Blowing up a GP 100

Thanks for posting your experience. Now that I have purchased a .44 Magnum I have been thinking even more about getting into reloading. This image will stay with me.

As previously mentioned, that sounds like a great idea to load 50% of max in .44 magnum.
 
I have a GP100 in S/S and am about to get into re-loading so this is something I will keep in mind when I start shooting re-loads.

I would have had it dewatted as a reminder. We shoot so often we forget how powerful and destructive they can be when we aren't careful.
 
It's good that you weren't hurt. Thanks for posting this, it's a good reminder to reloaders both experience and new to pay attention to what you are doing.
 
All very interesting. Thanks for that advice 'sevoman.' Certainly will think of the bulky powder trick when I get a new gun. That WAS the reason for the embarrassing confession. Just to remind folks who might occasionally be as 'careless' as me. I now believe the only real solution, short of multiple stage loader (I use the basic Lee single stage) is what a fellow, and very experienced, shooter taught me. Strict use of a loading bloc and check ALL levels twice with a flashlight. A new, REAL resolution.

I actually worry that the GP 100 reputation for its solid build can be misleading. I loved mine and took excellent care of it. 7.2 gr's of Tightgroup is not a 'hot' load at all as far as I am aware. But double that, all that is possible in a case, and you have 14, and the picture shows what it did. Terrifying. I was stupid enough to double load. I hope there's no one out there gullible enough to believe a 'strong' gun is protection against a slip in reloading. Many people say to me that the gun should have been able to handle the load. It wasn't - that's all.
 
And yes, the 'repair' center offered no explanation for what actually happened to the gun. I have none for why the cylinder spun to the right after the explosion. All the other rounds had been fired and the cylinder was jammed, hard, between chambers, the exploded chamber way down to the right bottom. The back strap severely bent up. That's it.
 
And thanks 'homer76.' Appreciate you making me feel that I may not be the only occasional fool around. Hey, and I'm from BC too - Victoria. I wonder if others around Canada shoot at outdoor ranges all year round.
 
Hence the preference for using high volume powders. Impossible to throw a double load without overflowing the case.

You are not the first to double load and you won't unfortuneatly be the last. I don't think you will repeat the same mistake twice.
 
I imagine a pistolsmith would be the only one to definitively answer such a question. I wondered about the same thing. The armorer at the Ruger repair depot said nothing. Just that it wasn't covered in any way. Guess I just have to trust their honesty and expertise.
 
WOW ! GLAD to hear your OK!!! --- kinda like seeing a car crash on a highway-- always makes me slow down a bit ,think more about what i'm doing ,& reminding myself to watch everything !! --- Could happen to anyone !
T'was a nice piece too , BTW. Plans for another ??
All The Best ,
T.
 
'Dying' to find a near new GP 100 or Smith 686/586 at a bargain price, but then, aren't we all. Having just bought my son who is starting law school, a new Honda Fit - an insane extravagance, I may have to limp along without ANY new guns for a while.
 
Is it in the warranty or terms that if you void rugers warranty on a return/repair they get to keep the firearm in question?

If I were you Id want my gun back...
 
Perhaps I was being foolish. They said they would send it back if I wanted. That would have meant $20+ postage, again, then the cost of having it deactivated by a smith and that would have cost, and all that good money after bad when all I really want is a new gun. I have the pictures and feel no need to re-experience or display, for my own edification, that very frightening moment. My previous post may help explain my stinginess.

Hell, if anyone wants the thing, and wants to pay for the above, I'll contact the Ruger guy and ask him to reverse the transfer.
 
Wow. Thanks for the reminder tho - especially from a Victoria homie.

As with ND's, the moment you think "this can't happen to me, I'm too professional/experienced to..." and let your guard slip for a moment, it's BANG KABOOM time.

My experience with this was the opposite - squib load in my Highway Patrolman. Fortunately the bullet didn't go down the barrel and wait for the next round, instead it bound up the cylinder. Also the "pop" sound gave me the clue...now I do the flashlight thing over loading block several times.
 
DANCESWITHEMPTIES said:
Did the cylinder turn after the explosion or is that the way it stayed after the kaboom? Just kind of weird that the top strap is bent but the cylinder is ripped open at the bottom... Maybe it spun as it let go? I would have bet that that the gap between the front & back of cylinder would have let off more pressure than that or that it would have moved the cylinder back against the frame before letting go like that! I guess I would have lost that bet. Glad to hear your ok.
Click to expand...

This is what I am wondering. Why is the blown out chamber of the cylinder not in line with the barrel if it is frozen in place?
 
M_A_T_T said:
This is what I am wondering. Why is the blown out chamber of the cylinder not in line with the barrel if it is frozen in place?
Click to expand...

I would think that at the time of the detonation the cylinder was free and the exploding cylinder wanted to move from under the top strap, then a fraction of a second later after all hell had broke loose and things being bent now locked everything up. Just my guess.
 
4 pages of posts and not once has somebody mentioned WEIGHING THE ROUND AFTER FINISHING- this something I ALWAYS DO- electronic scale takes only seconds, and IT SPOTS THE DOUBLE LOAD AS WELL AS THE SQUIB - and i shoot a 44 mag with 231, so a double charge would easily fit in my circimstances too- i use a beam scale for weighing the charge, and weigh the ENTIRE ROUND after running it through the press- any that are out of the range( you have to seperate your cases by manufacturer) and know roughly what your bullets should weigh- your primers weigh roughly 3 grains. anyway, total the works and add or subtract for tolerances, pull the oddballs, and re-work them- catch the primers as you deprime, and rework the round, then re-check the weight- if it's the same , you've done everything right, and it's an out of range round( heavy case, bullet or whatever) it's probably ok to shoot it- if not, you can always pull it and assemble it again with a different bullet
now as to the gun itself, they're probably going to pull the barrel from the frame, and "harvest" all the little pieces to their parts bins, and junk the frame and cylinder
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom