Author Topic: What was your worst hand loading result? (Read 975 times)

Questor · « **on:** May 30, 2006, 03:53:32 AM »

My worst hand loading result was with my first 44 magnum loads for the Contender pistol. I used cast 240 grain bullets and a 900fps recipe from the Lyman manual. The velocity turned out to be more than that and I found that magic spot where gas cutting occurs around a bullet.

The leading was so bad that the rifling grooves were filled in near the chamber. It took hours of work to clean the bore properly.

Hairtrigger · « **Reply #1 on:** May 30, 2006, 06:12:26 AM »

I loaded 68gr bullets in 223 for my Colt AR-15. After selling the Colt I shot 3 rounds thru my Kimber and found the bullets key holing at 35 yards

Bullseye · « **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2006, 06:47:46 AM »

After 15 years of using CCI Magnum primers in my 22 Hornet and 41 Magnum with IMR 4227 powder I thought I would switch to CCI Standard primers. Accuracy in both went south in a bad way. Switched back and everything was fine. Luckily I bought the Large Pistol Primers at my local gunstore in town and he traded me the 800 unused regulars for magnums .

skb2706 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 30, 2006, 08:14:00 AM »

.300 Win mag using 100 gr. Speer plinker bullets....did it to work up a reduced load for my step son. Chased bullet holes all around the paper for a couple hours...gave up.

Don Fischer · « **Reply #4 on:** May 31, 2006, 04:24:37 AM »

This is kind of imbarrassing. I have a suitcase full of old "Super Ballistice", about like bullseye.

I decided to use it if it would work in my 32 long. It did work and shot very well. I was shooting cast bullets from wheel weights, 77gr if I remember right.

One day I was out plinking and I shot them at a dried out wood stump with a knot in it. The bullets bounced off and came back and bounced off of me! True story.

Questor · « **Reply #5 on:** May 31, 2006, 04:34:30 AM »

Don Fischer:

I've had 200 grain SWCs from 45ACP bounce back after hitting a creosoted log at 50 yards. They just hit, left an indentation, then bounced back and landed in the snow about a foot in front of the log.

Don Fischer · « **Reply #6 on:** May 31, 2006, 11:41:59 AM »

Questor,

Did you look around to see who was watching? I did!

Questor · « **Reply #7 on:** May 31, 2006, 01:46:53 PM »

Don Fischer:

Nope. My incident wasn't that spectacular. It was just interesting for me to look at. By the way, at the same session I fired 300 grain hard cast 44 magnum bullets at the same log and they went all the way through. It's amazing what 100 grains and 400fps will do for a projectile.

Gregory · « **Reply #8 on:** May 31, 2006, 03:39:42 PM »

Quote from: Questor

The leading was so bad that the rifling grooves were filled in near the chamber. It took hours of work to clean the bore properly.

I found that a few jacketed bullet loads fired through the gun takes most of the leading out.

PaulS · « **Reply #9 on:** June 01, 2006, 06:54:17 PM »

After carefully removing the conical shaped bullets from some factory Winchester "metal piercing" rounds and reloading them behind a maximum charge of H110 I fired them into several kinds of metal. They went right through the 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch steel but I found that they bounce off the 1/2 inch aluminum casting. Close range bounced back into the slack in my crotch. No damage but it took a week for me to find where it had hidden from the impact! :eek:
Ok, It just felt like it should have taken a week because it certainly scared the ---- out of me! It wasn't funny for a couple of months and now it just keeps getting funnier the longer it is in the past. :oops: :roll:

VTDW · « **Reply #10 on:** June 01, 2006, 07:32:09 PM »

PaulS,

My worst was once firing (sorta) a hardcast boolit in my .444 BUT I had forgotten the powder and had no cleaning rod with me. :oops: :oops:

Dave

PaulS · « **Reply #11 on:** June 01, 2006, 08:21:09 PM »

VTDW,

If you can imagine the sound of a 150 grain bullet slapping into layers of denim (like the sound of a ping pong ball hitting the raquette just right in a slam to the net) and then picture NOT feeling what you figure should be a lot of pain and reluctantly looking down, half expecting to see blood - and then realizing that it was all denim and no real hit....
Yep! real funny! (today) not so those thirty or so years ago.

I haven't fired into metal that wasn't slanted and on a swing since. I only shoot at those targets from 50 yards or more. Bullets don't survive or they go straight through. Its fun to watch the 4 inch gong twirl when hit with my 140 grain 357 HP. When the gong is 3/8 inch thick 4130 steel it only dents with a magnum and the bullets turn to dust. My 357 maximum goes right through and the gong doesn't even swing three holes in a one inch group at 50 yards and I thought I had missed (and I couldn't understand how I couldmiss at that range.) I honestly thought that I had a bad scope until I walked up on the gong and saw the three holes - 180 grain Speer FP rifle bullets went through like a piece of paper and wadcutters! Never would have guessed that those light bullets would behave like that in steel.

Questor · « **Reply #12 on:** June 02, 2006, 01:12:52 AM »

PaulS:

That could have hurt! That's a very serious matter!

I was shooting a 4" metal spinner target with my son one day with our .22 at a distance of about 15 yards. One of the range regulars, who was in gunnery in the Army, told me that it was dangerous to do that because he's known fragments to fly back, even with the .22. His recommendation was that we have the target no closer than 25 yards. I took him seriously and we quit doing that. Every once in a while I find a flattened bullet behind the firing line at the range and wonder how it got there. Today, if we want to shoot reactive targets at closer range we use clay pigeons and soda cans.

Graybeard · « **Reply #13 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:48:45 PM »

I'm thinking maybe it would be the time I exploded that TC .44 Mag barrel. Not fun to have one hand granade in your hands.

Haywire Haywood · « **Reply #14 on:** June 03, 2006, 11:23:12 AM »

I think the worst thing I ever had happen as a result of reloading was when I was loading for a Glock 23 I had.. I had 3 different books giving me vastly different loads for the same weight bullet and silly me chose the middle ground instead of going for the lowest of the 3. I think I shot 5 or 6 times before I decided that the recoil was a too sharp to be normal and stopped. The brass from those shots all showed bulges in the web where the glock doesn't support the case. Needless to say, the rest of that batch got pulled.

Ian

PaulS · « **Reply #15 on:** June 03, 2006, 03:40:15 PM »

Ok Greybeard,
You don't get off that easy. What happened that caused a Contender 44 mag barrel to explode?

Fess up big guy!

Land_Owner · « **Reply #16 on:** June 04, 2006, 02:59:57 AM »

On my first try with a manual Lee Loader for the 30-30 I set off the primer with my hands above and the steel dowel down the case. The singe and skipped heartbeat were sufficient to institute the purchase of an RCBS Hand Priming Tool.

I second the need for increased distance to steel targets. Using a Ruger New Model Blackhawk in 45 LC from 15 yards (the pre-set distance for the outdoor range), I experienced what I believe to have been blowback from the 255 gr. hard cast SWC's impact with the target.

I shot the first six rounds pretty well (5 of 6 targets down) and without incident. I reloaded and at round 7 several "unexplained" particles hit me in the eye protector, face and neck. I stopped, put the weapon down and looked around for a swarm of bugs. Seeing none, I let #8 go. Again, the "peppering". Somewhere a light went on in my brain and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight out. I have not shot steel targets since.

Land Owner
If it was easy, anybody could do it."[/b]

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 05, 2006, 06:34:47 PM »

My worst reloading result? Well, I'll explain it as it happened:

On target, concentrate, get breathing under control, squeeze trigger, squeeze, sque-e-e-e-e-z-e...............CLICK!!! Round didn't go off. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Nothing serious, as I found out I seemed to have missed placing a charge of powder in that one. This was in my 30-06. OK, so it wasn't that bad, but that is as bad as I've had so far.

I only had it happen once amongst all the rounds I have loaded, but still that sickening *click* sure seems more deafening than the report itself. :shock: When it happens, you really start thinkin'! :eek:

Land Owner, don't feel too bad. I've seen some pretty stupid people out there who did way worse that you ever could. Ever see someone shootin' steel at 20yds. with an M-16? Well, I took cover behind one of the shooting benches till he was finished...or until something else happened. :twisted: I still caught a piece of shrapnel just under my lower lip, no blood, but it sure got my attention. I figured I'd take better cover until they got the message......they finally cut it out when one of their own folks caught a large fragment that splashed back. It nailed him in the chest; he gave out a serious reaction, but he was OK. Heh, they didn't do that anymore. :roll:

-Patriot

GregP42 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 07, 2006, 12:24:13 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard

I'm thinking maybe it would be the time I exploded that TC .44 Mag barrel. Not fun to have one hand granade in your hands.

Graybeard I know that feeling quite well....

It was the night before the state championship shoot of the IHMSA, I was loading 6.5 TC/U rounds, well I grabbed the wrong can of powder...... I had been using 4895, well I grabed the 4227. It went BOOM, the chicken broke and my hand was numb. It blew the extractor down and out of the barrel, ringed the chamber and stretched the frame. You know what, even after screwing it up like that and telling TC it was all my fault they sent me a new gun.

Greg

jack19512 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 07, 2006, 03:59:48 AM »

Posted by Patriot_1776

"On target, concentrate, get breathing under control, squeeze trigger, squeeze, sque-e-e-e-e-z-e...............CLICK!!! Round didn't go off.

Nothing serious, as I found out I seemed to have missed placing a charge of powder in that one. This was in my 30-06. OK, so it wasn't that bad, but that is as bad as I've had so far. "

Same here. But mine was 223 .

reallybigfoot · « **Reply #20 on:** June 07, 2006, 11:50:33 AM »

This is one of those postings where you hate to out do everyone, but since Im using both hands to type with there may be someone out there that can top this. I figured out what I did wrong the next day when I was released from the hospital. I had been reloading some 38 loads with TiteGroup and then switched to reloading 7-08s for my Lone Eagle single shot pistol. I failed to remove all the TiteGroup from the dispenser before switching powders. When I pulled the unused rounds I found a mixture of the two powders in different proportions. I dont know how much TiteGroup was in the round I fired but it was enough. When the breach blew off the back of the gun, part of it went up and broke the scope in half. The largest piece came straight back and skipped up my arm digging divots to the bone. Many stitches later I have a great scar and full use of my hand and arm. I have the gun mounted over my reloading bench. For thirty-five years I though I was a careful, but you would be surprised at just how much more careful I have become since last year.

hunt127588 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 08, 2006, 04:22:07 AM »

I was shooting .308 and .243 on the bench one day...I had both calibers in the same colored plastic ammo. boxes and would switch the boxes off the bench b/t shooting guns. Well, I went from .243 to .308 and forgot to switch ammo. box. I then shot a .243 out of a .308. The result was a double-necked cartridge and some nuburnt powder still in the barrel. Other than that, no split case neck, etc. This did grab my attention to PAY ATTENTION. I would have hated to think what would've happened if I somehow was able to shoot the .308 out of a .243....