My Blown Up Rifle

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Negligence?

Not trying to pick a fight or anything because from your defense position you seemed to have done as much as you could to ensure a proper load given the progressive loading practice. However in your original statement didn't you say that you cleared the bolt after a shot didn't feel right, then inserted a fresh magazine, resumed shooting and blew up the gun? Didn't you mention injuring yourself and another shooter?

Those actions are negligence, don't believe me ask a trial lawyer. Especially in light of the fact that you knew the shot had not gone off like it should. At that time, clearing the bolt did not insure the bore was free of obstruction, continuing to shoot was negligent no matter how many rounds you fire a year.

You posted the thread to get feedback and to lament the destruction of your firearm. People here are giving that to you and from reading it, most is constructive, not confrontational. Blaming the case, primer, powder or bullet or various parts to the rifle don't add up especially when you the shooter were in control of the trigger after the bad round didn't detonate as expected. You controled the reload, obviously the determining factor of failure and no amount of experience will guarantee a mistake wasn't made. Dillon makes a great press but even their powder sensors aren't fullproof, both of the ones I had on a 650 and SL900 failed at one time or another, always give it a visual glance to insure adequate powder is in the case.

Quite honestly you are very lucky the other shooter(s) were not injured or worse. Had they been, I can assure you criticism, constructive or otherwise, on this forum would pale in comparison to what the plaintiffs attorney would be preparing to do to you. Everyone makes mistakes and your seems to be culpability in accepting the fact you loaded the fresh mag in, chambered a round and pulled the trigger after a single round did not work as it should have.

In short, you were the negligent party whether or not you are willing to admit it. None of the other factors or criticism or advice mean a thing until you admit that one fact.
 
I personally think having a professional help adjust my dies is a much better way to learn to reload and get it right the first time
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So how's that working out for you?

I think you're in denial. If you wasn't at fault and neither was your friend, then what? Who learns to reload with a 800 round batch first time? Who let's someone else set up their equipment? Why wasn't you more involved with the process?

Sure, let you more experienced friend help to show you the ropes. Key word there being help and not do.
 
Come on, guys, I'm sure he feels bad enough that he destroyed a nice rifle.... pointing out his errors more than once is piling on.

Constructive criticism and solutions, with an emphasis on the latter would be helpful to him and others.
 
Again, trying to be helpful -

I have run into a few guys at our range who reload, and one lamented about the amount of time it took, that he enjoyed shooting but not reloading. In other words, it isn't a separate hobby for everyone. A brief discussion occurred, and it was agreed that reloading just takes a certain amount of time, to do it right. And, doing it right is more important than anything else.

IMO, a single stage press is no guarantee of safety. It might make learning the details of reloading, including "things going slightly off track", easier because they are happening more slowly, but ultimately the entire process has to be understood.

I can't remember if I was using grams or grains
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Well, a gram is roughly 15.4gr, and most reloading scales display in gr, so it was probably a 20gr difference rather than a 300gr difference.

What I meant by the statement "doesn't accomplish anything useful" is that it can't prevent over- or under-charging. A 2 or 3 gr difference in powder charge can be significant.

You could perhaps believe you can detect "no powder" by weighing, but since this can't detect a possibly dangerous 2 gr overcharge, it isn't terribly useful as a safety check, IMO.

Better to verify thrown powder by check-weighing every 20 or 50 rds, to make sure the powder measure is performing consistently. As you noted earlier, there is often no single "right way" in reloading. I perform a powder measure check every box, when I pause to label, so that's either 20 for rifle or 50 for pistol. Others may do something different, and that doesn't make what they are doing wrong, as long as they are monitoring the process.

So, my suggestion is to try to get a "mind-set" more attuned to the fussy little stuff that is part of reloading. It will make learning it easier, and eventually you will be have the confidence that comes from knowing exactly what is going on when you're reloading.

Good luck.
 
The safest advice you can give someone is to not shoot at all. /QUOTE]

With all due respect, Bull, reloading,shooting like any sport takes planning, thinking, following safety rules, I've seen far too many people purchase an AR or Mini 14 head to the range with 500 rounds of ammo and begin spraying as they seen on tv while I'm not saying you did this certainly, my original post stands if you reloading with speed and shoot with speed it will reach up and bite you at some point. I have nearly 50 years reloading/shooting never damaged a gun,it can happen with commerical or reloads but your reading some good advice in this thread consider all.
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Honestly, if you had loaded a mag full of factory ammo, and upon the first shot you experienced the same results... whose fault would that be?

This first batch of 800 rifle rounds was my only experience with rifle reloading
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A lot of reloaders, myself included, when loading something new/for the first time tend to make small batches very carefully. Then go out and test them. After feedback, then fine tune, and then proceed. This process can include well kept records, chronograph, attention to detail, and concentrating on the task at hand. And oftentimes takes a number of "turns at bat" before producing a "good round". It doesn't matter that your friends recipe works for him, what matters is that you understand how to make a round that works for you.

Also, having your friend teach you how to set up, as opposed to setting up, will aid in your understanding of the process. Sounds like something went wrong in regards to the ammo; who made the ammo?
 
My wild guess speculation,which could be wrong:
You had a squib,drove a bullet into the bore,jacked another round in,and made your kaboom.
No crimp adjustment,crimp,no crimp,had anything to do with it.
If you are using an appropriate powder,you cant fit enough in the 5.56 case to wreck a gun like that. It was not an overcharge.Likely,you will not feel powder moving if you shake the round due to load density.
How about this:Instead of adding the operation of trying to find the escaped bad round through inspection(weighing,shaking,etc) you apply that time and effort while you are loading and go for zero defects?Something observable happens in the reloading process when a squib is made.How about too much powder being dumped and making a mess?There was a bridge,and it means another round did not get a full charge.
Your range procedure,OK,you want to get the juices up and go tactical.Its a game,and safety has to be number one.On the range,pulling the trigger with no bang ,or anything unusual,is not time for immediate action drill.It is time to stop and investigate.
 
I started reloading a year ago, and my choice of press was (and still is) a Hornady progressive.

It's not whether it's a single stage or progressive- the guy pulling the handle of the press has just as much control over the load process as with a single stage. At 500-600 rounds per month for the three of us, I'd be in the nuthouse if I had to do it single stage.

I still use mine mostly as a "single stage", meaning, I have only one piece of brass in the shellplate at a time. When starting a load, I weigh every charge of the first half-dozen or so once I've adjusted the powder drop to ensure I've got the consistency I'm looking for. If there's more than a couple tenth's variation, I keep checking. I primarily use Varget for the three calibers I load, and it meters like crap (as do all stick powders from what I've read). So, if I'm anywhere near max load, I weigh every charge.

I guess the point I'm making is it's not whether it's a single-stage or progressive- equal care can (and should) be taken with each.
 
My wild guess speculation,which could be wrong:
You had a squib,drove a bullet into the bore,jacked another round in,and made your kaboom.
No crimp adjustment,crimp,no crimp,had anything to do with it.
If you are using an appropriate powder,you cant fit enough in the 5.56 case to wreck a gun like that. It was not an overcharge.Likely,you will not feel powder moving if you shake the round due to load density.
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This. To a T.

I'm not going to say 'no-way no-how' that a bad crimp or bullet movement caused the kaboom, but its extremely unlikely with the .223 /AR-15 combination. Its a very real danger in pistol ammo, but that's a whole different animal.
I saw the reports too about the police rifle blowup a few weeks back and the first and incorrect conclusion they jumped to was bullet setback- unfortunately this sounds like its becoming an old wives tale on the internet now- sort of like being told you'll catch the flu if you go outside in winter without a stocking cap on.:rolleyes:

I'm not going to saythat progressive presses are inherently more dangerous- but most kaboom stories seem to fall under a few different categories:
Bullet setback in pistols- not necessarily a reloading problem/issue
Wrong powder used- more likely a single stage reloader.
squib followed by full power load- progressive reloader
 
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Another theoretical possibility:If the bolt cam breaks,the carrier can go full forward without rotating the bolt to lock.
 
Bullet in bore

I'm with HiBc, it sure sounds like a cartridge with no powder in it to me. When Wolf first hit the market I had the same thing happen. The ammo was junk and I was shooting a bolt action at a range. I had ear muffs on and felt nothing when I pulled the trigger. I jacked the round out and saw it roll across the table with no bullet in it. The primer had wedged the bullet in the bore almost two inches, easily enough room for a new round. I had a hard time knocking that bullet out. Try and ram a loose bullet up a bore with another bullet, especially if it is only powered by the action spring.
 
My good friend who is a professional shooter and instructor helped me setup the machine for .223. The fact that he has loaded 100's of thousands of rounds allowed me to trust his experience. I do not know how much crimp he setup on my machine if any without going and measuring.
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You let someone setup the machine you load ammo with and reloaded just off off that!
If you can't set up the machine properly or even if you do and just don't know what your making with it blindly maybe you should take a step back from it for a little while, and study into what you are doing before you try again.

Every machine will require adjustment after so long. Your buddy cannot just set it up and it will be that way for ever. You need to check out how its ammo is measuring up every so many rounds and verify things like every cartidge having powder after each stroke.

I do not know how much crimp he setup on my machine
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Bottom line is if its my well being on the line I would make derned sure I new and understood exactly everything that was going on.
 
I wasn't trying to be overly harsh when I made my other post, but while this reloading thing is not rocket science, it is dangerous enough that attention to detail has to be done and not delegated to another.

That's what happened to this Rifle. OP didn't double check anything because he had too much confidence in another and it bit him for doing it. The professed professional probably set him fairly good, yet maybe not perfect, and OP should have been interested enough to catch it.

Don't delegate quality control to another. Glad you're ok.
 
So can anyone on this thread come up with definitive proof it was the reloaders fault other than their opinion? I would say it would be a possibility but I could not prove it without physically assessing the evidence. I think some of you are being harsh on this guy. That is just my two cents worth.
 
Well,I did give the bolt cam possibility....And I did say "Climb back on that horse!"
For myself,how I look at life,when I can say"I messed up.I'm a fallible human and I made a mistake" I then gain the power to identify and correct my problem.Sugar coating is OK,and I started that way till our
op got a little surly.
Its a serious subject.The guy next to him that just got stung a little could have caught a piece of steel through his skull.
But,OK,I give up.Group hug,group hug.Koom bay ahh,koom bay ahh
No one made a mistake,there is nothing to change.Self esteem over all.
Just keep doing whatever you were doing.Group hug.
Outside evil forces blew up the gun.Koom bay ahhh.
We have come to understand we are powerless over kabooms...
Koom bay ahhh
Where do i sign up for sensitivity training?
 
Eghad, I think it's better for people to be overly harsh, than for them to be really nice while letting the OP ignore things he very well might have done that caused the problem.

I've blown up a gun before, due to a squib, but that was a revolver. My first squib... but it was definitely my fault for not checking the bore. I just didn't recognize the problem.

If somebody had told me, prior, that if the round sounds funny, you should check the bore, that might have made a difference. As it was, I learned the hard way, but I learned.

Whether there was a bullet in the bore or not, the OP sounds like he was negligent, as he did not mention ever checking his bore after the strange sounding round. It was negligent to assume there was never a round, and the bolt release had simply let go. By the OP's description, he was going for speed, assumed all was safe... and he probably fired into a squib.

Again, not being holier than thou, as I've done that. (Close enough, no reload required, just another trigger pull... )

I'm not sure he would necessarily have a blown barrel, depending on where the bullet might have been in the bore. He says the barrel wasn't blown, but I wonder if it was bulged at all near the chamber.

In any case, he learned the hard way, as I did, to check the bore.
 
So can anyone on this thread come up with definitive proof it was the reloaders fault other than their opinion? I would say it would be a possibility but I could not prove it without physically assessing the evidence. I think some of you are being harsh on this guy.
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I believe that we do not "need" to have "definitive proof". What we have is some "sloppy"/lack of attention to detail/potentially dangerous reloading going on. What that does is increase the probability of problems occurring; one example being exactly like what was posted in the OP.

Even if the rifle suffered a mechanical failure that was not ammo related, the probability of something "bad" happening at some point is still higher with the described reloading regimen.

Harsh? I think not. What if you were the one standing next to him when the "bomb" went off; or your wife, daughter, son...

Not a one of us is perfect; however, we can increase the likelihood that our reloads "go with the program" by taking this very seriously and listening to and learning from those who have done it successfully for some time and then taking personal responsibility/accountability for the entire process and ensuring a quality end result ...

A good strong hint should be the "piling on" that has occurred here. And as has been noted above, the "piling on" really gathered steam when the OP "declared citizenship in a river in Egypt".
 
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