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October 21st, 2019, 03:31 PM #1
A reminder to be careful when reloading.
On Sunday, I was at my local PGC Range shooting some guns for the upcoming bear/deer seasons. There is a group of about 5-6 guys that shoot there often and I'm acquainted with them. Good guys, never any problems.
Well, as I was shooting my Enfield .303 from a few benches away I hear a LOUD bang! I heard one of the guys asking another shooter is he was okay. I looked at his rifle and it pretty much blew apart. I checked his face, hoping not to see the worst; eye or facial damage. Luckily all he had was a cut on his nose, but his rifle was another story.
The guy was shooting a Remington 783 bolt rifle in .243.....a really beautiful rifle. He pulled the trigger and said he heard a "click". I had head the click, but just assumed he was doing a little dry firing. He thought perhaps that he had not cleared the previous shot and just pulled the trigger on an already fire case. So he ejected the empty case, chambered a fresh round.....and pulled the trigger!! Ka-boom!!!!
The click......was him pulling the trigger in a case without any powder. Yes, he reloads. Well, the primer lodged the bullet in the barrel. I'm guessing he didn't hear the primer go off. So, when he chambered and fired the new round, that bullet struck the one already in the barrel, causing the stock to explode, the bottom of the rifle to blow out and the rear of the bolt to fly off.
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October 21st, 2019, 03:42 PM #2
Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
Glad to see no serious injury, except to the rifle. It is amazing how close to getting out of the barrel the two bullets were. A good reminder for us all.
Illegitimus non carborundum est
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October 21st, 2019, 04:15 PM #3Super Member
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Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
Ejecting an empty case after no bang should have been a clue to remove the bolt and peek down the barrel for obstruction.
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October 21st, 2019, 04:48 PM #4
Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
I did that with my M3HB, but thank god the next shell wouldnt chamber even after trying a half dozen times.
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October 21st, 2019, 04:50 PM #5
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October 21st, 2019, 06:11 PM #6
Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
Don't be this guy:
omamfciqg1uiper3pdrj.jpgIt ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.
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October 21st, 2019, 06:36 PM #7Grand Member
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October 21st, 2019, 09:22 PM #8
Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
Yeah, a couple of things didn’t go his way. I would have thought he might hear the primer going off, but with ear muffs on, I guess he didn’t. I was wearing electronic ear muffs that cut off the loud sound, but you can clearly hear normal conversations when they aren’t cutting off the sound. I clearly heard the click, two benches away. I think he had regular ear muffs on, so maybe he never heard the primer pop.
After firing a cartridge, I always immediately extract it, to look the case over. Again, I assume he may have allowed himself to get distracted. The group is always talking about rifles, powders, bullets, etc. When he got the click, he just thought it was a spent case in the rifle.
If that had been a sportier weight barrel instead of a bull barrel, it would have split like a pealed banana.....maybe injuring shooters on either side of him.
Just a reminder to always get your stuff when reloading. I’ve been reloading just about 30 years or so and during that time, I had one squib load when loading 9mm in the beginning. I was shooting my Beretta 92FS.....at this very same range and I heard pop instead of bang on a round. I knew it didn’t feel right, so I stopped, unloaded and checked the gun. I had failed to drop powder in one 9mm case and the primer going off was enough to lodge the bullet in the barrel, forward of the chamber. I was able to tap it out. Knock on wood....that has been my only squib. Hopefully my one and only.
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October 21st, 2019, 09:27 PM #9Super Member
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Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
Yikes! Glad he was ok. I've only ever had 1 bullet lodged in the barrel and it was factory ammo. Luckily I realized it when I ejected the case and a bunch of unburnt powder came out. Rifle was a 17HMR and somehow the ammo must have got wet/went bad over the years.
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October 21st, 2019, 11:44 PM #10Grand Member
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Re: A reminder to be careful when reloading.
The rifle can be replaced, he cant. You can bet it will be a life lesson he will never forget. Hopefully he checks all the rest of his rounds before shooting anymore.
Aggies Coach Really ??? Take off the tin foil bro.
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