Ammunition safety argument

[David E]

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.

Hey, if you can't tell the difference between factory loads and reloads, then I can't help you with that.

If you're not sure, don't shoot it.

.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Yeah, I actually meant rounds dropped in the dust by me, and not some foreign round dropped by a stranger. I completely understand not picking up some random bullet from the range, but something that dropped from my gun not five seconds prior? That's still a usable round. 5 second rule, anyone?

 

[ball3006]

No, I never shoot anyone elses reloads. I don't shoot found ammo either. chris3

 

[ny32182]

The possibility of a 9mm major round on the ground at an action pistol range is very real.

For those that don't know, that is typically a ~124gr 9mm loaded to max 357sig velocity; often nearly 1450fps.

I doubt one round of that would detonate a modern service type 9mm, but I wouldn't want to find out in my gun.

 

[itsa pain]

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.

Who would have the time and money to make hot loads and disperse them at the range? I have never heard of that in my life and I am sure if it happened the anti gun media would make it more then well known. You are watching to many murder movies

 

[itsa pain]

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

Also most primers for reloading are silver and most factory ammo has bronze color primers. There are exceptions but not many

 

[M2 Carbine]

I haven't kept a record for over 60 years but I'm sure that if the ratio of my number of hundreds of thousands of my hand loads I've shot, is compared to the thousands of factory rounds I've shot, I have had far more problems with factory ammo.

For instance, here's a couple new factory loads blew out when fired.
Not that unusual.

22 Magnum.


30.06

 

[plmitch]

I shoot only my handloads and as for drops I find,I'll put them in the pull pile to take apart.

 

[Potatohead]

How could you possibly tell?

Thats what I was going to ask but didnt have the balls. Thought maybe their was some magical way to tell if rounds had been reloaded or not.

 

[herrwalther]

Thats what I was going to ask but didnt have the balls. Thought maybe their was some magical way to tell if rounds had been reloaded or not.

Some reloads are pretty easy to tell. The most common things I look for are extraction or feeding marks on the brass. Very obvious signs of reloaded ammunition might be mismatched primers, obvious varying seating depth of the bullet etc. Basically mistakes you would expect of a novice handloader. These aren't always give away indicators though. I received some ammunition from my brother as a present from, I believe it was USA ammo, that was reloaded. The only thing that indicated it was reloaded was the message on the box.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I believe it's been said thusly:

"Never consider shooting another man's reloads unless you're also sleeping with his wife. And if you ARE sleeping with his wife, then definitely don't shoot his reloads."

 

[mgmorden]

1. I generally don't shoot other people's reloads (I can safely say that I never have). Even for people I trust, to me there's a lot of testing and work that goes into developing a load. I have loads myself that only works in certain guns. Taking a random reload and shooting it in a gun that I haven't checked it with seems like an exercise in frustration.

2. My guess is he is taking some legitimate advice and confusing it a bit. You don't want to pick up RANDOM rounds from the ground and shoot them. Picking up rounds that you know are yours are generally fine. The reason for the random rounds bit is that they could be handloaded and particularly on a range that does USPSA type shooting a 9mm round loaded to Major power factor is a bit too much for many guns.

Its likely that he just heard "don't use rounds off the ground" during a match and didn't quite understand it.

 

[Bezoar]

someone elses reloads.. well lets look at it this way.

I know gunstore people who think there is no difference between a blackhawk and an original pietta, uberti, colt SAA. Would you really want to end up loading someones blackhawk only load in your brand new usfa 1200 dollar presentation gun?

and if you did fire it, and had your hand blown off. The guy selling ammo for .17 cents a round out of a van at the shooting range isnt likely to have the proper insurance that would cover your medical bills.

 

[David E]

To the OP:

If you pick up you down ejected round up from the ground give seconds after it landed, why does your friend think it'll now blow up the gun?

 

[Outlaw Man]

I'm pretty skeptical, so I don't generally shoot hand loads/reloads without really knowing the source, and I'll usually only shoot them in my newer and less expensive guns that are built more like a tank. Being able to shoot reduced cartridges, like .44 spl in a .44 mag, makes me feel a little better, too.

I used to work with a guy who wouldn't let other people fire his handloads. He was always afraid of hurting someone if he made a mistake. I'm thinking that's a pretty good policy.

As to your second question, this pretty much sums it up:

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

 

[1911Tuner]

From itsapain:

Who would have the time and money to make hot loads and disperse them at the range?

Who would have time to construct intricate bombs and pedal a bicycle into town from the wilds of a national park and place them in a public mailbox?

Ted Kaczynski ain't the only whackjob out there. Besides, it wouldn't take much more time than it takes to go around to different stores and buy up Tylenol capsules...then go out again and put'em back.

For the cost of a manual...a used press and die set...a hundred pieces of brass and a hundred bullets...a pound of Bullseye, and a few hours time...a man can hurt a lot people for about a hundred bucks.

I have never heard of that in my life and I am sure if it happened the anti gun media would make it more then well known.

How many firearm ka-booms do you suppose occur in this country in a year? Ever heard about any of'em on the 11 O'clock news? Yeah, me either.

Go ahead and shoot'em if ya find'em. For me, it's not worth the risk to my gun or my fingers and eyes for 50 cents worth of go-bang that's over in a blink.

FWIW, I won't pick up a wrapped candy bar off the sidewalk and eat it, either.

'Cause...you know...Ted Kaczynski ain't the only whackjob out there.