Saw a glock Kboom today...

[Fargo]

You never said... How's your friends hand ?

Sure didn't like hearing this. The G32 is what I carry and shoot often.

You could be on to something about firing out of battery. I know that the crimp die in the Lee (3) die set puts pressure downward as it crimps and if a case just a few thousandths longer then the rest slips in, it will buckle the shoulder just enough that it won't chamber fully. Initially, I would find this a few times out of every 100 I would load. Going to the Lee factory crimp die using the collet type crimp, totally eliminated this possibility.

Going to answer both you and a couple other questions here.

Hand was stinging and numb for a while.

I've seen cases that have failed due to unsupported chamber/hot load but that wasn't at all what this looked like. A significant portion of the case was bulged outward approximately 1/16th of an inch with a clear even ring at the top of the bulge showing where the chamber had stopped the expansion. The only place the ring is interrupted is where the case failed at the unsupported portion.

This could be at least partially due to the ammo if that is what caused it to remain out of battery and/or if a more sensitive primer was used which would go off with a light OOB strike. That said, I'm still a bit queasy if the gun really did fire that far from being locked up.

I've been told that willingness to fire out of battery which was a problem some of the earlier generations of glocks reportedly had which led to some of glock's "manufacturer's upgrades". That said, I don't really know.

I'll get in touch with the owner and see if he can email me some pics.

Best,

Joe

ETA: the bulge/failure of the case looks almost exactly like the one on the upper right of this page:

The Gun Zone -- Glock 19 kB!

 

[STEEL CORE]

RE Loads..............sums it up.

 

[avengedXT]

That totally sucks.

I personally haven't heard any reports of other polymer based handguns going kaboom in the hand, but I don't read that much

I still feel safe with my G23. Factory loads, and NOTHING else for me

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Call #1 should probably be to the commercial re-loader...


-J-

 

[Aszerigan]

Not sure why people poo-poo commercial reloads so much. I'll agree, there is some bad reloading companies out there, but most of the time, people can't tell the different between my reloads and factory ammo. Just saying.... if you do it right, then a reload is just as good, and I'll stand behind that.

 

[Aszerigan]

Call #1 should probably be to the commercial re-loader...

-J-

Agreed. Give them a chance to fix it. If they're worth their salt, they will.

 

[dom1104]

40k psi cartridge... check.
Glock Pistol.... check.


I have never heard of anything like this happening before in my life.

 

[BlueEagle]

QFT!!!

Freudian slip? LOL

Yeah, I was typing fast and not paying attention. That should've said REliability.

Don't drink and post, kids.

 

[007BondJamesBond007]

I have used factory reloads during the ammo shortage and had more problems with FTF's and such. I have seen bulges in the cases and other defects. I stopped using factory reloads in my guns. The powder was so dirty and quickly blacken my gun. Glock and most gun manufacturer warn not to use reload in their firearms. That being a brand new Glock you voided the warranty and now we don't know if it is Glock's fault or the ammo faults. Never try reloads in a brand new firearm for first time out.

 

[gunbunnies]

Not trying to Glock bash in any since of the word but they do fire out of battery, and the images you posted seem to look to me like a out of battery detonation. Now I would also contact the ammo manufacturer and make sure there wasn't anything funny about the load or if they have had any other cases like your friends... Glock won't do anything for you probably as they will wash their hands of the whole situation as soon as you state the cartridges were re-manufactured as that is their SOP at least as another person I know that had his Glock blow up on him has stated. There are many reports of Glocks blowing up from OOB and the flawed design of the 40 S&W cartridge with no cantelure in the bullet design and running 165 GR bullets and bigger which were designed for the 10mm cartridge rather than the 40... That is a over pressure issue as the 40 was pushed into service before all the kinks were worked out... You can seat a 9mm or a 45 ACP bullet quite a bit deeper in the cartridge before the SAMMI pressures get out of hand than you can with the 40 cal. Now the 357 SIG can't go much deeper in the case without becoming a floating object in the case so I don't think that would be the same issue with the cartridge design. Any way's thats my .02 cents worth... Hope your friends hands are OK...

 

[HICKMAN]

INGO member here recently had a kaboom in his M&P...

it can happen to anyone, anytime, with any gun.

 

[E5RANGER375]

Agreed. Give them a chance to fix it. If they're worth their salt, they will.

can they fix blown off fingers too?

 

[E5RANGER375]

INGO member here recently had a kaboom in his M&P...

it can happen to anyone, anytime, with any gun.

LIES

 

[Fordtough25]

INGO member here recently had a kaboom in his M&P...

it can happen to anyone, anytime, with any gun.

There it is, it can happen to anyone with any gun at any time.

 

[Hoosier9]

Reloads again.

Can't say that I'm surprised. The only cartridges that I have ever had problems with in a semiauto pistol have been commercial reloads. I gave them up a long time ago, and only use new factory ammo in any of my guns. I can save money on something else, my guns and my safety are worth it.

 

[Roadie]

Hmm, I ran through a case of Precision Cartridge Factory reloads without a KABOOM...

Logically, if Factory Reloads are unsafe, wouldnt home reloads be more so?

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Logically, if Factory Reloads are unsafe, wouldnt home reloads be more so?

No one's saying that, categorically, factory reloads, or even professional reloads aren't safe.

If that were the case, you'd have a MUCH more difficult time buying the stuff that you do now.

And, if anything, reloading at home might be MORE safe because if you your job right, you inspect each case at every step to be sure that it's not under loaded nor over loaded.

Improperly loaded cartridges come out of brand newly loaded factories, too, you know. If it was the case the guy in the OP was using WWB or PNC Bronze or UMC... Call #1 would be to the manufacturer of the ammo.

Reloads are not automatically any more dangerous than factory new (in my opinion)


-J-

 

[Leo]

Not justifying anything, but Federal has a recall going with some lot numbers of .45 ammo. I know the original guy was not shooting a .45, but I wonder how it would all settle with glock and/or the ammo maker if they were factory new cases. I have personally seen an AR-15 blow up in the line, (WW296 powder was mistaken for WW748) and a guy next to me blew up a .38 S&W with no name gun show reloads. That guy actually gave me the rest of the cartridges in the baggie, like I would shoot them. I have seen at least 3 hunting shotguns with a split/bulged barrel due to dirt or snow, and a blown up M-14 on base that was using Hirtenburg ammo. It is possible with anything, I would not blame glock. Hopefully no one lost any fingers.

 

[dom1104]

Lets remember, the .357 sig is not exactly reload friendly either.....

Confluence of bad ideas.

 

[cold queso]

New $600 Glock, check.

New $50 holster, check.

$30 gas to drive to range, check.

$20 range fee, check.

$20 lunch, check.

SAVING $5 on no-name reloads, PRICELESS!!!