.44 mag reloads I bought at a gun show

Stefan A said:

Too late, and too late. But I am still here to talk about it.

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1KPerDay said:

1. Never buy anyone else’s reloads
2. For the love of Pete, NEVER shoot anyone else’s unknown reloads.

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Stefan A said:

I bought 2 boxes of .44 mag rounds at a gun show. Being fairly new at gunshows and completely new to .44 mag, I just snagged them up. I went to shoot them with a super blackhawk and the cartridges from one of the boxes just will not go into the chamber. Gets stuck right at the rim. The other box loads perfectly and feel like some pretty hot loads. Anyway, in the pic, the one that won't fit is on the right and the one that fits is on the left. Posting this here because I am guessing these are not new, considering the boxes look like they are from the 80's and the cases are not as shiny as new. Plus, I know you all know a lot about cartridge construction. At the rim of the one on the right, it feels like a slight bulge, so no wonder it doesn't fit in. My question is, can these be salvaged? I hope I didn't throw away $50.

Thanks
Stefan

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Charlie98 said:

Those look like Sierra JHP bullets, they should be quite accurate.

I tend to agree with the others... pull the bullets, discard the powder, and start over. If they are from a reputable manufacturer of reloads, well, that's a little different.

Looks to me like the one on the R... the bullet didn't seat far enough for the roll crimp to properly crimp the case... and sort of just bulged it, instead. It's happened to me.

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Stefan A said:

I bought 2 boxes of .44 mag rounds at a gun show. Being fairly new at gunshows and completely new to .44 mag, I just snagged them up. I went to shoot them with a super blackhawk and the cartridges from one of the boxes just will not go into the chamber. Gets stuck right at the rim. The other box loads perfectly and feel like some pretty hot loads. Anyway, in the pic, the one that won't fit is on the right and the one that fits is on the left. Posting this here because I am guessing these are not new, considering the boxes look like they are from the 80's and the cases are not as shiny as new. Plus, I know you all know a lot about cartridge construction. At the rim of the one on the right, it feels like a slight bulge, so no wonder it doesn't fit in. My question is, can these be salvaged? I hope I didn't throw away $50.

Thanks
Stefan

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FROGO207 said:

Most probably the ones that won't fit have a bulge because the brass was not trimmed properly or the crimp step was not set correctly and the neck was bulged when they attempted to crimp the rounds. To use someguysjunk reloads you are putting a possible bomb in each chamber and playing Russian Roulette with each trigger pull. You say they are over power feeling so how much over before the cylinder and backstrap blow apart? You can salvage the componants but replace the propellant with something you can get new and make a load you are safe using.
I get ammo turned in to local PD's to dispose of. I will break it all down and reload as said above because there is no way to be sure any round is a safe one because I can't prove actual factory made. Trying to use unknown ammo is a fools errand IMO.

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Mark_Mark said:

dang Frog … good write up, I have some 7STW that I bought at a gun show, was in a reloader plastic box, think I’ll take those apart too.

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FROGO207 said:

To me an ounce of prevention will prevent a mess. This is as close to a kaboom I have ever been or ever want to be!View attachment 1033747

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