Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns My GLock 20 Went Ka-Boom

Yesterday, Not hurt bad, bruised thumb, lost the extractor, all the rest looks good.

Load of 9.0 Longshot and a 180 Gr plated bullet. Cases didn't look too bad. Accuracy was non-existent and then at round 20... flash and the magazine dropped out.

Blame the load? Case? I traded for this G20 like new about three weeks ago. Found the rim of the case and the rest stayed in the chamber. Can anything beside high pressure from a bad load or case cause this? What about the bad accuracy I had with two loads but not the mild one with the same bullet. I weigh every 5 throws and visually inspect, have 12 years reloading experience.

The pistol was very clean and maintained.

Glad you're ok. Hope you figure it out.

What were the loads clocking?



Travis

Also, was this brass previously loaded?



Travis

Factory barrel or aftermarket?

Reloading fired brass for unsupported chambers can be sketchy...

Sounds like the classic case of a "smilie" on a reloaded case chambering at six o'clock (again) and just letting go. Get an aftermarket barrel if you intend to reload for this thing. I don't know if EGW does their mod to Lee 10mm dies but one of those "pass-thru" bulge buster dies should be on your want list.

Glock factory barrel. Only mod was a new connector. Don't know the velocity of the load or the number of fires on the brass. The brass came with the pistol and looked good. Previous owner indicated about 50-100 rounds fired.

I just ordered an aftermarket barrel with the new extractor. I'll try again with new brass. I think the case just let go. Don't know why accuracy was non-existent. Same bullet did OK with a moderate load of Tite Group.

Did the barrel get leaded up? Just a thought.

No lead ever touched the barrel, round count no more than 150.

I had a ka-boom in a glock 30 sometime back, first 2 cases had a big bluge(didn't know this till after the fact), 3rd blew out. I was loading hot , but not overly so , lost a mag release and mag.it's self broke when it hit the ground. But here the interesting think to me it was PLATED bullets also ?? um

Good point. The OP should closely mic any of those bullets he may have left and check the diameters. I've heard of plated bullets not being properly sized.

hmmm. here is what my G20 did with new Prvi ammo. this is out of about 100 rounds.

The bullets mic .401. I examined the pistol closely this evening. Only damage appears to be the missing extractor, a very very small nick on the slide where the part exited and a very small abrasion on the rear plastic cover plate. Glad I was wearing safety glasses. I have no idea what brusied my thumb and peeled back my thumb nail. IMO the G20 should have handled the pressure with ease.

I will be changing bullets, brass and powder the next go around.

Here's a couple of thoughts...

It sounds like you might have had a case failure...maybe.

While I'm still shooting some 45 brass made in the 60's that I owned since the 60's, I'll only put a full power 10mm or 40SW load in new brass. Period.

For low power practice loads, I'll use them as long as they pass inspection, but I am very skeptical of any brass that I have not fired since new in these calibers. Case failure in a 45 is not even an event, and I've never seen a separation in that round.

I am very concerned about bullet setback in these calibers, 10mm and 40SW. If a bullet is not held tight enough in the case and gets bumped back even just a little bit while cycling, that can double chamber pressure. I manually check each round as a final test, by pushing them against the bench.

Longshot is useful in revolvers, but Longshot is on the slow end of the burning scale for these rounds. That will cause higher pressure to remain in the case longer. I cut off 10mm around aa-7 and I've never had a problem with it.

Of course I visually check powder levels in every case before I put a bullet in it.

Anyway, I hope you fare better in the future.

I agree with all this. Longshot gave the best velocity at the lowest pressure but I now think it's too slow for a Glock 20 with a factory barrel. Plan to stick to "new" cases going forward.

High pressure reloads in a Glock is just a bad idea. But you guys just keep at it.

I mean when was the last time you read about a kB!'d Sig, CZ, Hi Power, 1911, Beretta, XD, Taurus, Witness, Walther, etc.

Now before you pipe up and say all there are so many Glocks out there, let's stop and think about that for a minute. For sheer numbers, I'll go out on a limb and say there are vastly more 1911's in the hands of reloading civilians.

As for non-civilian, both the Beretta and the CZ have sold many more than the Glock; maybe not here in the US, but worldwide. (Comparing like models, like the G17).

So it's not just numbers, because if it was just numbers we be seeing a lot more reports of kB!'d 1911's than you'd see Glocks. And you'd see more blown up CZ's and Berettas. Yet, for every story of a kB!'d (insert gun model here), you'll find at least 5 stories of kB! Glocks.

I mention this for those who just insist on reloading for a Glock.

Redlining plated bullets is bad juju, ya?

Here's a few more thoughts...

Glocks feed reliably, but one reason why is because they have generous chamber dimensions. If you reload a case that has been fired in an older Glock with a deeper feed ramp cut, a case that has that grotesque expansion bubble into the feed ramp, sooner or later that case will line up with the feed ramp again and you can only hope that a mag blowout is the only consequence.

If that brass bubble is 1/3 case circumference, your chances are maybe 1 in 3. It's surprising there are not more of these letting go. Sometimes at the range I'll see dozens of cases laying on the ground with this deformity. If I had a Glock that produced cases like that I'd replace the barrel. Any case fired in a factory Glock barrel will likely be expanded more than one fired in a different brand.

Plated bullets are dead soft swaged lead with a thin copper plating that are only rated for low pressure rounds. They can cause lead buildup in a Glock. You might want to check your barrel for that. I don't use them for anything, but they are ok in 45. I only use jacketed or hard cast.

Bayou Bullets and similar types are a better, completely encased hard bullet with an advanced coating that offers lower pressure, no leading, no smoking etc., much like a TMJ Jacketed bullet, with lower pressure and at lower cost. I have had zero problems with them in Glocks in many, many 10s of thousands of rounds fired. I use them or those I cast myself.

You didn't mention what brand brass let go, but they are not all the same. I use Starline.

Its already been said but should be repeated. When you load hot 10mm in a glock, new cases only!!!! I have 10mm brass that is bulged so bad after 1 firing, I wouldn't even trust it with low pressure loads. Not much you can do, aftermarket barrels aren't much better. They give a little more support, but still not fully. One and done with your warmly loaded brass. That's what I always did.

Here is some pics of the brass bulge with a big named after market barrel. Still bulging.