It happened to me

I also had another friend that went to his local gun shop to buy a brand new Ruger LCP then bought a box of .380ACP to go along with his new pistol. He went out and shot it, not sure with what accuracy success but later that day I came by to check out his new pistol and noticed it wasn't a LCP but the LC9 lol. I gave him a few 9mm rounds to try out in it. He claimed it fired and cycled the .380's without any issues but I wish I'd witness that for myself.
 
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.
 
So After thousands of rounds, i made a mistake and somehow grabbed the reloader 15 instead of reloader 25 for my 257 bee. Fired one round at minimum charge ( thank goodness) and the bolt was locked up something fierce. The rifle appears to be ok. Always look at your bottle twice I know I will for now on!

I check my notes and reload data and check sheets. Then pull each component and set it on my reload table, and check again to be sure I only have what I want to use on my table. My reloading table is also in a corner of my garage with close to zero distractions.
 
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.
A 270 will chamber and fire in a 7 mag with destructive results.
 
When I was first getting into reloading, among the many articles I read, many pointed out: one thing at a time, one thing on the bench - or "else.". So far, so good - I follow a checklist, and check each item off as I go. First, I record the powder used, the lot number, manufacture data, and the amount I am loading. Then it goes on the bench. Same with each component. Then check off as I go. Takes time to do it each time, but helps me keep from getting lazy, or not paying attention. This is a good reminder about safety!!! !
 
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.
 
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.

Even though ruining bullets is expensive, it's still a cheap lesson. Ruining rifles is far more expensive, and what's a pound of flesh worth ???!!!!!
 
Knock on wood I'll probably regret posting this , but I've been very fortunate and not had no mishaps "yet". However I've personally seen a 7 mm08 shot through a 25-06 by my cousin . Strange thing is it was shooting 2 inches high but right in line for all 3 shots. He swears to this day that it did not recoil any more than normal. The gun was a Remington model 700 some fancy light weight version. I was unloading stuff out of the truck while he was shooting and couldn't tell any difference in the report. He sent the gun to Remington and they told him he basically had a good bolt and stock . Not to trust the receiver and the barrel was so fouled just to discard it.

My dads long life hunting buddy has in a glass display case all the pieces that could be found of a model 700 25-06 that a local doctor shot a 308 through. It literally looks like it was put through a chipper . The man never got a scratch on him I don't know how.

Dads same buddy worked at a machine shop for awhile and one of the other gentleman that worked there had bought a s&w 44 mag pistol and all the stuff to "learn" to reload . About a week after his purchase he brought the gun in and said he'd reloaded some ammo and went out back to shoot it and couldn't hit nothing. 12 shots were fired before he noticed the barrel was slightly bowed. They removed the barrel and milled a 1/4" groove the length of the barrel all 12 bullets are permanently lodged in the barrel. He sold his reloading equipment to dad for a little bit of nothing. He swore up and down he knew what he was doing and had read the book cover to cover. I often wonder how and what powder he used . S&w offered to replace his gun if they could have the barrel and he declined. In the 12 inches of barrel there is a 3/8 bow .
 
before I ditched the rcbs digital powdermaster setup.(very inconsistent in my reloading room I blamed it on rf interfernce from the furnace and lighting) I took a break from reloading some 6.5wsm went back to it the next day not sure if it was failing to recalibrate and check weight or I refilled with wrong powder but I got some amazing velocity with 129s over 4000fps and a new bolt handle to boot...
 
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. o_O
 
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