Annual reminder - BP or Nitro?

[tacfoley]

What was the story behind that? Deliberate act (although a 7 times overload would be Darwin worthy...) or mistook one powder for another (although what powder would allow 26 grains in a .38?)?

A total beginner using a setup for loading .30-30 who then knew enough to switch powder......but did not change the auto-charger setting - or so we were told. The person was a US serviceman visiting his dad, a DoD employee. He had never reloaded ANYTHING before that morning.

The four surviving cartridges contained the highly compressed loads, and yes, it was the second shot that blew the poor old gun up.

tac

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

Can someone explain the science behind why the smokeless powder produces such violent results?

Is is because it burns up so fast the bullet doesn't have time to get out of the barrel, where as standard powder has a slower burn rate and therefore gives the bullet a chance to get out of the way?

[tacfoley]

Can someone explain the science behind why the smokeless powder produces such violent results?

Is is because it burns up so fast the bullet doesn't have time to get out of the barrel, where as standard powder has a slower burn rate and therefore gives the bullet a chance to get out of the way?

Basically, you are right - it is the rapid burning rate of pistol powders that gives them their ooomph in short barrels that handguns have - even LBRs and pistol-calibre carbines. This particular smokeless powder is specially formulated to be used for firing lead bullets at comparatively low velocities, for instance, my Ruger Super Redhawk, a revolver built on the same frame as the gigantic Ruger .460, uses a 6.5gr charge to fire a 158gr bullet at around 1100 fps. Back in the good ol' days, when I shot competitive centrefire bullsye target with my Walther GSP-C - a .32 Smith and Wesson calibre wadcutter-shooting round, the load was a measly 3.2gr of Unique. there are, of course, many others these days, especially made for either handgun or shotgun applications.

So in the correct SMALL amounts, by comparision wth black powder, for instance, the pistol powders are perfectly safe when used in the correct amounts, ie, not very much. A reasonable load for a .44Mag load shooting a 240gr RN or FN lead bullet is in the area of 7 - 9gr of Unique. By contrast, a full-house load for a 240gr JHP in a.44Mag is 22 -24gr of 2400, another pistol powder whose job in life is propelling magnum rounds at the limits.

tac

[zanes]

A total beginner using a setup for loading .30-30 who then knew enough to switch powder......but did not change the auto-charger setting - or so we were told. The person was a US serviceman visiting his dad, a DoD employee. He had never reloaded ANYTHING before that morning.

The four surviving cartridges contained the highly compressed loads, and yes, it was the second shot that blew the poor old gun up.

tac

Oof.

Fair play to the gun for containing the first shot- presumably the first cracked the cylinder and the second exploited that.