Double Load(checked that box)?

[Garet Jax]

Catastrophic failure:

I was at the range this morning and this happened. I had experienced a squib round(no powder) where the primer pushed the 9mm bullet into the rifling. Hearing just a puff sound, I knew to stop, wait, drop the mag and eject the expected empty case. I made the gun safe and pulled the slide. I removed the barrel and cleared the dead bullet. I ran a dry patch through the barrel and began shooting again.

What I hadn't thought of, since I reload on a progressive press, if there is a squib, there is likely to be a double load. Well, five rounds later, I found it! BLAMMO!

I'm just glad there was no one else nearby to catch the flying gun parts. And yes, it did hurt like hell, but a change in underpants was not required. A couple of fellow shooters on our other pistol range helped clean and bandage me up.

The Trijicon and the Olight both still work!

I can now check the box that asks; Have you ever had a handgun blow up in my hands?

I am glad you are OK.

Excuse my ignorance. I am assuming it squibed because no gun powder was in the round. I am also assuming a double load is when you load 2x the gun powder in one round. Is that true?

Thanks.

 

[outrider58]

I am glad you are OK.

Excuse my ignorance. I am assuming it squibed because no gun powder was in the round. I am also assuming a double load is when you load 2x the gun powder in one round. Is that true?

Thanks.

Yes. In a progressive type press, if you have an empty squib(no powder at all) it is likely you'll have a double charged cartridge. One usually follows the other and is usually(in my case) because there was a reason for me to stop and fix some form of malfunction in the process.

There are also weak powder charges due to different reasons that will not lead to a double charge like, you ran out of powder in the hopper, or some other thing cause the powder dump to not be adequate. Bugs, lint, foreign objects, bridging, all could cause in incomplete charge.

 

[atblis]

It's one argument for an auto indexing progressive.

 

[kstone803]

Titegroup was my guess. One way to help avoid this is to use something like Unique. Alliant has 6.3 gr as the max for a 115 gr 9x19 load, which is at least clean to the top of the case. No possibly way you could double charge with Alliant Unique unless you took a wooden dowel or similar and packed the powder in before charging again.

I said to myself titegroup as soon as I opened this. Not because I'm psychic but because of the three unintentional disassemblies I've witnessed while RSOing they have all been 9mm reloads with titegroup. I recommend new reloaders stay away from it for the reasons you state above. Glad everyone was ok. I run N320 now and love it for many reasons but one is it fills a case fairly full.

 

[inkd]

Jeebus man. That is some scary $hit right there. Glad you're okay.

Sorry about the gun. But, they can be replaced. Fingers and eyes, not so much.

 

[lazarus]

Glad you are okay and sorry your gun is destroyed.

How does two charges get deposited in one case on a progessive press? How does it miss one and hold it for another? Now I'll never move past a single stage press.

Lee classic is the most compromise of both worlds :-)

Easy to check every case. And loss a lot faster than a single stage.

OP, glad you are okay. Sorry it happened and I’ll try not to make jokes about you still being handy the next time we hang out. Which should be sometime soon, speaking of. It’s been ages.

 

[rbird7282]

Damn that sucks. That’s not a list I want to be on that’s for sure.

Glad you came out of it relatively unscathed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mauser58]

Damn Outrider! Sorry your gun is trashed but glad you didnt get cut up bad. You were lucky

 

[FN509Fan]

Thanks! Me too!

+1 from a fellow handloader
Here's to hoping I never join the club!

 

[DadOSix]

Dang!

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Thanks for sharing. That’s exactly what a healthy community does.

We tend to take familiar stuff for granted.

Damned glad you are ok.

 

[outrider58]

Thanks for sharing. That’s exactly what a healthy community does.

We tend to take familiar stuff for granted.

Damned glad you are ok.

Thanks.

And I had just gotten that gun set up the way I liked it...

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Thanks.

And I had just gotten that gun set up the way I liked it...

How bout that hand? I’m guessing that was just the way you wanted it set up too. Yikes

 

[outrider58]

How bout that hand? I’m guessing that was just the way you wanted it set up too. Yikes

Hand is fine now, ave for the occasional bit of polymer that deeds removal.

It felt like I was hit with a sledgehammer for a couple day after.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Hand is fine now, ave for the occasional bit of polymer that deeds removal.

It felt like I was hit with a sledgehammer for a couple day after.

Glad you’re on the mend. I’ve never liked events where the bits keep cropping up (through your dermis) for some time to come.

 

[erwos]

WOW! IIRC you load on a Dillon 550. Knock on wood, to date I've not encountered either a squib or a double load.

I saw that picture and the FIRST THING I thought was "I bet this is yet another satisfied Dillon 550 user".

I'm not saying this can't happen on a 650, but you have to work a lot harder at it between the auto-indexing and the powder measure failsafe. Blaming Titegroup is an excuse, IMHO.

Glad you're OK, OP.

 

[trickg]

I saw that picture and the FIRST THING I thought was "I bet this is yet another satisfied Dillon 550 user".

I'm not saying this can't happen on a 650, but you have to work a lot harder at it between the auto-indexing and the powder measure failsafe. Blaming Titegroup is an excuse, IMHO.

Glad you're OK, OP.

I've used Titegroup a little bit - honestly, not one of my favorite powders in the bit of it I've tried - but I was surprised at how dense it is and how little space it takes up. Depending on the load, I can see how someone could double charge and not necessarily notice it.

I really work to try to stay focused when reloading so that I don't create squibs or double charges on my 550. So far, so good, but I'm sure it could probably happen.

 

[GuitarmanNick]

Glad you were not more seriously injured.
Think I will stick with my single stage press.

 

[erwos]

I've used Titegroup a little bit - honestly, not one of my favorite powders in the bit of it I've tried - but I was surprised at how dense it is and how little space it takes up. Depending on the load, I can see how someone could double charge and not necessarily notice it.

Yeah, but the problem is that trying to orient your powders around screwups in your process is fixing a symptom, not the root cause. I've used TG for maybe five years now in 9mm, and never had a double charge, because I don't load on presses that make it super-easy to double-charge if you get distracted for a moment.

FWIW, I also load 9 Major with serious case fill, and I would submit to you that that also has its own set of challenges on a progressive press.

 

[outrider58]

I saw that picture and the FIRST THING I thought was "I bet this is yet another satisfied Dillon 550 user".

I'm not saying this can't happen on a 650, but you have to work a lot harder at it between the auto-indexing and the powder measure failsafe. Blaming Titegroup is an excuse, IMHO.

Glad you're OK, OP.

Thanks erwos. As I think I said somewhere in here, I am definitely changing my procedure. That should all but eliminate the slightest chance of a double charge.

I did try to repeat a double charge days later, just to see if 'I should have noticed something...'. I did this in a dead case, of course. It filled the case almost to the top(which I usually look at), but when it came to pushing the bullet down into it, it might as well have been an empty case. There was no discernible difference in feel.

I have a pistol class this Saturday. I haven't shot since last week's debacle.