Injuries as a result of catastrophic failure?

[Carl N. Brown]

grampajack said: "I realize minor injuries are common, but I'm talking about stuff like this ... That same hand is shown in another photo on the internet as the result of a motorcycle accident. ..."
RPZ: "In this case you cite I have to agree...."

I have not experienced a Kaboom (knock on wood (my head)) but people who post fake gun accident, motorcycle road rashes, etc ((I've seen them) may think they are helping safety awareness, but misinformation is not useful information for safety awareness and accident prevention, even if the intent is good. We need real info to deal with real problems in realistic way.

 

[Creaky_Old_Cop]

I think CreakyOldCops pictures are probably par for the course. In MOST cases it'll hurt you but not disfigure or kill you.

Of course there are probably cases out there where there was more severe damage or even death, but I would think it safe to say that it's not a regular occurrence.

Yeah....I bled a little, had a little owie, put cream on it or a bandage...Happy Meal. The gun kaboom was more "OH ****!" and dangerous to my underwear than disfiguring or injurious. Like I said...little bits of plastic in my thumb...little blood...little powder burn...Happy Meal.

 

[fpgt72]

The thing with a kaboom is anything can happen.....you just don't know. IMHO most modern guns are pretty over built....in this day and age where we will sue at the drop of a hat they have to be.

I have had only one squib...on a 22lr....just sitting there bang, bang, bang boof....that sounded funny....looked at the case and it was really black....Thought I should really take a look here...and sure enough no light at the end of the tunnel.

No cleaning rod with me....who carries a cleaning rod to go shoot.....so back to the house I go.

Not that it would have been real messy for my fingers....but it would be a big bucket of suck.

IMHO also people into reloading are usually the cause of most of the issues....oops pistol powder in that 45-70....kind of thing.

In my reloading I am so anal it is silly....but being anal like that is the point of reloading for me....it is the fun for me.

 

[edwardware]

Had a breaching charge go off prematurely when raiding a dope house. Flash burns through my gloves.

I'll bet there's more to that story. . . and I imagine that may have made it difficult to concentrate for the ensuing entry and clearing.

 

[burrhead]

I've reloaded for over 40 years without incident until last spring. Here's the result of a double charge of Bullseye in a G21. Most of the blood on my hands came from the little cuts on my face; ALWAYS wear eye pro. That's not just skin knocked off my thumb but a divot. Note the lack of a trigger in the gun pic. The grip was cracked (can't see it in the photo) and the locking lug started peeling off the barrel. The slide was the only salvageable part and it sits on my reloading bench.

Broke down 1,500 rounds, bought a lock-out die and changed some other reloading procedures after this. Yeah, it can happen to you; be careful out there.

 

[hdwhit]

grampajack wrote:
What strikes me as odd is that you see lots of photos of mangled hands that are supposed to be injuries from kabooms, but if you watch videos of kabooms actually happening, then you pretty much always see the person walk away without injuries, making me think people are going out and finding random photos of gory injuries and claiming they're kabooms.

First of all, do you "pretty much always" see a person walk away without injuries? Or do you you see a person who is injured and is pumped up on adrenaline and endorphins reacting to the experience without having first stopped to make a detailed inspection of their injury? In the case of a "KABOOM", the latter seems much more likely to be what is happening "pretty much" all the time.

Second, what evidence do you have that people are posting random photographs of gory injuries and claiming they came from gun failures? You're the one that raised this theory so it's up to you to offer some evidence to support it rather than simply setting forth baseless innuendo.

I know that injuries do occur,...

Do you?

I mean, you just, in effect, called everyone posting a picture of a serious injury attributable to a "KABOOM" a liar and a fraud, so just what injuries do you acknowledge can occur with a firearms failure?

...but what are the odds, and what is the extent of the injuries that do occur?

What are the odds? Well that sort of depends on how stupid and how cavalier the shooter is. Somebody that routinely loads 10% above maximum load in the belief that published loads have been intentionally reduced "by the lawyers" is probably a good candidate for a "KABOOM", whereas someone who abides by the recommendations of their reloading manual will probably never experience a "KABOOM". We should expect the daredevils, the stupid and the careless to experience failures at a greater rate than the conservative, smart and careful shooters.

As far as the extent of the injuries, it depends on the force of the blast, the structure of the gun and the position of the shooter relative to the case, but in extremely bad incidents, the loss of fingers, the loss of an eye and the maiming of the hand(s) and face are to be expected.

 

[grampajack]

First of all, do you "pretty much always" see a person walk away without injuries? Or do you you see a person who is injured and is pumped up on adrenaline and endorphins reacting to the experience without having first stopped to make a detailed inspection of their injury? In the case of a "KABOOM", the latter seems much more likely to be what is happening "pretty much" all the time.

Second, what evidence do you have that people are posting random photographs of gory injuries and claiming they came from gun failures? You're the one that raised this theory so it's up to you to offer some evidence to support it rather than simply setting forth baseless innuendo.



Do you?

I mean, you just, in effect, called everyone posting a picture of a serious injury attributable to a "KABOOM" a liar and a fraud, so just what injuries do you acknowledge can occur with a firearms failure?



What are the odds? Well that sort of depends on how stupid and how cavalier the shooter is. Somebody that routinely loads 10% above maximum load in the belief that published loads have been intentionally reduced "by the lawyers" is probably a good candidate for a "KABOOM", whereas someone who abides by the recommendations of their reloading manual will probably never experience a "KABOOM". We should expect the daredevils, the stupid and the careless to experience failures at a greater rate than the conservative, smart and careful shooters.

As far as the extent of the injuries, it depends on the force of the blast, the structure of the gun and the position of the shooter relative to the case, but in extremely bad incidents, the loss of fingers, the loss of an eye and the maiming of the hand(s) and face are to be expected.

Dude, take a chill pill. Minor cuts don't count in my book as injuries, much less serious ones; probably should have explained that in the original post. You obviously didn't see the post with the guy missing fingers, who it seems was actually the victim of a motorcycle accident.

And while I can't say that the people in various videos walked away completely and totally free of cuts, they still had all their fingers and they weren't bleeding.

 

[Kano383]

As far as the extent of the injuries, it depends on the force of the blast, the structure of the gun and the position of the shooter relative to the case, but in extremely bad incidents, the loss of fingers, the loss of an eye and the maiming of the hand(s) and face are to be expected.

Exactly.

 

[Slamfire]

Exactly.

View attachment 760964

View attachment 760967

View attachment 760966

View attachment 760965

Kano: Can you provide a bit more information. Is that the same guy, or two different with facial injuries. And, what was the firearm, any other particulars. I assume the lower picture is a shot gun shell.

Reloaders do stupid stuff and manage to get away with things. Just recently I was talking to Ian Kelby the maker of Panda actions. He sees lots of blown up actions. His action is very strong and well built and while lugs crack, the bolt stays in the rifle. He mentioned one reloader who managed to mix up powders on the bench and filled a rifle case with a pistol powder. That Panda actioned rifle was ruined. Then, the same shooter used another Panda actioned rifle to shoot up the rest of the reloads. Guess what, one of the cases filled with pistol powder was in the batch. Second rifle ruined.

At the Western Wild cat matches, the shooter next to me was a mechanical engineer and I of course, had to talk action design. I told him I did not trust actions with inserts for receiver seats. This was based on an account from a shooting bud of mine. He was at a rifle range where a shooter had "one of those foreign rifles" and that unknown rifle had an insert. The insert rotated and the shooter did not know it. When he closed the bolt, the lugs were not seated on anything. The rifle bolt went through the guy's jaw, shoulder, and was picked up 50 yards behind him. I don't know what happened after they called the ambulance, but I bet it hurt.

The bud at the Western Wildcat, he mentioned that on the big side of the range was a shooter who used to work for Sierra Ballistics lab. He was testing a German rifle, so obscure that I forgot the name, and so obscure you could not find a mention on the web. Nevertheless, the Ballistician was testing this rifle on a bench, and it had an insert for the receiver seats. And the insert rotated, the action was fired, and the bolt came out. The Ballistician's upper arm was in line and the bolt handle cut the upper biceps and broke the bone.

People get injured all the time in firearms accidents, but they seldom post the event. They don't want the bother, and they don't want the criticism and denial. Anyone remember all the hate expressed towards those who claim Rem 700 triggers will fail, discharging the rifle? It does not take much to find those threads. And then, there are the Puritanical types who believe that bad things happen to bad people. Calvinism codified this centuries ago. They believed in pre destination, and that God lifted his hand of protection from those who were damned. The "Select" sailed through life prospering, whereas the damned could be identified by their misfortunes. Since misfortune can happen to anyone, and Puritanism did not lead to a more harmonious life, Puritanism sort went out of fashion, but you run into these personality types all the time on the web.

 

[Kano383]

Kano: Can you provide a bit more information. Is that the same guy, or two different with facial injuries. And, what was the firearm, any other particulars. I assume the lower picture is a shot gun shell.

Reloaders do stupid stuff and manage to get away with things. Just recently I was talking to Ian Kelby the maker of Panda actions. He sees lots of blown up actions. His action is very strong and well built and while lugs crack, the bolt stays in the rifle. He mentioned one reloader who managed to mix up powders on the bench and filled a rifle case with a pistol powder. That Panda actioned rifle was ruined. Then, the same shooter used another Panda actioned rifle to shoot up the rest of the reloads. Guess what, one of the cases filled with pistol powder was in the batch. Second rifle ruined.

At the Western Wild cat matches, the shooter next to me was a mechanical engineer and I of course, had to talk action design. I told him I did not trust actions with inserts for receiver seats. This was based on an account from a shooting bud of mine. He was at a rifle range where a shooter had "one of those foreign rifles" and that unknown rifle had an insert. The insert rotated and the shooter did not know it. When he closed the bolt, the lugs were not seated on anything. The rifle bolt went through the guy's jaw, shoulder, and was picked up 50 yards behind him. I don't know what happened after they called the ambulance, but I bet it hurt.

The bud at the Western Wildcat, he mentioned that on the big side of the range was a shooter who used to work for Sierra Ballistics lab. He was testing a German rifle, so obscure that I forgot the name, and so obscure you could not find a mention on the web. Nevertheless, the Ballistician was testing this rifle on a bench, and it had an insert for the receiver seats. And the insert rotated, the action was fired, and the bolt came out. The Ballistician's upper arm was in line and the bolt handle cut the upper biceps and broke the bone.

People get injured all the time in firearms accidents, but they seldom post the event. They don't want the bother, and they don't want the criticism and denial. Anyone remember all the hate expressed towards those who claim Rem 700 triggers will fail, discharging the rifle? It does not take much to find those threads. And then, there are the Puritanical types who believe that bad things happen to bad people. Calvinism codified this centuries ago. They believed in pre destination, and that God lifted his hand of protection from those who were damned. The "Select" sailed through life prospering, whereas the damned could be identified by their misfortunes. Since misfortune can happen to anyone, and Puritanism did not lead to a more harmonious life, Puritanism sort went out of fashion, but you run into these personality types all the time on the web.

Different people, same model of firearm.

The last picture is a bolt head, from what I understand belonging to the second gentleman. There have been several accidents over the years with exactly the same type of wounds, in various countries, with that same rifle.

 

[boom boom]

Apart from reloaders or defective firearm designs, another common way to kaboom a rifle or handgun is carelessly using the wrong cartridge for that firearm.

 

[mjsdwash]

rifles" and that unknown rifle had an insert. The insert rotated and the shooter did not know it. When he closed the bolt, the lugs were not seated on anything. The rifle bolt went through the guy's jaw, shoulder, and was picked up 50 yards behind him. I don't know what

Different people, same model of firearm.

The last picture is a bolt head, from what I understand belonging to the second gentleman. There have been several accidents over the years with exactly the same type of wounds, in various countries, with that same rifle.

odd rifle. can you tell us (or pm) what it was?

 

[mjsdwash]

Kano: Can you provide a bit more information. Is that the same guy, or two different with facial injuries. And, what was the firearm, any other particulars. I assume the lower picture is a shot gun shell.

Reloaders do stupid stuff and manage to get away with things. Just recently I was talking to Ian Kelby the maker of Panda actions. He sees lots of blown up actions. His action is very strong and well built and while lugs crack, the bolt stays in the rifle. He mentioned one reloader who managed to mix up powders on the bench and filled a rifle case with a pistol powder. That Panda actioned rifle was ruined. Then, the same shooter used another Panda actioned rifle to shoot up the rest of the reloads. Guess what, one of the cases filled with pistol powder was in the batch. Second rifle ruined.
what are inserts for receiver seats.? never heard of it?
At the Western Wild cat matches, the shooter next to me was a mechanical engineer and I of course, had to talk action design. I told him I did not trust actions with inserts for receiver seats. This was based on an account from a shooting bud of mine. He was at a rifle range where a shooter had "one of those foreign rifles" and that unknown rifle had an insert. The insert rotated and the shooter did not know it. When he closed the bolt, the lugs were not seated on anything. The rifle bolt went through the guy's jaw, shoulder, and was picked up 50 yards behind him. I don't know what happened after they called the ambulance, but I bet it hurt.

The bud at the Western Wildcat, he mentioned that on the big side of the range was a shooter who used to work for Sierra Ballistics lab. He was testing a German rifle, so obscure that I forgot the name, and so obscure you could not find a mention on the web. Nevertheless, the Ballistician was testing this rifle on a bench, and it had an insert for the receiver seats. And the insert rotated, the action was fired, and the bolt came out. The Ballistician's upper arm was in line and the bolt handle cut the upper biceps and broke the bone.

People get injured all the time in firearms accidents, but they seldom post the event. They don't want the bother, and they don't want the criticism and denial. Anyone remember all the hate expressed towards those who claim Rem 700 triggers will fail, discharging the rifle? It does not take much to find those threads. And then, there are the Puritanical types who believe that bad things happen to bad people. Calvinism codified this centuries ago. They believed in pre destination, and that God lifted his hand of protection from those who were damned. The "Select" sailed through life prospering, whereas the damned could be identified by their misfortunes. Since misfortune can happen to anyone, and Puritanism did not lead to a more harmonious life, Puritanism sort went out of fashion, but you run into these personality types all the time on the web.

whats a reciever seat insert?

 

[Slamfire]

whats a reciever seat insert?

For the Mauser and M70 actions pictured below, the receivers are made out of high quality materials and machined. The load path is carried by the receiver seats, which are integral to the receiver. There is a lot of machining and a lot of material that ends up in the dust bin. The whole receiver is made of expensive materials, but this was the way rifle actions used to be made.

Mauser receiver













M70 PBR action



Look up this patent for a better description. This type of construction allows a cheap aluminum extrusion to be used for the "receiver". The receiver is not a structural element, does not carry load. As long as the insert stays in place all is good.

https://www.google.com/patents/US3027672



HK 91 locking insert is called a G3 trunnion. It is shoved into the receiver and pinned in place.

You can see pictures here:

https://www.hkparts.net/shop/pc/PTR-HK91-G3-PTR91-Trunnion-US-234p2654.htm

http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-long-gun-talk/79437-different-types-33-93-trunnions.html

http://www.weaponeer.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5903

https://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/notes/notes-hk-tut-sw3/notes-hk-tut-sw3.html

 

[PegLegPeat]

I would love to see hard data on this subject, but I am sure there is none. Another reason many folks who walk away with no/ only minor, injuries may not report anything is to not give the anti's any more traction.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

 

[mjsdwash]

For the Mauser and M70 actions pictured below, the receivers are made out of high quality materials and machined. The load path is carried by the receiver seats, which are integral to the receiver. There is a lot of machining and a lot of material that ends up in the dust bin. The whole receiver is made of expensive materials, but this was the way rifle actions used to be made.

Mauser receiver

View attachment 761015



View attachment 761016



View attachment 761017



M70 PBR action

View attachment 761018

Look up this patent for a better description. This type of construction allows a cheap aluminum extrusion to be used for the "receiver". The receiver is not a structural element, does not carry load. As long as the insert stays in place all is good.

https://www.google.com/patents/US3027672

View attachment 761019

HK 91 locking insert is called a G3 trunnion. It is shoved into the receiver and pinned in place.

You can see pictures here:

https://www.hkparts.net/shop/pc/PTR-HK91-G3-PTR91-Trunnion-US-234p2654.htm

http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-long-gun-talk/79437-different-types-33-93-trunnions.html

http://www.weaponeer.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5903

https://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/notes/notes-hk-tut-sw3/notes-hk-tut-sw3.html

thanks for the info. I have heard some stories about "other than steel", and crummy steel trunions failing. I guess thats one more way. That concept is very reminiscent of the A-R design, though I have never heard of the extension rotating on those.

 

[boom boom]

I would love to see hard data on this subject, but I am sure there is none. Another reason many folks who walk away with no/ only minor, injuries may not report anything is to not give the anti's any more traction.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

Actually it is, you just don't have enough to generalize it nor to calculate the likelihood of the event. However, the anecdotes also let you know that such an occurrence can happen which is enough to reject the null hypothesis of no serious injuries occur from kabooms.

 

[hdwhit]

grampajack wrote:
Dude, take a chill pill.

Not necessary.

I did read your original post and I was responding to specific sections of it where you call people who post pictures of their injuries from "KABOOM" events to be frauds or lairs. I challenged you to prove your assertion and the quote above was your response.

Has someone overstated the extent of their injuries from a "KABOOM"? I have no reason to doubt that some may have. Have I any reason to believe that such overstatements are regular or routine? Absolutely Not.

But we return once again to your original assertion wherein you say that these things are overstated and are fraudulent, yet you offer nothing more than innuendo in support of your argument. Provide some evidence of your assertion - or withdraw it.

As to your specific response to my post, I'll take a "chill pill" when you take off your tinfoil hat.

 

[grampajack]

Not necessary.

I did read your original post and I was responding to specific sections of it where you call people who post pictures of their injuries from "KABOOM" events to be frauds or lairs. I challenged you to prove your assertion and the quote above was your response.

Has someone overstated the extent of their injuries from a "KABOOM"? I have no reason to doubt that some may have. Have I any reason to believe that such overstatements are regular or routine? Absolutely Not.

But we return once again to your original assertion wherein you say that these things are overstated and are fraudulent, yet you offer nothing more than innuendo in support of your argument. Provide some evidence of your assertion - or withdraw it.

As to your specific response to my post, I'll take a "chill pill" when you take off your tinfoil hat.

Take off my tinfoil hat? Never!

 

[BSA1]

Grampajack,

What is the point of your question? I know you are considering starting a business building AR rifle uppers. Are you looking for proof that serious injuries can not occur from a gun blowing up? Or, more to the point, from a upper that you built?

The more time you spend on the range the more likely you are to see the injuries from ka-booms which you doubt occur.

The design of revolvers is to force the explosion straight upwards. With S&W, Colt and Taurus revolver the topstrap is design to bend/break allowing the blast to go upwards. As the gun is usually well out in front of the shooters body the fragments do not come back towards the shooter. As someone that has worked on indoor shooting range, shot in a lot of competition and spend time as a range instructor I have seen a lot of ka-booms and just about every other kind of gun malfunction.

With revolvers the most risk is to bystanders. I saw the aftermath of a ka-boom at the indoor range I was working when a shooter managed to blow up his S&W Model 29. A large enough piece of the cylinder when directly sideways and hit the lane divider so hard as to burying itself halfway into it. Without a lane divider for example on a outdoor range this would have caused serious, maybe life threatening injury.

I have personally witnessed several revolver blowups. I saw a large piece of cylinder narrowly missed the head of the person running the timer. To this day I can recall the accident in clear slow motion and I do not understand how that piece missed the timers head.

I was timing a shooter that was shooting a Colt SAA clone and his gun ka-boomed from using too hot of ammo. I am extremely thankful that the topstrap held everything together. The topstrap was badly bent upwards and three chamber of cylinder burst but the gun managed to stay in one piece.

Then I have seen a fair share of semi-auto blow-ups. In fact I had a minor ka-boom a couple of months ago shooting my Beretta 92 9mm. Case head blew up and the blast caused the trigger bar to blow out the right side of the gun about a ¼”. The right grip bowed out and contained the trigger bar from traveling any farther. I was not injured and immediately knew something was not right by the way the gun felt in my hand. The gun was not damaged and I restored it to working order by pushing the trigger bar into place.

Ok enough of that dribble. Shooter was on the line two stations away. We were shooting a long distance big bore single shot rifle match. The chamber burst on his rifle and the resulting explosion blew off over half of his left hand. He totally lost his thumb, first and second fingers and most of the palm of his hand. He almost died on us right there at the range. Is this the type of serious injury you are looking for?

 

[grampajack]

Grampajack,

What is the point of your question? I know you are considering starting a business building AR rifle uppers. Are you looking for proof that serious injuries can not occur from a gun blowing up? Or, more to the point, from a upper that you built?

The more time you spend on the range the more likely you are to see the injuries from ka-booms which you doubt occur.

The design of revolvers is to force the explosion straight upwards. With S&W, Colt and Taurus revolver the topstrap is design to bend/break allowing the blast to go upwards. As the gun is usually well out in front of the shooters body the fragments do not come back towards the shooter. As someone that has worked on indoor shooting range, shot in a lot of competition and spend time as a range instructor I have seen a lot of ka-booms and just about every other kind of gun malfunction.

With revolvers the most risk is to bystanders. I saw the aftermath of a ka-boom at the indoor range I was working when a shooter managed to blow up his S&W Model 29. A large enough piece of the cylinder when directly sideways and hit the lane divider so hard as to burying itself halfway into it. Without a lane divider for example on a outdoor range this would have caused serious, maybe life threatening injury.

I have personally witnessed several revolver blowups. I saw a large piece of cylinder narrowly missed the head of the person running the timer. To this day I can recall the accident in clear slow motion and I do not understand how that piece missed the timers head.

I was timing a shooter that was shooting a Colt SAA clone and his gun ka-boomed from using too hot of ammo. I am extremely thankful that the topstrap held everything together. The topstrap was badly bent upwards and three chamber of cylinder burst but the gun managed to stay in one piece.

Then I have seen a fair share of semi-auto blow-ups. In fact I had a minor ka-boom a couple of months ago shooting my Beretta 92 9mm. Case head blew up and the blast caused the trigger bar to blow out the right side of the gun about a ¼”. The right grip bowed out and contained the trigger bar from traveling any farther. I was not injured and immediately knew something was not right by the way the gun felt in my hand. The gun was not damaged and I restored it to working order by pushing the trigger bar into place.

Ok enough of that dribble. Shooter was on the line two stations away. We were shooting a long distance big bore single shot rifle match. The chamber burst on his rifle and the resulting explosion blew off over half of his left hand. He totally lost his thumb, first and second fingers and most of the palm of his hand. He almost died on us right there at the range. Is this the type of serious injury you are looking for?

Oh goodness, no. I have zero doubts about the safety of anything I build, regardless of what it is. I've been working on guns long enough to be 100% confident in everything I do.

This has all to do with me getting into reloading. Seeing those pictures of people missing fingers made me momentarily rethink that plan. I just wanted to verify that that kind of damage wasn't likely possible from an accidental reloading error.

I was also rethinking using anything less than premium ammo...

Not to mention never again shooting a cheap gun...

 

[RecoilRob]

Back when I was shooting the 50 a lot, there was a fellow who had a small problem with one at the range. Wasn't there...but people I knew took pics that were published. The firing pin on a bolt gun broke in the middle, but it still fired so the shooter continued using it. With every shot the broken ends of the pin peened against each other and grew in diameter until they were so large they wedged tightly enough into the channel to make the pin protrude during chambering. It eventually fired before the bolt was turned down to engage the lugs....so the bolt left the gun through the fellows shoulder/neck area and lodged into a building behind him. The bolt handle nearly broke off his thumb but I think they were able to reattach it. Needless to say...it was a bad day for him and everyone else at the range. When shooting rifles it's very important to maintain the gun diligently and hopefully notice defective parts before they can cause a catastrophe.

 

[hso]

you pretty much always see the person walk away without injuries

People walk away from a lot of catastrophic injuries only to have to seek EMS help all the time. Firearms accidents are no different. People taking video of these events and capturing them at the time are farrrrrrr and few between compared to the injured with no video documentation.

 

[JohnBiltz]

There is a big difference between rifles and pistols on something like this. A lot more pressure in a rifle and its right in front of your face. A pistol has less pressure and is out at arms length.

 

[BSA1]

This has all to do with me getting into reloading. Seeing those pictures of people missing fingers made me momentarily rethink that plan. I just wanted to verify that that kind of damage wasn't likely possible from an accidental reloading error.

I was also rethinking using anything less than premium ammo...

Not to mention never again shooting a cheap gun...

There is nothing inherently unsafe about reloading your own ammunition. It is a very common activity with billions of rounds shot without any danger to the shooter and others....

provided...

that you use published reloading data and stay within manufacturers specifications for the cartridge.

Most of the gun blow-ups I can recall where the result of failing to say within published data. It requires you to pay attention to details. I can think of two shooters that had no business reloading. One did his while watching TV. Another one just is plain unsafe with little attention to consistent power charges.

The only time I reload my ammunition close to maximum published data which is either for deer or hog hunting. Even then I work up slowly watching for signs that the load is getting to hot for that particular gun.

I put accuracy over velocity in my hunting reloads. I have never read anything that says a dead animal knew the difference between 100 fps. A bad shot is a bad shot.

As I have not hunting for many years all of my handgun reloads are used for punching holes in paper this they are low to mid range powder charges. My minor ka-boom was the first one I ever had in a semi-auto pistol and I was using brass that I have reloaded many unknown times over. The powder charge I was using is listed as beginning in several reloading manuals. Brass wears out and I tossed the remaining cases in the recycle bucket.

For my rifles it depends on the cartridge. For example with my .270 I use close to maximum load. I worked this load up slowly a grain at a time and stopped when it gave (well, gives) me three shot 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

On the other hand my go to hog gun is a Marlin 35 Remington so I use a heavy bullet for deep penetration. Minute-of-hog for me is close range shooting. Distances are close so I don't need a hot load. Mid-range velocity is plenty.

The shooter that I witnessed lose half of hand was a experience reloader. For what I understand he was loading ammunition for the match and to stop because he had visitors. When he returned to his bench the next day he confused smokeless for black powder. It was a mistake that was easily avoidable by not keeping smokeless and blackpowder together on the loading bench and double checking the appearance of the powder. He just got careless and in a hurry to get ready for the match.

Reloading is a safe, rewarding hobby. I have guns that I have never fired a factory round though and never will.