[Bruz]

Went to the range today, pulled out my P99 and the range master said one of those just blew up! Apparently blew the left side out, a chunk out of the right side, and broke the back side of the slide off. The guy was not injured in any way.

I did not ask what caliber (I was assuming that since he pointed my gun out it was a .9), but did ask about the ammo, WOLF. The consensis was that the slide did not close all the way?

 

[cordodor]

As rare as it is, I've never heard of anyone ever having any trouble with their P99 9mm. I've heard of like 2 .40's ever "blowing up" this being the third. Luckily, all 3 p99 owners walked way untouched. That Wolf ammo though, I don't doubt it. It says "Performance Ammunition" on the box, but that's not quite the performance i was looking for in my gun.
Well, that pretty much sucks, but it happens to the best of them if you've got crappy amo in there...

-Chris

 

[Dog1]

Wow that sucks...I have only heard of Glocks blowing up, this is the first time I have hear of a P99 doing that.

cordodor right though, it does not surprise me about Wolf. I have heard of several incidents like that with Wolf.

I have olny used Russia ammo once, in my S&W Sigma, and it's made by "State Unitary Enterprise" "Ulyanovsk Machinery Plant". It has been really accurate and reliable.

I have stayed away from Wolf though, and that warning came from a guy at a gun shop that sells it...go figure....

 

[BreakerMorant]

Regarding the use of Wolf Ammo, a friend once told me:

Using ammo made by people who are paid with Vodka is not a good idea and should be avoided.

 

[doctor_cop]

To do that much damage to a P99 (or any other quality pistol) with a 9mm round would require a significant overcharge of powder.  Detonated p99s are quite rare and I have never heard of such a catostrophic failure in one.  I doubt that it occured as a result of firing out of battery, although that is a possibility.  Even so, I don't think that that would have caused that much damage to the gun.
I am also surprised that the shooter walked away unscathed with a gun blown apart like that.  I would love to find out more details.

 

[NM_P99]

More details....... and/or pics, otherwise its just second hand info, and we all know how reliable second and third hand info is.

 

[Bruz]

More details....... and/or pics, otherwise its just second hand info, and we all know how reliable second and third hand info is.

More details and or pics would still be second hand info, but I have neither. Do not really care if you "believe" it or not, just posted it to (1) educate people on the possible problems with Wolf ammo and (2) bring an awareness that even the best gun could have a catastrofic failure so be carefull and wear as much protection as you can.

As far as who I heard it from, he is the owner of the range and I know him well. The gun smith also saw the end result, as did two cops which were still there. Really no reason they, or I, would make it up...

 

[venom600]

Quote[/b] ]Using ammo made by people who are paid with Vodka is not a good idea and should be avoided.

Sounds like a good signature line to me.

On a more serious note, though......I'm glad the guy wasn't hurt. And that's too bad about the P99.

--Ben

 

[NM_P99]

I didn't say that you made it up.
I said that second or third hand info is not reliable.
I've heard of all kinds of catastrophic failures with every pistol made. The true extent of the damage cannot be determined from a third hand story.
Pics would be nice, otherwise its just another unverifieable internet/gunstore story.
....
On another note, if people are so stupid as to use crappy QC foreign ammo in their pistols, then they are Darwin award candidates just waiting their turn in the Emergency room.

 

[Herr Walther]

Unbelievable that it would pass the proof in Germany and blow up on Wolf ammo.

Disconnector failure is highly unlikely.

My only conjecture would be the the lacquer on the casing built up in the chamber so much residue, that pressures increased even beyond that of a proof load.

As I stated that is purely speculation, but barring an overloaded (way overloaded I might add) cartridge, I can't imagine a modern Walther blowing up on European ammo.

The 9mm cartridge is high pressure to begin with.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Saw and held in my hands a P99/40 that cracked the frame when a case of PMC 165/40 FMJ ammo blew in it. Same ammo did the same to several Glock's at the same range BTW.

Have a pic from the RMIN Bulletin of a P99 in 40 that broke in two pieces when dropped by an Austin PD officer during an arrest. He bought it used, looks like previous owner had a kB that cracked it like the one above, new owner didn't notice, kept shooting it, when dropped it finally broke.

Stuff happens.

 

[45R]

All guns big and small blow up..........

Just glad the operator was unhurt.

 

[farranger]

From what John Farnam says he's had really bad luck with Sellier and Bellot when used by his students. The instructors at OPS, James Yeager included, have said several times that they use "a lot" of Wolf in 9mm and 223 and have never had trouble. When I read the post it sounded like they were talking pallet loads, not cases of Wolf. I'm not defending Wolf because I haven't shot any for a long time, just pointing out what some really knowledgable people have said. Kyle