Originally Posted by
BigDuncs
Excellent post Robin and full of good info and suggestions.
I shoot around 7 or 8 thousand reloaded rifle rounds annually, more than half being .223 but also 6.5CM and .308. The vast majority of fellow competitors are reloaders too. I have witnessed several potentially serious accidents in the last year due to negligence on the part of reloaders. Without trying to patronise anyone, please be very, very careful and take credible advice as suggested by Robin. Some 'mate's advice' can be downright dangerous.
The most recent incident was during a major competition, pressure on and the shooter fired and was about to chamber another round but the guy behind shouted 'Stop, stop stop'. He (guy behind, unlike the shooter) had realised that it was a squid round, in this case, no powder and it was only the primer that had detonated which dislodged the bullet from the case's neck tension and propelled it some distance up the barrel. The ejected case looked normal but the rifle was in a very dangerous state with a barrel that was blocked.
I believe that in Jun 2021 a similar incident happened on Century and the new target rifle failed destroying the rifle although thankfully, with no serious injury. This incident may have one of those that contributed to the NRA/MOD's recent comments on reloading safety.
These situations happen when people get distracted during the reloading process. And as someone who has reloaded several hundred rounds over the weekend, I know only too well how mind numbingly boring the process can be and how critical it is to develop a systemic routine that leaves no (minimal) margin for error.
Keep safe and have fun.
Exactly the reason I always wear eye protection. You never know what is in the chamber of the rifle next to you.
It's all forgotten now, but Rockers and Mods only started fighting as the Rockers were annoyed at having some of their comments removed
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