I tempted with fate and almost paid the price.

[Atakawow]

Hello all,

I encountered an incident earlier today that I wish to share. Earlier this morning, I met up with another fella at the local shooting range to do a gun trade. The fella was nice enough to offer me a box of his own .45 colt reloads, no charge, to get me started with my newly acquired gun, said these are his Cowboy loads. The box is marked "6.2 gr Titegroup."

I was giddy as a school girl. I was alone at the range, with a newly acquired toy (Vaquero) in one hand, and a box of ammo in the other to boot. All too convenience, I thought. I ignored the cardinal rule and proceeded toward the shooting area with a box of unknown reloads. I loaded up my newly acquired Vaquero, cocked the hammer, and took aim. Now, at that moment, I couldn't say that it was an intervention from the above or what, but my senses came rushing back into my empty head. I immediately lowered the gun, lowered the hammer, removed the loaded rounds back into the box, and went home.

Once at home, I decided to pull some of those unknown reloads to verify the charge. I randomly selected 5 out of the 50 rounds. Keep in mind the box is marked "6.2 gr Titegroup." The very first round I pulled had a charge weighing in at 16.4 gr...I didn't have a .45 colt round, what I had was a mini explosive. I pulled the rest of the 49 remaining rounds. When done, out of the 50 pulled rounds, 24 of them had not a speck of powder in them. The only round that was weighted had nearly three times the intended powder charge.

I wish to clarify that there is no ill intent between myself and this fella. He is considered by the locals to be a very seasoned handloader as well as a very respected person among the local SASS. Mistakes do happen even among the most seasoned of us all.

I broke the rule. I made a huge mistake. I am thankful that it was prevented before any further incidents. I hope my mistake will serve as a reminder to all: be very cautious of unknown reloads.

Go slow and be safe. [smilie=s:

ATK.

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

[bpratl]

Someone was on your side. This is a good lesson to be learned....you are luckey

[dragonrider]

I would be having a talk with this fellow very soon. His attitude at the reloading bench is either to casual OR he is having a problem with his equipment. Either way you must make him aware of what you found.

[fredj338]

Hello all,

II wish to clarify that there is no ill intent between myself and this fella. He is considered by the locals to be a very seasoned handloader as well as a very respected person among the local SASS. Mistakes do happen even among the most seasoned of us all.
[smilie=s:

ATK.
Well, glad your common sense prevailed. The guy is NOT a seasoned handloader by a long shot & in so many ways. TG, really? Not in my handloads, ever, especially in oober large cases like the 45colt. Triple charge, really? Never happens to seasoned/knowledgeable reloaders, never (knock on wood).:groner:
Yes, shooting other peoples reloads is like sleeping w/ a prostitute; it may be fun, but you have no idea what you are going to get.

[jcwit]

Your Guardian Angle took a LOW fly over today which you I am sure are very thankful for.

Yes, Goof Ups happen, even to the most experienced.

How many times did A.J. Foyt cruise around the track before he hit the wall?

[41 mag fan]

Divine intervention and an someone from above looking out for you

[1Shirt]

Even a blind hog occaisionaly finds an acorn! My dad used to say it is better to be lucky than smart, and I think you were both.

I trust my reloads, my son in laws, and a couple of my friends reloads in their weapons. I taught a number of them to reload. I bought some 375H&H reloads at a gun show a few years back for a super price (like, I think about $5-6.00 for 40 or so). I pulled the blts (all Hornady 270 and 300-what else would you expect in Ne.) and dumped the pdr, and deprimed the cases. The blts were well worth the price alone. The powder(s) varied in weights by as much as 15-20 percent per blt weights. The powders appeared to be the same or similar. I also checked the insides of the cases with a crochet hook for potential head seperation. I found about a third of the cases had inside indent rings about half inch above the belt, and were imminent case seperations. They went in the brass reclaimation bucket, the balance I deprimed, annealed and am still using them.

Would I buy or take (if given to me) someone elses reloads, yes-----if the price was right, it was brass I could use, and bullets I could use. I would then pull, check, discard as appropriate, etc. The term "trust but varify" has merit in some things, but regarding someone elses reloads, am more comfortable with "Don't trust-varify-or don't buy or accept". When it comes to loads where the charge is less than 1/2 of the capacity with powder to the mouth of the case, I weigh all on a little battery powered scale. Any variation over 1/2 grain and I pull the bullet.
Since I started doing this I am much more confident of my accuracy in loading, and have avoided a couple of potential overloads.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[geargnasher]

Glad your brain prevailed. I force myself to don my safety glasses every time I handle primers, even though in 20 years of reloading (including using Federal primers on Lee progressive presses) I've never popped one accidentally. Someday I probably will, unless I stop reloading. The Cardinal Rules of shooting exist for a reason, and your experience was certainly an extreme case! If I were you I'd contact this fella promptly, like NOW, because he might have loaded more and somebody, probably him, is going to get hurt!

Titegroup makes a splendid .45 Colt powder, very accurate and clean in my guns when loaded very mild, and it meters well. HOWEVER, as is one of the classic problems with .45 Colt and smokeless powder, you can get at least four times the safe charge weight into the case. This is one time that soft boolits and Trail Boss make sense.

Gear

[captain-03]

I would be having a talk with this fellow very soon. His attitude at the reloading bench is either to casual OR he is having a problem with his equipment. Either way you must make him aware of what you found.

The next person he sells a gun to or gives a box of reloads may not be so lucky!! He needs to know what you found ......

[EMC45]

That would have been an interesting trigger pull......You need to make him aware of the mistake.

[Crawdaddy]

Thank heavens you are safe. If this guy is the resident expert at your range I would consider another one. Triple charges and no charges are a GOOD example of BAD handloading.

I dont shoot any handloads other than my own.

You did the right thing by not shooting them. I think you need to do the right thing and inform this gentleman of his mistake. It may save his or someone elses life.

[fishhawk]

You know he doesn't sound like a hand loader he sounds like a re-loader there a big difference between the 2! steve k

[Atakawow]

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

[williamwaco]

Hello all,

He is considered by the locals to be a very seasoned handloader as well as a very respected person among the local SASS. Mistakes do happen even among the most seasoned of us all.



Obviously I don't know this guy and I will not pretend to judge his motives. I will judge his competency however and I judge that he doesn't have any.

That was NOT a "mistake". It was total, blatent, disregard for the seriousness of the process of loading ammo.

I don't know who at your range considers him to be a very seasoned handloader but I hope you are no longer one of them.


With regard to "seasoning". "20 years experience" can be measured two ways:

1) 20 years of constant reloading and learning new things.

2) 1 year of reloading 20 times.






If I knew the guy, I wouldn't even occupy the range adjacent to where he was shooting.



(Please forgive the rant. Your story turned on my "preacher".)



.

[swheeler]

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

Reckless and negligent on his part.

[Gtek]

Amen to all before, all it takes is ONE TIME! I would as nice as I could inform and educate all that I could access. What if it were your grandchild or anybody else at the firing line and something from that source is four feet to the side. I do not shoot any where near the round count I used to burn, I beam and then across digital. Yea it takes a little more time - but thats ok. Every day seems to be a little more special the older I get. I think your range Angel went with you that day! Gtek

[GP100man]

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

First glad all is well with you & hopefully him !!!:holysheep

Scrounging !!!

It`s in our blood & can`t help ourselves!!

A few yrs. back I found a clump in a powder can , ouhy & gooeey clump !

It was a peice of icing off a snackcake I was eating while gearing up to load some ammo .I started sifting thru it & stopped !!! asked myself whatintheworld am I doing ???

Instead of finishing I had visions of powder measure trouble or chemically altered powder or sorts of that kind.

I fertilized the rose bushes with it , still breaks my heart :sad: to this day but I still have my firearms , fingers & breath.

Then 1 nite as I laid down & was almost asleep it hit me I was sitting there siphering what to load ,eating a honey bun & a peice was on my shirt ,I brushed it off as I just filled the hopper & sat the can on the bench as I reached for the lid with 1 hand I saw it & brushed it off with the other hand ,it had to flip into the can !! then covered with the unused portion.

[waksupi]

I would be up his butt like a reverse turd.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

It was a tough lesson to learn, but life has taught me to ALWAYS listen to that "little birdie" whispering in my ear. When the hackles go up, run!
Glad you listened the voice

[Canuck Bob]

Wow, cut yourself some serious slack. You did everything right in the face of the kinda temptation that any gunnut would face.

Reinforces the old rule I've always had. Never shot someone elses handloads.

[Recluse]

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

I've been reloading for almost four decades, handloading for three of them. I call one-hundred percent Bravo Sierra on this idiot's excuse.

"Foam" from the powder can seal stuck in his powder measure???

He had something stuck all right, but it wasn't a piece of foam and it wasn't in his powder measure.

It was his HEAD and was in his BUTT.

If this guy is "respected" as being seasoned, wise and trusting at your range, I'd become the most reclusive SOB they ever saw--ie, I'd tip my hat as I was arriving and preparing to shoot, but I doubt I'd say more than "howdy" and "adios" while there.

The type of reloads he gave you were not only dangerous, they were indicative of half-assed attention, carelessness, cockiness, "I've done it for so long I know what I'm doing so I don't have to pay attention," etc.

Friends/associates like that, I don't need nor want. Period.

If he's been reloading for as long as he says, he KNOWS BETTER than to let what happen happen, and if he "thought" he'd got rid of the bad reloads but STILL took a chance giving you a box of unknown quality and safety, that makes him one sorry SOB in my book.

:coffee:

[Rocky Raab]

I worked in a gun shop for six years. We got a LOT of "widow sales" consisting of guns, reloading components and reloaded ammo. We clerks had the privilege of splitting up the components and reloads (which cannot be sold).

The number of mixed powder cans, double-charged and no-charged ammo that I discovered IMMEDIATELY AND FOREVER convinced me to never shoot anybody else's reloads. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that there are so many really dangerous reloaders out there with so few reported accidents.

[Ole]

Anyone with QUICKLOAD want to run what 16.4 grains of tightgroup would run in PSI?

:coffee:

[captaint]

I've harped on this before, but this is why I load on a single stage & dump the powder, look in the case and seat the boolit. My brain just doesn't have room for wondering "man, I hope this one has powder in it". I just can't go there. I know, millions of guys know procedures that prevent funky powder charges and they are perfectly safe. I just haven't taken the leap. enjoy Mike

[Char-Gar]

Count me as another "harper" who does not trust progressive machines. Since they have come into vogue, there has been a serious increase in destroyed guns. I am certain, they are safe enough for the guy that keeps his eye on the ball 100% of the time, but those folks are fewer that the folks who get distracted and produce funky ammo.

I also have no need or desire to produce ammo by the buckets full.

[Rocky Raab]

I have to agree. The very fact that progressive machines HAVE powder-checker stations with warning sirens is evidence that they NEED powder-checker stations with warning sirens!

I'll never have a progressive, but that is admittedly because my reloading needs are contrary to a progressive's raison-d'etre: I mostly load very small batches of test ammo with varying powder charges or bullets, not large batches of a set load.

[marvelshooter]

Count me as another "harper" who does not trust progressive machines. Since they have come into vogue, there has been a serious increase in destroyed guns. I have certain, they are safe enough for the guy that keeps his eye on the ball 100% of the time, but those folks are fewer that the folks who get distracted and produce funky ammo.
I load pistol ammo on a Dillon Square Deal. A couple of years ago I was loading .45 ACP and realized the powder measure was not operating. I could not be 100% sure how long this had been going on so out came the impact bullet puller. About a hundred pulled bullets later I had all the ones without powder - five. The shoulder bolt holding the operating lever had backed out so the slide wasn't moving. I securely fixed it with locktite and a screw threaded in from the back side. I then positioned a bright light over the press so I can see into the case and see powder before I place a bullet. My loading mantra is now: See powder measure slide move, See powder before placing bullet. I feel very fortunate to have not fired any of the powderless rounds.
Dan

[1bluehorse]

Very good thinking on your part. I wonder how many would have done the same, especially newer shooter/reloaders? Speaking of which, (where DID I put that soap box) I'm sure most of you have read/answered questions on equipment from prospective new "reloaders". Waaaayyyy to many are looking to start on nothing less than a progressive press. :killingpc Even with miles of advise against this path from others with many years of experience they choose to know better because it "just isn't that hard", "I've read a book/know someone who's been reloading for a couple years and he says it isn't hard to learn." (also I'm smarter than you) [smilie=b: I agree reloading is not a hard process to learn, but one must also learn the possible pitfalls. Especially with a machine that's doing ten processes at every pull of the handle. Rant, rant, on and on and on etc; I also agree with someone from an earlier reply, I'm very surprised that we don't see alot more mishaps from bad reloads mentioned. Maybe [they] are to embarassed to report it..or no one was seriously injured, just soiled knickers maybe..

[Char-Gar]

marvelshooter. Some years back I bought a Dillon Square Deal to load 45 ACP and 38 Special Rounds. I produced a good quantity of each. I fired several thousand of each, without a problem until one day I was firing some of the 38s in my 1949 Colt Officers Model. I touched off one round in the cylinder and the pistol came back in recoil like a full snort .357 Magnum. I opened the cylinder and the primer was as flat as a fritter.

Obviously the Square Deal had thrown an overcharge and I did not know it. No damage was done to me or the pistol, but I never used the machine again. There are multiple steps to using a progressive and a fellow has to be totaly focused to use one. I don't reckon I have the needed focus, and many folks that think they do, don't! The rash of "KABOOMS" is testimony to that.

I bought a Redding Turret press for handgun ammo and that was the end of problems. I can load all the ammo I want with the Redding and keep an eye on the powder charge to boot.

To each their own, but that is my thoughts on the matter at hand.

[Char-Gar]

1bluehorse....Reloading is easy and so is jumping out of an airplane with a parachute. But it is lack of attention to the details that will get you killed. Reloading is an inherently dangerous activity and too few folks appreciate that fact.

[uscra112]

One thing I've observed over the years is that, if one finds a box of reloads for sale at a gunshow, the reason usually is that there was something wrong with them.

How any man squares that with his Maker is beyond me.

[454PB]

Think about the implications if you are the seller.

You sell a man a gun and ammunition (the fact that he threw in the ammo is immaterial), the buyer fires the gun using the supplied ammo, and there is a KABOOM. The buyer looses an eye, fingers, etc. The lawyers would be lined up outside the emergency room, ready to sue the seller.

I've sold a lot of guns, but if any ammo went with them, it was always factory loads.

[Larry Gibson]

"Wow, cut yourself some serious slack. You did everything right in the face of the kinda temptation that any gunnut would face."

I concur with that.

However I do not go by the "rule"; never shoot anyone elses handloads.

The reason is I test many others handloads. However, I do not take for granted what they say the load is or have written on the box. I select, at random, a sleection of the loads, weigh those cartridges, pull the bullets and see if the load matches what it is supposed to be. I then weigh the other cartridges to make sure they are within the parameters +/- of the sleceted cartridges. If anything is amiss then I do not shoot any of the loads.

Larry Gibson

[prs]

When family and friends come to shoot, I never deny use of my ammo if it matches their irons or if they are using mine. When an anti-gun distant neighbor called the law on me for distrubing her peace, I even shared several hundered rounds with the deputies that came to answer the call and found I a had a splendid range well beyond her having any right to bitch. I have not screwed-up yet, but I am not perfect. Should I deny them? I have never shot someone else's ammo, other than factory in the distant past. Like you folks, I realize what can go wrong and want no part of that.

prs

[ghh3rd]

Before I started reloading, I used to shoot at an indoor range. I often found live ammo laying on the floor with light primer strikes. Sometimes there would be quite a few - apparently people get annoyed enough to just toss the ammo. They also had a box at the range to toss misfires into, and if I saw a bunch of my caliber, I would grab it. Almost all of them fired when I used them.

I stopped this practice immediately after learning how to reload, when I became aware that some reloads could be grossly over charged, or not charged at all. Although they didn't allow reloads at that range, I'm sure that people still used them. I consider myself lucky to have made it through that period of stupidity without any consequence.

I still have a problem letting other people use my .38 reloads with 2.7 gr Bullseye, although I weigh every charge, block the cases, and check and check them for overcharges. I even have a specialy marked case with a spent primer that I double charge and use for comparison, just to be refresh my memory at what 5.4 gr. looks like compared to 2.7 gr. at the bottom of that tall case. Anal, I know...

I'm glad your common sense prevailed over your excitement about getting to shoot the new toy.

Randy

[odfairfaxsub]

one time we was shooting pistol rounds from our glocks/xd's and my gun went bang bang bang frooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm!!!! everyone stopped what we were doing and was like "how'd did you load that round?" the thing is i bet that was a reloading snafu that wasnt to FU. cheap lesson maybe even though i am very careful but that day made me re "up" my paranoid self.

[hunter64]

I load pistol ammo on a Dillon Square Deal. A couple of years ago I was loading .45 ACP and realized the powder measure was not operating. I could not be 100% sure how long this had been going on so out came the impact bullet puller. About a hundred pulled bullets later I had all the ones without powder - five. The shoulder bolt holding the operating lever had backed out so the slide wasn't moving. I securely fixed it with locktite and a screw threaded in from the back side. I then positioned a bright light over the press so I can see into the case and see powder before I place a bullet. My loading mantra is now: See powder measure slide move, See powder before placing bullet. I feel very fortunate to have not fired any of the powderless rounds.
Dan

A couple of years ago somehow a spent primer got in my powder measure on my lee 1000 press. It would dump the right amount and then it wouldn't depending on when the primer would interfere with the measure. Being a 1000 press you can not see into the shell without standing up bending over and looking in the case. I usually would measure about every 20th round on a scale to make sure everything was OK and every time I measured a case it was fine and the spent primer didn't block the measure, just my luck.

I got to the range and about the 10th round thru the six gun and a misfire with a stuck bullet in the barrel. My first one ever in 30 years of reloading ammo. I removed the bullet and continued on and the very next round was a dud also. Packed everything up and went home to get to the bottom of it.

To make a long story short I got rid of the 1000 press and bought a Dillon 550 and affixed a bright led light so I can see in every case before a bullet goes on. I also have a 650 press with the powder check die.

[Hardcast416taylor]

You were sooooo lucky in not firing any of those "gift" rounds you should immediately run out and buy a lotto ticket!Robert

[milprileb]

Old Elmer Keith used to write and post his hand loads with always this warning: These are my hand loads and safe as I reload them brother !

Your experience sure gives me pause. I sure see some flaky critters show up at our range
with hand loads and all sorts of drama with them. My policy is to move to other end of range.

There are idiots amongst us who reload.

[jonk]

I've had some powders stick in the dispenser, fail to dispense in one or even two cartridges, then dump a double or even triple charge when it finally did drop. Mostly with progressive presses and flake powders. I wired a little LED light to shine into the case on my press so as I seat the bullet I can see if there is the proper powder charge in the case or not. I've gotten better with the press and it happens less often, but it still happens. No powder isn't such a big deal, nor is a squib. Odds are the bullet just gets jammed in the gun and providing you notice it, no major issue. But the overloads? Depending on the powder and charge, it could be just an eye opener to a BIG problem.

Glad you caught this, pass the info on to the reloader.

There are 2 people I would trust to load me ammo- my dad, who taught me, and my best friend whom I taught; and even for him, it's only because he uses dippers 100% of the time and powders that you can't double charge without overflowing the case.

[mooman76]

It's hard to turn down a friendly gesture but it's a good thing you did. I used to shoot with a guy that had been reloading longer than I been alive. He had allot of unsafe habits that I didn't know about until I was around him awhile. It was like he learned to load years ago and never learned anything new but developed allot of bad habits. He talked about a couple guns he blew up like it was something natural that was bound to happen eventually. He had two bad habits I'll mention. 1 he would take a container of powder and any extra powder or bullets he found on the range, he would mix together and use 3 gr of that for plinking loads. The other was he had a lazy susan set up in his garage with 4 powder measures on it. He told me that this one takes one tap for this round and this one takes two for another and so on. Seems like an accident waiting to happen to me. He would also up and start walking down range when I was shooting without saying a word. He is a nice ol guy too.

[Atakawow]

Wise words folks!

I've never shot anybody else's reloads and will likely stay way after this incident.

By the way, I finally got to shoot the Vaquero this morning. Using the pulled down components with 8.5 gr of Unique. The thing was a hoot to shoot! Got to go home with both my hands intact. A good day it was! :cbpour:

[MT Gianni]

I think you did the right thing. I will shoot others reloads in their gun. The NCBS has gone on a long time with that principle. I have no problem allowing others to shoot my loads in my guns. My loads in someone else's guns, no. Theirs in mine, only my brothers.

[rsrocket1]

Anyone with QUICKLOAD want to run what 16.4 grains of tightgroup would run in PSI?

:coffee:

about 60 ksi give or take 20k depending on what the bullet was.

45 Colt is rated at 14 ksi so by then it may not really matter.

[dverna]

And what make you think the gun is safe???

One of the reasons I do not like buying used guns is you never know how many "oops" moments they have had.

I shoot with a guy who admits to having shot a double charges of Red Dot out of a $10,000 trap gun twice.

Like most of you, I will not shoot an other persons reloads or allow anyone to try my guns with their loads. They can use my reloads or use factory.

Don

[popper]

And then there is the crowd that goes down range before or after a cease fire.

[pmer]

Thinking of this thread helped me this weekend. I picked up a 94 in 32 Win spl. at a gun show and had a old box of shells in a unheated shed for a while. I was wanted to try them but I started shaking the shells next to my ear and was hearing different amounts of free space in the cases. I got concerned about clumping and pulled the bullets.

[blackthorn]

Quote "Thinking of this thread helped me this weekend. I picked up a 94 in 32 Win spl. at a gun show and had a old box of shells in a unheated shed for a while. I was wanted to try them but I started shaking the shells next to my ear and was hearing different amounts of free space in the cases. I got concerned about clumping and pulled the bullets."

And-----???

[pmer]

Quote "Thinking of this thread helped me this weekend. I picked up a 94 in 32 Win spl. at a gun show and had a old box of shells in a unheated shed for a while. I was wanted to try them but I started shaking the shells next to my ear and was hearing different amounts of free space in the cases. I got concerned about clumping and pulled the bullets."

And-----???

Sorry, I should've put more time on that. I had to call my dad about that box of factory 32 Win. Spl. Back in the '70s he borrowed a buddy's rifle to use for hunting. I was born in '65 and remeber this box of Remington shells in 32 Win. Spl. It's a green and red box and has "Clean Bore" in big letters on it. It's been stored inside the house for all but the last 5 or 6 years. SOme of the ammo had some green corrosion here and there.

I really wanted to try the 94 and remembered these shells. I was looking at the ammo and its condition and started teatering away from shooting it because the ear test. I used a kinetic puller and the powder wasn't sluck together because of the shock, I suppose. My fear was maybe ringing the chamber with improperly burning powder. This thread was in the back of mind during the time.

So now I can reuse those jbullets in safer manner, better to not rush things sometimes. Even if it's getting dark and there is still enough time to shoot.

[Hang Fire]

Hello all,

I encountered an incident earlier today that I wish to share. Earlier this morning, I met up with another fella at the local shooting range to do a gun trade. The fella was nice enough to offer me a box of his own .45 colt reloads, no charge, to get me started with my newly acquired gun, said these are his Cowboy loads. The box is marked "6.2 gr Titegroup."

I was giddy as a school girl. I was alone at the range, with a newly acquired toy (Vaquero) in one hand, and a box of ammo in the other to boot. All too convenience, I thought. I ignored the cardinal rule and proceeded toward the shooting area with a box of unknown reloads. I loaded up my newly acquired Vaquero, cocked the hammer, and took aim. Now, at that moment, I couldn't say that it was an intervention from the above or what, but my senses came rushing back into my empty head. I immediately lowered the gun, lowered the hammer, removed the loaded rounds back into the box, and went home.

Once at home, I decided to pull some of those unknown reloads to verify the charge. I randomly selected 5 out of the 50 rounds. Keep in mind the box is marked "6.2 gr Titegroup." The very first round I pulled had a charge weighing in at 16.4 gr...I didn't have a .45 colt round, what I had was a mini explosive. I pulled the rest of the 49 remaining rounds. When done, out of the 50 pulled rounds, 24 of them had not a speck of powder in them. The only round that was weighted had nearly three times the intended powder charge.

I wish to clarify that there is no ill intent between myself and this fella. He is considered by the locals to be a very seasoned handloader as well as a very respected person among the local SASS. Mistakes do happen even among the most seasoned of us all.

I broke the rule. I made a huge mistake. I am thankful that it was prevented before any further incidents. I hope my mistake will serve as a reminder to all: be very cautious of unknown reloads.

Go slow and be safe. [smilie=s:

ATK.

Update: I got a hold of the fella. He explained that he had some equipment difficulties a while back. This is what he has to say "...a piece of foam from a powder can gasket stuck in my powder measure..." He thought he had gotten rid of the bad batch but apparently he missed some.

Know what you are saying, I have three boxes of 44 mag and two boxes of 7.62x54 reloads in the shop a guy gave me. They have loads listed on boxes but no way will I fire either, they will have bullets pulled and powder dumped.

[garym1a2]

I have two rues.
1. never shoot others reloads.
2. no-one else shoots mine if they are not family.
I think you are legally liable for the quality of you reloads. Blow up a gun and they want you to pay for it. Kill or harm someone and they come after you harder.



Wow, cut yourself some serious slack. You did everything right in the face of the kinda temptation that any gunnut would face.

Reinforces the old rule I've always had. Never shot someone elses handloads.