Pistol blew up

[BudT]

Something interesting came to me at a City Council meeting yesterday. A local gunstore owner was also at this meeting and brought up that his part time employee had bought a brand new Ruger .380 pistol and while shooting it with Remington new factory fmj ammo the barrel not only split but also blew out the cone at the muzzle and I mean gone, expanded the slide near the muuzzle as well as blowing away part of the plactic/composit frame and bending the spring and rod. Thank goodness as there was no real injury to the shooter who is a very experienced shooter in his mid 60's (a guess at the age). Are these light weight pistols known for being weak? clearly this one was. I went down to the store today and looked at this pistol with the case still in the chamber and it's a total loss a real mess. I'm just glad no one was hurt. Both Ruger and Remington have been contacted and so far no reply as of the last time I talked with him. I told him to take detailed pictures of everything making sure you have the lot number for the ammo and the serial number for the pistol and hang onto the pics if they want the gun and ammo back. The last time this happened to another pistol the ammo and gun companys blamed each other.

Regards
BudT

[da gimp]

There had to have been a bore obstruction kid.At least 1 bullet if not 2 wedged in it before a heavily loaded live round was fired. Me smells a lawsuit being cooked up.

Realistically the chances of a flawed barrel leaving the Ruger plant are similar to those same odds of Congress, the Federal Judiciary, & the entire Executive branch giving up all their perks,insurance, retirement pay, & current paychecks until the national debt is paid.

Bet that the guy is now impotent will need counseling, had a miscarriage etc etc etc..............

da gimp

[noslack 327]

How to blow up a .40 cal glock, Put 9mm in the mag, cycle the pistol, did not fire cycle again, now it will fire, however the 9mm is in the bbl in front of the 40 cal round. kinda like the 12- 20 shot gun burst. When the dept I worked for switched to the 40 cal glock, all 9mm was removed from service.

[BudT]

At 60 I dont hear many calling me "kid" anymore, interesting to say the least. So you have determined that without a doubt this pistol had to have a bore obstruction? the factory ammo is heavly loaded? right? and this guy did this to get a law suit? So this is one of those things that you can say it could "never" happen? OK. As of the last report I got he was just happy to walk away from this with all his giblets intact. Very interesting reply.

BudT



There had to have been a bore obstruction kid.At least 1 bullet if not 2 wedged in it before a heavily loaded live round was fired. Me smells a lawsuit being cooked up.
Realistically the chances of a flawed barrel leaving the Ruger plant are similar to those same odds of Congress, the Federal Judiciary, & the entire Executive branch giving up all their perks,insurance, retirement pay, & current paychecks until the national debt is paid. Bet that the guy is now impotent will need counseling, had a miscarriage etc etc etc..............

da gimp

[joem]

Many possiblities here, maybe a squib round, a hot round, hard telling. I'd look at the rest of the box of ammo and have it tested by a lab.

[jgaynor]

High demand. Automated loading equipment. - i agree the first place to look logically is the ammo - then the gun.

I have had at least two rounds of factory Wiinchester 12 ga AA loads that were so badly mangled in manufacture that they (fortunately) would not chamber.
Quality control isn't what it used to be and there is tendency toward hotter factory loads in some calibers.

Regards,

Jim

[mike24d20]

While stationed in San Diego-84-88. The El Cajon Gun Exchange had a rev. with the top half blown off. Was told by Dennis that it might have been a factory load. I have seen recalls on large lots of ammo durning my time in the Army, these were excessive powder or the wrong type of powder. They are now selling 9mm made only for SMG's an not for use in regular pistols. I know it was .380 that was used, but it could have been loaded with a double charge. Glad too hear that he did not lose any fingers in the blow-up.

[Johnny P]

From the description it sounds like everything happened at the end of the barrel. If there had been a double charge in the cartridge the primer should be blown, and there should be evidence of gas escaping into the back of the pistol. I certainly can't say for sure, but sure sounds like a bore obstruction.

[da gimp]

that was my logic too john,glad the guy is okay though, either way. I met the guy who shot himself with a Raven/titan type back in the late 70's or early 80's. He admitted that he was flat out chit faced drunk @ the time of the accident, but he sued the manufacturer & WON.Still trying to figure out why he wasn't charged with being in posession of a firearm while drunk (a felony) then.

soon afterwards, Ruger started putting the lawyer gibberish on the barrels of their firearms .

da gimp

[coppertales]

All new pistols I have ever bought say "clean and inspect the gun prior to firing" in the owner's manual. I believe there is a reason for this. My first thought on this was something obstructing the bore....chris3

[PhillipM]

From the description it sounds like everything happened at the end of the barrel. If there had been a double charge in the cartridge the primer should be blown, and there should be evidence of gas escaping into the back of the pistol. I certainly can't say for sure, but sure sounds like a bore obstruction.

+1 here. Was it the first shot fired that day?