A first for me at the range...

A

AllenJ

New member
Was at the range last week with my oldest son Spencer and a good friend named Dave. My son was lining up his 7mm Rem Mag for a shot, Dave was watching through my spotting scope, and I was watching through a pair of binoculars. Just before Spencer squeezes the trigger a guy a few tables down shoots and something goes over our heads. Now nothing sounded out of the ordinary when the guy shot but I did think that was a really weird angle for a ricochet. I remember thinking, "well at least none of us is going to the hospital". After Spencer shot we all looked to see the guy holding what used to be a working revolver, the cylinder was half gone! One older guy was chewing the shooter out, seems a piece hit his truck. Everyone else was just happy nobody got hurt.
 
That's something to remember for a long time. Would have to laugh after finding out no one was injured. Shame for the gun though. Was this factory ammo or a boo boo due from reloads. Thanks for sharing.
 
Not sure about the ammo, I decided not to go down to talk to him as he looked to have enough people to deal with already. Once the crowd cleared he loaded up and left.
 
Is this possible with factory ammo??... Now I have to be concerned about my gun blowing up in my hand with ammo from the manufactures?

New shooter by the way, haven't even purchased my first gun, but is this cause for concern?
 
I would not let it concern you. I have been shooting since I was 9 years old (I am 50 now) and this is the first time I have ever been around a gun that blew up. And yes it could have been factory ammo but since I did not go down and talk to him, we'll never know for sure.
 
Not knowing what the gun was but it sounded like the gun that shoots 410 and 45 acp (not the Judge) and someone shot a 45 long colt in it. It blew up.
 
Not knowing what the gun was but it sounded like the gun that shoots 410 and 45 acp (not the Judge) and someone shot a 45 long colt in it. It blew up.
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  • .45ACP operates at significantly higher pressure than standard .45 Colt, 21k psi vs. 14k psi. If it can handle .45ACP, it can handle standard .45 Colt without problems.
  • I'm not aware of a .410 revolver on the market that can't handle .45 Colt, as a .410 shotshell is substantially longer than a .45 Colt cartridge. (The S&W Governor has a minor limit on loading more than one type of ammo at once because the factory "1/3 moon" clips HAVE to be used to load .45ACP, but it can handle all 3 ammo types in the same cylinder.)
  • AFAIK none of the .410 revolvers on the market are rated to handle .45 Colt+P factory ammo or "Ruger Only" handloads. This ammo has a max pressure of 27.5k psi, well beyond .45ACP, and nearly double standard pressure. Perhaps this is what has you confused.
Besides, there are all sorts of ways to blow up revolvers with a variety of ammo-related mistakes, but there's no way we can definitively conclude what happened in this incident without more information. (For instance, the shooter could have fired factory .38Spl+P from an ancient S&W without a heat-treated cylinder.)
 
I think I got this mixed up with the 45 long colt. It may be really a 45-70 or something like it. I'd have to find the article I've read but if y'all remember the movie, "The Three Kings" it's that pistol with the long cylinder used to shoot at the helicopter.
 
I've mentioned this in a post on another forum and some of you may have already heard it if so sorry. My Brother in Law's Judge done this very thing. The ammo he was using was brown bear .410 buckshot. It's funny now but wasn't at the time.
 
I think I got this mixed up with the 45 long colt. It may be really a 45-70 or something like it.
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.410 has the same diameter as .45 Colt; .45-70 has the same neck diameter, but it is tapered and has a larger base diameter, whereas .45 Colt (and .410) are straight-walled. Therefore, .45-70 does not interchange with the others.

FWIW there's technically no such thing as "Long" Colt, although this name is commonly used to refer to regular .45 Colt. This nickname likely originated in the late 19th century when the U.S. Army simultaneously used the shorter .45 Schofield cartridge in their S&W Model No. 3 revolvers and the longer .45 Colt cartridge in their Colt SAA's. The latter gun could fire ammo made for the former but not the reverse, so the terms ".45 Short" and ".45 Long" were used to help keep things straight. However, the proper name for the cartridge was always (and remains) the .45 Colt. There were never "short" and "long" Colt variations like with .32 and .38 caliber.
...if y'all remember the movie, "The Three Kings" it's that pistol with the long cylinder used to shoot at the helicopter.
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According to IMFDB, this gun is a Thunder 5, a commercially unsuccessful and little-known spiritual predecessor of the Taurus Judge. It is chambered in .45 Colt / .410 shotshell, just like the Judge.
 
Most of the buffalo bore stuff is loaded VERY hot. and Then some... the +P stuff he put in the gun is meant for Ruger #1, Converted Siamese mausers, etc, VERY strong actions. Well, thank God he wasnt hurt and no one else was either. :eek:
 
BOOM!

Many years ago I had a Colt Delta Elite (10mm) blow up. Ammo was store bought and I later found out the ammo was made for a specific gun club on the other side of the country. The club discovered the ammo was defective and the manufacturer was to dispose all. I guess not.

Eye protection does work as my face was pock marked all over except where the glasses were.

The Colt performed as designed and locked up but I did get powder burns and a memorable sting to my hand.

Found out the bullets were TRIPLE loaded!

Colt replaced the gun after having their engineers taking the gun apart...destructively.
 
Is this possible with factory ammo??... Now I have to be concerned about my gun blowing up in my hand with ammo from the manufactures?

New shooter by the way, haven't even purchased my first gun, but is this cause for concern?
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Sheriff Gotcha

One thought came to mind after reading your post... even though kabooms like this are rare with factory ammo, it can happen. Overcharged/undercharged rds can be the culprit as well as a malfunction or something wrong with your firearm.

A couple notes:

1. Always wear safety/shooting glasses while shooting.

2. Learn your firearm and when cleaning, inspect parts for excessive wear and cracks.

3. This is a biggie...if your shooting and a round doesn't sound or feel right ( not as loud, recoil feels different)...STOP. Clear and Inspect your weapon. Especially making sure the bore is clear. A 'squib load' can surely ruin your day if you fire another round and the projectile from the squib rd. is still lodged in the barrel.

There are other tips I've left out and I'm sure others will chime in.
 
Is this possible with factory ammo??... Now I have to be concerned about my gun blowing up in my hand with ammo from the manufactures?

New shooter by the way, haven't even purchased my first gun, but is this cause for concern?
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While it is possible with factory ammo of the appropriate caliber, it is extremely rare. The vast majority of blown-up guns are results of either reloading mistakes (usually a double charge) or other shooter-induced stupidity (Ah know this aint the cartridge the gun is s'posed to use, but it fits in the chamber dad gummit, KABOOM).
 
I have a friend who ordered some .45 Colt ammo through the mail. When he received it he came to my house and wanted to shoot.

While he was unpacking his stuff I read "Warning: This .45 Colt ammunition is loaded to pressures well above industry standards and should NEVER be fired in ANY guns of the Colt SAA family or replicas there of. These rounds should ONLY be fired in a Ruger, Freedom Arms or T/C Contender...."

This ammunition was manufactured by Georgia Arms and labeled "45 Colt Deer Stopper"

After reading him the warning and getting some of my reloading manuals to show him the pressure differences, he reluctantly agreed he probably should not fire them in his gun. I still have the 250 rounds, unopened in one of my drawers, where it can not be inadvertently grabbed and used in any of my guns.

Is this possible with factory ammo??... Now I have to be concerned about my gun blowing up in my hand with ammo from the manufactures?
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Not if you follow common sense rules listed by the others. Know what your gun is capable of and know what type of ammo it shoots.

If he had opened those packages before he arrived at my house, instead of bringing them with him, we would have thought they were like every other .45 Colt round.

I know a guy who shoots left handed now because he thought if a round fit, it was OK to shoot it.
 
I have indeed personally seen 1 gun, and photos of several others that have self destructed in similar manner with factory ammo. So, it does happen. But, as noted, it is very, very rare if the right ammunition is used for each gun.

As with almost anything else, there are probably people involved in the hobby of reloading who likely shouldn't be. If you're short on patience and don't like to read, it's probably not for you. If you like to experiment or take shortcuts with little concern over what might happen, it's probably not for you.

As a reloader since 1976, I'm fortunate to be able to say that I've never had a double charged load, and only 1 squib. But, I'm not done yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
 
Ah, thanks for the name of the gun. Now I can go find the article about the blowup.Then we'll know what's that cartridge that blew up the gun.

BRB.

EDIT: Here it is.

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/non-xd-...ded-range.html
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I think that must be yet another incident: OP said that the shooter got his ear chewed off by a disgruntled truck owner, and his son was shooting a rifle: must have been an outdoor range, no?

If so then that's two cases: best find the model of gun and avoid it!!
 
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