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Reloading Accident

19K views 59 replies 16 participants last post by  The_Cook 
#1 ·
Guys I have been reloading since 72 and have reloading manuals that go back to the 60's and have never had an accident.This morning I was reloading some 10mm shells with 155 gr hollowpoints and 10 grs of accurate#5.I finished and had 1 completely loaded round extra,I had loaded 51 shells and had this extra loaded round.I was thinking of where I could put it and started flipping the shell up in the air with my thumb,the last flip and the shell hit the concrete floor(basement)and went off!I have never dropped a shell and had it go off before,ever,after 1000's of rounds loaded and dropped some before.The shell bounced off the walls several times and almost hit me twice,when all settled down I started looking for the bullet.My son sleeps in the bedroom of the basement,but the stairs are between him and me,the bullet went through 2 walls(sheetrock)1 door and stopped in some boxes,no real damage except I am still shaking.As God is my witness I have never heard or a round going off hitting the ground.I swore my son to secretecy and fixed all holes and wanted to tell all my friends that A LOADED ROUND CAN GO OFF BY HITTING THE GROUND.Something must have hit the primer,but my point is.All be carefull around loaded ammo.I am the most cautious person I know and it happened to me.My ears are still ringing but I'm so glad the bullet went away from my sons room.Drop-Shot
 
#3 ·
Pigionhunter I am still shaking,that has never happened to me EVER!I was watching a fellow shooter loading right behind the firing line while shillouite shooting back in the late 70's to early or mabe mid 80's,and he had a primer loader on his press and while seating it the primer went off,2 shooters was getting ready to shoot and and accidentally shot when the enexpexted sound of a primer went off,both were off their mark and mad.That was the only reloading accident I ever experienced and it wasn't me reloading.I'm not going down there till I quit shaking.My son was 20 feet away!I feel terrible,I will never toss or flip a loaded round ever again!All please be carefull it CAN happen to you.Drop-Shot
 
#5 ·
Dang! good thing you and your son are alright buddy. :shock: It's also very good thing you werent loading up some 300weatherbys and had one fall. I don't reload all to much at the moment but when I get into it more I'll make sure to get like a rubber pad for the ground to cusion the shell if one were to fall. Thanks for sharing the story with us. :shock:
 
#6 ·
Guys the basement is not finished so the bullet only went through 2 sheets of 1/2 sheetrock,1 hollow door and stopped in a box,the case took forever to stop bouncing off walls.I always thought the bullet would not go anywhere,just the case(being lighter)but they both went in different directions.The bullet most likely had the velocity of a pellet gun,1/2 inch sheetrock is easy to penetrate,the hollow door wasn't much better,the bullet droped to the ground and went in a box,about 8 feet.I think if the case was in an open area,it would have went much farther.It shook me,and I still won't touch the reloading stuff for awhile.All be carefull.Drop-Shot
 
#7 ·
Zach I like the idea of a rubber floor pad,that would help my back also.The damage was not much,the bullet traveled about 7-8 feet total,I was so shook up about this happening I didn't think about it then but the case had more velocity than the bullet did.There is nics all over that little room from the case bouncing around.It hit in a corner and I think thats why the bullet even moved as far as it did.I will be more carefull in the future.I went down and looked at the other shells I loaded and all primers are seated.All be carefull,I feel stupid.Drop-Shot
 
#9 ·
Thanks errol,I haven't stopped thanking God yet,and It does make you think.I plan on spending more time with the ones I love cause any time we could go,none of us have a guarrentied spot on this earth.My family means more to me than anything and I'm gonna show it more than ever.Hunting and guns are not forever but family is.Thanks.Drop-Shot
 
#10 ·
Dropshot,
Glad you guys are okay! Like you, I've dropped lots of shells over the years and have never had anythig like this happen. I heard some guys recently talking about a dropped shell going off at a sporting clays event.Luckily, there was no one hurt there either,just the need of some clean linens!
Like you said, we can never be too careful.

HWD
 
#11 ·
Holly Sh-T!!!! I've never heard of anything like that before, and I've been reloading for over 20 years. I have had many a loaded cartridge hit the floor too, but thank God for my anal personality.....I've always liked carpet under my feet and around my reloading area........ thought it was easier to clean up. Glad to hear no one was hurt. Imagine what the anti-'s would be saying about this one? :roll:
 
#12 ·
HWD and 270shooter thanks for the thoughts.I started reloading in 72 and have never had this happen before,I was so shaken I made it sound worse than it was.The shell was the most dangerous thing I think and the bullet didn't hit much solid,It kinda arched and went 7-8 feet,but at the time I was so scared that I shook.I will never flip a loaded round again.I will treat all rounds respectfully from now on.Some times we get less than cautious when we have done it so many times before,I've reloaded thousands of rounds and now I have respect for the loaded round again.I met a man that at a shooting range he dropped a handfull of rounds and one went off,the shell went one way and the bullet went the other,he is the first person that I have talked to that had a loaded round go off from falling.He found the 44 special case but not the bullet,the primer struck just right and went off.270 shooter I'm afraid of powder getting in carpet and ignited by static electricity,I want to get a rubber floor matt.Thats my next purchase.Thanks for the kind thoughts.Drop-Shot
 
#13 ·
wow thats insane I didnt think that stuff was possible I have rounds rolling all around the floor of my truck maybe I should pick them up :oops: Im glad ur ok dropshot ur a great asset to the forum and u would be sorely missed. I dont wanna lead this thread off topic but when are you getting that 35 whelen CDL? Im trying to get a price on a new o/u from luvtohunt right now hopefully I will be able to get a new one :D

Aaron
 
#14 ·
Drop-Shot, I have never heard of anything like this. Glad to hear that you and your son are ok.

I have a old Remington ammo box in my "stuff" room that is full of odd and ends that I just toss in it 'cause I'm to lazy to get rid of them. There are alot of loaded shells just rattling around in there that I guess could go off. I'd better take a lesson form you and get off my butt (or have it go off under my lazy butt).

Thanks, Clint
 
#16 ·
270shooter some how I knew you did something to be safe and we have carpet remnants also,with the bad back I have I thought the rubber matt might make it easier to stand for a little longer.Till I can afford the matt I am going to use your idea about carpet remnants.That cold basement floor is tough on the feet and a soft carpet remnant will help.I still have to finish the reloading room and am thinking about the large tiles and a rubber matt.The matt I want isn't cheap so I have to wait till other projects are finished and a remnant will fit the bill and can be taken out and shaken to get powder off.Thanks for the idea.Drop-Shot
 
#17 ·
Mna! This is the second time I have ever heard of something this, A friend of mine ,who has a gunshop was selling a box of golden saber ( remmy) .45 acp ammo to a guy. He was showing him one of the bullets , the man agreed on the sale sso my buddy went to put it back into the box but it slipped out of his fingers and fell onto a wooden counter . IT WENT OFF :shock:.They determined that a nail head that was sticking up just enough had set it off. they couldn't find the bullet.
 
#18 ·
8point that scared me more than anything could,I saw a hole in the sheetrock going to my sons room.The bullet went away from him but it scared the heck of of me.I found the case and there was a slight dent in the corner of the primer,just enough to set that 10mm off in a confined space.I'm glad your friend didn't get hurt either,we are fine,but I haven,t gone in to the reloading room to load since then.I've gone in to find the case and clean up.We enjoy a sport that things can happen,I only hope all learn from my blunder and always treat a loaded round wit the deepest respect possible.I feel stupid yet blessed that no one was hurt.Drop-Shot
 
#19 ·
Dropshot, I thought of something that might be an inexpensive way to get a rubber mat for your reloading room...how about the floor mats used in horse stalls? Not sure of the price though. Last year I saw a floor mat kit at Home Depot for $20. There were 4 interlocking jigsaw sections in cool decorator colors. Just a thought.
 
#20 ·
270shooter that was what I was looking at.For some reasons I thought they were 30.00 each and I need at least 3.I'll get over there this weekend.I am also an amater knife maker and want to get better,so if I buy the interlocking matts I could use them in the garage also.I'll check out home depot this weekend and if the wife don't have another project I may just be able to get 1 and another when I can afford it.Thanks for the heads up on the matts,I was looking at a catalog for mechanic shops,as I used to have my own shop and those mats were out of site,30.00 each.Thanks.Drop-Shot
 
#21 ·
:) Drop Shot - I am really glad that no one was hurt. Your experience was with a round you reloaded and my experience was with a Federal round shot through my Ruger M77 in a 7 mm Mag. At the range ten years ago, I pulled off my first shot and the bullet backfired (the case kinda backfired through the primer), not only was my faced pocked with powder but my buddy who was looking through a spotting scope behind me was also peppered. I did not have on my safety shooting glassed and nearly paid the price of damaging my left eye. So, I too am very careful and always wear some type of eyeware for protection. It can happen with any round (freak accidents and probably only one in ten million production rounds).
 
#22 ·
Merton leeper I have heard of what you experienced and thats why I have good shooting glasses.Wow we both had a 1 in a million experience,you were lucky you still have your sight and I'm lucky my son or myself wasn't hurt.We may both go through a life time and nothing like that will happen again,it just goes to show that poop happens.Hey the last time we talked you were getting a hogue stock,is it working out?I tried to email hogue about a stock with a barrell channel to fit a # 5 contour barrell,I need to email them again.One fellow at the shooting range said his 270 was so much easier to shoot that family members borrow it so much that he don't have it enough to shoot it.They must be nice,and at a resonable price most all can afford.Take care.Drop-Shot
 
#23 ·
Aaron I almost forgot to answer your question about the 35 Whelen,I will have it finished paying for in early june.I may have to wait till july to pick it up,we are going over to the Seattle area to see my daughter and son in law.We will run up to wenatchee to get some fruit and visit with Kelsey and get the gun.Wenatchee is the washington hub for alot of fruits and veggies.Kelsey has made it so easy to get that rifle and I finally have the rifle I always wanted and cheaper than any place in the Helena area.Hey Aaron,since you are taking welding,whats the difference between TIG and MIG welding,I think I know but I wanted to ask for sure.Drop-Shot
 
#24 ·
mig is wirefed we call the guys that do it squirters because most dont know how to set up a machine and if you dont set up the machine all you hafta do is pul the trigger pretty much tig takes alot of skill especially aluminum (my specialty) its alot like gas welding except it uses an arc to produce heat you have a torch with a tungsten in it that conducts the electricity for the torch then you use filler rod its very clean and the best quality weld you can get pretty much IMO but it takes alot more user skill and is alot slower I went for a weld test today for a summer job and I got it so im startin there tommorow and I also found out today all my grades and I got another 4.0 what a pleasant surprise that was I thought that materials science class would be the one that screwed it up but somehow I pulled off an A anyways you can find a wealth of information on the different processes online and if ur interested in seeing where im gonna be working they have a website check it out http://www.libsteel.com/ im glad to hear ur gettin ur gun soon im debating between a new toolbox or shotgun snap on is havin a sale on toolboxes in june or july so I dont know what im gonna do yet but that citori looks sooooo nice.

Aaron
 
#25 ·
Aaron it sounds like you need a tool box,snap-on has a pay plan and thats where I got my first box in 1970.I traded it in on a top and bottom MAC box that I still have,got ot in 72.I still needed more room so I bought a snap-on mid size box,I traded that one in and bought the largest box snap-on made in the early 90's,the intemidator box.I still have both the MAC box set and the snap-on.Look in the paper for used boxes,I could have gotten the intemidator and tools(?) for 2500.00,work first and guns will follow.In louisianna the welders in the oil field that are good(exrayed welds)start at 25.00 per hour and if you have your on rig,you can make 55.00-175.00 per hour depending on what you can weld and what kind of system you have.I may go over in june and get that 35 whelen CDL,the wife is cooking up a trip to visit my daughter.I have to wait for the scope till a few projects are done,but it will wear a leupold for sure.Will the work you will be doing is shop work or field work?.Drop-Shot
 
#26 ·
yeah those pipefitters make alot of money I will be mostly in the shop the shop im gonna be working in does everythingwho knows what ill end up doing I have a little snap on box that I might trade in I need some new tools too Im not sure I can cover all the cost but we'll see I wish I could go on a payment plan but I dont have a job while im going to school so it would be hard to make the payments but Ill probably end up getting the tools and the box over the shotgun we'll see

Aaron
 
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