Well, this is embarrassing

[DocV]

Ego bruised, grips cracked but no other damage.

[tomtexan]

Yikes!

[DocV]

A 1911 with an Ed Brown barrel. It was supposed to be 5.2 of Titegroup under a 200 grain SWC.
The primer is flatter than expected and cratered.
It was a small batch so I am using the kinetic puller on them all just to be certain.

[maintenanceguy]

Was this the round that discharged when you pulled the trigger or did you get a double discharge? Looks like the round was not fully in the chamber. Would be unlikely that your 1911 would actually fire with the round sticking out of the chamber by almost 1/4 inch. That's why I'm wondering if this was the round that was being fed into the chamber and somehow the firing pin was stuck in the forward position. The round met resistance when it was entering the chamber and the protruding firing pin discharged the round before it was fully inserted.

[DocV]

That was the round. There were three left in the magazine. The two other rounds were still in the magazine and were badly mangled. The last round in the mag had its projectile shoved down to where the nose of the projectile was flush with the mouth of the case. The projectile on the other round was gouged and only slightly displaced.

The 1911 won't go into battery if the round is that far out of the chamber. My guess is it was driven back during the failure.

I have a no-go gauge on the way to check for an oversized chamber, although I may fit a new barrel even if this one passes the chamber check.

Oh, and the grip checkering and powder made a tiny tattoo on my left thumb.

Edits: Spelling checkers. :(

[DocV]

That blown case is deformed. The case length now measures .87 where a 45 acp case is supposed to measure .898 inches in length. The extractor groove is also mashed back. I imagine the actual blowout area is slightly further back than where it now appears to be.


Corrected: .77 to .87.

[SRH78]

Glad you are alright. The results could have been worse.

[Abraham]

I can't find the original link.

All I see is "image" "image".

Was the link improper somehow?

Thanks!

[DocV]

I can't find the original link.

All I see is "image" "image".

Was the link improper somehow?

Thanks!

Hmm. It is one of those "works for me things"
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg5 ... ot8cb1.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Excaliber]

Looks like the round was not fully in the chamber.

No, that's not the issue here - many pistols don't fully enclose the case due to the feedramp. The challenge is to give the case as much support as possible despite the presence of the feedramp, but it'll never be perfect.

It looks to me like the blowout occurred at the unsupported part of the chamber at the feed ramp. Note that the opening is semicircular. It looks like it stopped at the part of the chamber where the shell is supported.

Likely cause: Overpressure due to either too much powder or a projectile seated too deep in the case.

[ghostrider]

I have a couple of cases like that - just haven't had time to post the details. I'll start a new thread when I get a chance. Quick summary: 9mm; one suspected weak case, one suspected overcharge.

[rotor]

The famous Glock kaboom is with reloaded .40 S&W shells because Glocks apparently don't have enough support but I hadn't heard it with any other caliper. Lee manual specifically says not to reload .40 S&W shot from Glocks. Should not be a problem for .45 though. Bad brass, double load of powder, bullet that may have seated too deeply (or moved during firing other shells), gremlins, who knows. I may be overly cautious but everything I reload goes through a Wilson case gauge for testing.