Hmm...so if we have detonation of the primer AND detonation of the powder, would the bullet not also be discharged in which case we are back to my first post?

Discharged where? The bullet leaves the case but doesn't go down the barrel.

Rule book defines Detonation:

Detonation .......................... Ignition of the primer of a round, other than by action of a firing pin, where the bullet does
not pass through the barrel (e.g. when a slide is being manually retracted, when a round is
dropped).

So the issue here is that a round 'detonated' or whatever word you want to use by an action OTHER than the firing pin.

In the event of detonation (which in this case is the round going off outside the chamber), the brass case is not being supported by the chamber. During normal firing, the barrel chamber supports the side of the brass case, the breech supports the base of the brass case, and as the gas pressure is built up during the discharge the bullet moves down the barrel as that is the point of least resistance to the pressure build-up.

Without outside the chamber detonation, the brass case is not supported in any direction. The case will almost always split lengthwise, long before there is sufficient pressure to propel the bullet with any significant velocity. Think of the brass case as like a balloon that pops with too much pressure. The pressure, which has not fully built up, is relieved in all directions when the brass ruptures.

OK. NOW it is clear.

Thanks all!

Nick

Ralph...the case more than just splits and it ends up looking like a little brass mushroom! Brass goes everywhere and the fireball from the powder burns like hell!

I cringe every time I see a shooter grab the slide and eject the round into their hand! I always let them know that this method of unloading is bad practice but for some reason most people don't listen.

timmy wrote:
I'm gonna have to dryfire my unload and show clear now. I eject the round into my hand.

Good plan. Please, just let it drop. All this flipping guns in the air to catch a flying ejected round is bad juju.

Timmy, you still got scars from your education?

Actually they are all still there as a reminder to grab the slide with your thumbs and let the round drop out!

My 357Sig is basically the same as my .40 cal but with 3 times the amount of powder so no bouncing around trying to catch that round!

And no, I did not get DQ'd