accidents / pistols blowing up

[Leoncico054]

Just curious. I have owned and shot many rifles and shotguns in my life with no major issues.

What is the statistics on pistols blowing up and what are some things to keep in mind to keep this from happening [other than] (cheap ammunition, shooter error, etc)

thanks,

Leo

[Warners Surplus]

The biggest cause of a firearm "blowing up" is a squib load. A squib is a round that failed to fire for anyone of a couple of reasons but it is usualy caused by a missed powder charge. The primer does not have enough energy to drive the bullet out the barrel. Another cause is powder that got damp and cankered and refuses to burn when the primer fires. The only other reason I have seen is a plugged flash hole. The flash hole is either blocked by a piece of brass that was left behind in the manufacturing process of a lodged piece of tumbling media that had a primer set over it. The primer itself usualy has enough power to drive the bullet just past the forcing cone in a revoler and about 2 inchs down the barrel in a semi.



I have seen quite a few firearms over the years come in with more than one exit hole in the barrel and I have also seen polymer frame pistols blown into hundreds of pieces and all but one of them was caused by a squib load and the majority of those was caused by new reloaders that didn't pay enough attention to detail when loading ammo. The others were caused by reloaders that had YEARS of experience and got to the point where they thought they knew it all and got complacent when reloading.

When out shooting for the day, people need to pay attention! If when you pull the trigger all you hear is a click or a pop or if because of hearing protection you hear nothing then STOP, Let the firearm sit on the bench (pointed in a safe direction ofcourse) to be sure your not faced with a lazy primer. THEN open the action slowly and pay attention to what comes out of the chamber! Was it empty brass? Is there unburned powder everywhere? No matter what if you got anything other then the well know BANG when you pulled the trigger then ALWAYS clear the weopon and check for a barrel obstruction! I have never seen a squib load that had enough power to drive the bullet completely thru the barrel. I have also never seen a firearm survive a squib that wasn't cleared and remain 100% intact!

About 2 years ago, I watched a guy blow up TWO guns in one day!! It was his first and last attempt at reloading!!

How many times have you been at the range and noticed someone racking the slide after a misfire and they never bothered to find out WHY it misfired?


Rich W.

[phill]

Had a guy bring me a S&W 586 to look at it had 4 bullets lodged in the barrel. He said that he thought that he was missing the plate and hitting the weeds on the backstop. His problem was rifle powder instead of pistol powder. Not enough power to do any damage, quit shooting when the cylinder would not turn.
One powder on the bench at a time and empty the powder measure before leaving the bench.

[Warners Surplus]

Had a guy bring me a S&W 586 to look at it had 4 bullets lodged in the barrel. He said that he thought that he was missing the plate and hitting the weeds on the backstop. His problem was rifle powder instead of pistol powder. Not enough power to do any damage, quit shooting when the cylinder would not turn.
One powder on the bench at a time and empty the powder measure before leaving the bench.

The 2 guns I saw the guy blow up in the same day were a S&W 586, he missed a shell when he was running powder, typical squib load! The second shot had powder but the 2 bullets meeting in the barrel was a problem! that one had a spare hole in the barrel about 2 inches from the frame. The second gun he blew up was his sons 30/30 Marlin 336. When he changed from loading for the pistol, he forgot to change powders, full charge of pistol powder in a 30/30 case! Needless to say the chamber was oval and the frame was cracked on that one!

Rich W.

[phill]

This guy was working up cowboy loads and did not pay enough attention to know that they were squibs. I could not believe it when I found that the barrel was full, should have been a wreck. Don't know what the load was but it must have been very light(understatement). After we cleared the barrel the 586 cycled and timed and lined up fine.
Was told a story by a professional shooter about getting Winchester Action Pistol when he thought it was Winchester Magnum Rifle. The results were spectactular to say the least, splintered the stock, split the barrel and blew the bolt. Fortunate he received no permanent damage.

[Bug44]

any photos of uns that blew up?

[cms81586]

Most of the Glock Kabooms you hear about are .40 s&w's. Glocks unsupported chamber combined with shitty ammo don't work out well. I've also seen pictures online of a HK USP in .45 blown to pieces but I didn't get the story on that one.

CMS

[PA Rifleman]

any photos of uns that blew up?

Everywhere on the internet. Google is your friend. Everything in this post should link back to the source.

www.gobango.net/basefile/assd/kabooms.htm
http://www.pishtov.com/Glock/G-Gallery.htm

[dc dalton]

When out shooting for the day, people need to pay attention! If when you pull the trigger all you hear is a click or a pop or if because of hearing protection you hear nothing then STOP, Let the firearm sit on the bench (pointed in a safe direction ofcourse) to be sure your not faced with a lazy primer. THEN open the action slowly and pay attention to what comes out of the chamber! Was it empty brass? Is there unburned powder everywhere? No matter what if you got anything other then the well know BANG when you pulled the trigger then ALWAYS clear the weopon and check for a barrel obstruction!

Should be engraved at every range on every bench ... seen too many accidents by people not following that advice

[1shot1kill]

I have had a walther ppk blow up in my hands once jam gone bad lol other than that I havent had any problems with any other handguns I have played with. As the old saying goes sh$& happens