Glock blows up!

[Skip Sackett]

Don't anyone take this as a Glock bashing thread. That isn't the point at all. My everyday firearm is a Glock 22, 40S&W. I have nothing bad to say about them at all. This is a caution to those who reload for them though.

The caliber of this firearm is one that is not usually associated with a KB, but it did happen, and it happened with factory ammo.

Remember those diehard factory ammo for CCW folks?

While factory ammo is specifically designed for a certain purpose, my ammo is designed with the firearm in mind. If I have 40S&W ammo that I make that will be run in a M610, it can have higher pressures than if it was to be run in my G22. When I make CCW ammo for the G22 it is with the firearm platform in mind.

Lower pressures, higher velocity, consistency.

Take a look at the video, it has some close-ups of the G21. By the way, that is a 45ACP caliber firearm. One with generally a low pressure threshold.

Pistol Explodes In Deputy's Hand - News Story - WTOV Steubenville

 

[Centenniel]

The 40 caliber Glock pistols do have that reputation. They are also the most widely used handgun in law enforcement circles today. The current upswing in the use of S&W M&P and Springfield XD pistols may be one of the results of the "issue."

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Wow, that's sort of a "Dog Bites Man" headline!
I have some photos of a friend's glock 36 that blew up while he was shooting at the NRA range in Fairfax. Same deal.

 

[dennis40x]

The current upswing in the use of S&W M&P and Springfield XD pistols may be one of the results of the "issue."

Currently circulating on at a least one firearms forum are photographs of a Springfield XD pistol that suffered catastrophic failure also.

Under we don't know what we don't know and won't know. Unless other wise notified the root cause of the catastrophic failure has not yet been determined. In a conversation with a shooting industrial source most failures are related to ammunition irregularities. This doesn't exclude firearm related design and manufacturing issues.

 

[Markcuda]

I got 4 Glocks, so far, non have went boom after countless rounds
My truck can blow up also, but I don't worry about it.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Currently circulating on at a least one firearms forum are photographs of a Springfield XD pistol that suffered catastrophic failure also.

Under we don't know what we don't know and won't know. Unless other wise notified the root cause of the catastrophic failure has not yet been determined. In a conversation with a shooting industrial source most failures are related to ammunition irregularities. This doesn't exclude firearm related design and manufacturing issues.

Dennis,
Do you have a link to the site about the XD? I for one would like to see it.

 

[Skip Sackett]

I got 4 Glocks, so far, non have went boom after countless rounds
My truck can blow up also, but I don't worry about it.

Mark,
The reason for the thread isn't to point a finger at the Glock, but then again, I don't try to run 10mm type of rounds through my 40S&W either.

Much like your truck, you don't put JP5 airplane fuel in it either!


To others:

That is the point of the thread.

Know the tool, work within it's parameters. Then safety can be complete.

If they foul up after they are supremely dirty, don't let them get that way. If they blow up when too fast of a powder is used, don't use too fast of a powder.

I hope that explains my reason for posting this. I have, and so have others, loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds that have been fired safely in a Glock. I/We will continue to do so too. We will just do it with knowledge and not ignorantly.

This is not a Glock bashing thread. Please don't post those types of posts.

The main reason being is that I have a son that depends on his G22 everyday to protect his life while serving as a Deputy Sheriff.

Maybe what we need to bring out is the engineering flaw/idiosyncrasies that bring about the possibility of these kinds of things happening more frequently per design.

I know that I had a KB in a Browning High Power for that explicit reason, unsupported chamber and an over pressure round.

What about the 38Super. Were there any problems when that round came out?

 

[JWiley]

Years ago I carried a G27 so I was very intested in Glock KB's when the reports surfaced.

From what I was able to come up with, in terms of the .40S&W, was the root cause was bullet setback. The round is high pressure to begin with and even a few thousandths setback will increase the pressure to failure levels. I have seen setback even in my .45ACP.

Most of us tend to rechamber a seemingly good round after cleaning, etc. The moral: Check for setback and don't be cheap. Unload that chambered round through the muzzle.

 

[handgunner356]

A flyer was out to LE that recommended rotating the top round in their magazine. The angle was officers that unloaded their firearm every night and rechambered the same round over and over had a chance of bullet set back. When working with the higher pressure 40 round it wouldn't take much. It is surprising with the 45 though, you would be more suspect of a faulty round.

 

[flagman1776]

Years ago, a friend blew the grips off a competition 1911 45acp. The nearly full magazine was ejected from the gun by the blast. He was picking splinters out of his hand but the gun was undamaged & returned to service. The round blew out over the heavily throated feed ramp... but no other fired rounds showed bulging or excess pressure.
It was concluded to be a defect in his reloads. Initially suspected a double load but I think bullet set back more likely. I know he went to a heavier taper crimp after that. These are once in several lifetimes experiences, so the fact that it did not happen again proves little.
Russ

 

[sonny]

I used to have two 27's(.40) and two 26's(9mm). One of them blew up one day at the range when I was shooting a friend's gunshow reloads. It blew the mag out of the bottom, the casehead nearly separated from the case. I got lots of stinging debris on my hand, which was mostly black from the detonation. I was not hurt.
After examining the gun, I reloaded the mag with factory ammo and banged away just fine.
However, some time after that, at a different range, my 27 went "pop" and I realized that I was shooting 9mm in my .40 Smith gun.
I sold both 27's and one 26 and now carry the 26 when I'm not hung with j-frames.
Sonny

 

[Rule3]

In the interview, the officer/spokesperson stated :

"Cecil says it was the first time the .45-caliber pistol had ever been used."

Was the gun cleaned before use, was the barrel obstructed, what ammo was used? Questions,questions???

 

[flat top]

Flagman makes a good point! When I was a rookie competitive shooter, a fellow competitor was looking at my 45 ACP rounds at a match. He told me "here is a word for the wise....always crimp your bullets whether they be for competition (light loads) or not!" He then explained the set back issue. Since that day, I have crimped every pistol round, (or top end rifle round), that I have ever loaded. Safety first! Secondly, and I am a proponent of modern technology, but, one thing that has never set right with me is plastic or alloy firearms...somehow, high pressures and materials that are weaker (I may be wrong in that respect) than treated steel, or stainless just dont seem to go together....but, thats just me. I know that plastic and alloy firearms are here to stay and have been proven reliable, but, I dont think I would ever own one. I also think that my handloads are safer than mass produced factory ammunition, but again...thats just me! I guess that as much as I appreciate all the high technology that has made our lives easier, there are just some things that for some reason I cant accept.

 

[H Richard]

A couple friends of mine are writers for shooting magazines. One has just concluded a testing of bullet set-back by "re-chambering" multiple times. The reason, LEO's, and people who carry CCW will quite often unload their handgun when coming home. Reinsert the un-chambered round in the magazine, and the next day re-chamber it. That may be done many times with the "same" round of ammunition. It was found that constant re-chambering the same round set back the bullet in the case, to enough of a degree that the interior case capacity was reduced to the point the round could have excessive pressures when fired. The test was conducted with multiple different guns, and multiple different brands of ammunition. Some set-backs were in excess of 30/1000ths inch.

This article will soon be published in Shooting Times or one of it's affiliated magazines.

One thing viewed was nearly all factory ammo (9mm, 40 cal, 45 acp) was not crimped. It is believed this is a contributing factor.

 

[gr8AmericanBash]

Dennis,
Do you have a link to the site about the XD? I for one would like to see it.

Try this link. You may have to be a member to view it, I'm not sure.
If you can't see it, I'll post the pics here.

 

[JWiley]

Having proven to myself that I'm a total incompetent at reloading so I'll bow to the experts, but...I'm not sure that putting a crimp on a .40S&W, already a high pressure round, forcing an increase in pressure is a good idea.

 

[OKFC05]

Rather than repost the same info, here's yesterday's thread on this subject:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/112337-massive-g21-kb.html

If they had run the gun and cartridge scraps through an NDI lab, we would know exactly what happened and why.
Without that, it is all just guessing and finger pointing.
I have to wonder why the gun didn't go immediately to an NDI lab?

 

[acl864]

...I also think that my handloads are safer than mass produced factory ammunition, but again...thats just me!

I definitely agree. I take great care in preparing my handloads. With ammo manufacturer's cranking out rounds 24/7 trying to meet current demand, I have zero confidence in store bought ammo for critical situations. This KB was immediately attributed to faulty factory ammo. As bad as this accident was, it would've been much worse had the officer been in a situation to use this firearm in the line of duty.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Controlled pressure!

Having proven to myself that I'm a total incompetent at reloading so I'll bow to the experts, but...I'm not sure that putting a crimp on a .40S&W, already a high pressure round, forcing an increase in pressure is a good idea.

Wiley,
Having ALL semi-auto rounds crimped is a must, at least in my book.

This doesn't prove my theory but, what if it was setback that caused this problem. It probably wasn't because like OCD says, it was the first time the firearm was used.

Here is a picture of of a couple of bullets. Both are 45ACP bullets. One was crimped, the other hadn't been loaded yet. It shows how much I will crimp a bullet that is loaded in a semi-auto.

(It is the possibility of not being able to control the pressure that makes it a problem. Bullet setback, and this has been the point of several threads I have posted about seating depth versus OAL, is a bigger factor to increasing pressure over other ones. Once you start pushing the bullet deeper into a case, pressure raises exponentially.)

 

[flat top]

Wiley; For safety's sake dont be afraid to crimp, but remember, the crimping process is started when you first start working up a load....not after you have reached the maximum load!