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Blew Up an XDM40 Today
SemperFiGuy:
It was a very nice Springfield XDM-40. Until today. At the range.
Working on shooting steel. Everything was chugging along just fine. Gun was going Bang-Bang-Bang; steel was going ping-ping-ping, complete w/wiggle.
Then came a Great White Flash and a matching KA-BOOM!! Followed by total bewilderment and immediate damage assessment. Polycarbonate safety glasses worked fine. A few cuts in face from cartridge shards, small cut to strongside hand, and that's about it.
Those plastic guns blow up from the middle and this one followed the pattern quite nicely. The slide system may be salvageable. And the magazine, maybe, if we can ever get it out of the mag well. However, the frame is bulged and the rails are twisted laterally outside the frame. The frame is a complete and total loss. That serial number will now be retired forever.
So What Happened?
Since I was shooting reloads, first-think is overcharged cartridge case. The preceding rounds were lightly charged, maybe 1100fps or so. But the last one was a powerhouse. Most probably like Jimmy Buffett says, "It's my own damn fault". And I'm a known stickler on reloading safety protocol, so how's about them apples!!
I haven't checked the reloading data yet, so can't post it here at the moment. My handgun reloads are always on the light side. Except that Last One.
Can't really think of another plausible reason than powder overcharge. Unless the Cong pulled the bullets and replaced the powder w/C4.
First reload out of tens of thousands to ever KA-BOOM! Now, how to make it the Very Last?
FYI and Always Wear Safety Glasses.
sfg
kozball:
Sucks....... Glad to hear you are OK.
shooter:
try to use a powder that when its double charged, it overflows the case.
bkoenig:
--- Quote from: shooter on July 31, 2014, 10:26:34 PM --- try to use a powder that when its double charged, it overflows the case.
--- End quote ---
I'm a big fan of this.
Just curious, do you load on a progressive or a single stage?
OnTheFly:
Wow! Glad to hear you are ok.
Fly
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