KABOOM
andyo5 wrote:
Years ago, Jeff Cooper wrote an article called "The 2.7 Bullseye surprise" to describe some kabooms that occurred amongst target shooters who were loading 38 specials with the lightest load that was published for their bullets ...
Thirty-five years ago, when I was in charge of firearms training for a small sheriff's department, we obtained a progressive press to use for our training/practice ammo. We loaded 2.7 Bullseye / 148 gr cast lead. Shot hundreds of them. Then we had a KABOOM. Usual results, top gone from cylinder, frame broken, on a Model 28 S&W.
My personal experience discounted double charge as a possibility – my young wife, trying to be helpful, double-charged a whole box of the same 2.7/148 for me in my home workshop, using a single stage press. I fired most of them with no problem in my S&W .357. Pulled and weighed a few to verify the mistake.
My conclusion – admittedly speculative, but based on observation – was that static electricity caused a buildup in the powder measure, of the fine powder created by the shearing effect of the powder measure cylinder rotation. The accumulated deposit would drop of its own weight into ONE case, and the additional volume was too small to be noticed. But the faster burning rate of the pulverized Bullseye added to the normal charge would create excessive pressure.
trigtechr
andyo5 wrote:
Years ago, Jeff Cooper wrote an article called "The 2.7 Bullseye surprise" to describe some kabooms that occurred amongst target shooters who were loading 38 specials with the lightest load that was published for their bullets ...
Thirty-five years ago, when I was in charge of firearms training for a small sheriff's department, we obtained a progressive press to use for our training/practice ammo. We loaded 2.7 Bullseye / 148 gr cast lead. Shot hundreds of them. Then we had a KABOOM. Usual results, top gone from cylinder, frame broken, on a Model 28 S&W.
My personal experience discounted double charge as a possibility – my young wife, trying to be helpful, double-charged a whole box of the same 2.7/148 for me in my home workshop, using a single stage press. I fired most of them with no problem in my S&W .357. Pulled and weighed a few to verify the mistake.
My conclusion – admittedly speculative, but based on observation – was that static electricity caused a buildup in the powder measure, of the fine powder created by the shearing effect of the powder measure cylinder rotation. The accumulated deposit would drop of its own weight into ONE case, and the additional volume was too small to be noticed. But the faster burning rate of the pulverized Bullseye added to the normal charge would create excessive pressure.
trigtechr
