A severe case of cerebral rectitis

[jnyork]

Went up to my personal range couple of days ago to sight in two rifles, a .22 Hornet and a .222 Remington, in anticipation of an upcoming prairie dog hunt. Long story short, fuddleheaded me dropped a .22 Hornet case into the .222 Remington and let fly, or tried to. Pulling the trigger produced a little click followed by an evil hiss and copious smoke emitting from the relief hole in the action, with a little back in my face. Yes, I had my glasses on and dang glad I did.

Case stuck in the chamber and the bullet lodged in the throat , both easily dislodged by a few taps on a brass cleaning rod I had handy. Case has defintitely seen better days.

Fellers, dont do as I do, do as I say. When you reach for that firearm, first reach behind you, grab both ears and pull down hard. This little incident could have had far more serious consequences with different guns and ammo. Complacency, daydreaming and inattention to detail have no place where firearms are involved and can lead to a lifetime of sorrow and regret. Stay alert!

 

[halfded]

I can only imagine the thoughts running through your head listening to the HISSS right in front of your face!

Looks it turned out better than it could have though. 'Least nothing went BOOM!

 

[The Bushmaster]

 

[heron]

I'm seeing a lot of posts about ammo mix-ups here lately. I only take one gun at a time when I practice.

Complacency, daydreaming and inattention to detail have no place where firearms are involved and can lead to a lifetime of sorrow and regret. Stay alert!

There's nothing more I can add to that.

 

[Dnaltrop]

I keep my boxes of ammo separate, as each Mag is emptied, it gets placed on top of the appropriate stack of boxes., each caliber kept a few feet from the next.

Yes, It's not as safe as "shoot one caliber, put it away, shoot the next" But I'm enough of "a creature of habit/one taco short of the Paranoid platter" that I've not yet suffered the Rectal-cranial inversion.

Admittedly tho, I shoot .45 Colt, .40 and 9mm, and keep the colt between the piles of 40 and 9, I'd have to WORK to screw the system up.

I'd say go buy a lotto ticket, but you probably used most of your Karma up keeping your Face. ^^

 

[wishin]

Thanks for sharing your case of a brain fart. You took your eye off the ball and thankfully suffered no ill affects.

I'd bet a box of .223 that it never happens to you again.

 

[rmfnla]

Could have been worse; ever seen what happens when someone mixes a 20 gauge shell with a magazine full of 12s?

Glad you were not injured!

 

[jnyork]

[/QUOTCould have been worse; ever seen what happens when someone mixes a 20 gauge shell with a magazine full of 12s?E]

Yeah, that is usually disasterous, and not at all uncommon, even with the color coding.

 

[bigalexe]

Well luckily I can't fit shotgun shells into my .22lr or else I could see myself swapping calibers to. I have been present and watched 9mm get loaded into a .40 S&W, that just makes for a really crappy shooting gun.

 

[ambidextrous1]

I've accidentally fired .32 ACP in a .380; The bullet tumbled and the case was severely enlarged. I was lucky - once. I don't recommend this.

 

[bthest86]

Pulling the trigger produced a little click followed by an evil hiss and copious smoke emitting from the relief hole in the action, with a little back in my face.

Wow that is like all of the gun nightmares we keep having coming to life!

 

[russ69]

I'm glad you are OK, I never thought too much about mixing Hornet and 222 Rem. It sounds like it didn't build too much pressure, most of it leaked out thru the gas ports. I have a number of very similar Contenders and this will remind me to double check, before I load the wrong ammo. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanx, Russ

 

[Officers'Wife]

I knew a guy that used to shoot 38 special out of a 38 S&W revolver as a matter of course. I've always wondered what happened to him.

 

[rmfnla]

I'm surprised he could get them to fit. Even though the .38 special is smaller in diameter than the .38 S&W it is longer. The shoulder of most .38 S&W cylinders do not allow the special to fit.

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

It only took me 3 tries before the .35 Whelen I'd loaded into my .358 Norma Magnum finally fired.

I keep that case front & center on my bench to always remind me to be more careful and to look at the entire cartridge, not just the bullet seated in the case.

Sam

 

[The Bushmaster]

Doesn't anyone pay attention to what they are about when loading firearms? Or has "paying attention" gone out the window too...