saw this linked over on the beretta forum, all i can say is how no one got hurt is a miracle looking at the carnage
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=613142
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=613142
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The customer that brought him the gun said that he had been experimenting with duplex loads (two different powders layered in the same case)...no, I have no idea why anyone would do that
Years ago, a gunsmith showed me a Ruger Super Blackhawk that kaboomed. It looked remarkably similar. Top strap was separated and bent, cylinder torn in half. The customer that brought him the gun said that he had been experimenting with duplex loads (two different powders layered in the same case...no, I have no idea why anyone would do that). In both of these cases, the shooters walked away with no major injuries. The guy with the Ruger claimed that the first two rounds shot fine, the third one took the gun apart.
40 grains of Titegroup migh have made the cartridge fail cataclysmically."
Looks like his 16yo son reloaded with the wrong powder, damn.
"Based on what I can tell, failure would likely be due to excessive crimp, or wrong powder. I do not know how to evaluate crimp once it is done. As for powder, there is a possibility that Hodgdon Titegroup was used rather than H110. Both powders are available on the bench, and I can see how my son might have grabbed that powder knowing that we do use it in other handgun loads. Titegroup requires a much lighter load than H110. I am not an expert, but 40 grains of Titegroup migh have made the cartridge fail cataclysmically."
Duplex and even Triplex loads are a method of generating more velocity without exceeding peak pressure. You mix progressively faster burning powders into the powder column so you can maintain higher pressure as the bullet moves down the barrel without exceeding the safe peak pressure.
The original .454 Cascull loads were triplex powder loads to maximize the velocity they could obtain.
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When S&W developed the X-frame and the .500 S&W Magnum, they over-pressured the design until it failed. Failure occured at almost 2x maximum SAMI pressure, and the failure wasn't this dramatic, so this was WAY over pressure.