OK, Look at the picture below and tell me what happened.

Question:
What do you think? Feel free to elaborate on your answer!

Choices:
Nothing wrong that I can see.
Looks like the load might have been a little hot.
Are there any peices of the gun left and did anyone get hurt?
Caliber mismatch. Gun and cartridge were of different calibers.
None of the above.

 

GOOD GOD MAN GIVE US SOME INPUT


I voted caliber mismatch.

Looks like a .38 (or .357) fired from a .41 .44 etc....

I vote it's a 41 Magnum fired in a 44 Magnum gun. Just guessing from the relative dimensions (case width vs length, amount of expansion).

looks like a 44 mag through a 45 LC to me

It is a 44magnum case.

A caliber mismatch or.....you are fire-forming brass for a new wildcat load you will be springing on us shortly.

quote:

Originally posted by MKT:
A caliber mismatch or.....you are fire-forming brass for a new wildcat load you will be springing on us shortly.

The 44/45 Skip Ultra Magnum (SUM for short) waits to be revealed to the world. How much longer before it's "daddy" springs it on us?

quote:

The 44/45 Skip Ultra Magnum (SUM for short)

I'm laughing my head off!

I was going to let this go for a couple of days just to see how the poll turned out but I can't wait any longer!

First thing I need to say is I HAD NO PART OF THIS! I wasn't a participant or an instigator of the events that lead to this problem.

A little history before I tell how I got involved with this. Some will remember me talking about shooting someone else' reloads. They were 44mag and they had a SRH and brought it to me to shoot at our local indoor range. Many of you called me "ignorant" at best for pulling the trigger when there were such obvious problems with the loaded cases. You were right to caution me. I can accept reproof from friends, not a problem. Well, I went to the range yesterday and there laying on top of the brass bucket was the shell in the picture.

I'll be honest, immediately I thought about our handloading aficionado's, and that they had been at it again. I picked up the case and went out into the retail section of the store and began asking around to see if they had indeed been in that day. No, was the answer, so I pulled out the case in question.

I showed the case to an experienced individual and they gasped.

Here is what happened. Someone there, a female, was looking to buy a "pocket gun". It seems that there were plenty of men willing to assist her in her selection. Someone volunteered a firearm from the used case for demonstration on what a 45 Colt would feel like. This is a regular practice for VIP members of the range. They do this to allow folks to see if they want to buy a certain firearm or not. Usually, someone will cough up the money to buy a new version of what was tested. Another individual supplied some ammunition from a box of 45 Colt Silver Tips. When the box was opened, that is exactly what it had in it, Silver Tips, they just weren't 45 Colt! Many of you have already guessed, they were 44mag instead.

The firearm in question was one of the 45 Colt/410 derringers. There were no signs of overpressure during extraction, according to the shooter.

There are some things that can be learned from this situation. I have several that pop into mind.

#1, Guns are dangerous things, that doesn't change when a nice looking woman wants your opinion on a firearm or a demonstration on how one will shoot.

#2, Take nothing for granted when handling something that has the potential to kill someone. Pay attention to details.

#3, Longevity in handling firearms has no bearing on your ability to make a mistake, neither does being someone that is supposed to be "in the know".

Fortunately no one was injured. If this would have been a different firearm things could have been real bad, at least in my opinion.

The pressure was enough to expand the case AND push the primer out to where the case sits on it rather than the case rim. That means the case had enough pressure developed in it to hold it still while the primer backed out. Now think about that. The bullet was too small to seal off the barrel, right?

Urgently awaiting your replies!

I thought caliber mismatch from the beginning. I did cheat and look at the other papers though.

It doesn't take that much pressure to deform a case, that's what they're supposed to do. It expanded to fill the chamber like it should. The protruding primer is a sign of low pressure and is common with squib loads.

Stupid doesn't always hurt.

quote:

Originally posted by Jellybean:
It doesn't take that much pressure to deform a case, that's what they're supposed to do. It expanded to fill the chamber like it should. The protruding primer is a sign of low pressure and is common with squib loads.

Stupid doesn't always hurt.

I guess that would only be true if the primer would have had NO other marks on it, which it does! In fact, it has the "finger print" of the firing pin button machining marks. That tells me that there was enough pressure to captivate the case while the primer backed out and had the indentation made in it from the pressure. In my experience, a squib load will not cause a properly inserted primer to deform like that. It may "balloon" out but not back out and then flatten. Every time a bullet if fired the same progression occurs. As the case expands under pressure and IF the pressure is within design specifications, the whole unit moves back against the "breach face". You can get flattening of primers then but not ones that back out and get deformed. At least that has been my experience.

I have seen 40 S&W fired in a .45 ACP. There was more of a difference in diameter and some of the necks split. It was my ex-bosses numb skull son!

Skip, can you show a better picture of the primer?

My brother showed me six .44 Magnums that he had accidentally fired in his .45 Colt Blackhawk. They were nickel plated and they all split. The gun was fine.

Recently somebody had given me a few rounds of .32 S&W Long. I remembered how in "Sixguns by Keith" the kid had found a sub-caliber cartridge, wrapped it in paper, drove it into the cylinder of his .45 Colt SAA and then shot the bad man. I wrapped that little .32 in paper, shoved it into the cylinder of my SP101 and they all fired fine. Good, strong firing pin indentations. The bullets would wobble down the bore and hit sideways. The fired case looked just like the one in the picture.

Dave Sinko

quote:

Originally posted by Jellybean:
Skip, can you show a better picture of the primer?

Taking close ups is not my forte but I will try to soon.