ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN!!!!

[GravelRider]

Freakiest and worse primer accident I read about: a curious cat decided to disassemble a live primer. It went off and the primer's anvil went through the guy's eye, followed the optic nerve into his brain and caused a fatal hemorrhage.

So is this a story of a friend of a friend of a friend? As a physician, this sounds HIGHLY improbable to me... But strange things do happen.

 

[Palladan44]

Many, many moons ago I found a rifle cartridge and being the curious kid (about 12) I pulled a bullet to see what was inside. Then I wondered how that thing in the base of the case did what it was supposed to do. I picked up a nail and set it on the primer and lightly tapped it with a hammer. Yep primer went off, quite loud but the surprise was the primer was strong enough to travel up the nail and hit my finger, the side of my left ring finger. Well it hit hard enough to split, not cut, the skin and hurt like he**! IIRC the wound took a while longer to heal, maybe from an impact injury and all the bruising. 65 years later and I still have not repeated the experiment...

Did the same-- hacksawed a shotgun shell down the middle. Vised the primer and brass and hit with hammer.....shotgun primers are loud is what I found out.

 

[Seedy Character]

The first time you put cartridges into the cylinder, mag or chamber would be loading.

Every time after that, it is reloading.

 

[mdi]

The first time you put cartridges into the cylinder, mag or chamber would be loading.

Every time after that, it is reloading.

Yep . But on a reloading forum or talking to most shooters, "reloading" means home remanufacturing of a firearm cartridge and everybody understands that...

 

[RainDodger]

I learned the power of gunpowder prior to becoming a handloader. Remember the rolls of caps for toy cap pistols? Try unrolling those caps and then threading them on a needle, back and forth, through the center of the caps. You end up with maybe 30 little caps on there. Without sliding them off the needle, wrap tightly in some kind of tape.... masking tape is usually available to a 10 year old. Then slide the needle out the end. Then... put that sucker down on the concrete and hit it with a hammer. I was not physically damaged.... but boy, oh boy, did it shock the crap out of me when that hammer rebounded and about took off my head. I was hard of hearing for at least an hour. Thus I reasoned later in life to treat primers and powder very, very carefully.

 

[Seedy Character]

Yep . But on a reloading forum or talking to most shooters, "reloading" means home remanufacturing of a firearm cartridge and everybody understands that...

Only cartridges?
Reloading primers isn't reloading?
Trimmingor annealing brass?
Casting or powder coating?

Reloading is more than just putting components with brass.

 

[Otto]

SAAMI defines 'reloading' as..
"The process of reassembling a fired cartridge case with a new primer, propellant and bullet or wads and shot. Also called Handloading when performed manually."
Assembling a cartridge or shell with NEW brass or hulls isn't technically reloading per se but that's just my opinion.

 

[mdi]

Only cartridges?
Reloading primers isn't reloading?
Trimmingor annealing brass?
Casting or powder coating?

Reloading is more than just putting components with brass.

Nope. The items mentioned are part of the reloading process. Like changing a tire, removing lug nuts is just part or the changing process, not an independant task...