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Weak case or too much powder?

3K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  shooter4 
#1 ·
I had a first for me last week at the range. I had the 9mm AR out and a buddy and I were putting quite a few rounds through it. My friend was shooting when there was a louder than usual bang and the magazine was forced out of the mag well. I cleared the gun and we found half a case on the ground with the primer hole blown out. The bullet was lodged about 4 inches down the barrel and the rest of the case was still in the chamber. The ammo was factory fmj 115 gr blazer brass. Do you think that factory round had too much powder, or was it a weak/damaged case?

In case anyone is wondering, the bullet came out easily at home after soaking with some corrosion x and then tapping out lightly with a rod.
 
#2 ·
Sounds like you had a squib load with a bullet lodged in the barrel, and another round was fired, causing severe overpressure.
 
#5 ·
maybe. But he only found one bullet in the barrel. Sounds like firing out of battery or the primer blew out somehow
 
#3 · (Edited)
Sounds like the gun may have fired out-of-battery. Almost impossible in an AR15 platform, but all machines fail.

Firing a subsequent round, after a squib load (that caused a projectile to be lodged in the barrel) would more than likely just cause a bulged barrel at 9mm pressures - not the kabomm you speak of.

How dirty was the bolt carrier group and firing pin channel?

Or you could have had a double charged cartridge... somewhat uncommon in 9mm.

I doubt is was a weak case.

If no one was hurt and the gun was not damaged, I would chalk it up as a reminder to always wear eye protection and treat every gun as the potential explosive devise that it is.
 
#13 ·
Suppose it could have been a very weak primer where the firing pin pierced it, allowing gas to escape.

There should be some evidence on the bolt face.
 
#15 ·
What would I look for on the bolt face?

Coming back to the idea of a squib. I was always under the impression that a round fired into a squib that was already in the barrel would have much worse consequences than I experienced. As mentioned above, at the least wouldn't that result in two bullets in the barrel? The bullet I recovered was in good shape.
 
#20 ·
I had a similar action happen with PS and an aluminum case. My ffl told me to use only brass and to polish the chamber. Worked fine since then.
 
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