Overpressure signs on primers?

[alwslate]

.44 Magnum, 240 gr cast or jacketed bullet, H110/296 powder, .357 Magnum, 158 gr cast or jacketed bullet, 2400 powder. You will run out of case capacity long before reaching dangerous pressure levels.

 

[cmj8591]

I'm sorry, but I'm calling BULL on this one! I can testify from experience that you can easily get enough H110 in a cartridge to cause a problem. While I'm sure that the statement was well intentioned, it is nevertheless a very careless and dangerous assumption. A 2 grain overcharge is definitely possible, and the fact that all I had to do was beat the cylinder out of my Super Blackhawk with a mallet and then hammer the case out to get the gun operational again was nothing short of divine providence. I quickly stopped using that powder measure and started weighing each max load.

The maximum loads with 296 and H110 as listed in any loading manual are at 98 to 99% of the usable space inside a 44 magnum case. It's possible that your Ruger had other issues. But don't believe me, load a case with the max and measure from the top of the charge to the case mouth then subtract the amount of the bullet that will be inside of the case when seated to the proper case length. There will be little to no room left once the bullet is seated. As it is, the reason you tend to get muzzle flash with those powders is that they burn so slow a lot of it burns outside of the barrel. Lets say you had the ability to add powder and you brought the loading density to 100% or 110%. (Those powders are very dense. Compressing a charge beyond 100% case capacity would be difficult but let's go with it for the sake of argument.) Because of the slow rate of burn, the extra is only going to burn outside the barrel or get ejected unburnt. It's not going to increase the pressure. It's a diminishing returns kind of thing. You can believe what you want but it is what it is.

 

[shocker]

I blew up a gun with a 170,000 psi handload and the primer looked fine.

 

[DWalt]

I suppose some shooters love all that recoil and muzzle blast. I do not happen to be one of them.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I blew up a gun with a 170,000 psi handload and the primer looked fine.

Brass starts to flow at 65k;

Primers pop at 65-70k.

How did you get to 170,000 psi and in what load?

 

[Dvus]

I suppose some shooters love all that recoil and muzzle blast. I do not happen to be one of them.

I used to be one, but now with arthritis and poor hearing, I tend to migrate toward .38 specials now.

 

[Dvus]

Cmj8591, you and others can say that you can't blow up a gun with H110/296 all you want, all I hear is noise, because none of you in your right mind would try it. When you do, let me know how it goes. Be sure to try it in your model 29, or better yet, a Llama. Just because my Super Blackhawk didn't blow to pieces doesn't mean everything else won't either.

 

[cmj8591]

Cmj8591, you and others can say that you can't blow up a gun with H110/296 all you want, all I hear is noise, because none of you in your right mind would try it. When you do, let me know how it goes. Be sure to try it in your model 29, or better yet, a Llama. Just because my Super Blackhawk didn't blow to pieces doesn't mean everything else won't either.

It's the laws of physics my friend. Everything else is conjecture.

 

[dogdoc]

A chronograph is your best bet to know if you are in ball park. If your velocity is close to what the book says for your load ,you are likely ok. Of course there could be exceptions but that is what I use since I do not have pressure testing equipment. Primers are unreliable for any pressure estimate