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Sunday, October 13, 2013
Ammo blues #1...
Failure to extract with Fiocchi plated 125gr .357 SIG caused this round to get slammed into the still-chambered spent case, setting the bullet back into the case by a rather... noticeable amount.
Aw, drop it in a drilled hole in a steel plate and shoot the prime with a .22 for a good long ways away!
Scribble, scribble... "How Did Accident Occur..." Scribble, scribble.
(WV: "Festioa 98," which I believe had a booth in the midway where you could do that, only with a pellet gun and water balloons. 'Cos they got tough gun laws down that way.)
>Silly question......where did the powder behind the actual bullet go?
I assume they used a really fast powder, making the volume of powder in the round rather small.
This can be a really inexpensive way to reload, as powder is priced by the pound, not by the joule, but it sets you up to where you could easily load a double or triple charge and not notice things. With a lot of empty head space in the case, I've also heard that the powder position in the case can cause variances.
Statically, factory ammo has a better record than your average reload, so you gotta assume the factory has better quality control. You could detect a double charge, for example, by weighing the entire round after assembly.
I was standing about three feet to your right when you took that. The problem lies in improperly-crimped reloads. One of the guys there had actually pinched a bullet into the case with his fingers. That's not the caliber's fault. I would guess that the fail to extract was the gun's fault, but perhaps the case got shoehorned in because of poor case sizing.
"Statically, factory ammo has a better record than your average reload, so you gotta assume the factory has better quality control. You could detect a double charge, for example, by weighing the entire round after assembly."
1) I think you meant "Statistically". 2) My reloads are better than factory. I've never loaded a primer in backwards. I found a factory round in that condition in the middle of a Bullseye competition.
3) Between the weight variances of the cases and the bullets, and the small amounts of powder used in pistol rounds, weighing your finished ammo for double or triple charges is not very reliable. I prefer using a mirror and a bright light when using a progressive press, or just the bright light when using a single-stage press and a loading block.
That would be the new Fiocchi round for compact carry pistols?
ReplyDeleteSweet grenade.
ReplyDeleteHey, it's the new improved Nagant pistol round!!!
ReplyDeleteOr the new .357 Sig HBWCJSP target load
ReplyDeleteOops, my bad, HBWCFMJ Target load
ReplyDeleteThe exploding target load -- which would be a real setback!
ReplyDeleteA bottleneck round has its advantages...and disadvantages when you only have a short neck to crimp!
ReplyDelete.357 SIG Kurz
ReplyDeleteThat can also happen to pistol calibers in a tube fed lever action if the crimp is weak, especialy with plated bullets that have no cannelure.
ReplyDeleteThe difference from that .357 Sig pictured is that one of those could actually be chambered with potentially disastrous results.
Yeah... I'm gonna have to recommend you don't shoot that one. ;)
ReplyDeleteAw, drop it in a drilled hole in a steel plate and shoot the prime with a .22 for a good long ways away!
ReplyDeleteScribble, scribble... "How Did Accident Occur..." Scribble, scribble.
(WV: "Festioa 98," which I believe had a booth in the midway where you could do that, only with a pellet gun and water balloons. 'Cos they got tough gun laws down that way.)
Tam, what .357SIG guns would you recommend?
ReplyDeleteThat'll hammer out. A couple whacks in a kinetic puller and that bad boy is good to go.
ReplyDeleteThe new .40 SABOT round?
ReplyDeleteOTOH, you know the recoil spring is in great shape.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Never seen that with my S&W revolvers.
ReplyDeleteSilly question......where did the powder behind the actual bullet go?
ReplyDeleteKaeghl
>Silly question......where did the powder behind the actual bullet go?
ReplyDeleteI assume they used a really fast powder, making the volume of powder in the round rather small.
This can be a really inexpensive way to reload, as powder is priced by the pound, not by the joule, but it sets you up to where you could easily load a double or triple charge and not notice things. With a lot of empty head space in the case, I've also heard that the powder position in the case can cause variances.
Statically, factory ammo has a better record than your average reload, so you gotta assume the factory has better quality control. You could detect a double charge, for example, by weighing the entire round after assembly.
-SM
"I assume they used a really fast powder, making the volume of powder in the round rather small.
ReplyDeleteThis can be a really inexpensive way to reload".......
.....until you figure in the cost of the wrecked guns: it takes a whole lotta cheap reloads to add up to the price of a gun.
,
I was standing about three feet to your right when you took that. The problem lies in improperly-crimped reloads. One of the guys there had actually pinched a bullet into the case with his fingers. That's not the caliber's fault.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the fail to extract was the gun's fault, but perhaps the case got shoehorned in because of poor case sizing.
Matt G,
ReplyDelete"I was standing about three feet to your right when you took that. The problem lies in improperly-crimped reloads."
The round in that picture is a factory new Fiocchi 125gr FMJ.
The reloads you are talking about were nickel cases and Golden Saber bullets.
"Statically, factory ammo has a better record than your average reload, so you gotta assume the factory has better quality control. You could detect a double charge, for example, by weighing the entire round after assembly."
ReplyDelete1) I think you meant "Statistically".
2) My reloads are better than factory. I've never loaded a primer in backwards. I found a factory round in that condition in the middle of a Bullseye competition.
3) Between the weight variances of the cases and the bullets, and the small amounts of powder used in pistol rounds, weighing your finished ammo for double or triple charges is not very reliable. I prefer using a mirror and a bright light when using a progressive press, or just the bright light when using a single-stage press and a loading block.