Exploding Rifle
#13
Fork Horn
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
From: canada
the load does seem a over the top but there must be some x factor we arent aware of. it sounds alot like something was built up or blocking that barrel. but then again the load could have been so hot it ripped the jacket of the bullet
#15
He's very fortunate that he didn't get hurt or hurt someone else. Reloading is a great hobby by itself, but requires 110% focus. Check and recheck loading data before you start, and NEVER use data from an internet source, no matter who it is.
I was shooting at an indoor range next to a very friendly older gentleman with a S&W .38 Spl revolver. He was shooting wadcutters using a very light load of Bullseye, and shooting very well from years of practice. The last shot of his string took the top half of the cylinder off and bent the topstrap backwards into a "C" shape. Amazingly, no one was hurt despite a crowded range and all the metal that was flying around. The poor guy was very apologetic and embarassed. He had been reloading for 50 years, and never before had an incident. Looking down into cases in a loading block, it is impossible to tell if a case has been overcharged using 2 or 3 grains of a fast burning powder like Bullseye. They all look the same, but he had mistakenly double charged one of them. An easy mistake to make, that could have been his last.
Focus, focus, focus!
I was shooting at an indoor range next to a very friendly older gentleman with a S&W .38 Spl revolver. He was shooting wadcutters using a very light load of Bullseye, and shooting very well from years of practice. The last shot of his string took the top half of the cylinder off and bent the topstrap backwards into a "C" shape. Amazingly, no one was hurt despite a crowded range and all the metal that was flying around. The poor guy was very apologetic and embarassed. He had been reloading for 50 years, and never before had an incident. Looking down into cases in a loading block, it is impossible to tell if a case has been overcharged using 2 or 3 grains of a fast burning powder like Bullseye. They all look the same, but he had mistakenly double charged one of them. An easy mistake to make, that could have been his last.
Focus, focus, focus!
#17
Thread Starter
Spike
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
From:
I don't know what brand of scope it was, must have been at least a 4-12, saw no gold ring like on a Leupold. It had the adjustment on the front bell. I just figure it would be toast too. That much pressure should have caused it to leak any nitrogen fill it had.
#18
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,408
Likes: 0
From:
This is why I wedge the bullet into a case immediately after dropping the powder before placing it back in the block...
#19
Typical Buck
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 604
Likes: 0
I load slow for caliber powders for exactly this reason. If I mess up and overcharge significantly I will not be able to seat the bullet. One way of idiot proofing my reloading.
While I could still over charge a round I cannot get pressures to the point of catastrophic failures. I hit the cases capacity limit before pressure are high enough to actually blow stuff up.
While I could still over charge a round I cannot get pressures to the point of catastrophic failures. I hit the cases capacity limit before pressure are high enough to actually blow stuff up.



