Be careful with your reloading

[Lo-Profile]

This happened to a friend of mine back in Pennsylvania. Thankfully nobody was hurt. Don't know any specifics on the guys reloading material or the type of gun.

"Grateful to be unharmed when this 44 Magnum blew up in my hands as I fired the first round. Lessons learned: say you will pass when someone you barely know offers you to shoot a gun loaded with ammo they loaded themselves. The gun blew a part cracking the breech sending shrapnel into the side of their house."

 

[gudaki]

Glad no one was seriously injured. I'd never accept any reloads from anyone.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

I won't let anyone shoot my reloads and I won't shoot anyone else's reloads. The only person I want affected by my reloading is me. And the only thing I want affecting me is my own reloads.

 

[thegatman]

Triple check every reload. Don’t get complacent. If you have to stop in the middle, be very careful when you resume. Keep the reloading bench cleaner than your kitchen. Only reload one powder and cartridge at a time.

 

[lightman]

Wow, glad no one was hurt! Too bad about the gun.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Dang scary there. I too am glad no one got injured. Was is a SW 29?

 

[AJC1]

I hand load for me and my son. I've already bet his life they are safe. I'm not handing them out but it's far from the most dangerous thing I've worked on. You better know the person who's loads your shooting or be smart and pass.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I hand load for me and my son. I've already bet his life they are safe. I'm not handing them out but it's far from the most dangerous thing I've worked on. You better know the person who's loads your shooting or be smart and pass.

So glad somebody else "gets it." My father-in-law and me exchange loads every time we shoot together. Since he's been sickly that's not as often but used to be a regular thing. Neither one of us ever had a problem. He's the one who got me using 700X for .45ACP. Also the guy who turned my onto HP38 in almost everything.
I also loaded for some of the local farmers when they couldn't get ammo. We all shoot together pretty often and they know my loads are good and I know they treat their guns proper. It's a big responsibility but like you it's not the most dangerous thing I've worked on. I saw more guys lose hands and fingers to being careless with slip-clutch drive belts on horizontal mills than to fire or explosives. With high-speed steel cutters, it only takes a microsecond of carelessness to lose a digit.
Never messed with nuclear torpedoes and frankly never wanted to. But I did make the frame-mount brackets for the F16 wiring harnesses and the swing-arms for B-52 cruise missile launchers.

 

[Cheesemaker]

Llama Super Comanche?

 

[Skgreen]

HO--------LY----------SMOKES!
1. Glad no one was hurt.
2. Unfortunately, it look's like it's the end of the line for the 44.
3. To fully understand the carnage, I'd love to see some super slow-mo footage. Perhaps some 'Destructive Testing" performed by a Manufacturer, Testing Facility, or ?

 

[InTheSwamp]

I'd never accept any reloads from anyone.

I won't let anyone shoot my reloads and I won't shoot anyone else's reloads.

Yep. Handloading 101, Taboo #1.

 

[JFrank]

Yeaahhh that’s gonna go on his personal record, I can hear it now~ hey ya remember when old so n so dang near blew his hand off.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Glade your safe and have your limbs.

What do you think happen ? to get the gun to Blow UP, and take out 3 chambers too. That’s a MAJOR mess up. The barrel looks good, no bulge in the photo. my guess is a powder mix up.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I only load for myself and my immediate family.

I see many replies saying, " I never use anyone's reloads." Problem is, you don't need to use their ammo to be in danger. If that piece of shrapnel that went into the house siding hit someone on the line, it could have easily killed them. You never know who and what is being shot near you when at the range!

 

[Mark_Mark]

I only load for myself and my immediate family.

I see many replies saying, " I never use anyone's reloads." Problem is, you don't need to use their ammo to be in danger. If that piece of shrapnel that went into the house siding hit someone on the line, it could have easily killed them. You never know who and what is being shot near you when at the range!

Guns are Dangerous - don’t forget that

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Guns are Dangerous - don’t forget that

No more dangerous than many other things in this world. (like knives) People are more dangerous than guns.

 

[LoonWulf]

No more dangerous than many other things in this world. (like knives) People are more dangerous than guns.

Even misused knives dont generally explode tho ......and its easy to forget were dealing with little metal cylinders keeping tens of thousands of pounds of pressure in check.
A failure in the system can turn those little cylinders into projectiles in their own right, and its not always a persons fault....tho more often than not it is.

 

[Ru4real]

Glad no one got hurt.

Another photo showing cylinder notches aren’t the start of failure on a double action revolver. The extractor relief cut has a square or tight radius corner concentrating stresses and this is where the cylinder begins to unzip. The adjacent non-firing cylinders sometimes split at the cylinder notch ending the failure, this being an example of that.

 

[The Glockodile]

Even misused knives dont generally explode tho ......

I’m glad you’re quite grounded and didn’t miss this concept

 

[Mark_Mark]

No more dangerous than many other things in this world. (like knives) People are more dangerous than guns.

it’s all dangerous; cars, trucks, knives, guns, arrows, people, not to bright people, drugs ….

It’s can be used for good or evil

Just don’t turn your back to the ocean, and wear your life jacket

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Just don’t turn your back to the ocean, and wear your life jacket

But, I live on a peninsula!!

 

[CQB45ACP]

So glad somebody else "gets it." My father-in-law and me exchange loads every time we shoot together. Since he's been sickly that's not as often but used to be a regular thing. Neither one of us ever had a problem. He's the one who got me using 700X for .45ACP. Also the guy who turned my onto HP38 in almost everything.
I also loaded for some of the local farmers when they couldn't get ammo. We all shoot together pretty often and they know my loads are good and I know they treat their guns proper. It's a big responsibility but like you it's not the most dangerous thing I've worked on. I saw more guys lose hands and fingers to being careless with slip-clutch drive belts on horizontal mills than to fire or explosives. With high-speed steel cutters, it only takes a microsecond of carelessness to lose a digit.
Never messed with nuclear torpedoes and frankly never wanted to. But I did make the frame-mount brackets for the F16 wiring harnesses and the swing-arms for B-52 cruise missile launchers.

A guy next to me at the range last week was angling to shoot one of my 1911s. Wasn’t going to happen for two reasons. First, I didn’t know him from Adam and second, my reloads are for moi.

Sounds like fun work Superheated steam pretty scary too.

Nuclear torpedoes were a big dud anyway and taken out of service once smart people realized a pin prick in the hull of a submerged enemy sub (the MK 45’s intended target) would sink it as well as a nuke. Of course detonation in proximity was lethal too and a LOT easier with a nuclear torpedo. Still, a relic of the past.

There were many “industrial” accidents shipping and storing and loading those fish and nary a one went boom.

 

[Pottimus]

So... reloading is a hobby that you don't do with friends.

 

[Cheesemaker]

My Dad had a Llama 38 Sp that blew up like this - not sure they are (were?) the best quality.

Look at the backstrap in those pics - looks like some pitting? Only in the blueing? Maybe the firearm was compromised? These were from the 1980s iirc.

 

[Y-T71]

These last couple of years, I've had a lot of people/co-workers/"friends ask to buy my reloads.

I politely refuse every time.

I sometimes will, however, tell them that they may use my equipment, supervised of course, to load their own provided they supply their own components after giving them a list of everything they'll need.

No takers yet but I see it as a way to get folks interested in reloading while learning there's a lot of care and safety put into the process.

I have a co-worker that sells his reloads to others at work.
I've casually warned those that buy that not only is it unsafe, it's illegal.

This particular co-worker is a self admitted "junkie/alcoholic" and was busted 2-3 years ago for possession of crystal meth (right across the street from his childrens school; all the kids in the classroom including his daughter, got to watch him being led out of his house in handcuffs) and yet people still buy from him, I can only assume, to save a few dollars.