Posted on 11/19/2009 7:48:01 AM PST by Notoriously Conservative
I got the following pictures in an e-mail. How would a revolver explode like this?
(Excerpt) Read more at notoriouslyconservative.com ...
He had to change his underwear at the very least.
The N-frame .357’s with some exceptions use a thinner barrel. This is likely a 629 or 657 (.44 and .41 Mag) given the size of the rounds in the first picture.
I knew a guy who would stuff as much WW296 in the .44 Mag as could be done and produce giant fireballs. No thanks.
That movie Support Your Local Sheriff scene where James
Garner stuck his finger in Walter Brennens six-shooter was
pretty funny too
Then, the failing cylinder, splitting at thinnest point between chambers, picked up the brass casings in each adjacent chamber acting like hooks and split the brass allowing the powder charge in those rounds to ignite.
The resulting pressure continued the fracture of the cylinder fully in half, and separated the top strap and sight. The remaining brass appears to have been exploded rather than crushed, which is consistent with this theory.
A truly hilarious movie.
“If that gun had gone off, it’d of blowed right up in my face.”
“Now it wouldn’t have done my finger a hell of a lot of good either, would it?”
SnakeDoc
Post 13
That or a barrel obstruction was what I was thinking, the round blew out the cylinder walls and ignited both adjacent rounds (note that one bullet barely protrude beyond the cylinder). The amount of damage also suggests a double charge.
I had a .357 Colt once that developed severe leading after only a few round and accuracy was very poor. When I examined the gun further I determined that the cylinder had to be locked up manually when cocked.
Worked fine after the factory repaired it but never liked shooting it and traded it for a heavier framed S&W.
W/O reading all the previous responses, I am of the opinion that the round of ammunition in the chamber aligned with the bore was the culprit-this round of ammunition for several potenial reasons, likely caused all the damage, with the left and right chambers being destroyed by catastrophic case and cylinder failure.
An over/double charge is likley the cause-double base (Nitro cellulose/Nitrogylcerin) powders are quite fast and an excessive or double charges can casue the damage seen here. Perhaps during the ensuing destruction, cylinder fragments accompanied by flame and heat indeed penetrated the adjacent cartridge cases after rupturing the cylyinder walls, casuing the powder in those rounds to ignite as well. Likley this event (if it happended) did little or no additional damage.
I have seen several revolver cylinders ruptured in a similar fashion, all attributed to (poorly) reloaded ammunition.
Lesson Learned: If you buy reloads from some other entity, STOP. your body parts ar enot worth the risk. If you reload, insure each and every round is checked for proper powder charge, either visually or mechanically at the press. Use a locking die that stops production if a case on a progessive press has either a hi or lo powder condition, forcing you to remove it and correct the problem.
Be safe! Wear eye and ear protection, shoot in long sleeves and wear a brimmed hat. Shooting is inherently risky IF something goes south. Otherwise, it is one of the safest sport/activity in the nation. Ping pong hurts more folks than recreational shooting, but when it does, it usually is of greater injury.
Best;
My take on the failure is that someone overloaded the charges and there was a failure (slow burn?) on the first shot. When cycling to the next chamber, the first blew while in mid-cycle, and cascaded to the adjoining chambers.
I have never seen a failure like this, and I hope the owner/shooter gives up what they were doing so the rest of us can learn and avoid such a failure...
That movie was funny from the opening scene, where as I recall Garner stretched the rope across the street and tripped the rowdies on their horses.
From then on, it was, “Mornin’, Sheriff...”
Thanks for reminding me, I have to rent that one...
This gun was obviously put in the microwave.
Looks like a Smith & Wesson.
They do that all the time.
Buy a Colt or Ruger.
http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/smith-wesson/88267-kaboom-another-ouchy-s-w-629-a.html
The explosion in one chamber triggered the explosion in the other.
I can’t buy the unaligned cylinder theory. That will usually just result in some shaved lead (watch your eyes). It looks to me like just a cheap, crappy gun.
Looks like the cylinder didnt line up with the barrel when it went boom. Defect in the gun.
Too much powder in the reload.
Nice paper weight/discussion piece.
Oops.
Yup. Interesting picture when compared to the one in the article. The adjacent shells in this photo are ignited but compressed. The article photo has the ignited shells blown open, indicating a higher loading.
either of those could be the cause. I would not rule out someone not checking closely and loading with ++ loads.
I know a guy who was just starting to handload and used Bullseye instead of Unique. He is lucky to have all his body parts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.