![]() This can be done safely in guns and barrels designed for this purpose with the right gunpowders. Some of these loads have pressures that exceed established limits set by SAAMI for these cartridges. 38 Super and 9mm Luger ( 9 Major) to make Major power factor according to the requirements for IPSC/USPSA competition. Fools, they are! Unfortunately, I am one of them. Then there are those crazy people who push the limits―who load beyond book values and push pressure to who knows what. We must make sure our charge weights are within established safe limits, our overall length is appropriate, and there is enough neck tension and/or crimp on the bullet to stop setback. Here, too, we have to make sure that our gun and components are up to the task.Īs handloaders, we should work to eliminate the chance of a case rupture under any conditions. Too little case support can result in case blowout even at normal operating pressure. Weak, damaged or defective brass is another cause. This will not be debated in this article, except to say that setback can raise pressure and could be dangerous if pressure is high enough. It might depend on how deep the bullet has been pushed, the strength of the brass and how much case support the barrel offers. There is some debate whether setback can be serious enough to raise pressure high enough to cause a case to rupture if pressure would be within normal limits when the bullet is seated at its proper length. The bullet might be seated too deep either at the loading press or from setback during the feeding process. ![]() There are many causes of blown cases: too much gunpowder, an overcharge or a double charge. People have been left with a bleeding face after cases rupture. Gas, gunpowder particles, case fragments and gun parts can fly in a variety of directions, including straight at your face. And it’s not just your hands holding the gun at risk. Skin can be torn or burned, perhaps worse. Case ruptures blast hot gas and case fragments at high speed, as well as any gun parts that might be dislocated by the gas pressure. The shooter could be more than just startled, there is the risk of injury. Sometimes there’s no visible damage―just a startled shooter. The grips might be cracked, and with polymer pistols, the frame could be cracked, split or otherwise mangled. In rare cases, the top round may be ruptured. The top round (or rounds) that might still be in the magazine could be damaged―the bullet ends up pushed deeper in the case, and the brass might be deformed. Occasionally the magazine is blown out of the gun, the baseplate might be blown off, and so on. These ruptures usually result in damage to the magazine. The magazine, and any rounds still in it at the time, usually get the brunt of the blast force. Thus, the gas pressure is generally directed mostly downward. In semi-automatic pistols, the case usually ruptures on the underside where it does not have complete chamber support because of the cutout of the feed ramp. ![]() We sometimes hear about, or actually witness, the consequences of a blown-out case. ![]()
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