Hot Reload?

[moss20]

Ever wonder why you are told to wear that stupid ole eye protection when shooting? J This is why you have to pay attention when reloading. A guy came into our department the other day to ask a favor. He had a S&W 629 that he wanted to dispose of after a mishap at the range. He said there was a loud bang when he tested his new load and the gun smacked him in the forehead, leaving a nice gash. When the tweety birds cleared, this is what he saw.......

Man...All I can say is that had to be one Hellava HOT Load !!!! I load mine up pretty Hot using either "Blue Dot" Magnum Powder or "Unique" pushing a "Speer" 240 gr. jac. hollow-point. SSomething just doesn't look right here to Me !! Makes no sence that the bullet didn't shoot...UNLESS it was the wrong size !?!? Looks like it made it past the "crimp", but the bullet shows no sign of wedging in the barrel that I can see. I can't see how the bullet stayed in the cylinder !?!? How did the bullet get into "THAT" position !?!? Kinda reminds me of what happens when you plug the end of your shotgun barrel w/Mud or Dirt...that powder blast has to go somewhere !!!!! Maybe the "Case" had a crack in it and the "Loader" missed seeing it when he loaded this shell !?!? Look at pics #2 & #3...the "cylinder" appears to be "Crimpping" the bullet !?!? I bet "S&W " would like to examine this gun !!

s&w2.jpg (66.19 KiB) Viewed 3963 times

s&w3.jpg (56.09 KiB) Viewed 3962 times

s&w4.jpg (66.9 KiB) Viewed 3962 times

[zephyp]

The 629 is a pretty hefty gun and he would have had to have a super hot load to do that. My question is the cartridge that still has the bullet - are you sure thats the one that was at the top? Looks like the top part of the cylinder blew and took the offending round with it. That one with the bullet still there could have been next in line.

[moss20]

This is an e-mail a friend forwarded to me, so I could post it here for you all to see.

[Palladin]

Owww..... This is why I check and double check and check again while reloading. KB's come in may shapes and sizes, and there are many stories about reduced charges, S.E.E.s and double charges. This looks like when the cylinder blew the before and after cartridges were torn open and ignited by the blast. Or maybe the shock of the detonation set of the other two loads as the gun came apart. I would really like to know the whole story...


http://www.reloadammo.com/liteload.htm

http://forums.handloads.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13753

[gunderwood]

The 629 is a pretty hefty gun and he would have had to have a super hot load to do that. My question is the cartridge that still has the bullet - are you sure thats the one that was at the top? Looks like the top part of the cylinder blew and took the offending round with it. That one with the bullet still there could have been next in line.

I agree with this analysis. The bullet that is left from the next round likely was pushed a little way out as the powder burned behind it, but didn't go far since the cylinder had exploded; nothing to direct the pressure.

The bullet looks a lot like a Hornady XTP.

It could be a manufacturing defect or possibly a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. However, looking up the engineering drawing and measuring a .44mag (not 629) I'm not entirely sure how you could chamber a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. The .44mag is straight walled and the OD at the mouth was .456". Now the "right" .45cal bullet is smaller than this, but with the brass thickness it shouldn't work. Also, a .45cal bullet is larger than the opening in the front of the cylinder by a non-trivial amount. Thus, if the bearing surface was extended much past the end of the case, it also shouldn't fit. All of this ignores the probable difficulties in even getting a .45cal bullet into a .44mag case. After all that, I'm thinking the bullet wasn't the issue.

In a revolver, a cracked case neck shouldn't be that big of a problem. I.e. if the brass was defective, I don't think the cylinder should have gone.

[WRW]

Don't know if it is from the rupture, but the cylinder appears to not be aligned.

[zephyp]

The 629 is a pretty hefty gun and he would have had to have a super hot load to do that. My question is the cartridge that still has the bullet - are you sure thats the one that was at the top? Looks like the top part of the cylinder blew and took the offending round with it. That one with the bullet still there could have been next in line.

I agree with this analysis. The bullet that is left from the next round likely was pushed a little way out as the powder burned behind it, but didn't go far since the cylinder had exploded; nothing to direct the pressure.

The bullet looks a lot like a Hornady XTP.

It could be a manufacturing defect or possibly a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. However, looking up the engineering drawing and measuring a .44mag (not 629) I'm not entirely sure how you could chamber a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. The .44mag is straight walled and the OD at the mouth was .456". Now the "right" .45cal bullet is smaller than this, but with the brass thickness it shouldn't work. Also, a .45cal bullet is larger than the opening in the front of the cylinder by a non-trivial amount. Thus, if the bearing surface was extended much past the end of the case, it also shouldn't fit. All of this ignores the probable difficulties in even getting a .45cal bullet into a .44mag case. After all that, I'm thinking the bullet wasn't the issue.

In a revolver, a cracked case neck shouldn't be that big of a problem. I.e. if the brass was defective, I don't think the cylinder should have gone.

That bullet looks to long to be a .45 ACP bullet or a .451 diameter period for that matter.

[gunderwood]

The 629 is a pretty hefty gun and he would have had to have a super hot load to do that. My question is the cartridge that still has the bullet - are you sure thats the one that was at the top? Looks like the top part of the cylinder blew and took the offending round with it. That one with the bullet still there could have been next in line.

I agree with this analysis. The bullet that is left from the next round likely was pushed a little way out as the powder burned behind it, but didn't go far since the cylinder had exploded; nothing to direct the pressure.

The bullet looks a lot like a Hornady XTP.

It could be a manufacturing defect or possibly a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. However, looking up the engineering drawing and measuring a .44mag (not 629) I'm not entirely sure how you could chamber a .45cal bullet in a .44mag. The .44mag is straight walled and the OD at the mouth was .456". Now the "right" .45cal bullet is smaller than this, but with the brass thickness it shouldn't work. Also, a .45cal bullet is larger than the opening in the front of the cylinder by a non-trivial amount. Thus, if the bearing surface was extended much past the end of the case, it also shouldn't fit. All of this ignores the probable difficulties in even getting a .45cal bullet into a .44mag case. After all that, I'm thinking the bullet wasn't the issue.

In a revolver, a cracked case neck shouldn't be that big of a problem. I.e. if the brass was defective, I don't think the cylinder should have gone.

That bullet looks to long to be a .45 ACP bullet or a .451 diameter period for that matter.

Yes, it definitely is not .45ACP. I was thinking of bullets used for .45LC, .454Casull.

[zephyp]

I was also thinking about a casull - 300 gr. maybe? The diameter is pretty close.

[gfost1]

Howdy, Y'all,

Did anyone look to see if there is a bullet in the barrel?

Might not mean anything, but it looks like there is one(at least) empty chamber, beneath the one with the bullet. My guess is There were five in and #4 went boom. Bet #3 stuck in the barrel.

Regards,

George