S&W 625-JM Catastrophic Failure/Accident

[mmhoium]

The reason I said the double charge would be rare for me is because of the way the Dillon works, versus charging individual rounds on a reloading tray (which i have done before). Rare might not be the right word though, certainly possible.

I really appreciate the responses. It is helping me out quite a bit with possible scenarios.

 

[Smithhound]

Could powder have 'bridged' in the hopper tube and then dumped an over charge when that one was in the drop station? Perhaps the couple of rounds that passed thru the charge station got almost a full charge but left 1/4 or so each, then that one got the overcharge when it was cycled? That has all the looks of a bad overcharge, I can't see a situation where metal fatigue would would fail with enough force to launch the top strap.
The only catastophic failure that comes close to that one i've seen in 30 years of reloading was caused by a 10 grain overcharge (17.5 instead of 7.5) in a M57 and it was not that bad, the top strap was buckled and the top of the cylinder looked like yours, the only thing holding the barrel in was the pin, it wobbled. (Not my reloads but a friend who had been distracted by one of his crumb crunchers)
That could be explained by the thinner wall of the cylinder in a .45 vs a .41.
You are very lucky to be typing with all your digits and both eyes.
I have to repeat the "Wow!"
RD

 

[Bart 44]

I've seen 6 incidents attributed to double charges, 2 in person. Five were 45 ACP, the other was a light load in a 44. The one thing common to all was the Dillon 550. All but one were very experienced with the 550.

My money is on a double charge.


Dennis.

 

[cjw3]

Glad that you were not injured. Something similar happened at a public firing range last year close by; a bystander got a piece of cylinder through the brachial artery of the upper arm and nearly bled to death.

As for the cause....well, I think you have it figured out: double charge/overload of some sort. The end result of the above described accident looked virtually identical to yours.

 

[mmhoium]

More than likely, it was a powder problem. I just wonder if something else came into play.

Like I said before, I immediately went home and spent the afternoon with a bullet puller to eliminate the batch that had been produced with the faulty round. I went back and counted brass and it was 63 rounds that I pulled bullets on. None of the rounds were off by more than .1grs. In my own twisted logic, I would think that if one got too much powder, the one before or after would get too little, but I may be off base on that one. Either way, I'm taking a break on loading pistol ammo for a while. I enjoy rifle reloading much more, and if there was an overcharge with those, I'd have powder all over the counter and no way to seat a bullet. I pulled the powder bar out of the Dillon as well and I saw no reason for failure on it (for whatever thats worth).

I feel very lucky to be able to pass on this story - there really was no better way for it to go. Like a previous poster said, I already won this battle. Thanks.

 

[SPDGG]

Glad you were able to walk away from this & without injury.

 

[cp1969]

The one thing common to all was the Dillon 550. My money is on a double charge.


Dennis.

Me too. I had a double charge in a .44 mag loaded on a 550. Luckily it was supposed to be a light load and luckier yet, it was in a Redhawk. I had to drive the case out of the cylinder with a hammer and punch.

 

[cp1969]

In my own twisted logic, I would think that if one got too much powder, the one before or after would get too little, but I may be off base on that one. Either way, I'm taking a break on loading pistol ammo for a while.

No. All it takes is to get distracted and cycle the lever twice without rotating the shell plate.

I'm very sorry about your gun but very glad you're OK.

 

[HalfSwiss]

My first reaction is a double charge. Like you pointed out it's "the rare chance that it would happen on a Dillon powder measure", but it is still a real chance. You might want to consider using a slower burning powder that a double charge would overflow the case and be obvious.

Bottom line: the only thing of real importance is that you are still here, in one piece, and healthy.

 

[Shooting4life]

Dibs on the grips and front sight. Just glad your ok

 

[Dale53]

mmholum;
First of all, I am glad you made it through this without injury. It is not pleasant to lose a gun but you can make that back (losing a hand or an eye would have been MUCH, MUCH worse!)

I can only speculate. It appears to me that all three cartridges went off (common with a catastrophic accident). It has every appearance of a double charge of fast burning powder.

I have two 550B's and it is possible to have a double charge even with a progressive press with auto advance. I have seen it.

Send those picutures to Smith and they may want to take a look at your ruined revolver. If so, they will pay to have it sent in. Any thing that they offer to do for you will be out of the goodness of their hearts. They are not apt to offer to warrantee this loss (unfortunately).

It should be a reminder to us all, that we need to maintain "eternal vigilance" to avoid a similar mishap. It could happen to any one of us.

Dale53

 

[TAROMAN]

Glad you came through this OK..
Think I'll print out your images and post them over my loading bench.

 

[DCWilson]

Pictures like that just scare the heck out of me. I am really glad you survived this with no damage to hands or eyes.

 

[Jeroenw114]

I think it's and under load not overload.
A double charge is unlikely with the dillon according to a few members. But and under load is possible, a jam or obstruction of the powder and there is just a little powder in the shell.
And an under load is often more dangerous than overload. The ignition is to slow ending in extreme detonation.

The shock wave of such a detonation can cause other powder to ignite to and the problem is complete

 

[Stainz]

I destroyed my 629MG 4.5 yr back with a slow to release bullet. The load was a Magnus 300gr LSWC over 6.2gr Titegroup in a .44 Magnum case yielding 820 fps. The problem was what I had been shooting previously that day - .44 Russians and Specials - 200 of them. The long .44 Magnums had to be shoved into the chambers - I knew better. The physical maximum charge one could put in that case and still seat that long 300gr LSWC was ~10 gr - 11 gr was safe, according to Hodgdon's. 12.4 gr was impossible - I actually tried... but over 10.2 gr started compressing the propellant and offering significant resistance in pulling the lever on my Dillon 550.

In my case, it was late in the day - I was out of Russians and Specials - I had just a box of the subject rounds. The first two determined the drop - the third & fourth shot hit the 16" steel at 110 yd - the fifth one burst the gun - the sixth one was still intact, just squished it's case... I pulled the lead out easily (See photo.). I was blessed - a nick in my safety glass lens and a bloody small spot on my bare left arm were all I had to show for the experience. I found everything but the subject round's primer and a sight screw. It produced no recoil and only a muffled 'Boomff' followed by tinkle tinkle as the parts landed. I had instantly destroyed a $530 revolver only ~1.5 yr old - and which had launched only ~6-7 k rounds - only a few real Magnums - all made on that 550..

I called S&W. When asked, I told them it had probably shot it's only commercial rounds at their factory. Be honest with them. They sent a pre-paid label - and called me with their findings. The gun was dirty - the big bullet didn't exit fast enough for the fast burning Titegroup and a pressure spike occured, bursting the cylinder and the topstrap. The barrel was fine - and returned to me. The metal was tested - and found not to be a problem. They called me back - said they couldn't replace it - but I was a good customer. They subbed a standard production 4" 629-6 - when one came off the line in two days - for my MG - I was elated - the charge, with overnite s/h, was < half what I had paid for that new MG. The dealer didn't even charge me a xfr fee! I made out - honesty pays. Hodgdon's said that 6.2gr Titegroup behind a stuck bullet would have burst a Ruger, too.

Speaking of burst revolvers, S&W's burst upwards - Rugers go outwards and back.

Stainz

Addendum: As it should, such a catstrophe gives one pause for concern. Certainly, existing homebrew ammo is then all suspect. I dissected over 350 such loads - all fine. Of course, it only takes one. I attempted to make double loads - with no primer for safety. As I said, there was no way over 10.2 gr was going in a .44 Magnum case with that long and deep seating bullet without compression. The OP had something else going on - perhaps a high seated primer - to set off that adjacent round. He was indeed fortunate not to be hurt. Let's all be careful with our reloading - double check our powder drop settings... and always shoot the long cased rounds before the short cased ones... I knew better...

 

[gis]

Firstly, you could have seriously hurt. Glad you are OK>

How is this on a theory--you say if you had a double load on the Dillon 550, you would have had to have a round with no powder at all.
Hmm.....could the round before the KB have been the no powder round and that bullethead was lodged in the barrel and your next round was the KB.
That would explain the "missing round" with no powder and also perhaps the bullerhead at your feet.

 

[redhawk444]

I use Universal Clays for skeet loads in both the 20 ga. and the 28 ga.

I have never had a problem with the powder bridging in the 20 ga. loader, but in the 28 ga., since the drop tube is a little smaller in diameter, it sometimes happens.

I load on MEC Grabbers, progressive loaders, so there is a powder charged dumped with each stroke of the handle, so I have developed the habit of giving the handle a little extra bump when it reaches the top of the stroke just to dislodge any bridged powder in the tube.

Universal is somewhat bulky and fluffy, so it is bad that way.

Do not rule out a double charge, or something on that order, like a 1/2 charge in one cartridge followed be 1-1/2 charge in the next one.

 

[epj]

I haven't tried it to confirm this, but I believe a charge of 11 gr. of Universal would overrun the case. I load 4.3 gr. of regular Clays in a 550, and it looks like a double would almost overflow the case. In any event, it would be next to impossible to overlook when placing a bullet in the case. Still, anything is possible. One reason, and the only reason I can think of that I'd like to have a 650. Not due to auto index, but rather the fifth station where you can use a powder check.

 

[TSQUARED]

Good to hear no injuries were sustained as a result of this incident. it has some of the appearances of an overcharged case. Personally I have switched to Trail Boss for my revolver loads to hopefully avoid any double charge.

 

[m657]

congratulations on surviving and thanks for posting. Looking forward to the final call on 'what caused the problem'.

Trail Boss double charges overflow the cases.


Question: Is it at all possible a bullet lodged in the seating die, and was later double loaded into a case?

I use a 650 Dillon the past decade, and despite it's many virtues, does requite due diligence in all phases of operation. Even given that comment, the 650 is far safer IMHO than the 550 I used for 20 years prior to the 650.

please advise on your findings.