Kaboom in .40 Beretta

[wingman]

But the .400 Cor-Bon, 10mm, .50AE, and Hirtenberger (sp?) aren't?

Quote:

True,But the following quote also has merit.

Increased pressure is the price you pay for increased performance.

The inability of some to use it correctly and/or safely doesn't constitute an emergency on everyone else's part.
quote:

 

[Shootcraps]

Increased pressure is the price you pay for increased performance.

For wildcatters, yes. Not for factory ammo.

 

[Rockstar]

.400 Cor-Bon operates at much lower pressures than the .40.

 

[brickeyee]

"For wildcatters, yes. Not for factory ammo."

Even for the factory ammo. The only advantage they have is to have a powder manufactured that has a different burning rate/characteristic.
Pressure integrated over barrel time results in velocity. The ratio of peak pressure to average pressure can be altered, but to increase velocity average pressure must be increased.

 

[BluesBear]

Increased pressure is the price you pay for increased performance.

Not unless you try to cram all of that increased performance into a reduced size.

The law of diminishing returns applies here. You can only shrink something so far. After that it becomes either inefficient, impractical or both.

 

[riddleofsteel]

All of these facts do not dismiss the fact that pistol companies have recorded Kabooms in all the major calibers including 9mm. If you plot the numbers of Kabooms in all calibers you would probably find that the .40 S&W has the greatest number and mostly in weapons with partially supported chambers. The design of .40 S&W brass and the pressure it is loaded to may be the culprit. However that does not explain why thousands and thousands of rounds are fired in .40 S&W by both civilians and LEO's with no problems. If it was an inherent flaw it would be more common.
Then there is the ugly fact that a large number of Kabooms have taken place in the other major pistol calibers. Maybe it is the fault of the partially unsupported chambers. Of course that does not explain the Kabooms in H&K pistols with fully supported chambers. The final answer may be that the entire syndrome may be cause by a series of related factors that may work in concert or seperately to cause the same end result.
If you get to much pressure the gun is gonna blow. What causes the pressure? Maybe too much powder, maybe to little? Bore obstruction caused by leading of the bore, squib loads, ect. Brass failure due to work stress or poor design.

Take your pick. One cause may be enough. Two or more could certainly wreck a gun, a hand or your day.

 

[Moonclip]

Wow, this kaboom stuuf has me a bit scared. But has anyone ever had a kb with quality jacketed factory ammo that did not have the bullet set back?

I have some 40S&W plated commercial reloads still left over, I guess I'll just make sure the bore of my baby eagle is real clean and blow it out of that. The brass is from range sweep ups so who knows how many times its been reloaded.

My baby eagle is all steel and I'd rather not shoot these reloads out of my Glocks. Factory ammo only for sure though after this.

 

[BluesBear]

If you're worried about bullet setback get yourself a Redding profile crimp die and run all of your rounds through that. That way you will KNOW all of your ammo will be the same.

I see no reason you can't shoot quality reloads and handload in your Baby Eagle. I see no reason to not shoot quality jacketed bullet reloaded or handloaded ammo in your Glock.

There is no reason why you can't load ammo that is just as good or better than factory loads. Just just can't do it as fast.

If I were loading .40S&W, and worried about setback, I'd invest in a Corbin cannelure tool and roll one on each case. Then it would become immaterial.

 

[HSMITH]

Or instead of the cannelure tool you can spend $22 on a Lee/EGW U-die. Mine provides about .004" of case tension on a .4005" jacketed bullet. Rounds loaded with it will sustain in excess of 75 pounds of pressure on the bullet with setback less than .001".

 

[bountyhunter]

My friend seemed uninformed of what a Kaboom was and how close he had just come to injury. I gently tried to explain that this was what I was trying to tell him about soft lead bullets in his G23. However, I had no idea that the Beretta would Kaboom with this ammo.

The Glock KB scenario is simply due to the fact the rear area of the case near the rim is unsupported. If brass is weak there, it will blow out. To my knowledge, it really has nothing to do with the bullet type, rather simply the internal pressure within the case.

As for the "soft lead" warning, I recall that was for lead buildup in the barrel which can lead to excessive barrel pressures and a KB of a different nature.

For a while, the reloaders I knew had warnings about using reload .40 ammo (ANY RELOAD .40 AMMO) in Glocks because of the unsupported barrel. The guys I bought from used once-fired cop surplus brass to load and would not reload any case more than one time.

I thought the Ber 96 had a fully supported barrel as well. It could just be defective case.

 

[bountyhunter]

He brought me the pistol and the bar that runs between the trigger and the sear was blown almost all the way off! Only the hard rubber grips were preventing it from dropping off. The small spring that works the bar was broken and my friend's hand was powder burned. When we freed the slide It ejected a shell that was a classic Kaboom. The ENTIRE unsupported area of the shell was peeled back.

Could just be a double charge. Reloading machines are not infallible.