It happened to me

[arch408]

I knew a guy who worked for a gunsmith. He test fired a customers .300 RUM rifle with the customers reloads. The rifle detonated and blew off most of his hand. He had other minor injuries, but survived. The rifle was completely destroyed. The scope was found on top of a house over 100 feet away. It turned out that the reload was really light load of IMR 4831. I don't know if it was an intentional reduced load or was done accidently. Either way, he should not have fired some one else's reloads. I won't use any powder in my .300 RUM that leaves a lot space in my case.

 

[hunter0528]

Not the powder goofup but almost as bad. I load and shoot 6mm Rem and .257 Roberts. Went to the range with both rifles and settled down and started with the 6mm. Then put it down and picked up the Roberts. First round not even close to the target, second shot no better and a dust puff off to the left. Puzzled I looked over and wth I was still pulling rounds out of the 6mm box. Yup, the 6mm will chamber and fire in the .257 Roberts because they come from the same cartridge family.

I kinda of had the same when I worked in a gun store (back in the '70's) Gentleman can in and asked for a box of Carbine ammo so I gave him a box of .30 carbine. He came in the next day with his AR-15 Carbine, saying he fired 1 round and the gun locked up!!!! Took the better part of an hour (after he left) to get the gun apart and remove the expanded .30 Carbine case. The .30 carbine 110 bullet exited the gun!!! Ran go and no go gauges and then test fired the gun with 1 .223 round. Took the case and measured it. Specs. were in line. Then tried 5 rounds, no problem. (Bet no one ever fired a 110 grain .223 bullet ). Over the past 50 years I lost the case I extracted.
The interesting thing is the nose of a .30 Carbine matched perfectly to the Shoulder of the .223.

Proves the AR-15 is strong also.

 

[Ranger1994]

I'd also like to chime in here and say thanks for all the stories. I've only been reloading a few years, all fingers still accounted for but this does help reinforce my own regimen of staying safe while enjoying this hobby. Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

I'm thankful that so many people are willing to share their stories and that most of them ended up just being a learning experience without personal injury. Too many times we "men" are ashamed to admit that we make mistakes or are afraid of others criticizing and ridiculing us. Hopefully these stories will help others learn and prevent them from making the same mistakes.

P.S. - I know there are women that shoot and reload also but for some reason they don't have the same problems with pride that we do.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Thanks for the safety reminder. Everyone needs them.

 

[ltrmc02]

When I was in England back in the seventies I was rabbit hunting with a friend. He had a 20 gauge shell in his pocket and accidentally loaded it his Berretta over and under. He didn't notice it after he shot the top barrel, he reloaded both barrels. When he shot the lower barrel, the barrel blew and splintered the fore end. Lucky, he wasn't hurt, but the shotgun was ruined.

Such ugly surprises can occur quickly, glad the shooter came out unscathed.

 

[Oldschool280]

I did read the wrong page in the reloading book. I was reading lighter 120gr bullets weights, I was using 143 gr bullets. Lighter get more powder, heavy less power at max powder weight .....it can be very dangerous. So double-check everything make sure you are on the right page with the right powder. I had made 40 bullets. before I realized the mistake and had to pull with the inertia hammer which damage the bullet tip then you lose the bullet and bullets can be expensive.

Hey, with my hammer i was able to roll up a small piece of electrical tape and drop it in, it stays in place and no more ruined tips! Maybe this will work in yours?

 

[memtb]

Hey, with my hammer i was able to roll up a small piece of electrical tape and drop it in, it stays in place and no more ruined tips! Maybe this will work in yours?

I, about 40 years ago used a cotton ball, still going strong. Or, a small piece of foam rubber!

Or, go to mono-bullets.....no more damaged tips!

Kinda-sorta along similar lines. When I first got my .375 AI ( many years ago), I started out using conventional cup and core bullets. If 3 were loaded in the magazine when shooting, by the time you got to the last round, the tip had flattened to about 1/8" to 3/16" dia. The recoil wasn't opening the jacket yet.....But, that can't be good for BC's ! Going mono fixed that problem also! memtb

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Hey, with my hammer i was able to roll up a small piece of electrical tape and drop it in, it stays in place and no more ruined tips! Maybe this will work in yours?

Stuff a small piece of foam rubber into the end of the inertia pullers chamber. My puller came that way.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Stuff a small piece of foam rubber into the end of the inertia pullers chamber. My puller came that way.

I thought everybody put an ear plug in their inertia bullet puller ………..

 

[Oldschool280]

I thought everybody put an ear plug in their inertia bullet puller ………..

I like that! Electrician, electrical tape was right there.

 

[LongestShot]

Used RL17 to develop a load for my 338. Practiced shooting and everything was fine. The tempiture was in the 60's. Got to Africa and the tempiture was in the 90's. First few shots resulted in a sticky bolt, the 6th or 7th shot blew the primer out. To say RL17 is tempiture sensitive is an understatement.

 

[memtb]

Used RL17 to develop a load for my 338. Practiced shooting and everything was fine. The tempiture was in the 60's. Got to Africa and the tempiture was in the 90's. First few shots resulted in a sticky bolt, the 6th or 7th shot blew the primer out. To say RL17 is tempiture sensitive is an understatement.

LongestShot, Sorry to hear of your issues on such an important hunt. But, that is precisely the reason I do all of my load development on "hot" days (90+ degrees). I run my loads at or near maximum pressures, and I don't want any surprises on a hot day! There is no powders completely "temperature insensitive"! My rule in life "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best"! That seems pretty applicable here! memtb

 

[milo-2]

I kinda of had the same when I worked in a gun store (back in the '70's) Gentleman can in and asked for a box of Carbine ammo so I gave him a box of .30 carbine. He came in the next day with his AR-15 Carbine, saying he fired 1 round and the gun locked up!!!! Took the better part of an hour (after he left) to get the gun apart and remove the expanded .30 Carbine case. The .30 carbine 110 bullet exited the gun!!! Ran go and no go gauges and then test fired the gun with 1 .223 round. Took the case and measured it. Specs. were in line. Then tried 5 rounds, no problem. (Bet no one ever fired a 110 grain .223 bullet ). Over the past 50 years I lost the case I extracted.
The interesting thing is the nose of a .30 Carbine matched perfectly to the Shoulder of the .223.

Proves the AR-15 is strong also.

Wow is all I can say. Recovering that bullet would have been the fun part.

 

[hunter0528]

I like that! Electrician, electrical tape was right there.

What no Duct tape I thought everyone used duct tape for everything.