Gun show reloads, 38spl jhp

[lar45]

I had a friend over the other day sighting his laser in. For ammo he had some 38spl jhp that a friend of his had picked up at a gun show.
We were almost done tweaking in the sight when he pulled the trigger and it gave a weak pop and the bullet fell on the ground about 3 feet from the muzzle. I picked it up and it was just the lead core. The jacket had stuck about half way down the barrel and had to be tapped out with a cleaning rod!

Just a safety reminder, light loads should not be attempted with jacketed bullets.

[Daver7]

And don’t buy reloads

[BLAHUT]

I very seldom shoot reloads I did not make; I don't trust ???

[405grain]

You're just lucky that it was too weak and not way too strong. Don't trust reloads from unknown people. When in doubt, pull the bullets, dump the powder, then reload it yourself with your own powder and loads.

[El Bibliotecario]

I was surprised to find that despite the widespread concern with liability, at least some auction houses specializing in firearms happily accept handloaded ammunition for auction.

[trails4u]

There are 3 people in this world whose handloads I trust. Me, myself and I.

[dtknowles]

What makes a round a reload? I someone loads ammo in new brass is it a reload? If a small time ammo maker loads ammo in once fired brass is that a reload? My local gunshop/shooting range will not accept returned ammo and will only sell ammo they sourced from their distributor. I think the major point is you can only trust ammo if you know the source. I have thousands of rounds of ammo sold as for pull down only. They were someone's reloads some of them were rejects from small time manufacturers. I am pretty sure that one batch of 9mm was rejected because it had a scattering of 380 mixed in somehow. I have fired a bunch of it with no problems, but it was in carbines that I know can tolerate +P+ ammo.
Tim

[stubshaft]

I'm in the "if I didn't load it, I don't shoot it" group. I was RSO for over 23 years on the local Silhouette Range and saw some spectacular blowups from people shooting "someone else's" reloads!

[imashooter2]

You're just lucky that it was too weak and not way too strong. Don't trust reloads from unknown people. When in doubt, pull the bullets, dump the powder, then reload it yourself with your own powder and loads.

Yep. I wonder what happened to the guy that got the extra powder?

[Hick]

Sounds like some reloads I once made for my father-in-law. 90 + years old, mild dementia, keeping a loaded 38 special hidden near his bed in a care home. Wouldn't give up the gun! I took his ammo and replaced them with 'reloads' using 358 grain jacketed hollow-points, but I 'forgot' to put powder in the cases.

[Thin Man]

A few years ago a customer brought his S&W M686 .357 to us with an unusual challenge. He wanted reduced velocity 357 ammo but was not able to find any. His brother-in-law was a handloader and offered to help. When the revolver owner fired 6 rounds of this crafted ammo he saw no holes in the target, and the cylinder would not turn after the last shot was fired. Quick summary, the barrel had 5 1/2 projectiles stored inside it, with that odd last 1/2 still in the cylinder which caused the lock-up. We sent this project to S&W and they restored the firearm to functional condition. There was no evidence (scrapes, marks. etc.) that this correction had ever been done by S&W.

[Hannibal]

There are 3 people in this world whose handloads I trust. Me, myself and I.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

[Hannibal]

What makes a round a reload? I someone loads ammo in new brass is it a reload? If a small time ammo maker loads ammo in once fired brass is that a reload? My local gunshop/shooting range will not accept returned ammo and will only sell ammo they sourced from their distributor. I think the major point is you can only trust ammo if you know the source. I have thousands of rounds of ammo sold as for pull down only. They were someone's reloads some of them were rejects from small time manufacturers. I am pretty sure that one batch of 9mm was rejected because it had a scattering of 380 mixed in somehow. I have fired a bunch of it with no problems, but it was in carbines that I know can tolerate +P+ ammo.
Tim

If you insist then they are hand loads. However this is merely an argument based on semantics.

[Divil]

A cautionary tale. Glad your pal didn’t wind up with a ruined barrel.

[atr]

while at the range with a friend shooting our 44's he loaded some gun show bought rounds and the first one he fired the slug only travel half way down the barrel. DON"T shoot (or buy) anything you don't reload yourself!

[justindad]

I’ve had some store-bought Winchester .45 Colt ammo go click and not bang. That has never happened to my handloads. Some people don’t care though, and make ammo 10X faster than I do.

[CastingFool]

I regret passing up 3 sandwich bags full of loaded 38 spcl at a local garage sale, for $3. Each. Could have broken them down, into components. I did pick up a pewter pitcher for $2.

[DougGuy]

I still have a souvenir I saved out of a box of Remington Hi Velocity LSWC-GC in 44 magnum, my souvenir is a 240gr LSWC-GC crammed into a 41 magnum case. It's quite comical to look at..

[WRideout]

I once had a new box of Winchester 38 spl round nose that had one round with the primer upside down.

Wayne

[jdgabbard]

I have shot reloads from other people before, back in the day when you used to be able to buy reloaded 38spl wadcutters and semi-wadcutters from the local range.

Lucky, the guy who owned the place, was a long time shooter and handloader, since probably the 50s or 60s. I have no idea what type of press the guy was running, but this was back in the late 90s and early 2000s. He was one of the few instructors in the area for the Oklahoma CCW classes. Good buddies of my old man, and wouldn't even take my money when I took his course. As a matter of fact, he gifted me a nice 357 magnum after taking the class. Good guy, and if he were still alive I'd shoot his reloads any day.

Another guy by the name of Greg was an old retired police officer that I used to hang around with. Same kind of story, had been shooting and reloading since probably the 70s. Greg was the first one to introduce me to the concept of bullet casting, as well as pressuring me to get into reloading. While he was a fan of the 357sig, he knew what he was talking about. And was a heck of a shot. Routinely he would bring me bags of reloads for my 9mm and 40s&w service pistols. All of them accurate in my pistols. And I never questioned their safety. Greg would also routinely load some hunting ammo for some of the guys that had rifles chambered in more exotic (for SE Oklahoma) calibers. Everyone was very happy with what he would provide them with.

That there is the current extent of my trust with handloads made by others. Should I get to know a guy, sure I might shoot his stuff if I gain a certain level of trust in his loading abilities. But there is always an inherent risk with reloading. Mistakes do happen. I myself have had a squib in the past. I knew what to look for, and caught it before pulling the trigger again. But the risk is always there. Best to not risk it unless you don't value your hands and face. Besides, I now reload and cast my own. There is no reason to buy someone's reloads when I can do it myself cheaper...

Just my .02