Springfield XD Kaboom due to overloaded ammo

[TGO David]

Reposting this from the XDTalk forums. Putting it in the Ammo Can forum here since it's a ammo related failure (over charged reloads) and not really a "gun failure" per se.

Posted by: TylerSpilker

Original Thread [link]

Two weeks ago I bought a new Springfield Armory XD .45 ACP compact. I love this gun, it has been the most accurate, cleanly firing gun that I own. I hadn't had a jamming, or fail to fire problem with it yet. That was until tonight:

Well, my stepdad and I got into reloading recently, and until we got our Dillon Square Deal we had been using a RCBS single stage press. I think the issue is that we had some of the old single-stage ammo left. I brought a box of it to the range today. I fired three rounds nicely into the target, and on the fourth, BOOM!!!

My hand was bloodied, the mag fell to the ground. However, the mag is perfectly fine.

I set the gun down, made sure I still had all of my parts (I did), then swore loudly since my frame had a large crack on it.

And the other side bulged out:

Here are some overall images:

As you can see, the case was so pressurized, it actually flattened the case marking off of the back of the .45 round:

Here is where I tell you, I still love this gun to pieces (no pun intended) After I got the barrel out, I noticed something:

The barrel and slide are perfectly fine.

After removing the damaged casing, there is no visible damage to the barrel at all, the most surprising of all was the state of the case:

All of the pressure was directed out of the ONLY weak point in this barrel.

My hand (and pride) is a little hurt because of this, however, this could have been much worse. I am very thankful that I bought this gun over a Glock 30 due to the shape the barrel was in, and the fact that I still have my hand.

I will be calling Springfield on Monday and will see how I can be taken care of regarding this. I am assuming since it was a reload, and obviously our fault, that I will be stuck paying the bill, however, the extent of the damage is actually fairly minimal, and I would not be surprised if they just had to charge me with molding a new frame on my serial.

[Guest Hyaloid]

Glad the author wasnt seriously injured. Just shows any firearm can go 'kaboom' given the right circumstances!

[Smith]

Not really, the gun didn't fail. It did it's job rather well.

[molonlabetn]

The case ruptured, and the barrel contained it very well. Nice to see that the metal components didn't come apart like I've seen several other handguns do.

[Guest Hyaloid]

Not really, the gun didn't fail. It did it's job rather well.

Didn't say it failed, I said it went Kaboom...

[towerclimber37]

wow.

I'm not a proponent for plastic firearms, but I'm willing to bet that if that were a metal frame..the damage to that persons' hand would have been much worse..thats alot of energy to be vented down and back!

[Mike.357]

Am I wrong thinking this is what Mar's speaks of when the talk turns to "unsupported"

Seems to me the casing blew out where the chamber did not fully surround the cartridge.

Other than the OP saying the round was a reload, does this mean that the casing was overcharged, or is it simply a failure due to the unsupported chamber?

[molonlabetn]

The round was certainly majorly overcharged, based on the condition of the case and primer.

[Guest EasilyObsessed]

Am I wrong thinking this is what Mar's speaks of when the talk turns to "unsupported"

Seems to me the casing blew out where the chamber did not fully surround the cartridge.

Other than the OP saying the round was a reload, does this mean that the casing was overcharged, or is it simply a failure due to the unsupported chamber?

In the original thread on xdtalk.com, the OP states that it was an overloaded round.

[Smith]

Am I wrong thinking this is what Mar's speaks of when the talk turns to "unsupported"

Seems to me the casing blew out where the chamber did not fully surround the cartridge.

Other than the OP saying the round was a reload, does this mean that the casing was overcharged, or is it simply a failure due to the unsupported chamber?

XD's are fully supported. Glocks are not.

[molonlabetn]

XD's are fully supported. Glocks are not.

Exactly... though it is impossible to fully support the groove in casing above the rim, which is where this rupture occured.

[TGO David]

This is the kind of catastrophic failure that can happen in any gun. It is representative of what happens when you fire an overcharged round, whether it was overcharged by you or by the manufacturer. It can happen in Glocks, H&Ks, 1911s, revolvers, rifles and probably even a howitzer. With enough of an overdose of propellant, you can blow up just about anything.

Anyway, that's why I put the thread in the Ammo Can forum rather than the handgun forum. It wasn't a firearm failure, it was an ammo failure. Or more exactly, a failure on the part of the person who loaded that ammo. Too much attention on the TV and not enough attention on the powder charge.

I'm actually surprised at how well the XD contained the pressure.

[Guest Phantom6]

Just one more reason to carry an XD. I feel safer tonight. Talked to Shadow12 today and he ran into a fellow at ORSA with a Glock 23 that would not go into battery. Turns out that the round wouldn't fully load into the chamber and was stuck in the chamber. It was as if the brass was swolen. Another shooter there disassembled his own Beretta 40 cal and randomly pulled a bullet out of the box and the bullet loged in the chamber about an eighth of an inch from being properly seated. Shadow asked if he was shooting reloaded ammo and the guy replied oh no. This is factory ammo. Upon Shadow12's inspection he discovered that it was FACTORY reloaded .

Shadow12 told me the name of the mfgr. but I really paid no attention as I just ain't shootin' any reloaded ammo out of my semi-auto. I've shot Star reloaded 38's out of my S&W 66 without a problem but nothing but first round stuff for my semi's.

[Guest Mugster]

All of us reloaders fear the kaboom. Fear is good, keeps you weighing/measuring everything and paying attention to detail.

[towerclimber37]

All of us reloaders fear the kaboom. Fear is good, keeps you weighing/measuring everything and paying attention to detail.

[Guest dotsun]

Amen Mugster. That first round of a fresh batch always gets a certain focus at the range.

[Marswolf]

All of us reloaders fear the kaboom. Fear is good, keeps you weighing/measuring everything and paying attention to detail.

It's easy to have a brain fart and double load a cartridge. With some powders, I reweigh all the rounds after I've loaded them to see if they are within normal range.

[Guest Mugster]

Thats not a bad idea on the weighing them out loaded...I've considered it. On .45 acp, when i finish charging a tray of 25, I eyeball all of them looking for a double charge as a safety check. It's quick and with good lights, it is easy to spot. With the smaller cases, I dunno if it would work too well.

[Guest bkelm18]

Ok, I'm thinking of getting into reloading so this may be a dumb question, but, how easy is it to double load a round? It sounds like its a pretty easy thing to do if you aren't paying attention. I mean I assume there's more to it than just weighing the powder, then putting it in the case.

[Marswolf]

It's a matter of getting organized. With some powders, you can't double load. They have too much volume to fit in the case. It's good to fill a case and then immediately move it to a location with your other filled cases. Sometimes you just forget to do things in proper order. Sort of like why we have Glock ADs when doing a field strip. No good reason for it but it's easy to do.

[Guest Terry J]

It's a matter of getting organized. With some powders, you can't double load. They have too much volume to fit in the case. It's good to fill a case and then immediately move it to a location with your other filled cases.quote]

I second this!! As long as your paying attention and have your cases in two seperate locations its easy to avoid. Routine is the name of the game.