I think you misinterpretted what he said, or suffered selective reading. He is referring to the guy selling reloads in ziploc bags at the gun show not a large commercial reloader.
Did I? Not picking on you or rcmodel but he said this:
Joe Blowmeup at the gun-show is a "professional reloader" if he is selling reloads.
he didn't say anything about ziplock bags. You were the first person on this thread to say anything about ziplock bags. Art Collins is NOT a major player in the industry, but he is hardly some Joe Blowmeup at the gunshow. What constitutes a major player, we have no real guidance from RCModel, but clearly if Black Hills is the goalpost, then almost all 06s are small time Blowmeups. Art used to use plastic bags before he started using styrofoam for all packaging. The packaging in no way affects the quality of the rounds he produced. Did you suffer from selective reading and miss my point?
Treat this like any other purchase. Research the seller, determine your level of confidence by asking pointed questions, and then decide if you want to buy his product.
as RC says,
A prudent person wouldn't buy it.
I, personally, believe that a prudent person decideds whether to buy the ammunition or any other product based on the facts available to them. What suffices for you is not necessarily the best way, applicable to all people, or even logical in many cases. Here, let me give you another example.
you cannot simply buy a carton or ziploc baggie of ammunition you find at the gun show on some "reloaders" table. To many variables pop up that can create a disastrous situation.
For example, you cannot tell what the actual load is.
Ok, how is that ANY different from buying a box of ammuntion off the shelf at your local gun store? Before anyone gets upset, think about it... Do you know anything about the load in there? No, you don't. You don't know the powder, primer, or bullet with any real certainty. Are you positive the gun shop didn't switch them out with their own Joe Blowmeup load and matched the headstamp? Are you sure that Winchester got a 165gr FP in there instead of a 180gr FP? Can you be sure that the factory didn't cut some corners and buy some cheap brass from a 2nd hand source in one of those substandard 3rd world countries? Anyone want to dispute that with facts? Anyone know exactly what powder is in all of their factory ammo with 95% confidence? Anyone know with 95% confidence that every single round has an OAL within 0.010" of the FACTORY target?
You buy factory without a second thought because you have confidence in it from a variety of factors, MOST of it from second hand or personal usage experience NOT from actual analysis of the ammunition. Is that completely logical or even objective? Because the box says Winchester, you assume it really is foolproof? If some shady looking, whatever that means, guy was trying to see you a case of WWB out of the beatup raggety of a car, would you buy it? I guess it depends on how much you KNOW, wouldn't it?
The OP started off with:
P.S.-I've heard local horror stories about a guy who bought some reloaded 30-06 for his M1 and it blew up on him. He now has a lawsuit.
Yeah? I've heard of factory ammo missing primers, having cracked brass, and blowing up guns. Oh the horror. I've also heard that primers will blow your hand off or ignite in an explosion worthy of 1lb of C-4 if dropped on concrete. Who is really being silly here once we consider the situation objectively and ignore the hype?
In both cases, the truth is that you don't actually know the ammunition can be trusted but by analyzing the facts and asking questions you can come to a viable answer. You assume that factory ammo is loaded using a good process, that they are licensed, that they have insurance, etc... Probably good assumptions but don't assume that because some guy at a gunshow has plastic baggies of ammo that it is crap. Some reloaders produce amazingly safe, accurate, and economical loads using good processes. That Joe Blowmeup may be one of them, why not ask some questions and see what you can find out before dismissing it out of hand.
