A recent post about hollow-point ammo selection turned into a discussion of the dangers of unloading a gun and re-chambering that same round again, perhaps several times over a number of months, before that round is eventually fired at the range or otherwise take out of service.
When I was with the District Attorney's office, I saw this memo come out from some federal agency. It was sent to local law enforcement agencies, too. I personally saw this memo posted at the DA's office and at a local law enforcement shooting range.
The content of the memo was this:
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Date: February 23, 2007
Continuous reloading and chambering of the same round may cause catastrophic failure in semiautomatic handguns.
The Security Force at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, recently reported on the catastrophic failure of a semiautomatic handgun when it was fired. The internal explosion caused the frame to break while the slide and barrel separated from the weapon and traveled down range. No one was injured in the incident. An investigation revealed that security personnel were repeatedly charging the same round of ammunition into the chamber.
Technical personnel at Glock Inc. advise that repeated chambering of the same round may cause the bullet to move deeper into the casing, further compacting the propellent. When a normal cartride is fired, the firing pin his the primer, igniting the propellant. When the propellant burns, the gas pressure drives the bullet out of the case and down the barrel. However, if the propellant has been compact, the pressure may increase beyond the gun's specifications, causing the weapon to break apart. Sigarms Inc's peronnel confirm that reloading the same round five or six times will cause the problems, noting that reloading the same round even once will void their warranty. Both manufacturers stress that the problem is not with the gun, but with chambering the same round repeatedly.
The NJ Regional Operations Intelligence Center urges all law enforement officers not to chamber the same round when loading their weapons.
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When I was with the District Attorney's office, I saw this memo come out from some federal agency. It was sent to local law enforcement agencies, too. I personally saw this memo posted at the DA's office and at a local law enforcement shooting range.
The content of the memo was this:
*****************************************
Date: February 23, 2007
Continuous reloading and chambering of the same round may cause catastrophic failure in semiautomatic handguns.
The Security Force at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, recently reported on the catastrophic failure of a semiautomatic handgun when it was fired. The internal explosion caused the frame to break while the slide and barrel separated from the weapon and traveled down range. No one was injured in the incident. An investigation revealed that security personnel were repeatedly charging the same round of ammunition into the chamber.
Technical personnel at Glock Inc. advise that repeated chambering of the same round may cause the bullet to move deeper into the casing, further compacting the propellent. When a normal cartride is fired, the firing pin his the primer, igniting the propellant. When the propellant burns, the gas pressure drives the bullet out of the case and down the barrel. However, if the propellant has been compact, the pressure may increase beyond the gun's specifications, causing the weapon to break apart. Sigarms Inc's peronnel confirm that reloading the same round five or six times will cause the problems, noting that reloading the same round even once will void their warranty. Both manufacturers stress that the problem is not with the gun, but with chambering the same round repeatedly.
The NJ Regional Operations Intelligence Center urges all law enforement officers not to chamber the same round when loading their weapons.
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