Ammunition safety argument

[Atom Smasher]

I've been arguing with a friend about a couple things lately and wanted to get some answers from my favorite collective bunch:

1. Never trust handloads from someone you aren't extremely close friends with, and even then make sure you see their manufacturing process prior to use.

I personally would never use handloads from anyone else just because you have literally no idea if the person used proper procedure. It doesn't take too much of an error to turn your gun into a bomb. This sucks, however, because my sister knows a guy who handloads 9mm and offered a bunch to me for like $0.17/round

2. Never pick up a bullet from the ground and use it in your gun.

Here, I think that if I can visibly see there isn't any debris on the round, it's probably safe to use. We were practicing for IDPA and I had ejected a live round into the dirt. I bent down to pick it up to reload and my friend flipped out. "It'll blow your gun up!" Is this the case? If I pick the bullet up, rub it with my shirt, see that it looks normal, I think it's safe to shoot.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Your friend is wrong.

 

[tyeo098]

Lol.

Thats rich. I've shot some pretty nasty rounds that I bet have LIVED on the ground for quite some time.

 

[NavyLCDR]

1. So, what about reloads from a manufacturing company that produces reloaded ammunition? As far as trusting reloads done by hand - I have more trust and faith in my reloads than I do in factory ammunition. It all depends on how much you know the person who is doing the reloading. Think of it this way - when you purchase factory ammunition, you are buying ammo that is 99% quality checked by machines only.

2. I've shot rounds that I have found on the ground at the gun range. Probably not the smartest idea, because I really had know idea where they came from. Now the round that you ejected that fell on the ground? Heck dust it off and load it up. Make your gun explode just because the round fell on the ground? Seriously?

 

[Warp]

There is nothing wrong with firing a round of ammunition that you dropped onto the ground, or chambered but then kicked out onto the ground.

Now, make sure that what you pick up is the round you just put there, but other than that...not a problem at all.

I would not shoot a random round from the ground. That's just a bad idea.

 

[1911Tuner]

There are three people on the planet...including myself...whose reloaded ammunition I'd shoot.

I know a few people who've had problems with a known commercial remanufactured ammunition producer. From no powder to dead primers to inverted primers. No reports of double charges, but it can happen on high-speed equipment.

On picking up a round off the ground...

I won't fire it.

If the whackjobs will load a gun and lay it back on the table at a gun show, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that they'll salt the ground on a public or private range with deliberately overloaded ammunition. A double charge of Bullseye in a .38 Special will bend the gun. A triple charge will unwrap it. A compressed charge could blind or cripple...or both.

I find a loose round on the ground, it goes in the trash can.

Not worth the risk, IMO.

 

[Yo Mama]

At least wipe the dirt off a fallen round first. Fine after that. I've shot rounds that had pretty dented casings.

Now, with that said:

Never trust handloads from someone you aren't extremely close friends with, and even then make sure you see their manufacturing process prior to use.

My Step Father blew up an M1 Garand. Hurt him as well, pretty bad. He was drunk while loading the ammo. He always yelled at me for not using his ammo, but I was sure glad I never did. Worth the price for factory ammo, especially at the time.

 

[Onewolf]

Would you shoot their hand-load in their gun?

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

Amen to that 1911Turner

 

[Warp]

Would you shoot their hand-load in their gun?

Whose?

My general answer is no.

Bodily injury is my main concern, not damage to the firearm.

 

[Resist Evil]

There are two people I trust to reload rounds accurately.

An inexpensive round reloaded by a stranger or a free round of ammunition of dubious provenance picked up from the ground might turn out to be very expensive in the end. My physical health and the condition of my firearms are not worth the risk in my view.

 

[David E]

Nothing wrong picking up MY round that fell on the ground and shooting it. If a found round is factory, I'll shoot it, too, but I won't shoot random picked up reloads .

 

[ny32182]

There are plenty of people I shoot with regularly, who I've watch shoot 10s of thousands of their own rounds, who I would not hesitate to shoot their ammo in my gun if I had a reason to do so and knew their OAL worked in my barrel, etc.

I would not shoot random rounds off the ground at the range. If it is my round that I've ejected onto the ground, sure I will dust it off and shoot it.

 

[gunsablazin]

I do not shoot other peoples reloads in my guns, and will not reload for other people either. I will pick my ammo up off the ground, dust it off and shoot it. At matches the round that hits the ground during "unload and show clear" goes in my "barney mag" for the next stage.

 

[Warp]

Nothing wrong picking up MY round that fell on the ground and shooting it. If a found round is factory, I'll shoot it, too, but I won't shoot random picked up reloads .

How could you possibly tell?

 

[ATLDave]

I don't shoot rounds of uncertain provenance, whether found on the ground, in an ashtray, or hanging from a tree. What if the ordinary-looking 9mm round I pick up at the range is a 9mm major round overloaded well past +P and designed to make major power factor out of a heavy-duty race gun? That kind of round will blow up a good many factory 9's.

I will shoot the reloads of my friend who taught me to reload. And my best friend from childhood reloads for his oddball-chambered rifles, and I'll shoot those with him. And I'll shoot my own reloads. That's about my full list.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: As for the guy charging money for his reloads, is he licensed by the BATF? If not, he'd better hope his prospective clients can keep their mouths shut. Making ammo to sell needs a license, IIUC.

 

[mr.trooper]

How about you just pull the bullet and re-charge it with powder you have metered yourself.


I have bags of componets - primed casings and pulled bullets - that I have bummed from indoor shooting ranges. Cheap and safe method for making more ammo.

 

[rdhood]

For personal safety, I (too) would say that the only way you can be safe from someone else's reloads is not to shoot them.

The only way to be sure that you do not injure someone else with your reloads is to not allow others to shoot them.


There is a false assumption that hasn't been proven: that reloads are inherently more dangerous than factory ammo. Or, that reloads are inherently dangerous. Believe me when I say that MOST reloaders are taking every precaution that they can to prevent blowing off their own hands. The dearth of reported accidents seems to prove this point.

I have shot thousands of my own reloads without incident.

 

[Bhoffman]

Exactly how does one determine that a round found on the ground is a "factory round"?

I can't tell the difference between my "Store Bought" 204 Ruger 40gn V-Max Hornaday Superperformance Varmint, HSM Re-Manufactured, or my re-loads. Same Case, Primer, and Bullet.

 

[ljnowell]

Exactly how does one determine that a round found on the ground is a "factory round"?

I can't tell the difference between my "Store Bought" 204 Ruger 40gn V-Max Hornaday Superperformance Varmint, HSM Re-Manufactured, or my re-loads. Same Case, Primer, and Bullet.

In many cases you can see marks on the case from resizing. Extractor/ejector marks are a giveaway also.

 

[Warp]

In many cases you can see marks on the case from resizing. Extractor/ejector marks are a giveaway also.

And in many cases it could be a reload with no way of knowing.

The idea what you can pick up a round that you know is factory new and thus fire it, when you wouldn't fire a reload, just doesn't work.

It's awfully easy to pull a bullet and then put it back.

 

[herrwalther]

1: Gun show reloads or other handloads that I haven't seen? Nope. Won't use them. I don't have any friends that hand/reload in anything I shoot so I can't speak on the "how well do I know them" area.

2: I have shot factory range trash rounds that I didn't put there before. Usually only one or two rounds. I do the same thing, check it for dirt, rust etc. If it looks clean I might shoot it. If not I toss it in the waste to help keep the range clean.

 

[hso]

1) Yes

2) No

 

[bobinoregon]

There are several people other than myself that I trust reloads from, I've known them for years. If I drop a bullet I pick it up and dust it off and fire it without a second thought. If I find one on the ground that's not mine it's going into the "parts" bag for lead and brass.

 

[taliv]

i shoot a lot of precision rifle, and everybody in this sport handloads. i'd shoot most of their reloads in their guns, but i wouldn't put one of their reloads in my gun. it's fairly difficult to double charge a rifle. about the worst that can be done is accidentally using a pistol powder, but that's unlikely to be just one round, so i figure if they've already fired a few and lived, i'll probably be ok.

as for regular joe's pistol reloads, no way.

if I drop one of my rounds, sure i'll clean it off and shoot it in practice. no way i would ever pick up a round that had been discarded.

ammo ain't cheap, and if someone left it there, they did so for a reason.