Raise your hand if you've ever experienced a kaBoom.

[JV_]

The variance in bullet and case weight (especially if like me you use mixed cases for most ammo) is enough that weighing single rounds wouldnt tell you much reliabily. Weighing 500 at a time would tell you nothing.

The plated bullets I use have a grain or two variance in weight. The cases even more. The 4.5 grains of powder can easily be confused.

Just for fun, I checked the weight of 50 rounds in my latest batch. There were a handful that were 4 gr less than the others. My charge is 4.2 gr, so you could easily think they're missing powder. I pulled each of the 5 and they were properly charged.

IMO: Your best defense is to visually inspect before each bullet is seated.

[fuse]

Yep.

I thought of weighing the finished round when I first started out, thinking I was a great genius having not read about it anywhere else.

It won't work, as mentioned.

[JV_]

I really like my Dillon Powder Check, but I'll have to remove it when I get my Mr. Bullet Feeder.

I'm not sure what I'll do about that. Because the bullet is automatically placed, it'll be harder to visually confirm, and I'm losing the powder check. Perhaps I should reconsider that purchase.

[JeffJ]

Yeah, I like to look into each case before placing the bullet.

I had early reloading problem with not dropping powder-led to squib round that didn't get far enough down the barrel to allow the next round to chamber - thankfully because I was just plowing ahead and didn't notice the squib. In fact I TRB'd twice and then started to try and clear a double feed when I realized that it was something totally different. This of course happened at a match, not in practice.

Glad you're OK - the kaboom frightens me although it seems like most of the time only the firearm is seriously injured.

[Stuffbreaker]

Fuse,
Thanks for having the nads to post this so we can all learn from it. It was in the back of my mind while I loaded my weekend supply this morning, and it slowed my roll to some degree. I'm glad you are OK, and its a testimony to the quality of Glock that you were not injured. I'm especially impressed that the frame didn't crack down the grip like so frequently happens in KBs. I shudder to think what might have happened if you were shooting a lower quality pistol or a subcompact with your pinky tucked under the baseplate.

Anyone who has reloaded long enough knows that strange things can happen despite our best efforts. After more than 30K pulls of the handle, I detonated my first primer (Fed SP) just last week. These things remind us that we are only human. A few things I've learned that may be of benefit to those reading this thread:

Some distractions are largely out of our control. When your machine jams or a small part breaks in the middle of a session, one can easily forget to manually index a machine like the 550 after adressing such an issue. Be mindful of this when there is a break in the action.

Cleaning media has a funny way of accumulating and compacting in the bottom of a case, especially if you use a liquid polish like Nu Car Finish in addition to crushed walnut. Most of these stuffed cases don't make it past the resizing die, but I had one get through my 650 recently. The case overflowed with powder after the drop, and I caught it at the seating station. This, I believe, could easily lead to an over-pressured round.

A longer and heavier bullet that somehow slips into your lot of lighter bullets can result in a massive overcharge. If, for instance, a 147g 9mm makes its way into your 115g bullets, bad things can happen. Keep a tidy bench.

Bullets from the same manufacturer can have slightly different ogive shapes, leading to irregular lengths. The lot of Precision Delta 115g FMJs I loaded this morning yielded overall lengths of 1.130 to 1.150. Not really an issue for a load with a wide margin for error, but this could cause problems with loads that push the envelope. I'd probably be pulling some of them if I were loading a heavier/longer bullet with a narrower margin for error.

[DonovanM]

Thanks for posting this! I'm glad you're OK and still shooting/reloading. I'm saving up for a press and really value the vicarious wisdom I get from reading posts like this. And you managed to make it funny too

[stainless1911]

Read the wrong chart, wrong powder and overcharged the round. I think I was at 6.4 with a max of 5.1 I dont remember exactly. I fired a few and no problems, then I rapid fired a few, and all the sudden click. WTF? The round fired, but didnt eject. Turns out, I had sheared the little hook off the barrel that connects the barrel to the lock. At least nothing got hurt. I had to replace the barrel and the lock.

[rjohnson4405]

I did this with my Sig 229. Very sad.

What I learned is that when I'm shooting and have one that feels weak or I'm not sure about I TRB, get sights on target but don't shoot.

Then I step back, unload the gun, and visually inspect everything before I put it together and shoot again.

Mine happened in an indoor range and there was so much shooting I couldn't tell if mine had gone off or not (non-electronic hearing protection). I was also shooting a .40 S&W 229 converted to 9mm with a Bar-Sto barrel and new springs so recoil was VERY light.

[fuse]

EPILOGUE

Got my G4 17 back from Glock today, about 7 weeks after I sent it back.

They replaced the barrel, and extractor, for free under warranty.

I figured they would replace the extractor for free, but I never thought they'd just throw a new barrel in there, at no cost to me.

nice job, Glock.

They also updated the ejector to new design, and replaced the long defunct unmarked RSA to the current model.

Pretty pleased with the service, since this was 100% my fault.

And you managed to make it funny too

actually, I just remembered, I meant to include this video in the original post-

WHAT I DID RIGHT AFTER IT HAPPENED

[RoyGBiv]

I'll add my "glad you're ok" and relate my one similar experience.

This happened about 10 years ago....
I bought 250 rounds of redneck reloads at a gun show. Was shooting them through a Kahr P40.
When the bad round went off, thankfully, it seems all the energy either exited the barrel or the ejection port.
The mag still had several rounds in it.
I never did find the extractor, but the spring and pin were on the floor at my feet.

After Kahr repaired and inspected it (they charged me for the privilege and the parts) the only problem found was the missing extractor.