Pay Attention People!

[timmy75]

It is my friend's gun, almost a brand-new CZ Shadow 2. He is a new and inexperienced shooter and reloader. Although he knew what a squib is, he experienced his first jam (first jam ever of any type for him) during a training stage. He thought he had a failure to eject (FTE), manually ejected the 'spent' case, and fired the next round. He continued shooting without noticing anything amiss. A few people were behind him, including two GMs, but nobody noticed. He realized what happened when cleaning the gun at home.
 

Nothing else was damaged, except for a few scratches and burrs on the interior of the slide.

[Wobbly]

didn't pay attention 

This is the sign of a classic Pressure fracture. Whether in a pipe or a barrel, a tubular container will always split along the length of its axis when encountering too much pressure.

[Drewzer17]

That’s a great reminder!! no matter how experience you are. Thanks for sharing.

[Motorcop]

I have been reloading for 25 or more years and have rarely had a problem.  When I did have one it was generally attributed to inattention.  The failures I have had were due to no powder, or low powder in the case.  No damage to anything other than my ego, but things can go south real quick it you don't pay attention.  My latest example of this was with a .38 Special wadcutter in a S&W 52-2.  The primer detonated and pushed the 148 gr wadcutter about halfway out of the case and locked the pistol up.  I don't know exactly how that happened because I use an RCBS lock-out die on my progressive reloader, but it did happen.  In reality the saving grace was the pistol locking up with the slide slightly held open so no chance of firing another round.  The RCBS lock-out die has saved me a few times in the past from "no powder" loads, but this time it didn't.  Perhaps it was a low powder load instead of a "no powder" load.  Anyway, the point is you can never fall asleep at the switch when reloading, nor be too careful.

Rick H.

[crosstimbers]

There was a gunsmith in the town near where I used to live who kept some interesting items on the wall or under the counter to show people. One was the barrel of a smith revolver that had been cut in half length-wise. You could see several bullets crammed one behind another in a row. I think he had it as a cautionary instruction tool, maybe also as a prop to demonstrate quality....I never could get over why the gun involved didn't blow up or at least give the shooter sign that the bullets weren't exiting the muzzle. A friend of mine had a Marlin Goose gun that had a crack on the receiver near the chamber, I heard but never actually saw that he had that hung on the wall as a conversation piece. I think he may have been a designee for warranty work for some manufacturers

[bigdave24]

I find that a cheap fiber optic camera attached to the reloader lets you check the level of powder in the case.