S&W 625-JM Catastrophic Failure/Accident

Thanks for posting. Those photos scare me.

It's not just reloads that can blow you up. I was firing my (new to me)Taurus Tracker in 17hmr yesterday. I was shooting Federal ammo and the round didn't go "BANG!" it was more of a "pfffftt". I looked at my wife and said "that didn't sound right". I swung out the cylinder checked the barrel; blocked!
I'm positive that if my wife had been shooting and that "dud' had been in her gun she would have followed it with another round.
Admittedly the Tracker is way over built for the 17hmr but I'd rather not put it to the test.

Today I'm in search of a 5/32s brass rod.
 
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mmhoium said:
I enjoy rifle reloading much more, and if there was an overcharge with those, I'd have powder all over the counter and no way to seat a bullet.
Click to expand...

Glad you're OK. Will a 45 ACP case hold a double charge of the powder you used? Or does it overflow like your rifle loads?


Okie John
 
I really appreciate the thoughts guys. And I can't even explain how happy I am to be here in good health.

I've ruled out barrel obstruction because there was absolutely no barrel damage. I've seen guns with barrel obstructions that get shot. In all of them, there is some sort of evidence whether a barrel bulge or a ring in the barrel where the obstruction was. Borescope showed a clean bore with almost no fouling (30rds thru the gun since cleaning).

Right now, I'm kind of leaning towards the "detonation" explanation or a distraction at the press and I pulled the handle twice. But on the same note, when I tried to recreate the double charge (without a primer and taking significant safety precautions) my press wouldn't seat the bullet I was using. Even when I put some elbow grease into seating the bullet it still was significantly underseated. Wouldn't even come close to fitting in the cylinder. That kind of puts me leaning more towards the detonation explanation. Could have also been something crazy like a charge-and-a-half from the dillon, but it would certainly be a chance encounter - but thats really all it takes, one chance.

I will probably be calling S&W tomorrow and talk with them. They will probably want the last say on what really happened. All of the help I have received here has helped immensely. I feel much better at carrying on an intelligent conversation with them.

On a side note, I had an offer last night for a guy to buy it from me (local friend) so he can use it in his firearms safety courses that he teaches. Seems like a fitting retirement for the gun if Smith can't do anything for me.

Really appreciate the information and experiences from everybody here. :)
 
Glad you are OK. I don't know if I would rule out a scrib load on the previous round fired. You mentioned that the bullet found at your feet had a cut. It seems possible to me that if the previous bullet lodged in the barrel the next bullet would have hit it causing the cut. All of the pressure went upward and then disipated enough that it would not bulge the barrel but still have enough pressure to push both bullets out. Do you have any pic's of the bullet?

Just a thought. Regards.
 
Not sure what caused that but I'd pretty much rule out brass. I've seen magnum brass split the entire length of the case on several occasions during the last 40 years and never had a gun come apart like that. Glad you're ok, that would be a real scare! Talk to Smith and tell them what happened. I'd even ask them if they'd like the gun for examination but you may be right about warranty work(although I don't think they'll hang up!).
 
I called S&W today, after being transferred a few times, I talked to a gentleman who was very interested in more information about what happened. They wanted the gun shipped to them immediately and emailed me a prepaid packing slip. He even asked me if I had taken any photos of what happened or shared with anyone about my experience. I was honest the whole way through. He told me they would take a look at it and it may take a while, but they will get back to me with what they thought happened. Now we wait...
 
Have seen such damage, in an N frame; but it resulted from 3 simultaneous discharges of sub-standard, store-bought ammo. Glad you kept your digits.
 
Glad your ok, I use a high volume powder so if I would pull the handle 2 times with out indexing the powder spills out the top of the case makes a mess, but thats better then a blown up gun! HERCO works good in 45,10mm,38special. Using a powder like win231 in a 38 special case if its a light load you can triple charge it and no powder will come out of top of case.
 
The most probable cause of a double charge with a 550B is when the press is being set up for a new powder charge. It is easy to make a mistake at this time.

After the press is up and running, you are not apt to fail to advance the cartridge. It is before a rhythm is established when the failure to advance would be most likely to happen (allowing a double charge).

MMhoium;
Don't let this accident discourage you from reloading for your revolvers. I am SURE that you will be more vigilant in the future (as, hopefully, we all will)!

Good luck and keep us posted...

FWIW
Dale53
 
Blue Box said:
Glad your ok, I use a high volume powder so if I would pull the handle 2 times with out indexing the powder spills out the top of the case makes a mess, but thats better then a blown up gun! HERCO works good in 45,10mm,38special. Using a powder like win231 in a 38 special case if its a light load you can triple charge it and no powder will come out of top of case.
Click to expand...

The .38 Special and .357 are the ones that really worry me. A .45 I can see the powder level in when placing the bullet prior to seating. Same goes for 9mm, .40, and to a lesser degree 10mm. .38's and .357's are very difficult to see into and will EASILY accept a double or triple charge.:mad: Of course you've still got to make a conscious effort to look each time you place a bullet. Advancing the shell plate on a 550 is an automatic response to me, having loaded tens of thousands of rounds on one. The potential for mishap is when something happens like a primer doesn't seat properly. I have to stop and remove the already charged case from the shellplate prior to cycling the handle again or a double charge will obviously occur.:eek: Someone over on the Brian Enos forum was working on some sort of electronic powder check for the 550 a few years ago and had a working prototype as I recall. Anyone ever hear anything about this?
 
mmhoium said:
On a side note, I had an offer last night for a guy to buy it from me (local friend) so he can use it in his firearms safety courses that he teaches. Seems like a fitting retirement for the gun if Smith can't do anything for me.
Click to expand...

Or you could bring it back to life. The frame, rear sight and cylinder are gone, but the rest of the gun (barrel, sideplate, grips, lockwork) may be usable. The barrel would be a great start on a project gun, or you could part them out. A complete 5" M-625 barrel group should bring $100 or so. I've never seen a stainless N-frame sideplate for sale, so I don't know what it would bring. The complete lockwork is probably worth another $100, and the grips would likely fetch $50.

After all, it's not like you're messing up a pristine collector's item at this point...


Okie John
 
Sorry to see Your beautiful revolver destroyed.
Grateful to hear that You were not injured.

FWIW: every gun detonation (long bbl or short) which I've heard about, was firing cartridges loaded on a progressive machine.

After viewing several destroyed revolvers, I've kept My Rockchucker press, and have continued loading the old fashioned way, albeit slower, though I feel much safer.
 
Its either a double charge or you were using a faster burning powder prior to set up and some was still left in the powder measure.
 
MakeMyNight said:
Sorry to see Your beautiful revolver destroyed.
Grateful to hear that You were not injured.

FWIW: every gun detonation (long bbl or short) which I've heard about, was firing cartridges loaded on a progressive machine.

After viewing several destroyed revolvers, I've kept My Rockchucker press, and have continued loading the old fashioned way, albeit slower, though I feel much safer.
Click to expand...
You make a very good point. There is no substitute for being able to look down in a loading block of charged cases and visually checking that each one has one, and only one, charge of powder in it.

I started on an RCBS Junior, still have it, and may go back to it. Seeing things like this gives me the heebie jeebies, especially since I've had a near miss myself.
 
I was just thinking about getting a progressive reloader(550b),I agree most double charge.i.e.blown up guns have been reloads from a progressive reloader.Something about "Progressive" that gives you more than you bargained for.It looks to be a over pressure load to do that to any gun.
 
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