Feedback ASAP please...40 cal ammo shot through 45 1911

[swc007]

so i took my Glock23 and kimber custom II 45 to the gun range with someone (won't out the person) long story short the person loaded 40 caliber ammo into my 45 magazine and shot it through my kimber... it miss fired the first time so i figured it was a dud round because we were shooting target ammo...(i took the gun from the person) re cocked and it fired but jammed... unjammed it and shot it again then thats when the gun locked up.... i dropped the magazine and thats when i realized it was 40 cal ammo... i just bought this kimber early August... i got the brass unjammed and didnt shoot the gun again because i was worried something might have happened... the gun seems to function fine however now that i got it home.... QUESTION- is there anything i need to check close when the gun is taken apart for internal damage and what to look for in the barrel.... or is it okay and someone just made a uh oh i won't have to spend alot of money to fix...

if i didnt give enough detail or anyone needs more specifics just let me know

im worried because im def. not rich (college student) and i worked all summer to be able to get this gun... also just recieved my chl 3 days ago

[G.A. Heath]

The extractor is your biggest concern. I would remove the slide from the frame and then remove the barrel from the slide. Take a live .45 ACP round and slide the rim between the breach face and the extractor. At this point you can hold the slide parallel to the ground right side up and up side down. If the round stays the extractor is probably ok. While the barrel is out look down it for signs of damaged rifling or damage to the chamber.

[swc007]

i put the round in and it didn't fall out when pointed toward the ground or straight forward...barrel doesn't have any damage from what i can tell.. i assume it would be pretty noticable (maybe not)... i went ahead and put 8round through it and it worked like normal.... does this mean its gonna be okay lol or do i need to look at more things

[MoJo]

You have learned a valuable lesson cheap. Keep different sizes of ammunition separate from each other. If taking more than one caliber of gun to the range keep the guns and their ammo apart from each other. Like Andy C showed this could have resulted in a ruined pistol. I am sorry you had the mishap but glad it was so inconsequential.

[swc007]

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!

[swc007]

lessons were definately learned today... i tried to keep that from ruining the time at the range but i was really hard leaving a $800 gun on the side wondering if its broken or not haha... also trying to not make the person who messed it up not feel bad...just blessed to be able to have the gun and be able to shoot...person i took was a first timer!!!

[randomoutburst]

person i took was a first timer!!!

I learned, also the hard way, that when dealing with a first-time shooter...load the magazine (you, not them!) with ONE bullet to start with. Let them fire it. Then give them two. Then have them load three. If all is going well, let them continue on their own.

Glad this turned out to be a cheap lesson...you're lucky!

[NOS]

It sounds like you got lucky with this one. I'm glad to hear that no one was hurt and and your gun seems to be fine.
FYI, a barrel bulge can be slight and some can only be identified with calipers or micrometers. Even a very slight bulge can create a weak point in the barrel. Since you've fired some rounds of .45 through it without problems you are probably good. Just to make sure, get out some calipers and check the O.D. of the barrel. You should also take a bore light and look for bulges in the rifling on the inside.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the gun is fine. However, it never hurts to take a closer look to prevent any further problems down the road.

[G.A. Heath]

I seriously doubt that he will have any bulging with the barrel. While the .40S&W is a high pressure cartridge we have to remember that the case swelled significantly (due to the Larger diameter of the chamber) and gases escaped around the bullet due to its diameter being significantly smaller than that of the barrel. I suspect that the pressure inside the barrel was significantly lower than what the barrel normally sees. The fact that the gun refused to function normally indicates this while the fact the gun locked up is probably a function of the brass swelling excessively.

[Excaliber]

G.A. Heath is correct.

I did something similar once while shooting a Kahr PM40 and a Kimber Ultra Carry.

I had both types of ammo out on the shelf in separate piles, but didn't notice that one round of .40 rolled into the .45 batch. I scooped up a batch of cartridges and loaded the .45 mag, which I do pretty much automatically without looking at it, slapped it in, and proceeded to fire. The second or third round didn't sound right and I saw more smoke coming from the muzzle than usual, so I stopped and examined the gun.

The fired .40 shell was still in the gun. It was split and showed extensive blackening. Because the shell is significantly smaller in diameter than the .45, the shell casing didn't expand enough to meet the chamber walls so the burning powder gases blew back between the casing and the chamber walls, and the .40 projectile was too small to engage the rifling. These things worked together to produce an underpressurized discharge due to incomplete burning of the improperly contained powder charge and less projectile resistance because the rifling wasn't engaged. The projectile made it out of the barrel, but it just loafed downrange.

Since there was no barrel obstruction and the chamber pressure was lower than normal, the only damage was to my pride - there was no harm at all to the gun.

I suspect very much the same thing happened in your case.

The big danger in this whole scenario is the event sequence that Andy C described. The problem is not the higher pressure of the .40 cartridge - it's the extreme overpressure caused by firing a cartridge with an obstructed bore.

If you use a tap / rack / assess drill to clear a FTF, it's a real good practice to watch the ejection port and make sure the failed cartridge ejects. If it doesn't and another round is set off behind it, there will most certainly be serious damage to the gun, and real good chance of damage to the shooter and/or bystanders as well.

[NOS]

I seriously doubt that he will have any bulging with the barrel. While the .40S&W is a high pressure cartridge we have to remember that the case swelled significantly (due to the Larger diameter of the chamber) and gases escaped around the bullet due to its diameter being significantly smaller than that of the barrel. I suspect that the pressure inside the barrel was significantly lower than what the barrel normally sees. The fact that the gun refused to function normally indicates this while the fact the gun locked up is probably a function of the brass swelling excessively.

I stand corrected. I wasn't thinking about the open area around the case and bullet causing it to have reduced pressure behind the bullet. Thanks for clearing that up.

[swc007]

i like the idea that most r saying its ok haha... gun still fires like a champ LUCKILY!!! im about 99.9% its okay after the function test and shooting a magazine through it... i felt pretty dumb after taking the pistol from the shooter when it didn't fire...re cocking and shooting... ejecting the jammed cartridge thinking it was a crappy round then repeating process... Could i have bought a replacement barrel from kimber? or would the gun had to of been sent in?