Hangfire at range

A

ajaxinacan

New member
Had a hangfire at the range this weekend with my favorite snubby, a Colt DS. I've shot it for years without this happening, and luckily this time, the delay was about a second and a half, and bullet exited harmlessly downrange. Ammo was UMC, and primer looked normal after examination.

Question for you experts: What are the most common causes of hangfires? Could the problem be my pistol. It shot 50 or so rounds after that with no problem. I am inclined to believe it was the ammo. Am I correct?
 
I would be inclined to agree thaty it wasa theammo. Possibly a mildly contaminated primer that, after a longer period of storage would've gone completely dead. I don't think that "generic" ammo like UMC undergoes quite as stringent quality control as the "higher priced spread." Still, it's cheap practice ammo, and the brass is still good. Not all bad.
Paul B.
 
That's a BAD feeling, isn't it? I've had that happen before, both with my own handloads, and with very old factory ammo.

Agree with Paul, it was likely a contaminated powder/primer situation.
 
That is a real problem, I can imagine doing a rapid fire drill and not immediately realizing what has happened before moving to the next chamber. What would happen then? Would it destroy the revolver? My hand?
 
Man, that would scare the snot out of me. I've NEVER experienced one myself. I have had duds, which I've continued to hold down range. But, as Valdez asked, what would happen to you in a rapid-fire string? Does anyone here know?
 
Hangfire danger

See the Rifle forum for a discussion on hangfires. The things to note here are that if a round does not fire immediately, keep the gun pointed down range. Do not recock the hammer or operate the slide of a pistol. Do not cock the hammer of a revolver to bring up the next chamber. Wait at least 60 seconds before taking any action to clear the gun and resume firing. And, please, no BS! Unless the target is shooting back, safety comes first!

Thanks.

Jim
 
I had that happen once with a range reload on my S&W 442. It scared the hell out of me! The gun just went click. I waited a second or two and started to eject the cylinder when the thing went off in my hand! Luckily it went out the barrel and down range.

Barry
 
Hi, Barry,

Had that round let go after you opened the cylinder and were looking at the cartridges, ........

Jim
 
"Had that round let go after you opened the cylinder and were looking at the cartridges, ........"

...he'd have had a self-ejecting cartridge case.

Physics applies...even in firearms. :)
 
He would also have a face full of powder burns. Ouch.

I had a hangfire once in a Ruger .357 Blackhawk with some reloaded ammo. When the hammer fell it made a noise like "FIP!" (cross between fizz and pop). As I learned in the service, I just held the gun downrange and started counting. Seven seconds later, bang. The bang was not as loud as usual, and the recoil seemed soft. A gunny friend told me that if the case was underloaded, and the powder had shifted away from the primer, a weak primer might smolder for a few seconds before getting hot enough to spark the charge across the air gap.

This is why, even though I will use bargain ammo for practice, my self-defense gun is loaded with first-quality name brand stuff (Speer Gold Dots), and I shoot it up and load fresh rounds every six months or so. A hangfire on the range can be dealt with, a hangfire while facing bad guys is a horrible thought.
 
Hi, Zander,

Not sure what is funny. The case would eject, all right, at high speed and directly into the shooters face or eyes, with burning powder in the picture to boot.

Jim
 
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