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reloading gone wrong

Goodness! Only 1 powder comes out of my powder cabinet. The can is placed right next to my powder charger facing me. That is my worst nightmare. You can never be too safe at the reloading bench.
 
Its why I always use published load numbers and I check at least two different sources to be sure. I never take a powder close in burn rate and try to create my own load. One mistake, you can be dead or maimed. I am really in love with my fingers and while my face is nothing to look at I have grown accustomed to it and I wanna keep it that way.

I have a Forster bullet puller with collets for every caliber I load. If I even think I made a mistake we unload them all, DUMP the powder, and start over. I guarantee you, and I have current info, one hospital day is more expensive than 4 Blaser rifles.

Take Care Guys.
 
Scary stuff. It could happen to any of us if we get distracted. My system for powder ID is to keep all powders except for the one I am loading up on the powder storage shelf. I put the powder can I am using right beside the scale or dribbler so I can se it and repeatedly reassure myself I have the correct powder. I even go so far as to talk to myself repeating the load from the manual I am using.

Also, I never ever use a load I got from somebody on the internet or verbally. They may be the most experienced loader in the world, but they could make a mistake that one time. I won't chance that.

I sure hope this guy gets full use of his hand again. Looking at that rifle, he's lucky to be alive.
 
My experience was with .270 did not change charge,bullet, or case. Primer had two different ones out grab wrong one. Did not realize it till I went shooting. Primer blew bolt stuck and flash peppered my face scared the hell out of me. At that point I had been reloading almost daily for four yrs. when that happened. Not kidding about almost daily reloading either. At that time me and a buddy had a place close by and we shot almost daily for hrs.
 
I'm way to ADD to even think about trusting myself at reloading. About the only way I would consider it is if it was for one gun, one caliber and one powder, no way i could have several different powders around.
 
Saw a guy blow up a CZ bolt rifle a few years back. Turns out he had used 4831 instead of 4198. The rifle looked similar to the one in the pics. He lost half of his jawbone and his right ear, shrapnel just missing his jugular. Like DaveB said if in doubt I will pull my bullets and have done so. I only do one process at a time when reloading. But, you know, we are all human. I would recommend that if your tired, or sick or have something troubling you, it's not a good time to reload. BTW: go slow, think about what your doing. When pushing a max load check double check, one small mistake can send pressure skyrocketing.
 
Up to now I've only reloaded 3 rifle calibers and used the same powder for all to reduce the chance of picking the wrong canister. Now that I have a .38 special pistol and will be reloading for that I need to find a way to reduce my chance of error. Thanks for posting your situation so we can all learn from it.
 
I've been loading for about 27 years and ain't had a accident. I'm pretty careful and try and keep only one powder at a time on the bench. I don't ever load if I've got something stressful on my mind. I always keep notes on the load that I'm loading and put a small note in with the ammo saying what load it is. I've heard some bad stories like these and it helps keep me alert.
 
I am in total respect of smokeless powder. I have been witness to the total destruction of a nice firearm and injury to the one shouldering it. It's amazing the power produced by a few grains of these modern powders.
 

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