Blew up my 629 today..embarrassed

[Skip Sackett]

Dutch,
Have you ever backed your RL550 up? You know, caught a mistake and rolled the cases backwards to fix it?

 

[Bodyguard]

Thank God you're okay! The revolvers gone but so what, sometimes that's the price of an education. Hopefully you've educated us all.

 

[badguybuster]

I was trying to be understanding Get over yerself and yes it can happen to anyone. We are all human (i assume) and as such we make mistakes

 

[dutch686]

I know what you mean, and have never wanted to do that. I remove the cases from the bullet seating and powder station, dump the powder, crimp the last rd in the crimping station, and then run the primed cases around the stations again by themselves.

It's a slower process, but I don't go for speed.

I will be rigging an led light and changing my stool location to observe powder capacity as a precaution against overcharging. Thank you all for the guidance.

 

[Harrison]

I have been using titegroup for years. I just don't use it in large cases, and I check every case. Titegroup works great in 9mm and 45acp, and in those cases I can see if it has a double charge while still at the charging station on my 550B. Titegroup is a great fast powder, for target and mid range loads. Of course if you are an inattentive reloader, and don't check powder levels, then I guess you can blame the powder.

 

[dutch686]

Well, I'm taking back what I said about detonation. I spoke at length with a very knowledgeable hodgdon tech about all possible scenarios, and detonation would not have been possible.

It was user error of some sort. Skip may be right in there was an obstruction. It happened so quickly and suddenly that I am left with a huge question mark of my mistake. I'll get back to basics, and look at all my processes more closely. I hope I can save someone else a loss of an expensive gun or more.

 

[houdini26]

thats good no one got hurt

 

[whelenshooter]

I have fourty-seven years of reloading experience. I've probably reloaded over a million rounds of ammo. I have one thing to say about this situation: There but for the grace of God go I!

Reloading is a hobby that DEMANDS 100% attention at all times, but it not only requires attention when the reloading is done, but when test loads are fired. From this distance it is very hard to tell what exactly happened. It was probably a double or triple charge. I do not, however, discount the idea of a detonation or of a stuck bullet followed by another round (though with a stuck bullet it is usually only the barrel that bursts). People are human, however, and you are fooling yourself if you think you can reload forever without a momentary lapse of attention. You need to give yourself every chance. By this I mean set up your reloading procedures to minimize the chances of screwing up, and maximize your chances of catching yourself if you do. Like others, I prefer to use a powder where double charges are likely to be obvious. With a single stage press I have my powder measure and press set up so that I charge my case, immediately look into it with a good light, then immediately seat a bullet. If you line up a bunch of cases in a reloading block and try to charge them all, eventually one will get no powder and the next case will get a double charge. Don't think you will always catch this by looking into the loading block full of cases with a flashlight. We have all seen the paragraph written where they ask you how many "f"s you see in the paragraph. Usually people miss the count. This is because your mind sees what it wants to, or THINKS you should be seeing. The same thing can happen when you look into a reloading block full of charged cases. The way to count the number of "f"s in the paragraph is to start at the end of the paragraph and count the "f"s without reading the words. This helps your mind see what you need to. This is also why you look at each case one at a time, then seat the bullet. Your mind can concentrate on ONE thing, and you are less likely to see all cases charged to the same level.

If you have the SLIGHTEST idea something was done wrong, pull the bullets, dump the powder, and redo it! Yes, it is work. Yes, it is frustrating. It will save you much embarassment and a destroyed firearm, however. Don't EVER think it can't happen to YOU, however!

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I!

Whelenshooter

 

[glowe]

Detonation is a fallacy. Call any one of the powder manufacturers and ask the technicians if they believe in it. Not one.....They know much more about powder than any of us internet gurus.....

First, you call them technicians and that does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Some of these sources that support detonation theory are PhD scientists. Second, what do you expect powder manufacturers to say? It is too bad that you have no interest in other opinions but your own and your powder "technicians". I still will say that if the possibility even remotely exists, I will always take the conservative approach and use high volume powders. Better safe than sorry.

 

[ChuckS1]

Well, I for one like Titegroup in my M1911A1 ball loads I use for service pistol/EIC matches. I use 4.2 grains with a 230 grain FMJ. Never used it for anything else though. Like J-Frame said, it's not the powder's fault and accidents can and do happen from time to time. I don't load for .44 magnum, but in my .45 Colt, I like to use Unique, FWIW.

 

[tops]

If detonation is not a fallacy you would not use more powder to blow up something. You just need to put it in a larger container. Yeah right! Larry

 

[Skip Sackett]

First, you call them technicians and that does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Some of these sources that support detonation theory are PhD scientists. Second, what do you expect powder manufacturers to say? It is too bad that you have no interest in other opinions but your own and your powder "technicians". I still will say that if the possibility even remotely exists, I will always take the conservative approach and use high volume powders. Better safe than sorry.

Well, your warm fuzzy means a lot to me! hahaha

Seriously, I have been in the engineering "field" for a long, long, time. All I can say is this: Do you want the engineer in charge or the technician that knows what is going on?

Do me a favor, call them and ask if it is even remotely possible. I don't know what you expect but, just like the OP of this thread, I might be a little feeble minded here but, I believe them to tell me the truth! I even believe it of you!

They are ballisticians and it would be fool hearty to believe they didn't have an engineering/scientific degree of some kind......Right? And, I was comparing them to US not the other scientists. But, site your sources and I will read them.

And, let me commend you. With your approach to reloading, we most likely will never have to read a thread like this with you as the OP!


Have fun, be safe!

 

[johngalt]

I bought a can of Titegroup to play with when I first started reloading. I didn't like it because it burns very hot and melts lead bullets. I was never really concerned with the load density. I doubt it is much more dense than Bullseye.

One day I was loading .38 specials (2.8 gr Bullseye + 148gr HBWC). I wanted to see how many loads I could get in the case. 5 charges filled it to the top. Of course I couldn't have seated the bullet, but it is very easy to overcharge bullseye also.

 

[Skip Sackett]

(tongue in cheek satire)

I KNOW what it was that blew the gun up! It couldn't have been the OP's fault, he has stated that he has done everything right! It can't be the powder's fault because others have used it just like this and never blown up a gun BUT, what it REALLY IS....IS A CONSPIRACY OF THE POWDER COMPANIES TO PUT PRODUCT OUT THAT WHEN SOME SCHMUCK LOADS IT TOO LIGHT, IT BLOWS THEIR GUN UP!

Yeah! THAT'S IT!
Those nasty big corporations! Why, we should tax them right out of existence! It HAS to be their fault! The MAKE MILLIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I needed a laugh!

 

[Skip Sackett]

If detonation was a reality, the powder companies would have changed names long ago.

GLOWE Powder Company. Why? Because if it could be proven in a lab, then it could be proven in a court of law, and if it could be proven in a court of law that the powder companies KNEW that this could happen and they let certain powders out anyway, it would take a Chicago lawyer about 10 minutes to get your name put on the building......

Just sayin'

 

[elpac3]

Sorry to hear about the blow-up. Could happen to anyone.

Back hen I first started reloading, I was taught to throw a charge, visually check the cast then seat the bullet. Once a charge is thrown, the case never leaves the hand until the bullet is in. I was also taught to check a powder weight ever 5 cases as this was a row in the relaoding block.

On another note, I alse read - a number of years ago about using a filler when using fast burning powders and small charges in large volume cases to avoid flash-over and possible detonation. Having worked in the ammunition industry, I have heard (from the folks in the ballistics lab) of flash-overs creating unsafe pressures. This seemed to happen with small charges of fast burning powder in large volume cases.

 

[arjay]

For 25 years I would drop powder into 50-100 cases,look in all of them and then seat the bullets.A few years back I managed to make 2 squibs in a batch of 38s. I have no doubt I looked,but obviously I wasn't seeing.I do them one at a time now.

 

[ladder13]

This section is better than the lounge

 

[Rule3]

This section is better than the lounge

It's by invitation only.

 

[alwslate]

Like some of the other posters here I no longer use loading blocks.
Over the years I have gravitated to one one case at a time loading. I
load on a single station press with my powder measure right beside
it. Pick up a case, charge with powder, look inside, start bullet, seat
bullet. A bit slower than progressives but very little chance of error. I
never let go of a case until it is a completed round. If I am distracted
for any reason, which rarely happens, I dump the powder back into the
measure and start over. As for small charges of fast powder in large
cases that are within manufacturer's recommended loads being
"dangerous", lets see some proof.