I got to come home today: Tale of the double charge

[gopurdue02]

I was on the fence on whether or not to share this story or not: Mostly because I feel completely embarrassed it even happened because of my own incompetence, but I decided to do a write up anyway in the hope that maybe one person reading this message may learn something and not have happen to them what happen to me. Anyway, a bit of prolog is in order (Please try to stay awake: just writing this is a bit of therapy for me after what happened today).
I was bitten by the reloading bug in December before Sandy hook, but after dip ***** was re-elected. I bought a couple of reloading books (not manuals from vendors: but actually reloading books) and read them from cover-to-cover and I set out on setting up what I felt was the most safeties setup I could make. I dry walled my garage and painted it to make it brighter, I expoyed the floors to spot cases, and installed a combination of halogen and other lighting to brighten up my work space. I reloaded my first case, .40 S&W, and quickly expanded to other calibers:

• 9MM Lugar
• .45 ACP
• .308
• .223
• 300 BLK
• 5.7 FN
• .380

Along the way I learned alot about the dangers or reloading and tried to take every step to minimize the risk at the same time cranking out 10's of thousands of rounds of various calibers. I've been reloading .45 ACP for awhile for RCBS dies and I decided to switch it up with .45 ACP Lee dies and build a sample load for Hornady 185 XTP 45100 to use up some bullets I had. Since these were new dies in the mix I went through the steps station-by-station:

• Adjust decapping-resizing die station
• Adjust powder expansion
• adjust powder drop distance as well as powder weight
• adjust bullet setting
• adjust crimp

I did this for one bullet and everything went ok. Cool: time to build a sample lot for firing and chrnolographing the results. I used the Hornady reloading manual 9th addition and I went with the following load:

• Titegroup 5.8 grains
• OAL 1.213
• Winchester Large pistol primers

I worked up a load of 16 rounds to test in both of my kimbers 1911: One full size and the other commander size. *IMPORTANT NOTE* at some point while reloading the sample set I had a problem with the powder die. It wasn't opening up the case mouth enough and was causing problems on my Horandy LNL press when it reached the bullet setting step. What I can theorize is this is when the double charged happened. While messing around with it I must have dropped the powered twice since I was making adjustments with the press at the top of the stroke so it couldn't auto-index and was focused on one stage vs the other stages while making adjustments. I've always been careful of this in the past...but apparently I missed this one.
That happened early this week...fast forward to today. I've had quite the stressful summer of dealing with work garbage and dealing with a newborn in the house I was ready to take the trip I've talked about all summer to hill-side up in Ft Wayne and become a member. I put in my vacation time, jammed mags, packed the truck and headed north. I've had a urge for a very long time to take my FN A5M SPR and hit steel at a 1,000 yards. I've never shot at that distance I wanted to put my .308 handloads to the test. As an afterthought I threw my .45 ACP loads on the truck along with chrnographer to measure where I was at with the loads. Of course that was secondary objective vs what I wanted to do: I wanted to hear the bang and the clang of steel at distance.
I spent most of the morning working from 200-1000 and I got the sound I wanted to hear many of times over. I packed up the rifles and decided to move over the pistol bay and quickly chrno my .45 ACP loads before calling it a day. I wanted to know where they were at as far as FPS and pressure and adjust before doing a production run. I measured out the distances, setup everything, and in the midest of doing all this a shooter came up and started talking to me about reloading and asking what I was doing. I volunteered up the information and he asked if he could stay. Sure, I'm all about learning so why not right? I loaded up 8 rounds in my kmber HD and took aim and shots are:

1. Chroney registered 1156 : Wow that way hotter than the 900 I was looking for. WTF?
2. Chroney registered 338: WTF? Is the chroney screwed up? Maybe that explains the first shot?
3. Chroney registered 1175: Wow, ok twice in a row. That seems really hot. Maybe I need to see how the next shot goes and call it quits.
4. KABOOM

I try to replay it in my head but I can't: It just happened so fast. One moment I getting ready to chronograph load number four and the next moment I was counting to make sure all my fingers were still there. It felt like the gun blew up in my hand. I remember dropping it and looking at my hand and trying to count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 because I couldn't feel my fingers. OK, they are all there. Am I bleeding? I don't feel pain anywhere else. Ok, I am ok. I survived this. WTF just happened? I picked up my kimber (completely marred by the gravel I dropped it on) and the magazine was COMPLETELY blown out. I picked up the magazine and the first thing I noticed is absolutely zero spring tension. I just replaced the mag springs a few months before and they were TIGHT and now it was porno star LOOSE. Next I noticed the top bullet was pushed in at least 1/4 inch (See picture). Next, I see the chamber is not empty . I have to use ALOT of force to pop out the empty shell casing and out pops a blow case. Well there is your problem right their right?

Well, not exactly. I've gone back an forth on this point during my 1 1/2 drive back to Indy and I have two working conclusions:

1. maybe the load was way too hot (like 200 FPS too hot) to begin with and that was the problem. I was running well above target on the chrony prior to the kaboom and maybe I had a week case in the lot
2. However, when I came home I looked at other double charges and the primer was blown out (as was the case in my instance) and case destruction looks identical to a double charge.

IMO it had to be a double charge. Given that I was setting everything up for this initial test batch it makes perfect sense given the problems I was having during the low production run setup. I screwed up and I screwed up in such a way I nearly hurt myself and those around me.

I can't describe how lucky I am that that I got to come home to my wife and newborn with zero injury. If i was shooting a polymer gun or a gun with an unsupported chamber I am sure I would have been taking an ambulance ride somewhere. That is dumb luck and it doesn't below in the reloaders world. I thought I was doing everything right and taking all the right safe guards: but the cold hard reality is all it takes is ONE mistake. One double charge, one squip, one (pick your danger) and you can bee in a really bad spot. I ask that anyone that reads this learn from my mistake so you don't have to be in the position of counting your fingers to make sure they are still there.
To answer the next set of questions of: Why even reload then if it is that damn dangerous? Well, to be honest outside of shooting this is my second biggest hobby. I saw today my loads out-shined the factory ammo hands down. I was consistently printing with my rife at distance and that is why I do this: The fun of making ammo and the fun of shooting accurately



This happened on a Friday. I happened to get out to the range today for some shooting and I noticed a smudge on my glasses. I tried rubbing it out...until I realized it was a piece of brass emended in the lenses. I've never been one to go cheep on safety gear (But of course the idea is always not to make dumb mistakes), but I went with theses for my range glasses:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/26...anced-shooting-glasses-smoke-and-clear-lenses

and it would appear they were highly effective in keeping shrapnel out of my eye.

Here are some images of the shrapnel. I tried to identify the piece with a circle and an arrow.

 

[flashpuppy]

First, glad you're OK and able to tell this story.

Second, why were you loading 16 rounds on an auto indexing press? Do you have more roundsrounds may be double charged? What do the other 12 rounds' charge weigh at?

 

[Kirkd]

Thanks for posting your experience so others can learn. Just out of curiosity, when you got the 2 shots that registered on the chonograpgh, did the shells o any signs of pressure problems?

 

[netsecurity]

Thanks for sharing. Glad you are okay. Hope the gun is salvageable.

I started reloading this year and seem to notice that every time someone reports a kaboom, it is with Titegroup powder. I'm glad I wasn't able to find that stuff, because it seems like an accident waiting to happen.

 

[gopurdue02]

First, glad you're OK and able to tell this story.

Second, why were you loading 16 rounds on an auto indexing press? Do you have more roundsrounds may be double charged? What do the other 12 rounds' charge weigh at?

I was dialing in the press for a much much bigger run of 1,500 rounds of Hornady .45 ACP rounds. My methodology is to work up the loads on the progressive press and then when they are dialed in go into production mode cranking out bullets. I pulled the rest and weight was exactly where I expected them to bet at. At somepoint I got distracted dealing with an issue on another station and lost track of the powder drop station. I have an LED station setup over the bullet set to check for double charges...but that didn't happen this time.

 

[gopurdue02]

Zero signs of pressure. Primers looked normal even though they were almost 200 over max by the book.

 

[gopurdue02]

Other then finish damage from dropping the gun on gravel it seems to be ok. I did a pretty through exam when I got home and it would appear the mag took the brunt of the damage and it is amazing the way the spring is completely compressed along with some of the rounds that were in their. I may give it a go with some factory ammunition next weekend to see how it runs. It definitely appears all the force was directed into the magazine well. The marks you see on my hand are from the gases escaping around the grips. The grips were a bit loose before hand (I have been lazy and haven't Loctite them) and that may have been the saving grace. Definitely glad I was running a steel gun today!

 

[nucone]

Glad you are OK. On the erratic chronograph readings I have seen some similar readings and discovered that the chronograph was too close to the muzzle and was being affected by the muzzle blast. I always verify the chronograph by putting either a factory load or known handload through it before firing my test loads. This not only indicates the chronograph is setup and functioning properly but also acts as a reference case.

It is wise to select a powder such that it is not possible to double charge without spilling out of the case. Unfortunately, this isn't easy to do with some rounds such as the 5.7.

I would also like to add something else for your consideration. It sounds as if you had multiple rounds that had this condition but your description of the reloading sequence and the possible overcharge seems limited to one round. I would also look to ensure you have adequate crimp to ensure you don't get bullet setback during chambering. Such setback could also cause what you experienced.

 

[Broom_jm]

I've had a couple of scary scenarios, but never an actual KABOOM. I will ALWAYS do my load work up on a single stage, using BATCH processing...always. One of the steps in batch processing is that you look down into the cases in the reloading tray, confirming the level of powder in each and every case. For me, this is no more than 40 and often less than half that number. I know there are guys who don't have any reloading equipment, other than their progressive press. I don't think I could ever be comfortable doing load development that way.

When shooting a semi-auto with test loads, I'm guessing it would be really easy to shoot several rounds without stopping in-between each round to locate and fully inspect the fired cases. I'll go so far as to suggest the OP never looked at the condition of his first few cases until he'd already had the KABOOM. I might be wrong about that, but I can see how some guys would do things that way. One advantage of every other action type is that it is much easier to inspect each case immediately after it's fired, and before another round is even chambered.

After an event like this, the OP is contemplating shooting his gun with factory ammunition. I think that's nuts. The potential for other damage that can't be readily identified is very high. I wouldn't shoot that gun on a dare, unless I'd had a competent gunsmith go through it, top to bottom.

And finally, when you're shooting a gun and something seems wrong...STOP! Those high chrony readings were an enormous warning sign that you ignored. The end result could have been so much worse, and I'm glad you're OK, but don't tempt Darwinism any further! Switch to a powder that you cannot possibly double-charge. Yeah, you'll use 1 penny more powder, per round, but if this was caused by a double-charge, it could never happen again.

Thank you for having the courage to post this, knowing some butt-hole like me would come along and blast you for it. Let's hope others see this and avoid making some of the same mistakes, themselves.

 

[SSGSAD]

GoPurdue02, YOUR story, is IMPORTANT !!!!! Don't feel bad, it could have been worse, as you described. Anytime I am setting up dies, or changing ANYTHING, I always put powder, and primers away. I use only brass, and a factory round, or a "known" reload, to "set up" a new set of dies..... VERY GLAD, you are not injured, and able to post, and reload, and shoot another day .....

 

[Bull1315]

Glad you came through that unhurt. Im sure your story will help others who are just starting to reload or thinking about it. I have no doubt that after this you will be one of the safest reloaders around. Hang in there

 

[djones]

Thank you for sharing. Before shooting any factory loads maybe try some low pressure loads or even get a set of headspace gauges too make sure your 1911 is ok.

Good luck in the future. I agree with broom get a single stage for load development.

 

[SNAGGLE TOOTH]

You are a blessed man. Very fortunate. Makes me nervous about my own work

 

[CHCRandy]

Thanks for posting.......I am now double thinking whether I want to start reloading.

 

[M67]

Thanks for posting.......I am now double thinking whether I want to start reloading.

Don't let it deter you. Like many things in life, reloading just takes some practice and careful work.

After many and many of reloads I've never had a double charge (luckily, but I have a lot of rounds yet to be shot). Even shot with mixed powder before (I knew what powders, I went light, I'm cheap, and it worked great but yes, dumb).

Be careful, get a swing of things, be observant, go at your speed, you'll be fine

 

[PGRChaplain]

Glad to hear you are OK! This is a good example to reloaders old & new, pay Attention! I have made it a point to check everything, when distracted even for a moment from loading.

 

[hammer24]

Glad you are OK, and thank you for sharing. One thing has me puzzled, though. Why were your other velocities so high? You should have been getting around 900 fps, but were getting over 1,100? Have you pulled your other loads to check them? Is it possible that bullet setback was causing this instead of a double charge?

 

[gopurdue02]

Glad you are OK, and thank you for sharing. One thing has me puzzled, though. Why were your other velocities so high? You should have been getting around 900 fps, but were getting over 1,100? Have you pulled your other loads to check them? Is it possible that bullet setback was causing this instead of a double charge?

Honestly that is the part I can't figure out as well. The way I test for bullet setback by pounding the bullet against a hard surface and check the measurements to see if they moved under force. I just re-tested the other 12 bullets for setback and none of them had a problem. I also pulled them and the charge weight was between 5.8-5.9 which is par of the course for the course for powder drops. The manual I have list 6.1 as the max with it printing at 950 FPS. Clearly I was well higher then that in the two loads that I chronyed. Also, to answer another posters question I use a tape measure every time and I sent the chrony up exactly 10 feet from my shooting position so I have apples to apples comparisons on performance. I have considered the possibility maybe the rounds were just hot and maybe a hot round + weak case was all it took. But, still a double charge seems more likely to me. I've attached some close up's of the case

 

[ifr2]

Wow. That's a really good wake up call for all of us that reload. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Manatee]

Double charge or double bullets. The blowout is what you would expect the brass to look like in a 45 chamber.

Distraction is the worst enemy of a reloader.

Glad you survived with 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes and no visible shrapnel wounds.