Don't Blow Up Your Pistol--Consistent Powder Charges

With the current ammo shortage creating challenges for many shooters, some are turning to reloads and or reloading. While reloading can be rewarding and fun, you must be very careful to follow proper procedures. 

I was recently recording a shooter on video for training purposes when a round he fired had a substantially louder report and a great deal of smoke. The blast of smoke hit him in the face and he flinched away automatically. We looked at each other and both of us said almost in unison “Well that was not good.” (See picture sequence below)

I asked him if he was OK and he said yes. He only had some soot spots in several areas on his hands that coincided with openings in the Springfield XD-M grip such as the area around the magazine release button. The XD’s slide was jammed about halfway to the rear and the remains of the cartridge were still in the chamber. Later examination showed that the extractor was severely bent and blocking the slide’s movement. There was no obstruction in the bore.

The Instant the Round Fires

 

Cartridge Ruptures

He eventually disassembled the pistol and everything was intact except the extractor. The barrel showed no bulge nor was the frame cracked. The only damage to the frame was one spot where the rail had a small gouge.

Gouge in Rail

We used a FreeBore to remove the cartridge case from the chamber. It was clear that when the round fired, the pressure completely ruptured the case and all but obliterated the head stamp. Two circumstances could cause this amount of over pressure, either the bore had an obstruction or there was too much powder (i.e. an overcharge) in the cartridge.

Blown Case

 

I believe that this was an overcharged round and not the result of an obstruction in the bore. The video showed that the previous round had fired and the cartridge case ejected normally (see below). I also believe that the incident in question was not the result of the cartridge case weakening. I have seen cartridges fired in unsupported chambers resulting in the cartridge web failing; however, the damage to the cartridge in those instances was not the cartridge's full destruction.

Previous Round Firing

Reloading can be a safe and cost effective way to augment our ammunition supply; however, improper or inconsistent powder charges can cause serious problems. For example, when you fire a round with no powder or too little powder in the case you will typically have a bullet lodged in the barrel. If you hear a slight “pop” instead of a bang when firing a round, stop, properly clear the firearm, and make sure the bullet exited the bore.

With pistols and rifles, be careful about automatically doing a “tap/rack” and trying to fire another round during a match or in training. If the bullet did not exit, firing another round will create unsafe pressure that may cause a bulge in the barrel at best and may destroy the firearm and cause injury if the barrel bursts. I’ve seen shooters destroy four barrels (and two pistols) due to reloaded ammunition with no or too little powder in the case and the shooter automatically performed a “tap/rack.” 

The other side to that coin is an overcharge. An overcharge can also destroy your firearm and may cause serious injury. If you believe you have overcharged a case and it got by you, you must not shoot any rounds in that batch of reloaded ammunition.

How do we prevent this? Consistency in the reloading process is critical. The ideal procedure when using a single stage press is to confirm that the powder measure is dropping the correct charge and is stable. Then visually confirm that the powder level is consistent in each case as you load. This is not always practical with a progressive or an automated reloading machine however.

When using progressive or automated reloading machines, I weigh the powder charge when I first begin the reloading process. I weigh as many powder charges as necessary to be certain that the powder measure is stable and dropping the correct powder charge before I begin reloading. I then stop and repeat the weighing procedure for every 100 rounds the machine loads. I do not mix that particular batch of 100 rounds with other rounds until I confirm that the powder charge is still correct. Although mildly tedious, this prevents me from loading hundreds of suspect rounds when vibration or other factors have caused the setting on the powder measure to drift slightly.

You must also be careful if you have a stoppage or jammed case in progressive or automated reloading machines. As you work to clear the jam, you can inadvertently cause the powder measure to drop another charge into a case. If this goes unnoticed, you can end up with an overcharged round. My solution is to completely clear all cases before restarting the machine.

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RIA VR82 Pattern Testing

A friend and I have been evaluating the 20 gauge Rock Island Armory VR82 shotgun as an alternative to the commonly-used 12 gauge as a home defense shotgun. The 20 gauge Rock Island Armory VR82 may be an acceptable solution for smaller statured people. We are still experimenting with the VR82s and have not reached a solid conclusion concerning their suitability and reliability. 

Recently I did some pattern tests with three 20 gauge #1 buckshot loads out of my VR82 using a full choke. I tested the Rio Ammunition Group 20 ga Game Load with nine pellets of #1 buckshot at 1345 foot per second (FPS) velocity , the Monarch High Velocity load with nine pellets of #1 buckshot at 1345 FPS, and the Nobel Sport nine pellet #1 buckshot at 1300 FPS. I was not able to obtain any Federal #1 buckshot nor any other US-manufactured 20 gauge #1 buckshot.

Over a couple of sessions, I fired five rounds of each manufacturer’s #1 buckshot load. Additionally, since I noticed the mis-labeling of 12 gauge commercial buckshot loads, I opened shells from all three manufacturers and measured the diameter and weight of the pellets. All actually contained #1 buckshot.

The pictures below show a representative shot from each load at the indicated distance--they are not to scale with each other. 

At ten yards all of the loads demonstrated an acceptable pattern. The Rio load’s average pattern size at ten yards was 4 inches. The Monarch was 6.25 inches and the Nobel load was 8.5 inches.

At fifteen yards, the Rio load opened up to an average of 9.25 inches. The Monarch load was 10.75 inches and the Nobel load was 11.5 inches. These are average measurements so the Monarch and Noble load did throw larger patterns. The Rio load was pretty consistent between 8-10 inches.

At twenty yards, the Rio load opened up to an average of 12 x 12 inches. The Monarch load was 22 x 14 inches and the Nobel load’s pattern was so large that I did not bother to continue with that round at that distance.

 

Within normal urban house distances, at ten yards and below all of the loads throw an acceptable pattern.  The Rio load is probably acceptable out to about 12 yards.

It is low light training season in Texas and I did the VR82 pattern testing on an afternoon just prior to beginning a low light practice session with a fellow shooter. As an experiment, we both fired Rio, Monarch, and Nobel loads in low light and after dark. The muzzle blast from the Rio and Monarch loads was pretty tame; however, the Nobel load’s muzzle blast was impressive.

That being the case, we recorded several examples of the Nobel Sport #1 buckshot load. I have seen flares of sparks when shooting shotguns (bird shot and buckshot) at steel targets previously, but these were impressive. I believe that it is some metal in the alloy other than lead causing the sparks. At the time we were shooting, I thought the streak of light in one of the stills was material coming back off the target. When I looked at the video I realized it came out of the ejection port. Also the flame coming out of the ejection port in one of the stills surprised me. I'm guessing burning powder grains.

Linked below are two short video compliations of a two-shot and a three-shot sequence with the Rock Island Armory VR82 20 gauge shotgun against steel targets just for fun.

Video of Two Shot Sequence

Video of Three Shot Sequence

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Home Defense Shotgun Clinic

Home Defense Scenario

My friend Steve and I recently taught a shotgun clinic introduction to using shotguns for home defense. The students were a group of women shooters. Most are regular participants in our Sensible Self Defense Short Range Match and some have attended previous pistol classes. All were comfortable with pistols; however, they had little to no experience with defensive shotgun skills.

We had a discussion of the essential skills necessary to effectively use shotguns as a defensive weapon in the home. After we demonstrated the various techniques for mounting, firing, reloading, and dismounting the gun, the student dove into learning these skills.  We finished the class with a home defense scenario based on the design of my house and what I would need to do to defend it against armed home invaders.

Steve and I brought a variety of defensive shotguns for the class including a Berretta 1301, various Mossberg pump shotguns, a Remington 870 police version, a Mossberg 930 SPX, and two 20 gauge RIA-VR82s. All of the shotguns with the exception of my Beretta, my 870 police, and the VR82s had stocks with standard 13-1/2 to 14-1/2 inch or longer lengths of pull.* 

The students had no trouble with the 12 gauge’s recoil; however, all had issues with the way the various shotguns failed to fit their body types. The standard pull length was simply too long. The Magpul stocks on my 1301 and 870 have 12-inch lengths of pull and most were able to mount my 1301 shotgun without too much difficulty. Even with a 12-inch pull, the Remington 870 still posed a challenge for most students to work the slide easily. The VR-82s we had on the range have AR-style adjustable stocks and the AR stocks solved the length of pull problem for most students.

The shotguns that Steve and I own are set up for large males (Steve is 5’11” and I am 6’2”) so cheek weld was also a problem. The comb height on our guns prevented some students from placing their face in a comfortable cheek weld while still being able to see the sights. **

A competent gunsmith can cut a stock or shooters can install aftermarket products such as the Magpul SGA stock to fix length of pull problems. Other aftermarket products such as padded butt cuffs can help achieve proper cheek weld. Magpul for example, offers cheek riser kits that allow the user to configure their firearm to the ideal comb height to accommodate a range of iron sights, optic configurations, or shooter preferences.

This introductory class was a success. All participants did well and indicated that they were impressed with the defensive shotgun’s utility. All students also commented on the challenges they had with the excessive length of pull on most of the 12 gauge guns. The 20 gauge Rock Island Armory VR82 may be an acceptable solution for smaller-statured people. We are still experimenting with the VR82s and have not reached a solid conclusion concerning their suitability and reliability. More to follow. 

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* Length of Pull (LOP) on the shotgun or rifle is the distance from the trigger to the back center of the butt plate or recoil pad. This is one of the primary measurements to fit the gun to the shooter.

 ** The comb is the top portion of the stock where the shooter rests his or her cheek while shooting. The comb height determines how low or high the shooter’s eye-line is in relation to the sights.

Bumps and Other Contraptions on Top of Our Pistols

Simple Sights on an Early S&W Revolver

Why do we have these bumps and other contraptions on top of our pistols? Regardless of whether the sights on your pistol are literally bumps or you have a sophisticated electronic or mechanical sighting system, they are there for one reason—to align the pistol’s bore with the point in space where you would like the bullet to impact.

However, if the target is close enough, the sights are often unnecessary. Although the definition of “close” is dependent upon the shooter’s skill and other factors like the size of the target, the body mechanics of pointing the pistol will allow you to align the bore and hit the target absent some intervening factor such as severely jerking the trigger. Precision and distant shots are where sight selection becomes important whether you are looking at the width of the front sight blade on adjustable iron sights or the minute-of-angle or MOA* diameter for a miniature dot sight or MDS.

When it comes to iron sights, the typical 0.125-inch blade width found on most factory pistols with iron sights is an acceptable compromise between accuracy and speed. I prefer a thinner front sight blade (say 0.115 or even 0.110 inches) because the thinner blade covers less of the target at longer distances and is therefore more precise. I personally believe that front sight blades wider than 0.125 are unacceptable because such a wide blade covers too much of the target at 20 yards and beyond. Manufacturers of tritium night sights often use blades that are 0.135 or wider to accommodate the tritium capsule. While these sights work fine up close, the excessively wide front sight makes precise distant shots difficult.

The same holds true with the dot size in an MDS. I started my MDS training with a 6.5 MOA dot in a Trijicon RMR 06 red dot and still use the RMR for steel matches and other short range, fast action events. The RMR 06 dot size works well out to ranges of 25 yards or so; however, I discovered that the 6.5 dot covers too much of the target for precise shots at longer distances. I now use a Holosun MDS with a 2 MOA green dot on my carry pistol and the smaller dot works very well for short range as well as longer shots.

Some MDS brands have multiple reticle systems including a dot within a circle, solid triangles, open triangles with a dot in the center, etc. Personally, I find these reticles too busy and distracting with a triangle reticle being the one possible exception. If you zero the pistol/rifle for the point of aim/point of impact coinciding with the apex of the triangle, then you have a precision aiming point (the apex) for longer distances and a gross aiming point (the entire triangle) for short range engagements.

The MDS does have limitations; however, if you understand these limitations it will work for you. But what if it’s raining? I carry concealed and rain is typically not an issue since the cover garment protects the sight from rain until you draw the pistol. I used an MDS during a Gunsite 3-day class and it rained hard every day—all day. The initial MDS sight picture with water present was a bit fuzzy; however, first shot cleared the water away. How about batteries? With modern battery technology, the battery in your MDS is unlikely to fail. If you replace it every six months with a quality battery, you will almost entirely eliminate this possibility.

I’ve heard discussion concerning whether iron sights or the MDS is faster. In my experience, for short-range engagements there is no practical difference. I recently shot a Sensible Self Defense Short Range Match twice—once with a SIG P320 Carry pistol equipped with an MDS and once with a SIG P320 Carry pistol equipped with iron sights. The match consisted of five stages with an average of nine target engagements per stage and movement between shooting positions, etc. Distance to the targets ranged from arm’s length to 20 yards and non-threats or hard cover rendered many targets only partially visible.

My match total raw time with the MDS was 78.94 seconds and my raw time with the iron sights was 78.00 seconds. A difference of .94 seconds in favor of the iron sights. Another IDPA Master, Steve also shot the match with substantially identical Springfield XD-M pistols, one with iron sights and one with an MDS. His times were 69.60 with the MDS­­ and 71.66 with the iron sights.

I have become a firm believer in the miniature dot sight on carry pistols and with the variety on the market today the shooter has a wide range of choices. I will discuss some of these choices in a future article.

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*One minute of angle or MOA equals one inch at 100 yards. Therefore, a six MOA dot would cover 6-inches at 100 yards.

Home Invasion Response--Dress Rehearsal

Home invader Jonathan Perales fatally shot homeowner Michael Clayton Robinson early one morning in Universal City, Texas. According to Perales' arrest warrant affidavit, Robinson had armed himself with a 9mm Glock after his wife noticed a strange vehicle in his driveway. Robinson opened his bedroom door and moments later confronted Perales who had entered the Robinson home through an unlocked back door. As Robinson yelled, "Get out of my house," the men exchanged gunfire. Perales shot Robinson once in the torso and Robinson shot Perales in the arm and upper chest.

Doctors later pronounced Robinson dead at Brook Army Medical Center. Robinson's wife and two of his children who were inside at the time were not injured in the gunfight.

What is your protocol for a possible home invasion? Have you rehearsed it, at night, under circumstances similar to those you might encounter in a real home invasion? One of the best techniques the military uses is immediate action drills. The immediate action drill encompasses all of the tasks necessary to prepare you to respond rapidly to a specific set of circumstances without the application of a deliberate decision-making process.

As an example, let’s say my house cameras detect a disturbance and then my alarm begins to sound indicating a possible home invasion. Among my immediate actions is to secure my pistol, move to a location in the bedroom area where I will don a relatively heavy set of body armor, and then secure my shotgun as the primary defensive weapon.

A friend of mine suggested that we rehearse our home invasion protocols or immediate action drills on the live fire range. We performed each task to prepare and arm ourselves and then engaged randomly designated targets to simulate our response to a home invader using unlawful deadly force.

I immediately had difficulty quickly donning my body armor. I had never actually tried to don it in the rapid manner I would use during a home invasion. The design of my armor’s cummerbund when coupled with side plates caused the cummerbund to twist and made securing the armor very difficult. Upon further reflection, I decided the side plates were unnecessary and I removed them. This solved the cummerbund twisting issue and allowed me to don the armor in less than 30 seconds.

I then practiced securing and charging the shotgun with my eyes closed to simulate doing the task in the dark. My friend was monitoring my actions from a safety perspective to ensure I did not inadvertently do something unsafe. I am familiar enough with my "house ready" shotgun storage that I was able to perform this task easily.

I then moved to the target area and engaged the specified targets with the buckshot rounds I keep with the gun. Although this was the first time I had conducted live fire with this armor combination, my defensive shotgun’s 12-inch length of pull allowed me to manipulate the shotgun and fire it effectively with the body armor in place. (Note: A shotgun with typical 13-14 inch length of pull may be too long to manipulate effectively with while wearing body armor. This is particularly true for pump guns.)

This is one example of my home invasion protocols. My wife and I rehearse the others periodically; however, this was the first live fire immediate action drill that I have conducted with the actual armor and shotgun combination I keep for home defense. I learned a few lessons in the process and made some modifications to my armor. I have subsequently dry practiced it at home several times with dummy rounds in the shotgun and my modifications were sound.

My friend forgot to bring his body armor to our live fire rehearsal and the shotgun he brought was not his home defense shotgun. As a result, he decided he would do a dry practice run in his house one evening in the dark. He keeps his shotgun and body armor under the bed. His immediate action is to roll out of the bed, reach under it, secure and don his body armor, and then retrieve the shotgun.

He rolled out of the bed, reached under it—and no body armor, no shotgun. He stretched as far as he could reach and still no body armor, no shotgun. He got a flashlight and discovered that his wife had shoved the armor and shotgun to the center of the king-sized bed because she did not like seeing it and bumping into it when she vacuumed. He had to get a cane to fish the armor and shotgun out from under the bed. Imagine discovering this during an actual incident. Until that moment, he did not know that his home invasion response protocol had a serious flaw.

Periodically checking your equipment, doing dry runs to test your home invasion immediate action drills, and rehearsing with your family is a very good idea. My friend and I both discovered that our home invasion response plans required modification to ensure we could effectively execute them.

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The Least Amount of Physical Force?

Training exercise (AP Photo/Ted S. Warre)

With the defund the police movement in some large, more liberal leaning cities and other feel good measures some state legislatures are considering or adopting, the private citizen who is involved in a self-defense incident may face the flawed concept of “the least amount of force” necessary to resolve an incident. 

On the surface, it would appear that the requirement to use the least amount of force necessary to resolve a problem has merit; however, when you consider the actual application of this concept in the heat of the moment, it is clear that the idea is impossible to implement.

In Washington State for example, recent legislation requires police to: “use the least amount of physical force necessary to overcome resistance under the circumstances, which includes a consideration of the characteristics and conditions of the person for the purposes of determining whether to use force against that person and, if force is necessary, determining the appropriate and least amount of force possible to effect a lawful purpose.”

The difference between police use of force versus a private citizen’s use of force under the law in most states is that police may use necessary force – i.e., force that is one-step above that of the criminal when is necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm. 

Private citizens on the other hand may only use equal or proportional force to stop a threat. In other words, a private citizen may only respond to another’s use of unlawful non-deadly force with non-deadly force and may only use deadly force in response to the threat or use of unlawful deadly force.

When deadly force enters the equation, there is no difference between police use of deadly force and a private citizen’s use of deadly force. 

The thoughtful article linked below discusses the challenges inherent in determining how one would identify the "least" amount of physical force necessary to resolve a situation. This is a good read and is particularly useful if you live in a state adopting or considering such legislation.

Article here

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