Author Topic: Kaboom in .40 Beretta (Read 1240 times)

riddleofsteel · « **on:** September 11, 2005, 05:00:48 PM »

I went shooting today with a friend from work. He has invited me on a hog hunt on his family's land in October so it seemed the least I could do to provide a place to sight in rifles. After a rather uneventful rifle shooting session he suggested shooting handguns. I was shooting some hot handloads in my .45 Colt 4 5/8" Blackhawk. He was shooting a Glock 23 at another target. When he came back to the shooting table I noticed he was loading the mag with soft round nose lead 180 grain .40 S&W ammo. I casually mentioned that it is generally accepted that soft lead bullets in a Glock is NOT a good idea. He shrugged off my advice and pulled out a .40 S&W Beretta. This to he loaded with the soft lead round nose ammo. I was looking at the box while he was shooting. The ammo was made by Lancer Ammo. It had Winchester brass and soft round nose lead bullets that you could dent with your finger nail. After about ten rounds I heard my friend cry out in pain. 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.
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. I just checked the Lancer site and they stated thier brass is "remanufactured" but I did not see them listing the kind of soft lead 180 grain .40 bullets that blew up today.
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poncaguy · « **Reply #1 on:** September 12, 2005, 03:57:53 AM »

He should switch to Rugers and JHP.............. :?

Omaha-BeenGlockin · « **Reply #2 on:** September 12, 2005, 05:42:46 AM »

Good luck getting some no-name company to pay for a replacement gun too.

You could sue--but they probably don't have enough funds to pay their own lawyer---let alone his damages.

Sir Knight · « **Reply #3 on:** September 13, 2005, 02:52:19 AM »

Quote from: poncaguy

He should switch to Rugers and JHP.............. :?

I've seen a Ruger 345 go kaboom.

jpuke · « **Reply #4 on:** September 13, 2005, 06:16:49 AM »

This phenomena is new to me, could someone explain why the soft lead in the Glock and/or Beretta was bad? I shoot a Sig P220 regularly with cast bullets (wheelweights) and haven't had a problem. Thanks

Sir Knight · « **Reply #5 on:** September 13, 2005, 10:49:12 AM »

As the bullets go through the barrel, lead can come off the bullet and start building up in the barrel. When enough of it builds up, it's like having a blocked barrel and ...

jpuke · « **Reply #6 on:** September 14, 2005, 01:03:11 AM »

Thanks for the answer!

Mikey · « **Reply #7 on:** September 14, 2005, 02:27:34 AM »

Another thing about the 40 S&W is that it is already a high pressure round and when you load those with soft lead bullets you get an increase in pressure that can blow your casing.

It seems to me that the 40 is kinda touchy when it comes to reloading as the pressures seem to increase greatly and cause blown cases when the reloading process has not taken all factors into consideration. Some of the 38 Super shooters had the same problem with higher pressure loads (blowing cases) until the go to a supported barrel or possibly thicker brass like the 9x23 to handle the higher pressures. Mikey.

papajohn428 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 29, 2005, 04:47:10 PM »

I have experienced one Kaboom in a 45ACP, and as a result I will NEVER own a pistol that doesn't have a fully supported chamber. When you're dealing with any kind of real pressure and thin brass, nothing else makes any sense. I'm a staunch admirer of John Browning, but the unsupported area over the feed ramp is the bad hamstring in an otherwise wonderful gun. Until Murphy's law is repealed, in writing, I'll take all the extra metal I can get where it counts.

Papajohn

jro45 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 30, 2005, 09:56:41 AM »

I changed barrels in my G22 40 cal so I could shoot lead. Never had a blow-up. It something about that Glock barrel that you should not shoot lead in but my Bar-sto barrel can handle the lead.

Nanuk · « **Reply #10 on:** October 02, 2005, 05:09:37 PM »

It has to do with the type of rifling.

azmike · « **Reply #11 on:** October 04, 2005, 09:04:54 PM »

I was led to believe that the problem with lead bullets in a Glock is the hexagonal rifling. The lead will build up at the chamber throat, restricting it, and thus increasing pressure.

I also will not own a pistol with a partially supported chamber. I may one day own a 9mm Glock, but when it came to buying a .40, I went with Steyr S40 instead of Glock, and have not regretted that decision. Traditional rifling, a fully supported chamber, and better ergonomics IMO put the Steyr head and shoulders above that other Austrian pistol, for me at least.

With regard to the ammo, I would suggest that the problem was not the lead bullet, but perhaps the reloaded case had been previously fired in a gun with an unsupported chamber, and had therefore been stressed around the case head. That is the reason my Steyr will never see remanufactured ammo, unless I load it from brass that I originally fired in it. Who knows where that company gets their brass, and what it was fired in?

papajohn428 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:16:22 PM »

Most of the once-fired brass I use is .223, but I have bought .40 brass before. The telltale sign to watch for is the rectangular firing pin imprint of the Glock, I don't know of any other gun that does that. If you are using once-fired brass, check the fired primers, and pitch the ones that don't have a round dent.

BTW, my Witness 40 leaves a rounded dimple, plus a wipe mark to one side, almost teardrop shaped. It means the shell is being ejected before the firing pin has fully retracted, but it's never affected function or reliability, so I don't worry about it. I'm closing in on 32,000 rounds thru this gun, and it has never jammed, with any ammo, with any nose profile. And brother, I've tried them all. I spent a year trying to load rounds to choke it, all nose profiles, loaded long and short, and it gobbled them all up without a single burp. If have lots of guns I love, but when I need absolute reliability, the Witness gets grabbed first!

Papajohn

ksbackwoods · « **Reply #13 on:** October 08, 2005, 02:37:50 AM »

Sir Knight, Where did you see the p 345 kb at ? Was it on the net or at the range ? Any details?
I just bought one a few months ago so I'm curious about what may have caused it .

Jay

ksbackwoods · « **Reply #14 on:** October 08, 2005, 03:02:48 AM »

Never mind, I found the answer in another thread.