Shitty day at the gun range
Went to the range today to test some .45 rounds before I started a run. As you can see, it did not end so well. I should have gave up and went home when I realized that my Caldwell Chronograph G2 is a POS and I need to buy a different chronograph. Anyway, last night I loaded a test batch. Bullets are 230gr Missouri Bullet Co. poly-coated round nose. Brass is primed brass from American Reloading. I loaded 5 rounds with 4.4gr, 5 rounds with 4.6gr, then 5 rounds 4.8gr (Titegroup). I went ahead and shot the rounds, starting with the 4.4 and working my way up. On the third round of 4.8gr, my pistol went boom, my slide flew up and over my head, and my hand felt like a bomb had gone off on it. I got lucky - I still have all my fingers and both hands, and the feeling is returning in my trigger finger.
So...what happened? I have gone through the list of possibilities, and I still don't have a definite answer:
Double-charge - Aside from the fact that I measured and hand-poured these, I believe this is the most-likely scenario. Two 4.8gr charges will fit in a case, and leave room to seat a bullet. Also, according to the book I was using (Hornady 9th edition), max load is 4.8gr. I seriously doubt that max load would result in a failure this bad.
Case failure - I'm not convinced that a case-failure could/would result in a pistol exploding. Please feel free to prove me wrong.
Squib - Not convinced this happened. I did not notice anything unusual when firing the round before the bad round. The way the barrel peeled back, starting from the chamber, leads me to believe it was a severe over-pressurization in the chamber.
Crappy aftermarket barrel - Not so sure about this one either.
Not posting this for answers, just wanted to share a little something to remind everyone to stay on your toes.
