Parts Fying Off Shooters Gun at the Range

My first time shooting a 1911 the slide came off

I was learning to shoot in the Marines with an old GI .45 - about the third shot the slide came off and slowly flew past my right ear and hit the ground. The DI gave me a new .45 and I finished the day but developed a pronounced flinch. This flinch caused me to fail qualification and I went into the remedial shooters group. I finally passed, was so embarrased by my poor showing :mummy: that I bought a Browning High Power and went for pistol training at my own expense. I ended up when I got out to Camp Pendleton, CA, taking a "Combat Pistol Course" taught by a Marine Gunsite grad, ended up shooting high expert at my next qualification and getting selected for the Regimental Shooting Team - and we won the silver medal at the Division match! I now regularly score 300 out of 300 on the State Dept qual course - so I guess it was a blessing in disguise!

I ended up selling the Browning and getting a retired Marine armorer to build a MEUSOC .45 on a Springfield 1911. That pistol didn't make it back from Pakistan:bawling: , and I bought a HK USP Compact .45,:scratch: which I just traded in (plus a rifle) for a Colt Gunsite CCO, which arrives tomorrow!:biglaugh:

My story, back in '96 or '97 I was shooting my new Kimber Classic Custom 45ACP and my own reloads. I set up my Oehler 35P chronograph and starting shooting. All loads recorded around 850 to 865fps until the 325th and last round at 1275fps. I blew the case head off, the case stuck in the chamber, grips blew from the gun, the clip flew to the ground, flames shot down the trigger onto my shooting hand-burning the hair off, sending brass shrapnel into my face and forehead and the slide wouldn't move. I don't remember other shooters coming over to see if I was ok. Blown gun and damaged ego. Went to a hospital and when I told the doctor it was gun related the police came!!! Had a hard time explaining it was my fault to Barney Fife and Gomer Pyle.

I loaded the rounds on a Dillon 550B, Winchester 231 powder, Federal 150 primers and Starline cases. I discovered a bur in the primer pickup tube that started to flip the primers upside down and I would load those primers inverted. I started watching for this by slightly lowering the handle again and accidently raised the shell plate too far hitting the powder funnel and sent more powder into an already charged case. Nearly doubling the charge. I took the rest of those reloads to Hodgdon Powder here in Kansas City to see if they could figure out what happened; not their powder - no liability. Mike Dailey took apart some and chronographed some with their equipment and wrote a report that all rounds were loaded with 231 at 5.0 to 5.1 grains and came up with 850 - 865fps (inline with reloading data) and by my chronograph tape concluded it must have been a double charge. I sent what remained of the gun, the Hodgdon report, chronograph tape and my admission to Kimber.

Kimber rebuilt the 45 with a new Match Grade Stainless Steel barrel, hammer, trigger, sear, disconnector, new clip and grips. My cost zero! They wouldn't accept a check I sent them, it was return by Express Mail.

Lesson: I have learned to watch for the inverted primers as they are first come out of the priming tube and never reraise or lower the handle during reloading. Oh, by the way I have a cool x-ray of my head showing all the brass shrapnel.

vacquero:

i hear ya. i went home and checked the screws on my guns after that one.

PART 2 on this one:

i was back at the range yesterday afternoon eating up vacation time and shooting. the same gentleman came in again with that same gun just as i finished shooting. i asked him how things had turned out with his gun. apparently the piece holding the screw (with the screw still in place holding the ejector outer assembly to that piece) had itself snapped right out of the front off the underside of the barrel. he had taken it to a local smith and had just picked it up and was back at the range to try her out.

we talked a bit and he then went on into the range. within a few moments he was out again with those same pieces back in hand, but this time they (he and his buddy shoot together) did not find the spring. the weld or glue (guy was not sure which had been done) by the smith had not held and the piece went flying off again again during the 1st five rounds out of the gun. this time nothing whacked him in the head for which he said he was greatful.

he just shrugged and said he would take it back and see if they would make it good. this guy definately has some patience.

be safe, shoot well.:rock: