Shooting someone else's reloads

[merlynski]

I only shot someone else's reloads two times. The second time I was working up loads for a Colt Python, and every one of mine I tried left cases stuck in the cylinder, even the lightest loads. I even tried a 9mm bullet (.355) to see if the problem was a tight bore. Factory loads did not stick. I was at an LGS basement range and went upstairs to talk to the gunsmith, he gave me 6 loads with blue dot that he said worked fine in his revolver. They still stuck in mine. Turned out the cylinder chamber walls were too rough from the factory. I sold it.
The first time, my 'mentor' to reloading gave me two rounds to try in my Blackhawk. When I pulled the trigger on the first one I heard a soft pop, but no recoil. I cranked back the hammer on the second one, then my brain said 'don't do that, something is wrong'. So I unloaded and checked the bore. There was a bullet about 1 1/2 inches from the forcing cone, and no tools at the range to push it out. Took the whack-a-mole puller to the second one: NO POWDER! So, except for the gunsmith at his own range, I never trusted anyone else's reloads.

 

[Swampman]

Not trying to cast aspersions, but I seriously hope the padewan learner has surpassed his jedi master...

 

[Lennyjoe]

Nope, I don’t shoot others reloads and don’t share mine.

 

[Mark_Mark]

we drive our cars 5 feet from death each day and we think everyone is putting TNT in their reloads! Come on people!

 

[AJC1]

we drive our cars 5 feet from death each day and we think everyone is putting TNT in their reloads! Come on people!

Unfortunately some people drive while drinking and we hope the cops catch and stop them.... I dont even want to know how many drink and load. I know at least one. I load for him but will never shoot his loads.

 

[barnfrog]

we drive our cars 5 feet from death each day and we think everyone is putting TNT in their reloads! Come on people!

Well, I liken it to motorcycle riding. Everybody has their own level of risk they are willing to accept. Some people will ride with t-shirt, shorts and sneakers, some people ride with full leathers, a full-face helmet and riding boots. The difference with shooting is that the risk you're taking also puts others at risk if they're too close.

 

[kidneyboy]

we drive our cars 5 feet from death each day and we think everyone is putting TNT in their reloads! Come on people!

I have gone 161mph at the drag strip, 140mph at the road races on a motorcycle, 101mph on a snowmobile and was married to an angry eastern european woman for decades. I still won't shoot other peoples reloads.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have gone 161mph at the drag strip, 140mph at the road races on a motorcycle, 101mph on a snowmobile and was married to an angry eastern european woman for decades. I still won't shoot other peoples reloads.

lol! I give up! everyone wins!

 

[bluejay75]

I have gone 161mph at the drag strip, 140mph at the road races on a motorcycle, 101mph on a snowmobile and was married to an angry eastern european woman for decades. I still won't shoot other peoples reloads.

I will raise you an angry Colombian woman!

 

[Howland937]

Buy them, pull them down, dump the powder in the yard. If the inside of the brass looks ok, pick a different powder and put them back together. If the primers are a concern, load them a little light. It's .357 magnum FCOL...if they were small rifle primers, so what?

I have gone 161mph at the drag strip, 140mph at the road races on a motorcycle, 101mph on a snowmobile and was married to an angry eastern european woman for decades. I still won't shoot other peoples reloads.

In excess of 180mph on a motorcycle, 80mph on a snowmobile (in the grass) and 104 on a bass boat...none of which were at racing venues.
Rollercoasters terrify me now, but not as much as the thought of shooting reloads of unknown construction.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I will raise you an angry Colombian woman!

I will raise you a angry Lawyer women.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I’ve lost power at 30000ft over the mid Atlantic (well not me but the aircraft I was in) with an old Indian woman asleep on my shoulder, I’ve eaten tamales of unknown origin at the Acoma Pueblo, and have been trapped in the basement of the DOJ building during anti war protests. Only with the tamales did I have any control over the risk and that’s the key for me...to what extent can I control the risk? With unknown reloads about none.

 

[lightman]

Threads like this one have caused me to rethink the amount of handloads that I keep on hand. I load my pistol ammo in fairly large lots, once I have settled on a favorite load. Usually in quantities of a few thousand. I know my boys would trust my ammo and at least a couple of friends do. But I would hate to leave behind several thousand reloads for someone else to deal with. I have the load data listed both in my reloading log book and on the container, be it cartridge box or ammo can.

 

[EricBu]

In times of plenty, i"d walk past that kind of thing...just not worth the pain. These days, I'd think hard about buying them with the intent of breaking down the components and reloading them myself, if the price was right. I'd pull the bullets, dump the powder in the garden, remove the decapper from my sizing die, and go to town on that primed brass. If the bullets were decent, I'd reuse them......otherwise, I'd put them in a box in the cabinet "just in case", and roll a nice mid power plinking load. 1200 rnds of plinking 357 will last an awful damn long time.

 

[Charlie98]

Threads like this one have caused me to rethink the amount of handloads that I keep on hand. I load my pistol ammo in fairly large lots, once I have settled on a favorite load. Usually in quantities of a few thousand. I know my boys would trust my ammo and at least a couple of friends do. But I would hate to leave behind several thousand reloads for someone else to deal with. I have the load data listed both in my reloading log book and on the container, be it cartridge box or ammo can.

Not to be cavalier about it... but if you pass and you have someone familiar with your reloading goals and methods, you will probably be OK. I mentioned my brother... I don't think I load anything that he hasn't shot already... and I don't push the limits (anymore.) If you pass, and there is no one to assume the responsibility of your loaded ammo... well, you're not here any longer, and it won't matter anyway.

Just FYI... some of you guys... you need to add skydiving to your To Do list.

I'll top all of you... I drove a loaded gas tanker around DFW for 7 years. My favorite time was 2AM on Sunday morning... when all the bars let out.

 

[CQB45ACP]

For me it isn’t only the load strength, it’s the possible squib. Fear of them are the real reason I manually throw charges.

 

[Gumby0961]

I would never buy or use someone else's reloads, why would I when reload all my ammo. On the other hand I do reload for a couple friends.

 

[Jack B.]

One time a long time ago I was at a range that I'm a member of, and one of the other members, that I had seen shooting there almost every time I was there. Ask me if I would like to try some of his .38 special reloads (we are both hand loaders) that he had, using a powder I was thinking about buying. I said ok and tried some. A couple shot what I would call normal. I also got two that seemed to get the bullet barely out of the barrel . Very weak, no recoil. He said he uses a progressive loader and does every thing the same every time. That was all of some else's reloads for me.

 

[LiveLife]

some of the best food I ate was at a Gas Station!

Kansas City, Joe’s BBQ and Gas

Yes! And Slap's BBQ in KC ... Yummy.

And don't forget Rudy's BBQ and gas station in Texas.

What's wrong with gas station Sushi?

Well……

Dang, I am even hesitant about supermarket deli sushi ...

 

[Mark_Mark]

Yes! And Slap's BBQ in KC ... Yummy.

And don't forget Rudy's BBQ and gas station in Texas.

Dang, I am even hesitant about supermarket deli sushi ...

Since we are talking about risk and reward.

Did you know Tuna and Salmon must be aged before eating raw? ooooh yeah! Same with Cow! Longer it’s aged the better it taste

 

[.308 Norma]

Same with Cow! Longer it’s aged the better it taste

How long does it have to age before it tastes like chicken?
Nevermind.
I could claim that I "never" shoot someone else's reloads, but that wouldn't be exactly true. I've shot tons of "remanufactured" ammo, which is essentially nothing other than "commercial," or "factory" reloaded ammo.
Which makes me kinda curious - is there a lot of "remanufactured" ammo around these days? I'm not talking about the current ammo "crisis." It's just that I've haven't noticed a lot of "remanufactured" ammo around lately (in the last couple of years). Of course I haven't really been looking, so it might still be out there. Has anyone else noticed?

 

[Ranger99]

How long does it have to age before it tastes like chicken?
Nevermind.
I could claim that I "never" shoot someone else's reloads, but that wouldn't be exactly true. I've shot tons of "remanufactured" ammo, which is essentially nothing other than "commercial," or "factory" reloaded ammo.
Which makes me kinda curious - is there a lot of "remanufactured" ammo around these days? I'm not talking about the current ammo "crisis." It's just that I've haven't noticed a lot of "remanufactured" ammo around lately (in the last couple of years). Of course I haven't really been looking, so it might still be out there. Has anyone else noticed?

Personally, I've not looked for any of
the remanufactured ammo.
The part of it that worries me is
these people that open a book and pick
out max loads and add a few grains
over because somebody on a website
said that manuals are just lawyer books,
and " I load way over max all the time
and have never had a problem. ."
A few I've taught ignore all the basics
of safety even though they were taught
differently. Many don't want to check
or double check anything component
wise, they just want to get loads thrown
together in the least amount of time
with the least amount of effort

 

[lightman]

Not to be cavalier about it... but if you pass and you have someone familiar with your reloading goals and methods, you will probably be OK. I mentioned my brother... I don't think I load anything that he hasn't shot already... and I don't push the limits (anymore.) If you pass, and there is no one to assume the responsibility of your loaded ammo... well, you're not here any longer, and it won't matter anyway.

Just FYI... some of you guys... you need to add skydiving to your To Do list.

I'll top all of you... I drove a loaded gas tanker around DFW for 7 years. My favorite time was 2AM on Sunday morning... when all the bars let out.

I just mentioned my thoughts about leaving a lot of ammo behind, and was remembering a few comments from others about checking how the ammo looks or if it had the data with it. Mine always looks good and always has data attached to the box.

I've never skydived but I always wanted to. But I am a Private Pilot, no longer current, and I both rolled and looped our airplane. Several times. I was also an Electrical Lineman for 35 years, the last 25 years was spent working alone.

 

[.308 Norma]

Personally, I've not looked for any of
the remanufactured ammo.
The part of it that worries me is
these people that open a book and pick
out max loads and add a few grains
over because somebody on a website
said that manuals are just lawyer books,
and " I load way over max all the time
and have never had a problem. ."
A few I've taught ignore all the basics
of safety even though they were taught
differently. Many don't want to check
or double check anything component
wise, they just want to get loads thrown
together in the least amount of time
with the least amount of effort

Huh?
Ranger99, do a quick Google search on the differences between "remanufactured ammo" and "reloaded ammo." They are not the same thing, my friend - at least not according to the companies that remanufacture ammo and sell it commercially.

 

[Ryden]

Sharing handloads is illegal here in Sweden, for good reasons. You can't give, loan or sell it without a license for commercial reloading.

I break the law by shooting what's left of my dad's reloads, but there's only like 30 rounds left so I might just keep them as a momento.