A lesson in paying attention.

[Japle]

I compete in a Thursday night pistol league. Last Thursday, one of my team members showed up with a 9mm pistol and a .357 revolver. During practice, he decided to shoot the 9mm in the match.
So far, so good.
He loaded four magazines and when he tried to fire the first shot in the match, the pistol didn’t go BANG. The slide wasn’t in battery. He whacked the rear of the slide and it didn’t move. When he racked the slide, it barely went forward at all.
Long story short, when he’d loaded the magazines, instead of loading 9mm ammo, he’d loaded the magazines with .38 Short Colt ammo.
Now, I’ve heard it said the .38 Short Colt is basically a rimmed 9mm and that’s true as far as it goes. But while the cartridges are similar, they’re not interchangeable. You can’t chamber a Short Colt round in a 9mm pistol. I’ve never tried it, but I’m pretty damn sure you can’t.
But you can load .38 Short Colt ammo into a 9mm magazine. I have tried that. It’s so easy that, if you’re not paying attention, you won’t notice.
My teammate tried to call an alibi. When the range master saw what the guy had done, he refused the alibi and DQd the shooter.

My team still won the match by 6 points, so what the hell.

 

[LocoGringo]

Yep, good lesson in paying attention.

I successfully loaded and fired a .40 S&W round in my Kimber .45 ACP. It even cycled enough to eject the case as mangled as it was. It happened a couple of times until I got fed up and took the case to the front desk and asked them what could cause that. He looked at the headstamp and asked what gun I was shooting. I cannot describe how stupid I felt, especially with the look he gave me. I've never made that mistake again.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Thats a new one on me!

My boss told me he was having jamming issues with his brand new G19. I said, "That's impossible, it's a Glock. They are Perfection. It says so right on the box."

When he brought me the gun for diagnosis, it had 2X .40S&W mags in the box with it.

Go figure. Guess the packing guy in Deutsch-Wagram wasn't paying attention.....

 

[Pat Riot]

And no matter how long you have been doing something one can still make mistakes. Like grabbing the wrong crimping die because you have 2 boxes of dies sitting open on the reloading bench.

This is what a .357 Magnum looks like getting factory crimped with a .38 Special die.

 

[Jim Watson]

But you can load .38 Short Colt ammo into a 9mm magazine. I have tried that. It’s so easy that, if you’re not paying attention, you won’t notice.

What 9mm magazine?

 

[doubleh]

I learned a long time ago to only have the container of powder, correct bullets, and correct die set on the bench when reloading. I never had a problem but a light bulb in my brain just went on one day and I realised that would prevent a mistake that could cause serious problems. I also only have the caliber of ammo I am shooting on the bench. My oldest grandson learned about that the hard way when he got out a 9mm and 40 cal at the same time. The 40 S&M shot the first round of 9mm just fine. It was good thing I carry a bronze squib rod and a small hammer in my range tool box or he would have been finished with shooting the 40 that day. It made it easy to knock the bulged and hung up case out and return the pistol to functioning.

 

[Mike J]

I learned a long time ago to only have the container of powder, correct bullets, and correct die set on the bench when reloading. I never had a problem but a light bulb in my brain just went on one day and I realised that would prevent a mistake that could cause serious problems. I also only have the caliber of ammo I am shooting on the bench. My oldest grandson learned about that the hard way when he got out a 9mm and 40 cal at the same time. The 40 S&M shot the first round of 9mm just fine. It was good thing I carry a bronze squib rod and a small hammer in my range tool box or he would have been finished with shooting the 40 that day. It made it easy to knock the bulged and hung up case out and return the pistol to functioning.

I am another that accidentally fired a 9mm through a .40. It fed fired & ejected fine. It was not accurate however. It is a good thing I was had a good backstop.

 

[IWAC]

I learned a long time ago to only have the container of powder, correct bullets, and correct die set on the bench when reloading. I never had a problem but a light bulb in my brain just went on one day and I realised that would prevent a mistake that could cause serious problems. I also only have the caliber of ammo I am shooting on the bench. My oldest grandson learned about that the hard way when he got out a 9mm and 40 cal at the same time. The 40 S&M shot the first round of 9mm just fine. It was good thing I carry a bronze squib rod and a small hammer in my range tool box or he would have been finished with shooting the 40 that day. It made it easy to knock the bulged and hung up case out and return the pistol to functioning.

Showin's better'n tellin'! Fortunately nobody got hurt!

 

[Riomouse911]

Buddy of mine grabbed six of my .44 Magnum rounds and loaded up his .45 Colt revolver.

Fired one shot, BOOM! .44 Mag noise and recoil stopped him from firing shot number two.

If he hadn’t been shooting a 5.5” old model Vaquero .45 Colt, things wouldn’t have turned out as well as they did. (Just a split case, and a whole lot of embarrassment.)

Stay safe.

 

[thunderbyrd]

i haven't had anything like these incidents, but i did get home from a trip to rural king and discover the 100 rd box of 45 acp i bought was actually .40 sw, which i have nothing to shoot in. old eyes can be easily decieved.

 

[.38 Special]

I am another that accidentally fired a 9mm through a .40. It fed fired & ejected fine. It was not accurate however. It is a good thing I was had a good backstop.

I doubt there is any busy range in America that doesn't have at least a few ".40 modified" cases with 9mm headstamps laying on the ground.

 

[Tallball]

I was lucky. 45acp won't fit into a 40 caliber mag.

 

[Jim Watson]

Had a guy here get a 9mm halfway down a .40 barrel, somehow avoided it sliding all the way out, then was able to chamber and fire a .40 behind it. Didn't hurt the frame but $600 barrel and slide.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I once fired a .45 GAP in my 1991A1.

I have absolutely no idea where it came from, as I don't own anything chambered in GAP and I don't buy it. But it was mixed up in with the ammo I was shooting.

I dumped the remaining out and found a couple more rounds.

Wish I could remember more on the specifics, because you'd think conventional boxed ammo would make this stick out like a sore thumb. I guess I just dumped the box without noticing during loading.

 

[12Bravo20]

I doubt there is any busy range in America that doesn't have at least a few ".40 modified" cases with 9mm headstamps laying on the ground.

I'm pretty sure that most of us that own both 8mm and 40 S&W pistols have done that at least once. Now getting everyone to admit to it might be a different story. And Yes I have done it once or twice since I have two Star Firestar pistols, one in 9mm and one in 40 S&W.

 

[Styx]

I am another that accidentally fired a 9mm through a .40. It fed fired & ejected fine. It was not accurate however. It is a good thing I was had a good backstop.

Had a guy here get a 9mm halfway down a .40 barrel, somehow avoided it sliding all the way out, then was able to chamber and fire a .40 behind it. Didn't hurt the frame but $600 barrel and slide.

I chambered a 9mm in 40s&w magazine once. The 9mm went right into the barrel which is why I'm surprised @Mike J was about to fire a round especially without a kaboom.

Not a great idea to have 9mm and 40s&w loose ammo mixed together.

 

[12Bravo20]

It is also not a great idea to have loaded 9mm and 40 S&W magazines sitting on the bench that will fit the same guns. That is how I shot a 9mm through my 40 S&W.

And as stated this could be very bad if the 40 S&W extractor does not hold the 9mm round in place and it slips into the barrel and a 40 round is chambered next and fired.

 

[Mike J]

I chambered a 9mm in 40s&w magazine once. The 9mm went right into the barrel which is why I'm surprised @Mike J was about to fire a round especially without a kaboom.

Not a great idea to have 9mm and 40s&w loose ammo mixed together.

I stopped & checked things out before I went any further. It did not feel or sound right.

 

[The Night Rider]

Yep, good lesson in paying attention.

I successfully loaded and fired a .40 S&W round in my Kimber .45 ACP. It even cycled enough to eject the case as mangled as it was. It happened a couple of times until I got fed up and took the case to the front desk and asked them what could cause that. He looked at the headstamp and asked what gun I was shooting. I cannot describe how stupid I felt, especially with the look he gave me. I've never made that mistake again.

Did you get a chance to look at the Target before you switched to the proper ammunition? I'm curious as to how accurate the 40 was out of a 45

 

[LocoGringo]

Did you get a chance to look at the Target before you switched to the proper ammunition? I'm curious as to how accurate the 40 was out of a 45

It's been 17 years...I don't remember anything but the feeling of stupidity.

 

[epags]

I have told this story somewhere, some time, on some forum, on some thread.... but here it is again.
Setup: I was the range officer on a public range in a beachside community where a gun show was being held.
I noticed a shooter having trouble loading his magazines (45 ACP) for his 1911. Walked over and asked if I could be of help.
He tells me he has just picked up a new 1911 and also bought 500 rounds of ammo at the gun show. For some reason they will not go into the magazines.
I take a look.....he had bought 500 rounds of 45 Colt. I explained he needed 45 ACP not 45 Colt. He was happy to hear that until I told him that I was pretty sure the gun show policy was 'no returns on ammo'.
Wish I had a revolver that was chambered for 45 Colt ammo....pretty sure I could have gotten a good deal that day.

 

[Jim Watson]

Old West general store movie scene: "Give me a box of .44s"
.44 WHAT? WCF, Henry, S&W, Russian, or other? Heck, the .44 Evans has even shown up in cinema. Not to mention the plethora of big .44 rifle rounds popular before the Army standardized on .45-70.

And seldom a week goes by on the gun boards without somebody shooting .38 Supers in his revolver.

 

[The Night Rider]

I don't think this is the same thing but I remember one day at the range a guy showed up either with his brand new M1 carbine or his brand new Model 94.

Whichever one he had he had the ammunition for the other.

I happened to be shooting both that day so whichever one he had I traded him a box of mine for a box of his so he could shoot

 

[Styx]

It's been 17 years...I don't remember anything but the feeling of stupidity.

Chances are that the guy at the front desk more than likely has done something similar before too.

 

[Styx]

I have told this story somewhere, some time, on some forum, on some thread.... but here it is again.
Setup: I was the range officer on a public range in a beachside community where a gun show was being held.
I noticed a shooter having trouble loading his magazines (45 ACP) for his 1911. Walked over and asked if I could be of help.
He tells me he has just picked up a new 1911 and also bought 500 rounds of ammo at the gun show. For some reason they will not go into the magazines.
I take a look.....he had bought 500 rounds of 45 Colt. I explained he needed 45 ACP not 45 Colt. He was happy to hear that until I told him that I was pretty sure the gun show policy was 'no returns on ammo'.
Wish I had a revolver that was chambered for 45 Colt ammo....pretty sure I could have gotten a good deal that day.

I know the difference, but have mistakenly puchased 357 sig ammo not paying attention when I wanted 357mag (I don't own any 357sig handguns). This has happened a couple of times because I wasn't paying attention, and once when I asked a clerk for specific brand of 357 self defense ammo, he said he had it in stock and bagged it up for me, but it wasn't until I looked later that I realized he assumed I meant 357sig. I noticed every gun shop in my area (there are many) assumes 357 sig instead of 357mag. I guess because most clerks in my area are the tactic operator Glock and Sig semiauto types.

I was still happy as being a typical gun nut, I took it as a sign from God and an excuse for me to buy a gun chambered in 357sig or some 357sig conversion barrels for 40s&w pistols.