Secondary Explosion Effect No Myth

I FIRST read about S.E.E back in 1965 when Nils Kvale warned against it in the Norma Gunbugs Guide No. 65. He broached the question: “Is there any danger of loading too low? Powder experts claim there is. If a load is reduced so much that the case is filled to, say, one third of its volume, there is a possibility that the primer flash will rush along the surface of the powder, igniting part of it, creating enough pressure to push the bullet into the forcing cone where it comes to a halt. Subsequently, when the ignition has spread to the entire powder charge a few thousandths of a second later, the lodged bullet cannot again accelerate fast enough to keep a dangerous pressure from arising. As matter of fact, guns have blown up under conditions for which no other explanation could be found.”

Soon after, P.O Ackley made mention