Would you shoot home reloaded ammo from a private party?

So we're crossing this bridge again.

The straight answer is no

hk940 said:

I don't shoot others reloads, and when I have reloaded for friends who don't. I want the gun it will be shot of in my hands so I can work up a safe load.
I have almost blown up my Rem 700 .223 when I did not check case weights between Federal and Rem-Peters there was a 11 grain difference between the two!

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I call BS, I have literally ran the same reloads through a gaggle of ar15 and bolt guns and not encounter this situation.

Brass doesn't make this kinda of situation possible

I have always heard of inaccurate powder weights and I simply don't understand how one is able to.

I have owned every manufacturer of powder measure on the modern market and no matter how stupidly I worked the handles all I could do was make a 3 grain variation.

One would have to be mentally retarded in order to accomplish the stories I have heard regarding reloaded ammo nightmares.

My only squib was one of my reloads.
Dean Grennell said if someone asked him for reloads he would seat them at his loading bench, talk them through it.

I bought some (supposedly) commercially reloaded .44 magnums at a gun show some 20 years ago.
I fired one cylinder of these reloads in my Super Blackhawk.
The performance varied so much from round to round that I shelved the rest until I set up a reloading bench and could pull the bullets, dump the powder and start over.
That's what started my move into reloading.
-And, no, I don't use reloads from other folks... .

No.

No.

Nope.

I've never had to think about it, because I don't know that I ever knew anyone else who reloaded. Probably did, but the subject just never came up.

I have however used commercial reloads quite a bit. Some I'm sure were loaded by the gun shop owner, or someone he knew back in the day. They were 38 wadcutters and just came in a plain little cardboard box. I was young, and it never occurred to me to question them. They were cheap, which was the most important thing back then. Never had any problems with them.

No. Heck I don't even buy "remanufactured" ammo.

I respect my guns and my eyes and hands.

The only reloads I trust are my own and the person who taught me to reload; no other exceptions.

I built some bad ammo once. If I can do it somebody else can also. If someone gives me handloads I'll tear them down for components but that's about the extent of it.

So I guess the answer is no.

lightman said:

Nope!!! There are only a chosen few whose reloads I will shoot. No exceptions!

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To qualify this, a buddy just gave me 180+ rounds of reloaded 30 carbine ammo. He doesn't know anything about it and doesn't even remember where he got it. My bullet puller won't grip the bullet well enough to pull it so it looks like a job for the Lineman's pliers! Hate to ruin those jacketed bullets but rule #1 always rules! And those bullets will go into the next 400# batch of wheelweights that I will melt, so not totally wasted!

No.

I've never shot someone else's hand reloads. Nobody else shoots my reloads but me. Simple, clean and no stress or worries that way.

I have had a factory Miwall 9mm reload that had a case failure and blew out the back of the case. Seemed like an out of battery detonation, but it wasn't, it was a case failure, a bit nerve wracking. Had my Shield checked out by a gunsmith, there was zero wrong with it and no damage from the case blowing out. Still shoot it a lot. That kind of made me swear off of mass market gunshow reloads even.

I have bought second hand firearms where the seller included dies, formed brass, and some loaded ammo. Even with the data provided I still break down the ammo.

This lack of quality control is really a shame.
I bet if it were not for this hurdle we at this forum could easily put together a few million rounds for the soldiers in Ukraine.
We would have to agree on a cartridge, bullet weight and muzzle velocity but it could be done. Perhaps 9x19 Para or 7.62x39 would be good choices.
Unfortunately we would also have to defend against bad actors.
I suspect it really could not be done.

lightman said:

To qualify this, a buddy just gave me 180+ rounds of reloaded 30 carbine ammo. He doesn't know anything about it and doesn't even remember where he got it. My bullet puller won't grip the bullet well enough to pull it so it looks like a job for the Lineman's pliers! Hate to ruin those jacketed bullets but rule #1 always rules! And those bullets will go into the next 400# batch of wheelweights that I will melt, so not totally wasted!

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Have you tried a inertia bullet puller? It is slower but it will not damage the head.

no.

murf

Zendude said:

Commercial reloads, yes. Otherwise, no.

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One of my shooting buddies gave me about 500 rounds of some cheap "commercial" reloads he bought through an established online ammo source. IF they would even chamber, they were all over the spectrum as to performance. Squibs, low pressure loads that wouldn't cycle the pistol, and hot loads that convinced him to not use them at all. He gave them to me, as I might be able to pull them down and use bullets, primers and whatever cases passed a case checker. A large percentage were bulged, like some Glock fired cases I've seen. The bullets were plated, the primers appeared to be CCI, and the powder went around the rose bushes..

Nah. To be more formal, nay. To be polite about it, no thank you. At the end of the day, no.

I won a box of 303 british on an online auction a year ago just for the brass (scarce nowadays) that was reloaded. It came in a MTM fifty case with load written out on a sticker. I broke down two of them and checked bullet and powder weight . Powder was extruded like it noted and right weight and bullet was correct. Looked up load and it was a mid power load. So I put them back together and held the rifle chamber on other side of telephone pole and fired them both. No pressure signs at all. Shot them all that day and they shot about an inch at 50 yrds. Some took out some mild jugs full of water at 100 yrs, couple found some rocks in backstop for initial sight in. But with no documentation or idea what is in them, no, not rifle ammo. Maybe if I had a bucket of 9mm I would probably "take a shot at it" using the telephone pole first few shots. But then sometimes my "driveway don't go clear to the street" if you know what I mean.

mcb said:

I have used ammo loaded by other people but those people are a very small and very select group that I trust enough to shoot their reloads.

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Yeah, this is the right answer.

I'm not in favor of buying random reloads from strangers, but if I do know the person reloading, and know they've made good work, then, sure. I don't reload myself yet. But I have, among other firearms, a couple Star firearms in 9 Largo. I've been saving brass from Steinel loads, and from Fiocchi 9mm Steyr (which runs fine in a Largo), and what I understand is, you load it to 9 Parabellum specs. If I knew a guy who did his own 9mm and had been awhile, I'd certainly trust him to reload those for me, asking that he keep them relatively mild.