these, and this may be the huge advantage of the steel
guns over the aluminum and plastic guns. The plastic frames cannot stand this huge
overpressure where the steel frames are usually OK. I blew the mag floorplate out,
cracked the grips (man, that HURTS!) and otherwise, it was just a good lesson. I look
at EVERY SINGLE powder charge as I put the boolit on it in my Dillon 550s, and have
caught a couple more, but never had one get past me in the 30 yrs or so since I did
that.

Classic double charge, and why the OP's friend said "You'll blow yourself up." I do
recommend spending a long time (a few thousand rounds MINIMUM) with a simple
single stage press before moving to a progressive. AND please, look into each case
as you put in the boolit.

Stay safe, watch out for double charges, they are THE most likely failure with a
progressive.

Thanks to the original poster for a good video and maybe this will help someone else
avoid this. Do what you can to get that slide stop out without further damage
to the frame - you may well salvage the gun. Try to saw it off with a dremel
and abrasive cutoff wheel after taping the slide to protect it if you slip. You may
find that the tiny crack isn't important and the gun may be saved with just a new
slide stop.

Put a drop of oil on the crack, then tap around it with a screwdriver tip under a bright
light and magnification. Oil will pop out and let you find the exact end of the crack. Mark
with a awl and then drill about 1/16" or 1/8" hole right exactly at the end of the crack. The
crack tip has an extremely small size and concentrated the stresses there, so the
crack will likely grow. If you "stop drill it", the crack end is now a 1/16 diam hole and
does not concentrate stresses as much, will probably not grow. A small crack in a
non-critical area should be OK, may salvage the gun. This 'stop drilling' is used in
aircraft canopies and windows to stop cracks in brittle plexiglass, works great, worth a
try.

Best wishes.

Bill

[rosewood]

From the dead horse above, it was not an out of battery condition.

I have had at least 2 cases do this very thing and both were in a gun which qualified as an unsupported chamber. There were no other signs of overpressure other than the blowout. I am 100% positive it wasn't a double charge in my situations. But the statement of it being overpressure is correct. There was too much pressure for a unsupported case to hold in the pressure. Had it been in a supported barrel, it wouldn't have happened. New brass is stronger than reloaded and for all practical purposes, new brass is strong enough to hold in the pressure, but after the case is worked from firing and resizing, it work hardens and loses flexibility and strength and a unsupported chamber is the ideal condition for it to blowout where it did. This is why most recommend only target loads in used brass and to use new brass for hot loads. Ever seen this occur on the top side of the barrel? It always occurs on the feed ramp side. Ever seen a revolver blow out this way (I haven't but maybe you have)? Ever seen the "pregnant" cases from the older Glocks? Was all of those overpressure loads? Or was it a result of an unsupported chamber. Just my 2cents.

[fguffey]

I went to a firing range with a very disciplined reloader, between us was another reloader 'that we didn't even know'. He was doing everything he could do to pull the trigger, no luck, then he decided he would pull the hammer back then pull the trigger. Nothing, then he went to swing the cylinder out, it was locked also.

I cleared my table then offered to help. I ask him to stop trying to pull the trigger and the hammer, by that time both of us were trying to help him. We explained to him he had fired a case with a primer and bullet without powder. We cleared the bullet from the forcing cone by driving it back into the case. He swung the cylinder out and starting with 6 more 357 magnums rounds in his Model 66 S&W.

We stopped him again, we ask him about his reloading methods and techniques. We wanted to know if one case had no powder did the next case get twice as much. We offered him all the ammo he could shoot, we offered him scales for weighing components, the man we didn't even know got mad and left the range. He ordered and received a new Dillon 550 B press two days before going to the range. We could not convince him could weight his cases to determine the amount of powder each case received, or didn't receive. We offered to stop shooting and go home with him in an attempt to help him with his reloading.


The very disciplined reloader informed me I did not know how to load 45ACP, so I was there to test his reloads, his 45ACP ammo would not feed, he offered the ammo to everyone at the range that was shooting 45ACP, his ammo flew through every pistol there , except one. I left the range, sized his cases in a carbide die to remove the bulge caused by the bullet. I then returned to the range, his ammo looked like a snake that swallowed an egg. After removing the bulge his ammo flew through my 45 ACP build. It likes new over the counter ammo or reloads that look like new ammo.

Point? Double charge, to prevent the chance I will weight every loaded round, I have a RCBS electronic scale, it does not take long.

F. Guffey