Taurus with a problem!

C

Casey

New member
Hello all.

Attached is a picture of a Taurus .357 that exploded with a commercial reload. I first posted this under the reloading section, as I am quite sure the cause of the problem was not the revolver but a double charge or other problem with the round.

The revolver was a rental at the local range, but was in pretty good shape (I had looked at it only a couple days before). The rounds fired in it were commercial reloads.

The shooter was not injured except for a small scratch on his hand. He must be living right!

The topstrap went through the ceiling and is still there.

Just for information purposes. I am not knocking the Taurus or revolvers in general, just thought some of you might want to see this.

Casey
 

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  • taurus kaboom.jpg
    taurus kaboom.jpg
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Looks like a pretty typical overload to me. I don't know what powder was used or if a double (or even a triple) charge is possible, but that is what I think the problem was.

Has anyone broken down the other rounds from the same place to see if any of them are overloaded?

FWIW, this is why gun makers warranty their guns only with FACTORY ammo, excluding both the home reloader and the commercial reloader. I have seen all the precautions taken at ammo factories; they may make mistakes, but they damn well make far fewer than I have loading far fewer rounds. As to commercial reloading, this can be anything from near-factory to some guy with a Star and lots of time on his hands. I have known of several people who sell reloads that I would not put in a gun.

I use only factory ammo or my own reloads. If the latter fail, at least I know the name of the SOB who messed up.

Jim
 
With the customer service I've recieved from Taurus I'd send it back to them and see if they can find anything.

Labratory examination might reveal the exact cause and the worse they could do is not warranty it. If the range that owns it does that keep us posted, I for one would like to hear the lab results.
 
I can just imagine it now, the lab report along with returned revolver:

Handgun malfunctioned, possibly due to faulty ammunition... do not use revolver anymore.

Oh, I'm sorry... I suppose I still have a bitter taste from my dealings with EAA.
 
I would have to concour with the rest of the group...whether the gun was a Ruger, S&W or Rossi.....the same charge may have done the same thing to the others.......I dont by reloaded ammo.
Shoot well
 
Agree, likely overcharge. Pretty typical from the picture.

Possibly weakened by an overcharge load in the past that didn't blow the gun.

Topstrap in the ceiling may well be a new record.

Sam
 
I once saw a Ruger .44 SA that looked like that. The owner had reloaded with a "triplex" charge of three different powders, a bit of nonsense that some idiot gunzine guru was touting at the time. I have no idea how many guns the fool's advice sent to the scrap pile, but I doubt that was the only one.

Jim
 
Hello all.

The rest of the cartridges in the batch bought from the reloader appear to be fine, but I don't know if they have taken any apart. They sell a lot of them and have reported no other problems.

The guy who was shooting the revovler didn't really appear to be too upset, actually. If it had been me......

I will ask if they are going to send the revolver back to Taurus to see what they have to say. I would be willing to bet they are going to have a real long discussion with the reloader who is selling them a lot of ammo.

Casey
 
I think it is a M66, I almost had that happen to me. The firing pin struck the edge of the primer, if it would have gone off my gun could have ended up like that.

nsf003
 
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