Bad Day At The Range For Someone

[S&WIowegan]

In my experience, 9mm brass doesn't often blow out because the web is fairly thick. The 40S&W brass has a much thinner web in order to make room for max powder loads. The early 180gr 40 ammo barely made major power factor in USPSA so factory loads tended to heavy loads. Yes Glocks bulged 40 cases and so did other guns with throated barrels(ask me how I know).

I think H Richard has the right idea. USPSA has recently gone through a fad of loading 9mm to make major PF. Our local club had a visiting shooter blow his gun up with major 9 ammo this year. I would never knowingly handload used major nine brass. I also buy once-fired 40S&W brass handload it once and leave it on the range.

 

[Nevada Ed]

"I would never knowingly handload used major nine brass."

Me too but......
while testing out new powders in my 3.5" 9mm, I did get one
load that hit a PF of 148 with a 115gr plated bullet.
I was only testing for a factory 1180 fps. Just that all the pieces
did not go together right, I guess?
I'm thinking that "X" loading manual might have an error in it...
it happens, now and then. I have seen misprints that I had to "white out" and correct over the years.

 

[Vortec MAX]

I recently cleaned and sorted through about 1,200 rounds of 9mm range pickup brass. I threw away any with a bulge, and there were a few. I also threw away quite a few that were showing signs of separation just above where the inside bottom of the case would be. I probably threw away 75 out of 1,200. I did not have any as bad as those shown in this post.

Mike

 

[eyegots2no]

In was thinking backyard gunsmith throating job.

 

[LostintheOzone]

Why would someone overload a 9 mm to reach a power threshold for competition?

Wouldn't it make more sense to use a 45?

Just asking? Don't know the first thing about USPSA.

 

[Engineer1911]

A blown 9 MM semi-auto is cheaper than a 45 ACP 1911. At least that's what one Glockster told me. He was talking and there was a Glock on the lane table in front of him. Lots of experts out there -- there are not all on the internet.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I had a number of semi and select fire 9mm "pistols" over the years MAC-10's, TEC-9's and the like). Weapons that fire from an open bolt (especially those with fixed firing pins) will begin to discharge the ammo before it is fully in the chamber, as the chamber gets dirty with fouling. At one time I had a five gallon bucket half to two-thirds full of "Pot bellyed" brass. For brass fired in that type of weapon, I would reload it a total of twice and the scrap it. Most of the time, continued use of that brass would result in blown out cases like pictured, but once and a while there would be total head separation, and that really messes things up when shooting full auto.

Ivan

 

[Beemer-mark]

The rounds pictured look like they were shot out of an unsupported chamber. After a few reloads, the brass weakens and the web blows out. When the web opens up like a can opener, it is usually a case that has reached the end of its useful life. I have also seen this happen where the head completely separates from the case. This is called insipiant case head separation. You also see this a lot when guys shoot .9mm Major and then someone tries to reload the case. At some point, all brass will reach the end of its life. It is very difficult to see this with the naked eye. Do not assume that it was a double charge.

I agree with you. Had this happen with a 1911 and reloaded ammo once. rather unpleasant. Blew the wooden grips off the gun and ejected the mag. Minor "particles" embedded in checks and hands. Nothing major but a good reminder to always wear safety glasses.

 

[mikld]

I hate to go against the grain here, but I would venture a guess that those cartridges were fired "out of battery". I'm not an expert on Glocks but I have always read that the Glock Bulge was in their 40 S&W chambered pistols and not 9mms. On the brass pictured I saw a distinct ring around the case even with the bottom of the "blown out" portion that would leave me to believe the brass was fired in a lose chamber, but out of battery...

But hey, everybody has an opinion...

 

[fredj338]

Why would someone overload a 9 mm to reach a power threshold for competition?

Wouldn't it make more sense to use a 45?

Just asking? Don't know the first thing about USPSA.

In USPSA there is major & minor scoring. So 9mm major allows more rounds in the gun & still make major scoring with less recoil than a 45. It's a borderline practice IMO, but not my gun.

 

[fredj338]

I hate to go against the grain here, but I would venture a guess that those cartridges were fired "out of battery". I'm not an expert on Glocks but I have always read that the Glock Bulge was in their 40 S&W chambered pistols and not 9mms. On the brass pictured I saw a distinct ring around the case even with the bottom of the "blown out" portion that would leave me to believe the brass was fired in a lose chamber, but out of battery...

But hey, everybody has an opinion...

OOB firings are usually pretty rare events. TO have it happen that many times, maybe. It's all speculation w/o knowing the gun or ammo. Though we do know it wasn't a Glock.

 

[gregintenn]

9mm fired in a 40?

 

[ggibson511960]

Sub Gun?

If you found a bunch of this stuff, I would suspect it came from an open bolt submachine gun. I was on a range once where policeman was testing an Uzi, and everything came out looking like this, literally "blowing up in the gun". But it ran. Combination of fixed firing pin, hot ammo and loose chamber tore up brass pretty bad. Those are nasty looking failures that ruptured in the extractor groove.

 

[Ia.redneck]

I think its weak brass,
I've loaded a TON of light lead bullet loads in 9mm, and the only cases I've had do this were stamped WCC.
Shot in a well supported Browning HiPower barrel

 

[scattershot]

Looks like it may have been from two different pistols, neither of them a Glock, judging fom the firing pin indents. Never seen a headstamp like the one on the left, either, with the full four digit date like that.

 

[Bkreutz]

In USPSA there is major & minor scoring. So 9mm major allows more rounds in the gun & still make major scoring with less recoil than a 45. It's a borderline practice IMO, but not my gun.

It's possible to get the same number of rounds in a magazine by using 38 super or 38 super comp. (the magazines are restricted by length, not number of rounds). The attraction of 9 major is the cost of the brass which is much cheaper. I shoot 9 major and don't worry about picking up brass at a match. I buy once fired brass (from a predominantly Police range( and inspect the brass and throw out certain headstamps. I haven't noticed any more frequent failures with major power factor than I had with minor. It does require more attention to detail, when a newbie asks me about 9 major power factor, I usually tell them "If you have to ask, don't do it!" More and more USPSA Open shooters are moving to 9 major every year.

 

[elfego baca]

Back in the late 70s I had a case failure when firing my Colt government model in 38 super.
My handload used my home cast bullet and was not hot!
The escaping gas bent the follower in the magazine.
The right grip panal got a horizontal crack - I shot holding the pistol in my left hand.
I sent some of the hand loaded cartridges to the brass manufacturer.
They said the pressures where normal but the brass was worn out.
No other damage was done to the Colt gov't model in 38 super,

 

[john17427]

A friend gave me most of 500 rounds of remanufactured 9mm that exhibited this problem. He said his son gave it to him because it fired funny out of his glock, but didn't have specifics on the problem. I had two case failures in separate guns over the first 10 rounds. I pulled it all for components including the primers and reload them with a light load of 700x now with no problems. Not sure of the original powder, but they were all loaded with 5.2 grains which doesn't seem like a light load to me for 9mm with most pistol powders.