¡ Kaboom !


	Three rounds closest to the breach-point.

	Left Side

	Note bowed topstrap.

	What I saw moments after.

	And the Right side. Grips, btw, are from Eagle Grips and are Buffalo horn.

I was using a load of Titegroup which could have allowed a double-charge to occur without any bullet seating problems. I think I'm a careful reloader, but perhaps one did get through with a double charge - none of the other loads showed an overcharge and were within .1 grains of my desired charge (I use a Dillon 550 btw - not a single stage press). Someone else suggested with a reduced powder level, perhaps there were multiple flame fronts which can spike chamber pressure too - this would not have been a fault of my reloading process. In either case, I have ceased use of Titegroup in my .44 Mag loads.

Ruger did not offer to replace the damaged receiver/frame as they determined that the failure was not due to structural defects (ie, it was the ammo's fault). However, they offered to replace the revolver with a new one at a substantial discount - which I accepted. They also returned the items I had upgraded: main spring and free-spin pawl, which I thought was a nice touch. I did replace my buffalo horn grips with the factor wood grips before sending the revolver back.

Needless to say, I am even more vigilent during my reloading sessions - even pondering the use of either a Rock Chucker press or a Dillon 650 with a powder-check station. Too much or too little powder can be a bad thing.

Be careful!