Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Ouch.

Shooting is a hobby that involves having an explosion go off in a tube you're holding in your hands.

Sometimes the explosion gets out of the tube.

That's gonna leave a mark.


(via email from the Pergelator.)
Posted by @
Labels: ,

16 comments:

Les Jones said...

I read about that on THR. Thread here.

The explodeyness involved reloaded ammo, and a couple of folks explain some of the challenges in safely reloading 5.7mm. See, for instance, this post which has pics showing how much 5.7mm brass will stretch after just one firing. If the case isn't resized it can cause out-of-battery firing, potentially resulting in explodeyness.

10:30 AM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

I'll stick with my .45 ACP, thankee...... much lower operatin' pressure. Not idiot proof, but more forgiving than the latest whizbang plastic fantastic idiot magnets that are flying off the shelves for peanuts.......

12:17 PM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

I'm with les on this one, I got dies for my PS90, and looking over the once fired brass I sometimes found evidence of cracks around the shoulder. Now I know why NONE of my reloading manuals has 5.7 data. I still want a fiveseven, they're just too damned expensive for what they are. I'd also love to see a little varmint gun in this caliber!

12:21 PM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

I'm with Jimbob. I wouldn't trade my 1911s for a truckload of those FNs.

And for all you non-reloaders out there, have fun finding that 5.7 ammo easily in a few years.

4:58 PM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

That reminds me.
I need to grease my balls...

Shut up, over there!

...(AHEM) in my .36 Remington cap and ball revolver.

What were you sick-os thinking? That I'd ENJOY a chain-fire?

Word Verification: jytve

hmm...
nope, nuttin

8:04 PM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

Seems like FN is competing with H&K for the "You suck, and we hate you," customer service motto. . .

8:06 PM, May 14, 2008
Anonymous said...

Ben, I don't think it will fade so easily. I'm pegging it to replace the 22 hornet as a rimless, high velocity varminter with a mild report. But I think I will can my plans to reload for the PS90/fiveseven, as case stretch given the case wall thickness seems excessive. All reports of KB's that I've heard of were reloads. people shooting factory loads don't seem to have problems. Or have I missed something?

I'm regrettably willing to bet this is operator error in hand loading.

Oh and about those snide I'll keep the 1911 A1 comments. Overload the 45 ACP and you'll get a pretty bad KB as well, the unsupported case head will rupture firing 20KPSI gasses down the mag well, out the ejection port and through the trigger group. Nothing is idiot proof, idiots are too inventive.

2:53 AM, May 15, 2008
staghounds said...

"inspect it, destroy it, and give f3rr37 a "deep discount" on a new gun."

I'll bet they did.

8:44 AM, May 15, 2008
Tam said...

The 5.7 is one of those cartidges, like the .460XVR, that I think would be swell...

...in a T/C Encore.

8:49 AM, May 15, 2008
Anonymous said...

"in a T/C Encore"

Or a custom Remington. I think Shilen makes barrels.

10:47 AM, May 15, 2008
Jay G said...

Tam,

I'd offer an NEF Handi-rifle as an excellent platform for the .460 S&W, actually. I've fired one in .500 S&W Magnum and it's quite enjoyable...

11:35 AM, May 15, 2008
Tam said...

Yes, but I already have the Encore.

The .405 Winchester and .50 cal muzzleloading barrels are getting lonely. :)

11:37 AM, May 15, 2008
Anonymous said...

Ahh, the Encore! the caliber options are limited only by your tolerance for pain!

Get a .30 Herrett from SSK just to make people wonder. it has 30-30 power from a 10" barrel, and pointy bullets for flatter trajectory and more retained energy.

12:56 PM, May 15, 2008
Assrot said...

I was just thinking that this guy was probably using reloaded ammo and I see from the comments that I am correct in that assumption.

While I don't think they are the greatest gun on the market I've always known FN guns to be pretty reliable and have never heard of one blowing up like this.

I hope the person is okay and heals completely from the wounds received during this debacle. I doubt a lawsuit is going to get the person anywhere if reloaded ammo was indeed used.

I'm pretty sure every gun maker on the planet has a disclaimer about using reloaded ammo and how they do not recommend it.

Molon Labe,
Joe

P.S. - You reloaders be careful out there. Especially if you're a beginner. Take the time to learn how to do it right. Spend some time with someone that has been reloading for awhile and has no prior history of blowing guns up with their reloaded ammo.

5:44 PM, May 15, 2008
RevGreg said...

He suggests a "demostration" to "prove" that the FiveseveN can fire out of battery but there is only one problem...his methodology is flawed and does not duplicate the normal operation of the piece. His suggestion is that one pull back the slide and then slowly move it forward until the hammer drops...he states that the slide is 1/8" to 1/4" out of battery when it fires. The problem is that this is a semiautomatic weapon and when the slide comes forward after firing, the hammer may be cocked but the sear trip is still held until the trigger is released. The hammer won't fall until the trigger is fully released and re-engaged. This means that for his weapon to fire out of battery he had to have pulled the trigger, released it and pulled it again in literally hundredths of a second. Frankly, I wouldn't shoot ANY factory semi pistol that fast...you want custom shop work done to make sure that the timing is very tight if you're going to play those games.

The other possibility is that he had a primer that was not fully seated (he was shooting reloads) and upon stripping/chambering it made enough contact with the bolt face to cause it detonate. This actually seems more likely given his photos as it looks like there's about 1/2"+ of case lodged in the slide and his demonstration suggests that the slide would be farther forward than that which would likely have ruptured the case much closer to it's base.

4:54 PM, May 16, 2008
RevGreg said...

Now that I've actually had some discussion with the shooter, it looks like the actual problem was a failure to return to battery after the first shot. Bulged brass or a foreign object...I'd side with the former. Small, thin-walled, high pressure round...maybe a twice fired case...maybe a slightly hot load the previous time around. In a weapon which may fire 1/4" out of battery that's a recipe for disaster!

6:05 PM, May 16, 2008

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)