I am a bonehead

[Boerrancher]

This past Sunday afternoon, a good friend of mine came over, and we decided to shoot my Blackhawk 45LC. I grabbed a hand full of rounds that were laying on the table in the gun room and we headed out on the back deck. He shot six rounds then I shot six, reloaded the cylinder and passed it to him. On his last shot it sounded like a dud, and we saw the boolit hit the dirt about 20 ft in front of us. I removed the cylinder and checked the bore just to be safe, installed the cylinder, ejected the empties, and reloaded the last 5 giving it back to my friend to shoot.

While I was looking at the brass I noticed that the case mouth on one, I assumed the dud was belled out wider than the body, and made a comment to my friend that it didn't have enough pressure to expand the entire case. Later on that evening I sat down to the loading bench with my cases and tried to resize the one that was a dud. After having it fall into the sizer I knew something was not right. I finally took the case out of the shell holder and looked at the head stamp. I was a bit dismayed at how much of a bonehead I can be. I had loaded and my friend had fired a 44-40 round out of my 45LC.

Best wishes from the Bonehead at the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[madcaster]

You are NOT a bonehead!We are just glad nobody was hurt!:-D

[runfiveswife]

your not a bonehead, it could happen to the best of us.

[bobthenailer]

i was shooting a 454 and a 44 mag both with loads in the 1000 fps range, i loaded the 454 and shot a group at 25 yards, the group was about 6 inches ????? what the heck happened everything sounded and felt ok, when ejecting the emptys i noticed i had loaded it with 44 mag ammo instead of 454 i looked at the open box and they were 44 mag . in all my years of shooting this is the only time ive done something like this this. were intitled to a few mistakes as long as no one is hirt.

[August]

Cowboy Action Shooting has caused me to check all head stamps before cramming them into my press. Some pretty weird stuff can show up in your shell pouch at a cowboy match. Easy to miss and potentially expensive.

[44man]

Hard to size that stuff now! [smilie=1:

[Scrounger]

I think it is Remington who used to load 5 in 1 blanks for the movie industry. They are blank cartridges which can be safely fired in the following caliber guns: .38-40, rifle and pistol; .44-40, rifle and pistol; and .45 Colt pistols. (There were no .45 Colt rifles in the old west...)

[Ricochet]

You may be a bonehead, but you're OUR bonehead! :mrgreen:

[45nut]

I have a few of those 5 in 1's here,, bottlenecked devils they are. Haven't fired any though.

[sundog]

Had someone shoot several '06 loads down a 35 Whelen. Wound up with several extra pieces of 35 Whelen brass. Fire formed very nicely. I bet those boolits rattled around a might.

[Boerrancher]

I only made a mistake like this one other time and it was years ago when I was a kid. My Dad had a 6mm 06 that he had built, and I sat down at our shooting bench here on the farm to shoot it. I grabbed Dad's red Herter's plastic shell box sitting on the bench and proceeded to shoot a 5 shot group. Dad was busy talking to his friends that had shown up and was not paying any attention. When I went to pick up the empties I noticed that they had no necks. I then showed them to dad who looked at his ammo box. It wasn't his ammo box, it was mine for my 243 win. As punishment dad made me only take 15 rounds of ammo to the range with me for the next 4 weekends, which meant I only got to shoot my rifle 3 times instead of 4. He told me it would teach me a lesson to remember to look at head stamps, and I always did every time up until Sunday after noon. I am glad Dad wasn't around Sunday or I am sure I would have caught heck for it.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[Echo]

At our range, when checking brass for recycling, we occasionally find some very strnge sights - like when someone shoots .308's in an -06 - They're both 30 caliber, aren't they? We keep them on display to help reduce the occurrences, but it doesn't get rid of them entirely.

And then there was the guy that inheirited an old 94, and some loads to go with. The brass was old, and brittle, and each one split up the side. But no matter, he shot them all. No damage to the gun or shooter, TG.

[exile]

The only people who don't make mistakes are those who don't do anything. Did this incident do any damage to your gun that you know of? Hope you still continue to enjoy that Blackhawk.

Exile

[Cactus Farmer]

I had a fellow tell me he used 300 Savage in his 308 Win because he thoought they were like shooting 22 shorts in a 22 long rifle. Then there are the folks that think powder is powder.......I like my "Peruvian Blue Flake" powder.....all the pieces of cans and any pulled powder in a can.
You have to make sure it's well mixed each use. It makes the first round a real thrill!:bigsmyl2:

[Ricochet]

Well, of course there's no harm done from firing a .44-40 in a .45 Colt. It's a good reminder of how easy it is to make a mistake.

Dumping all the powder leftovers together isn't something I'd do, unless I were using it in a pyrotechnic flashpot like a rock band I used to know. They bought caddies of Red Dot for the purpose.

But I tend to mix together all the pipe tobacco types I'm not wild about individually, and mix 'em all in with some stuff I got from http://pipesandcigars.com/ that they call "Best of the Rest." At the end of the day, after shipping out their orders, they dump what's left in the open containers together, more or less shake it up, and sell it cheap. Pretty good stuff, really!

[Tom Herman]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for making my day! You're not alone. Once in a while, a .44 Mag or .44 SPL will try to hide among the .45 Long Colts.
I usually figure this out when I extract the rounds from the gun.
No damage is done, except to the case. It's embarassing when the top of the case bulges out to fill the .45 sized cylinder.
The ocurrences are fewer, but the latest one happened about two months ago.
I hang onto the cases as reminders to be more careful.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom


After having it fall into the sizer I knew something was not right. I finally took the case out of the shell holder and looked at the head stamp. I was a bit dismayed at how much of a bonehead I can be. I had loaded and my friend had fired a 44-40 round out of my 45LC.

Best wishes from the Bonehead at the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[clodhopper]

Used to have 2 Rem 788s. A .223 and .243, Brought one to work, (at a ranch) as I pulled up, a skunk was just leaving. I grabbed what I thought was the .223 and a few cartridges and followed that skunk untill he was down wind enough, raised the faithful rifle, a sickening click was all she did.
Due to my negligence that stunk got away!

[MtGun44]

Just don't slip a 7x57 into a .270 Win. :shock:

Wonder if a .358 Win would fit into a .30-06 chamber? A controlled
round feed would have the rim tight against the bolt. . . . . :shock::shock:

I found a .40 S&W case that was apparently fired in a .45 ACP chamber,
and a 9mm apparently fired in a .40 S&W chamber, probably nothing
too exciting, both cases did split, so without safety glasses it might
cause eye harm, which would be very bad.

YIKES ! We all need to watch what we're sliping into that chamber.

Bill

[HeavyMetal]

I learned not to take ammo with out checking the box!

Last year I was out with the family and had two box's of factory loads one box 7.62x39 and the other .308 win. Both box's were by the same maker ( red and white box) I thought I'd left the factory 7.62 ammo at home!

Found out that 7.62x39 will fit, feed, and chamber in a .308 Savage 99 and it did so very smoothly! My nephew kept the case as a reminder to always check the ammo you bring!

The Savage never even noticed the difference! Glad I only fired one round!

So don't feel to bad. We all try hard to be safe but sometimes...and this is why I don't load magnum loads in non magnum case's or push BP cartridges hard ( with smokeless) when I have BP weapons they will fit in!

[Cactus Farmer]

:roll:a fellow brought a Golden Eagle in that he had fired a 308 in a 25-06. Wanted to know if I could fix it........stock vaporized,bolt split back about about an inch,165 grn 308 bullet was NOT in the bore. I wonder what it looked like,and how fast was it going? Bolt was welded to the case. If it wasn't that the reciever is much like a 788,a tube with an ejection port he might have lost an arm. As it was he was shaken and had a few splinters. BTW,the scope was unscathed.....go figure.

[billyb]

9mm in 40 S&W makes that funnel shaped brass! Bill

[Boerrancher]

:roll:a fellow brought a Golden Eagle in that he had fired a 308 in a 25-06. Wanted to know if I could fix it........stock vaporized,bolt split back about about an inch,165 grn 308 bullet was NOT in the bore. I wonder what it looked like,and how fast was it going? Bolt was welded to the case. If it wasn't that the reciever is much like a 788,a tube with an ejection port he might have lost an arm. As it was he was shaken and had a few splinters. BTW,the scope was unscathed.....go figure.

While working at a gun shop in college, I fella brought in a Mod 70 chambered in a 270 that had the bolt blown out of it, and a huge bulge in the barrel where the chamber would be. It would seem that there was a 'yote hanging around his hog pen and he grabbed the gun and stuffed a round into it. The only problem was it was a 308 round he grabbed instead of a 270. Not much we could do with that rifle. I don't know how the bolt missed his face when it came back.

Thanks for sharing all of your wrong ammo for the gun stories. I don't feel so bad now. As far as keeping that piece of brass, I run it through the 44-40 sizing die and it is as good as new. Well maybe not as good as new, but as good as thrice fired any way.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[azrednek]

Don't feel bad. Few weeks ago I was shooting with my son and his friend. My son's friend told me there was something wrong with my 44 mag a S&W Model 29. He was having a hard time extracting cases. He was shooting 41's. The 41's were very mild reloads, 170 gr full wadcutters loaded with 4.5 grs of Bullseye.

My fault though!! I had the ammo in an old Caseguard plastic box, marked with a marking pen "44". I had placed a piece of tape over the marking, marked the tape 41 mag and it had fallen off. No damage or even a leaded up bore. About 50% of the brass split about half-way down, the rest just kind of ballooned up to fit.

Don't know if it is an exaggeration. According to a volunteer safety person at the Avery range in Phoenix. Somebody was knowingly shooting 06 in a 35 Whelen. The shooter claimed he read somewhere that is how one is supposed to fire-form brass.

[NoDakJak]

I will admit to nothing but just a word of advice. Never keep loaded 30.30 and 30.40 rounds on the same shooting bench. Neil

[Southern Son]

I saw a rifle hanging on the wall of a gunshop one day and it was obvious that the rifle had at one point had a little bit of a moment. Split timber around the magazine, magazine floor plate gone, slight bulge in the barrel just in front of the chamber, etc. I asked the shop owner what had happened. He said a bloke bought it in and asked if it could be fixed. Rifle owner said that he was out spotlighting with a mate, went to shoot a fox and then boom. Turned out that he had seen the fox, picked up a round off the dash of the car, single loaded it, and closed the bolt. The rifle was a 22/250, the round of ammo was a 7.62x39. Rifle owner recons that he did not feel anything out of the ordinary when he chambered the round. I bet the rifle exploding might have been a bit out of the ordinary.

[Mohillbilly]

I once put a round of .30 carbine through my 9mm mag upper automag.I picked up the wrong mag as both use the same mag,so i needed to look at what was realy loaded in the mag.It shot a bout a foot low and the brass was well expanded. Ever here the one about the 45 ACP in the 30-06? ........ it went !

[Jim]

There usta be a gunshop here in Charleston years ago called RPM. The owner, Bob Mizzell, had a wall full of exploded firearms on display. I remember listening to people talk about how bad it must have been when that one or this one went off. The one that always impressed me was a side by side 12 gauge with the left wall of the chamber of the left barrel gone. I always wondered where it went.

[No_1]

Now that was a blast from the past. I almost forgot about making trips onto John's Island to shoot thru the old tire "silencers" on the rifle range.

Robert


There usta be a gunshop here in Charleston years ago called RPM. The owner, Bob Mizzell, had a wall full of exploded firearms on display. I remember listening to people talk about how bad it must have been when that one or this one went off. The one that always impressed me was a side by side 12 gauge with the left wall of the chamber of the left barrel gone. I always wondered where it went.

[missionary5155]

I had a fellow tell me he used 300 Savage in his 308 Win because he thoought they were like shooting 22 shorts in a 22 long rifle. Then there are the folks that think powder is powder.......I like my "Peruvian Blue Flake" powder.....all the pieces of cans and any pulled powder in a can.
You have to make sure it's well mixed each use. It makes the first round a real thrill!:bigsmyl2:

Hey .. Where can I get some of that down here ?? [smilie=1:

[1Shirt]

Have a box of empty 300 win, fire formed to 300 Weatherby that I picked up at the range last year. They sort of look like belted monster 218 Mashburn Bees.
Bet it was a new Weatherby, and new shooter, and a new sales clerk. Ignorance in this case was bliss.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[snowtigger]

This is the reason I sold my .41 magnum. I had 3 44mags, and ran across a screaming deal on a 3-screw Ruger 41 mag.
One day I was shjooting the 44's, and heard a funny "pop". I shut her down and pulled the case. It was a 41.
I called myself an idiot, my wife agreed for once. No harm, as the undersized bullet didn't allow pressure enough to hurt the gun, just a funny looking case.
I carry the 44 for bear protection, and decided to get rid of everything associated with the 41, as I seemed incapable of keeping them seperated.
That "pop" would not be so funny if a PO'd bruin were in the sights.

[leftiye]

Funny how them there wifes only agree with us when we're admitting mental incompetence. Mine has that problem too.

[TAWILDCATT]

I let a friend use my 303 at my place in Mass.he brought his own ammo.
Do you know what a 303 savage looks like after firing in a 303 british NO 4.
bought a 1909 colt in Memphis in 1944,got a hand full of cart with it.took it to the range and fired it not bad.next shot I thought my thumb was shot off.firts shot was smokless second was a full blown black powder.the chief gunnersmate was a little upset and the officers were so shook they quit for the day.this was in Trinadad by then.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I would like to take the occasion to relate something that happened to me many years ago. It did't involve a mistake and it didn't involve cast bullits but it is good to know that strange things can happen. I was shooting jacketed bullits in a Colt single action in 44 spl cal . I touched off a round and it only made a poof sound. I saw the bullit it down range so I thought at least the bullit had cleared the barrel. I cocked the gun and started to touch off another round. Then a light turned on in my noggin. I lowered the hammer,took the cylinder out and looked down the barrel. Sure enough the jacket was firmly stuck about midway.I showed the gun to an older gentelman [I said it was many years ago and I was much younger] nearby and he said that he had seen it happen many times. I later sold a beuatiful Colt 45 to a friend and he brought it back a few weeks later and it looked like a snake had swallowed an egg. I explained what had had transpired but he did not believe me. Of course a new barrel was installed . He gave me the old barrel and I tried to drive the jacket out but I never could. At that time you could still buy parts from Colt. Of course the idea is to stop shooting when something doesn't look or sound right.