Springfield XDM kaboom

[ericire12]

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/12/18/springfield-xdm-kaboom/

The suspected reason for the KB was a round fired out of battery.

[bulldog75]

I wonder if this is indicative of tupperware guns.

[jaybet]

You have to wonder if anyone lost a thumb in the transaction.

[twyacht]

Perhaps those more knowledgeable could explain how this firing mechanism can even possibly fire a round that is NOT in battery.

Just curious...

Damage is much lower on the frame than the "G" kaboom's... No where near the slide. Possible double feed?

[TAB]

a broken/fowled firing pin or a sear issuse is the most common cuases.

[Sponsor]

[texcaliber]

Perhaps those more knowledgeable could explain how this firing mechanism can even possibly fire a round that is NOT in battery.

Just curious...

Damage is much lower on the frame than the "G" kaboom's... No where near the slide. Possible double feed?

Technically it is impossible to do so. By taking your striker fire system out of battery, the striker/FirePin will not have achieved enough movement of said striker to cause inertia. If you could place your finger in front of the breach-face "firing pin hole" you would not even feel it. This can be shown on Glocks and if Glock used this method of break down in manual there would never be an A.D. again. It would have to  be N.D. and in my opinion, it should be N.D. anyway.

[Woody]

 That is why I love my SS Loaded Champ. Steel's the real deal.

[LoveMyXds]

If you could figure out by my sig, I'm an "XD Guy"...

I have had XD's and XDm's apart hundreds of times and know them pretty intimately. I cannot see any way that the XD firing pin could EVER come in contact with the primer out of battery unless all the safetys on the gun were somehow bypassed or modified in ways that make no sense whatsoever in the performance of the firearm. Even then the firing pin and the channel it rides in are very robust and bending it in a manner that would strike the primer would mean that it was bent and lengthened considerably while retaining the same diameter at the same time. Physics rules apply.
 
My best guess would be a double charged handload. This XDm is a .40 and at 35000 CU's Max pressure that is a hot number for such a large caliber round. It is sooooo easy to make mistakes, especially with a progressive reloader... or even setting your digital measure or scale when loading by hand. I've seen plenty of large frame all steel .44 Magnum revolvers double charged with powder with the top strap and cylinders blown to bits so steel or polymer doesn't matter.

Be super careful, especially when loading "mouse fart" loads quickly because when 4.9 grains becomes 9.8 grains of powder there is a little difference in chamber pressures! 

Other possibilites are a blocked barrel or a split case... You make hot handloads in an auto in the same cases over and over and they can get kinda thin. Add to that the ramped section of the chamber that isn't fully supported to allow for feeding... The explosive power of the powder will follow the path of least resistance... right out the bottom of the case in the feedramp. The pics look like that is a possibility too.

Just my 1 1/2 cents,
Respectfully Submitted for Your Review,
Scott

[tombogan03884]

Thanks for the input,
One important thing to note here that every one else seems to be ignoring, all the force was downward, away from the shooters face.
Sh!t happens, nothing created by man is proof against defects at some point in the process, but the XD seems to have directed the force in a manner to minimize potential injury to the shooter.
I don't want ANYTHING blowing up in my hand, but if it happens I would prefer to have the Mag blown out at the bottom of my grip, than a top strap and cylinder pieces blowing off in front of my face.

[LoveMyXds]

Thanks Tom! One thing I like about polymer is that it is "plastic" ie it is flexible and bends rather than shatters. In the 80s I had a Delta Elite blow up about 10 feet away from me. EVERYTHING shattered and I had some very xsharp metal flying by my face and the shooter had metal and wood all through his hand arm and face. Super scary.

Upon further examination, the blog link says the shooter was from the Dillon Crew. Probably not shooting factory ammo. The gun is also in the shooter's hand and he has powder burns and bruising. The dude who had he Delta come apart wasn't posing for any pics afterwards.
Cheers,
Scott