AR destroyed by pistol powder

[Cyberion]

I just saw the shocking damage to an AR on RecoilWeb.com

http://www.recoilweb.com/internet-rumor-control-epic-kaboom-56517.html

Spoiler alert--it was caused by pistol powder accidentally loaded instead of rifle powder. Holy cow! I may begin licking my press clean after looking at these pics.

[JTROKS]

WOW!

[Carcassonne]

Not the first time, and it won't be the last.

I have heard that some people mistake Accurate #7 pistol powder for Alliant #7 rifle powder.

The Cause
It wasn’t .300 Blackout in a .223 barrel. It wasn’t head space. It wasn’t “firing out of battery”. It was a binary charge in the cartridge of pistol and rifle powder. Pistol powder burns at a much more rapid rate than rifle powder. That created the over-pressure that caused the rifle to fail like this. Paul had purchased a lot of ammo from a commercial reloader. They had not sufficiently cleaned out the hoppers when switching from pistol to rifle reloading. Fortunately for the public, Paul had bought the entire lot. The manufacturer compensated Paul for the damage and the bad ammo.

This is why reloaded ammo has a bad rap.



.

[klewan]

I just saw the shocking damage to an AR on RecoilWeb.com

http://www.recoilweb.com/internet-rumor-control-epic-kaboom-56517.html

Spoiler alert--it was caused by pistol powder accidentally loaded instead of rifle powder. Holy cow! I may begin licking my press clean after looking at these pics.

No, it was a mix of rifle and pistol that did that. Shooter bought an entire lot of reloads, so they were able to pull down other rounds and found the mixed powders. The reloader didn't completely clean the hoppers and drop tubes when they changed from pistol to rifle.


Amazing how much energy there is in a few grains of powder.

[Cyberion]

No, it was a mix of rifle and pistol that did that.

I stand corrected. But that's even scarier then. Care to guess what percentage pistol powder out of 100% was involved? 10%, 50%? I don't know the answer but wondering how this much damage could occur.

[Michael in California]

How about someone giving a longer explanation.

He was shooting a 9mm AR. Pistol ammunition.

Pistol powder is fast and rifle powder is slower (at least in general terms). If the cartridge was loaded with 50/50 (or any other ratio) it would seem the pressure would build up slower with not all pistol powder.

Was it really more that the rifle powder was denser and thus, for the same measure, you just got more total charge?

[350skylark]

Im confused, the page says that the build was a 9mm upper? so...??

[350skylark]

ahh beat me to it..

How about someone giving a longer explanation.

He was shooting a 9mm AR. Pistol ammunition.

Pistol powder is fast and rifle powder is slower (at least in general terms). If the cartridge was loaded with 50/50 (or any other ratio) it would seem the pressure would build up slower with not all pistol powder.

Was it really more that the rifle powder was denser and thus, for the same measure, you just got more total charge?

[boopiejones]

the article says "9mm upper" but that the gun was chambered in 223wylde. i don't know if there is a difference between a 9mm upper and a normal AR upper, but he must have been shooting 223 or 556 rifle ammo if it was chambered for 223wylde.

and the pictures show a normal 556/223 BCG. 9mm BCGs look quite different.

[SkyHawk]

It also says it was chambered for 223. The 9mm upper was for weight control (because no forward assist), but it had the gas hole drilled out be functional. And also, 9mm bolt carriers don't have gas keys. Plenty of clues in the pic that it wasn't a 9mm.

Compass lake 18″ rifle gas SPR barrel, 1:8 twist 223wylde chamber

[mjmagee67]

AR not destroyed be pistol powder, AR destroyed by inattentive reloading practices. The powder was just doing it's job, burning when the primer was ignited.

[huckberry668]

I may begin licking my press clean after looking at these pics.

what do you mean you may begin? doesn't everyone do that?

it's not the press you need to worry about, it's your powder measure/hopper if you use it for both pistol and rifle powder.

[Coyotegunner]

You will shoot your eye out.Sorry.
More anti gun,anti reloading stuff.
Op I appreciate you putting this up.Folks pay attention.This can and will be serious.
Guess I am living on the edge.Fortunate to never have had a bad mistake.Minor ones sure.I have a bullet puller and have had to use it.
Several friends have asked recently to learn to reload.I will say at least 2 of them have no business doing it.

[Dano3467]

Destroyed tragic waste.

[CK_32]

Yup. It'll do that!


Depending on the amount and what exact of powder used, could have lead do substantial pressures. Obviously it did from link.


Hope the shooter was ok. I would not want my face near that.