please learn from this

[Milky Duck]

Newbie here but I hope to add value, here is my tale of woe,please learn from it.
30ish years ago a graet fella taught me how to reload,we have been great mates this whole time even though we only got together every year or so for a hunt or catch up...in last few years my buddies health has deteriated...
over this whole time he was my go to guy for information,any problems/questions on reloading,a phone call and he would give me straight answer...anyway his health took dive and he had to get rid of his guns etc...I knew nothing about it till got phone call to come pick up some stuff,he handed me a tub of powder and said its H1000,I double checked that and wrote it on tub immediately.... got home and weeks late looked at tub,looked up load data.....and cautiously loaded up some middle range loads for my .270win..... now that rifle normally ran 1-2grns above book maximum happily due to loose chamber/bore and long throat...so a middle of range load of H1000 was going to be super safe right???? WRONG..... I thank the good lord that when I went out to check loads that day,that niggly wee voice in back of my head was loud...I fired 3 of my normal loads into under an inch at hundred yards, the touched off H1000 load...all hell broke loose. I got grit in my face,heck of a hard recoil,just as well I was wearing safety glasses(I dont usually) i got up and went to unload rifle...nope bolt was siezed, I dropped rest of rounds out from floor plate and went home..... hammered bolt open wit hrubber mallet,put old cleaning rod down barrel and hammered bolt back...it came out with force and little bits of bolt lug fell out, the case was intact but stuck fast into bolt head,it looks like a weatherby magnum with a belt where the case brass has flowed out into recess between bolt head and barrel... LUCKILY Winchester make a good rifle and the safety features saved me.... my rifle is poked.. gunsmith adviced to take it to bits and cut losses.
the H1000 cant have been H1000 possibly BM2 or something else but definately wasnt what I had been told...you see my buddies mind had been slipping,so he must have been muddled or forgot what it was but THOUGHT he knew...no way would be have purposely put me crook.... my back lawn has had about 12lb of different powders scattered on it that I got off my buddy...even stuff I was sure was correct as had seen it in marked containers for years got chucked...its just not worth the risk.UNLESS you can positively identify powder,compare it to some other you have,measure kernal length/fatness/colour.... its simply too risky to try it.
my Scottish blood recoiled at the waste ,throwing out hundreds if not thousands of $$$ worth of powder in times of shortage hurt...but the loss of my main hunting rifle hurt more,nearly loosing my eyes if not my head would have hurt more,powder burns were bad enough.

[Harter66]

Well pictures would really drive it home . While it's a shame about the rifle and the powder you being uninjured and able to tell the tale is a good thing .

I learned an important lesson about weighing bullets from a new to me mould through a similar experience. 10 gr isn't a really big deal in top loads of 45 Colts when moulds run 250-265 across 4 preferred moulds , 3 of the same bullet, in a Ruger BlackHawk where a little 10 kpsi jump on a 18 kpsi load will never show . When you're working a load for a 7×6.8 with 6.8SPCII data for 130s and getting close to the top . Your paper patch 27-130 FP is chronograph tracking with 130 SST data , only your bullet weighs 141 gr ready to load ........ Yep about 2380 fps MV the primers will completely disappear . Oddly enough the bolt wasn't especially hard to open .

[Milky Duck]

yes can definately see that extra 11grns projectile weight being a big problem...just as well you dropped power level down and reworked up the load like all good reloaders always do (coughs into hand as says this)..we all get complacent/cocky and assume stuff... on wall above my reloading bench,mounted in an old scope ring is the said bolt out of the .270 with case still jammed into it...the nice tidy 3 shot group and the final shot 2inches away with the words ASSUME NOTHING....

[Wag]

Someone gave me a whole bunch of ammo that was loaded up by his late uncle. I still have it with the intention of disassembling it and discarding the powder. Some of the boxes have load data on it but I'm not about to take any chances.

--Wag--

[todd9.3x57]

i never buy used powder because of that reason. cartridges not loaded by me are disassembled, powder goes to my yards, bullets go into their place and brass/primers is used.

[Hannibal]

I never shoot anyone else's reloads, never buy powder or primers anywhere but from a retailer.

I've no doubt many of you have and things have been fine but it's not worth the risk to save a little $$$ to me.

[dverna]

i never buy used powder because of that reason. cartridges not loaded by me are disassembled, powder goes to my yards, bullets go into their place and brass/primers is used.

My protocol as well and this is good advice. With the cost and scarcity of powder it is tempting to try to use a powder you find but it the seal is broken...dump it.

I nearly had an OOPS about 20 years ago. I had two powder jugs on the bench and was just starting to dump the powder out of the powder measure back into the jug when I realized it was the wrong jug. An "honest" mistake can be bad. I NEVER have more than one powder out at a time now.

BTW, knew a guy who would buy partial containers of powder at guns shows and mix them up to get a "mystery powder". There are idiots out there.

[Hick]

There's a reason why you should always store your powder in its original container-- so the label will be correct even after your mind isn't.

[HWooldridge]

My protocol as well and this is good advice. With the cost and scarcity of powder it is tempting to try to use a powder you find but it the seal is broken...dump it.

I nearly had an OOPS about 20 years ago. I had two powder jugs on the bench and was just starting to dump the powder out of the powder measure back into the jug when I realized it was the wrong jug. An "honest" mistake can be bad. I NEVER have more than one powder out at a time now.

BTW, knew a guy who would buy partial containers of powder at guns shows and mix them up to get a "mystery powder". There are idiots out there.

I’m with you 100% on having just one recipe on the loading bench at any given time. Everything I have is stored in a wall cabinet, and I never mix components from some other load while I’m loading; too easy to make a booboo. I know a lot of people precharge cases in a loading block, but once everything is sized and primed, I load one shell at a time. Work the powder measure once, start the bullet, then seat it and set aside. May not be the fastest, but I have yet to double charge or miss charging a case. Knock on wood, I’ve been reloading for 45 years with only one dud shell during that time, and I think that was a bad primer.

[gwpercle]

There's a reason why you should always store your powder in its original container-- so the label will be correct even after your mind isn't.

Do Not use powder someone gives you especially when it's in an unmarked Cool-Whip container .
You have no idea what the stuff really is .
Gary

[elmacgyver0]

Worst case scenario, dump it down an ant hill and light it.
It will make the ant's day and amuse you!

[15meter]

Over the years I've bought a considerable amount of dead guy powder.

My standard procedure is to compare the unknown powder to a known sample for physical similarities. If it passes the visual test(usually outside in sunshine, more light the better) then it's on to density tests. I've got a set of Lee scoops with the chart.

I look up the powder and get a weight for a specific scoop and try several scoops and compare the weighed sample to the chart value. If it passes the density test then it's on to find the softest load for the strongest action I have.

I haven't blown up a gun yet, and I have rescued 70+ lbs. of powder over the years. I've had to "dispose" of less that 10 pounds that I could not identify and shoot safely.

My disposal consists of drilling a small hole in the cap of an old plastic powder can, filling it to the brim with waste powder, next is stick a short fuse in the hole. Gives a nice show at dusk and demonstrates how slow powder is to get started.

I've done it for a number of reloaders who thought that gun powder was much more explosive that it is.

Until I did it a time or two I was convinced that gun powder was as dangerous as gasoline to have around.

Re-loads generally get disassembled and the components, the brass, primers and the bullets get reloaded to known safe loads. The powder goes in the scrap powder can until I get enough for a light show.

I'd rather have gun powder(smokeless) than gas any day.

YMMV

[john.k]

When I was a teen ,had no reloading gear,a school friend loaded some 30 /06 for me. First out of the box were ok ,then next 3 were overloads ,then next one blew the extractor out of my M17......When I looked at the three cases ,all the primers had fallen out,and the cases were belted.........the one that blew out was fully moulded into the bolt face,except one side blown out.........I think he was trying to blow up my gun,as shortly after he dropped out of school ,and was into drugs and booze.

[725]

Good advice and glad you didn't really get hurt bad. I just tore down somebody else's reloads for this very reason. Got some usable components and some peace of mind.

[Texas by God]

Do NOT shoot unknown origin reloads! Pull them down for the primed brass and bullets.
Avoid things like this.

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[wilecoyote]

Do NOT shoot unknown origin reloads! Pull them down for the primed brass and bullets.
Avoid things like this. Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

I recently saw something very similar happen in a .308win. marlin bolt action, with simultaneous locking of the bolt.
unfortunately I do not have photos, and the primer was not as dilated, but deformed with the same taper. the primer was not pierced.
at first glance it seemed that the gas had violently escaped from the primer pocket
(rifle handloaded by the owner, notoriously a sloppy guy, but I doubt he has more than one powder on his table, and he reloads this .308 only, reasonably Vihtavuori N140. the brass was a G.F.L. .308Win. btw,I doubt the guy can or wants to tell the whole story behind this).
to use Mickey Duck's words above, the case looked like a weatherby magnum with a belt where the case brass has flowed out into recess between bolt head and barrel


anyway, can you tell me your opinion about the causes of what is documented by your photo ?
thank for your attention

[Milky Duck]

ouch...hope no one was hurt....

[Texas by God]

Yes, it was obviously overloaded with the right powder or the wrong powder. I had recieved some loose rounds from a buddy who recieved them from ? I had 5 of the 25-06 rounds, but after firing that one- I buried the other 4 rounds in my anger. Looking back, I should have pulled them down. My friend was so upset( he is a careful reloader like me)
Thank the Lord that my Tikka is a strong rifle.


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[Martin Luber]

Some of the things I have found...

[wilecoyote]

Yes, it was obviously overloaded with the right powder or the wrong powder.
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_
thanks for the straight answer_
...about the relatively cheap Marlin, it saved the face of the owner, too_