Old Ammo cases rupture!

[wyntrout]

I have to take care of supper now, but here's the link to my uploads from today's trip to the range with my buddy Eric:

http://s1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/wyntrout/357%20Magnum%20Shells%20Rupture/

Two video clips and some stills and closeups. Chat later.

Wynn:)

[Bawanna]

From the looks of those cases it looks like they were pretty corroded and nasty before he shot them. Whole areas missing like they just rotted away to nothing and vaporized when you shot them.

[Ikeo74]

You have some serious problems there. It might be that the chamber of your gun is bad, or the ammo you used was overcharged reloads or both are defective. I would not shoot the gun again before having a gunsmith look at the cylinders and would definately get rid of the rest of the ammo in question. I think you were lucky not to blow the gun apart and injure yourself.:eek::eek::eek:

[CJB]

Oh, I dunno, but to me, those look like cases that were reloaded past their prime (to say the least). Thats EXACTLY what we'd spend hours sorting thru in my range days, when we scraped lead, swept brass, cast our own tips, and reloaded it to the tune of about a quarter million rounds a year.... sounds like a lot, but its only an average of 16 boxes of reloads a day... easy peasy.

[Ikeo74]

I am looking at the same identicle split on all the bad rounds with a black square imprint at the bottom of some of them. It is not random splits in different areas of different rounds. They all match indicating it could be a bad cylinder. IMO Regardless, it is a serious problem with something to cause that kind of damage other than old cases.

[KMA]

From the looks of those cases it looks like they were pretty corroded and nasty before he shot them. Whole areas missing like they just rotted away to nothing and vaporized when you shot them.

I agree.

I wouldn't have reloaded them and even less shot them.

[wyntrout]

Those were CCI Blazer .357 magnum JHPs... aluminum-cased, not reloads. He said that three were "old" ones and he got three more from a "newer box". The gun was a stainless Ruger Security Six "Police" revolver. I think the ammo was from K-Mart and the price was $12.99... from late 80's he thought.

I was about two feet to the left when he was firing and three were odd... two were quite pyrotechnic! Eric didn't think it was out of the ordinary until I showed him the stills. I picked up the cases from the floor and one of the ruptured ones had been stepped on, so I was trying to open it back up and split it sideways halfway down the case using a pair of needle-nosed pliers.

I didn't see the ammo before he loaded those, but there must have been some corrosion of the aluminum... not as noticeable as brass corrosion, I guess.

Of three abnormal bursts... literal...the two really big ones elicited "DAMN!" from me, as I was being sprayed by the blast and debris while videoing the firing!

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/wyntrout/357%20Magnum%20Shells%20Rupture/3571.jpg

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/wyntrout/357%20Magnum%20Shells%20Rupture/3573-2.jpg

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/wyntrout/357%20Magnum%20Shells%20Rupture/3576-2.jpg

Eric hadn't shot in many years and wanted to try out his new Beretta Bobcat .22 LR. It shot really low... at least 3" low at 5 or 6 yards. I had to aim with the entire front post above the rear sight!

Wynn:)

[wyntrout]

I checked when I got home and didn't notice any cuts or anything, but the blast and debris definitely struck me... being only two feet or so to the left!

These were full magnum loads as the concussion next to his stall was terrific. I wonder if they still make MAGNUM ammo with aluminum cases like that... JHP ammo.

I didn't get to shoot my XD45 as planned... sights were not installed yet, so I grabbed the Springfield Champion and my Walther TPH .22. I had to check the sights on the 1911 and got those adjusted, though they seemed to have moved, the set screw was still Loctited and the elevation screw wouldn't budge until I removed the set screw... had to clean it up and now need to re-seal it. I don't know what's going on with the sights... they were fine today, but shot about three inches high while my son was here???

Wynn:)

[Ikeo74]

Was that your gun or his? I would definately have the gun checked for damage and dispose of the ammo without fireing any more of the old ones.:7:

[wyntrout]

That was his. I only have one revolver... the H&R 929... 9-shot .22LR that my wife has at the head of her bed... loaded with 9 Stingers. I have asked her several times about me getting her a larger revolver... 7-shot Taurus .38 Special +P or .357 Magnum, but she said no... the .22 is all she wants. She did put about four mags through my PM45 at Christmas... kept shooting way low... and I could see that was where she was pointing the pistol.:rolleyes:

I shot my last 6 reloads of .38 special with reverse-loaded wadcutters. They all key-holed beautifully at about 7 yards... inside the 7 1/2" circle, but a little left. I wasn't going for a tight group... just wanted to use them up... hate waste! :D These were from my Abilene, Texas days back in '74-'82, so those were at least 30 years old and worked fine... the round holes were my buddy's:



Wynn:)

[wyntrout]

I put 190 more rounds through my S.A. Champion. It's fun to shoot. The last two were using my 10-round McCormick magazine. The slide doesn't lock open on empty with it most of the time.

On the chest-high pointing rapid fire, I'm not sure if the "flier" at the lower left was first, but I think so.

The large yellow dots are fun for shooting and transitioning to the next 1-4 in a clockwise direction. Most of my shots hit those 4 targets.

I tried shooting with one hand at a time... no fun... tried both eyes with left hand... with poor results.

I could keep a mag-full on a sheet of paper at 15 yards... most of the time. My eyes just aren't that good any more.

I'm hoping the new Trijicon HD NS will help me there... whenever I get the XD45 back with them installed.

Wynn:)

[Ikeo74]

That is the first time I've heard a key hole called beautiful.......they must start flopping right out of the end of the barrel.:cheer2::2eek:

[CJB]

I think the key there is ALUMINUM.....

If the cases were stuck into a wet chamber... with Hoppe's #9 or other similar ammonia containing solvent... there goes the aluminum.

Ammonia eats aluminum. If you dont believe me, go put some ammonia based glass cleaner on the "silver" on the back of a mirror... and let it soak. Get some polished aluminum, pour ammonia on it... its dull almost instantly... etched.

[Ikeo74]

I think the key there is ALUMINUM.....

If the cases were stuck into a wet chamber... with Hoppe's #9 or other similar ammonia containing solvent... there goes the aluminum.

Ammonia eats aluminum. If you dont believe me, go put some ammonia based glass cleaner on the "silver" on the back of a mirror... and let it soak. Get some polished aluminum, pour ammonia on it... its dull almost instantly... etched.
I agree the old aluminum cases were deteriated, but I also think the gun has at least 1 enlarged, out of spec, chamber. Look at the 3 bad cases and all have a black square area that has powder discoloration by the rim. In the center of this area of all 3 cases is a perferated hole where the split starts and goes upward to the case mouth. The ruptures are virtually idencal on all three cases which indicates to me a bad (enlarged) chamber. Picture #26 shows this best view of what I am talking about.

[CJB]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I've seen brass do exactly the same through many reloadings (work hardened worn brass), not aluminum, but its always the same. The perforation starts just where the inner web meets the thin outer wall... just like in the pics.

Wyntrout will no doubt shoot some good ammo, and report good results.... old ammo, not good.

Speaking of... I once had a fishing buddy who cleaned his Accurate reel in ammonia. Totally trashed the nice finish, ate the anodizing right off it.

[wyntrout]

That was from one cylinder full... 6 rounds... that he fired so I could video the flashes... er, blasts for him. The first one had most of the "extra" blast coming from around the forcing cone and cylinder. The two worst ones had stuff coming from everywhere... and he noticed nothing abnormal... "what?" at the end of the video after I said that was BAD! I guess he though magnums were supposed to be extraordinary like that!:eek:

I recommended that he really look at the cylinders to see if there was any damage after he cleans the pistol. I told him that I wouldn't keep that "newer" ammo much longer! He was shooting some Stingers of the same vintage and had a lot of misfires and a couple that just would not fire... scary with that tip barreled Bobcat and no extractor, when we rotated the shell to strike new places on the rim.

Wynn:)

[TriggerMan]

I have to take care of supper now, but here's the link to my uploads from today's trip to the range with my buddy Eric:

http://s1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/wyntrout/357%20Magnum%20Shells%20Rupture/

Two video clips and some stills and closeups. Chat later.

Wynn:)Gadzooks, Batman. I flinched from here.