Sorry if this was already posted, but I did not see it.  It is VERY graphic!  I thought it should be posted in the reloading section as it is more likely that a squib or grossly over charged round would come from reloading.  Although tough to watch, it is a sound reminder that we need to be extremely careful during the entire reloading process.  Yes...I know some of these catastrophic failures could be something else.

 

LINK

I tapped out at the 3:00 mark. That can really make you paranoid

As a reloader, something like this is always in the back of my mind. A great reason to double check your scales, powder, and bullets.

The way they kept showing pictures of kids shooting makes it all the more thought provoking. I don't know what I'd do if one of my reloads took the fingers off one of my daughters.

Well i guess the democrats were correct all along. So how do i post in the market place. Im sure a majority of these failures were from operator stupidity Wrong loads dirty chambers old loads and rounds. So how many of you out there personally know and can verify someone you know this happened to. Heck maybe i am wrong and just lucky i still have my fingers Or maybe plan B. market place.

I met someone who blew up his shotgun. he had some sort of barrel obstruction and the end of the barrel blew up into 4 separate strings like some of the rifle barrels on that video. The guy was not injured at all and it was with factory ammo.

It happened to me years ago, with a brand-new .22 pistol that fired out of battery...the .22 round did not completely chamber (part was hanging out of the barrel).  I didn't notice and squeezed the trigger....it wasn't supposed to, but the gun fired it, anyway.  As would be expected, the catridge ruptured and the gasses went downward into the magazine well.  Broke both of the grips and made a pretty mess of the slide/breechface.  I was left with a pretty good stinging in my hand.

 

If I remember right, it was a Lorcin, and was a giveaway/premium offered for a year's membership at an indoor range (now closed) in Pennsauken.

 

EDIT - the range replaced it with another cheepie - a .25 Raven

I've seen a few kabooms. None came even close to injuring someone beyond a small laceration form a chunk of brass. Haven't seen a rifle kaboom in person. You pull the trigger, and hear something other than a bang, clear your malfunction properly and be aware if something is in the barrel. 

Thanks, great post.

 

Two failure to fire scenarios:

 

* Revolver. Can you always assume the bullet never left the case and got lodged in the barrel? Or should you check?

 

* Pistol: If you eject after the failure and an intact round comes out, are you ALWAYS safe?

A shotgun with mud in the bore exploded when a guy shot at a duck. A 44 magnum model 29 with a over max hand load exploded.

Haven't seen anything in person but I did experience a "puff" sound instead of a bang in my 9mm. Wasn't chancing anything, field stripped and pulled the barrel to look and make sure I was good. This video is surely a good depiction of how crap can go wrong.

Thanks, great post.

 

Two failure to fire scenarios:

 

* Revolver. Can you always assume the bullet never left the case and got lodged in the barrel? Or should you check?

 

* Pistol: If you eject after the failure and an intact round comes out, are you ALWAYS safe?

 

No. It doesn't matter how sure you are, you stop and check the barrel. Something has already gone wrong, unless someone is shooting at you don't make it worse, clear the gun and check the barrel.

My father seated a bullet too deep with a max load .40 S&W. Blew the chamber apart on his Glock 22. Luckily he just lost some skin off his knuckle, and nobody was to his right.

Hopefully all of them are either barrel obstructions, fail to chamber properly, or out of spec ammo. I'd hate to think that many kabooms are the result of random catastrophic failure of materials when everything else is in spec.

I've seen some pics that forum members from other boards have posted. The SP 101 in the vid looks like one of the posts. I've also seen a bolt that went back into someone's face because of a forgotten cleaning rod. Eternal vigilance is the cost of this hobby. Reloading is extremely nerve wracking to anyone that does it. The costs of a screw up are huge. It is, however, an amazingly rewarding hobby within a hobby. Thank you for the video.

 

C

 Reloading is extremely nerve wracking to anyone that does it. 

 

Not really. I agree that it isn't a activity for people with short attention spans or people who have a hard time focusing on details. I agree that it has potential explosive repercussions, however it is not a stressful endeavor.  Establish good habits, be a bit OCD about the process, pick appropriate powders, reject any round you  have any doubts about (when there is doubt, there is no doubt), learn about the signs of overpreassure, and don't be cavalier about what your gun tells you when you fire it, don't play with the cat or watch tv while you reload, and you should be fine. 

 

I live in the world where almost everyone I shoot with reloads 10-30k rounds of ammo a year. My nerves are fine. 

This was a fantastic thread. I learned something: Never assume anything.

Makes me want to clean every single gun I own right now.