Rifle destroyed by wrong powder

[rdog]

A long time hunting friend , destroyed his Win 70 7mm REM mag with a charge of the wrong powder, the rifle had just been re barreled wtih a Shillen bbl & the stock refinished. the load of 66 grains of ADI AR22O7 SAME AS H 4198 OVER A 175 GRAIN BULLET destroyed the rifle blew the floor plate open & welded the case into the chamber & bolt face luckily he was not hurt,
The mistake was he should have been using ADI AR2217 same as H1000 A SIMPLE MISTAKE READING THE POWDER LABEL. it all ended well he replaced the mod70 with a Montana Arms 1999 stainless rifle a beautiful rifle. Just a another lesson in how easy it is to have an accident when reloading.

 

[mark-hunter]

thank you for sharing

 

[Carsten]

Good to hear that he was not hurt.
It will probably be difficult for him not to flinch the next time he squeeze off a reload.
I am sure I would.

Years ago after I had put 50 freshly loaded 338 LM in the safe I got a strange feeling.
Did I use the right power?
I had 12 different types so it would have been easy taking the wrong one.
I was 99% sure it was correct, but that one percent of doubt made my pull all the bullets and discard the powder.
After that I made a new reloading routine.
When I reload I always have the powder cannister on the bench right in front of me in a spot where I will have to look at it.
The same with my loading data.
It will be impossible for me not to notice if it is the wrong type.
And only one cannister on the bench at a time.
I double check once again BEFORE I put the cannister away.

 

[PARA45]

Wow, glad he is ok. Very lucky, I’ll have to say, thanks for sharing. Yup, same routine, only one powder, and primers on the bench when I’m reloading.

 

[Luvthunt]

Yes, glad all OK

 

[Inline6]

Luckily he was not hurt.

Have known people to use pistol powder in rifle cases...it does not work out well.

 

[Hunt anything]

Scary!

 

[Backyardsniper]

Good to hear that he was not hurt.
It will probably be difficult for him not to flinch the next time he squeeze off a reload.
I am sure I would.

Years ago after I had put 50 freshly loaded 338 LM in the safe I got a strange feeling.
Did I use the right power?
I had 12 different types so it would have been easy taking the wrong one.
I was 99% sure it was correct, but that one percent of doubt made my pull all the bullets and discard the powder.
After that I made a new reloading routine.
When I reload I always have the powder cannister on the bench right in front of me in a spot where I will have to look at it.
The same with my loading data.
It will be impossible for me not to notice if it is the wrong type.
And only one cannister on the bench at a time.
I double check once again BEFORE I put the cannister away.

I do the same thing. I store all my powder in one place and then put only the one I'm using on the bench and then double check. I have still done what you are talking about with powder weights though. If I have a gun I use more than one load in I always have to double check, did I use the right weight for " this powder?" In this gun.

 

[shootist~]

Same. The powder container I'm loading from is on the bench. And no others.

 

[mdwest]

Wow, glad he is ok. Very lucky, I’ll have to say, thanks for sharing. Yup, same routine, only one powder, and primers on the bench when I’m reloading.

I actually take it a step further...

Where I load powder is a completely different location than where I have my press... brass resizing, priming, etc.. get done on the reloading bench... powder charges get loaded at a different work station.. and then I bring the charged cases back to the bench/reloading press to install the bullets..

I primarily use IMR 4064 and H110.. those 2 powders cover about 90% of my needs.. but I do keep a few cans of IMR 4227 and IMR 4350 around as well for a couple of cartridges that dont really like 4064 (300 H&H, etc)..

I do NOT want a powder screw up..

So I load powder in a separate location.. and I measure each charge twice before dropping it into a piece of brass...

Its worth the additional time and ass pain to do it that way (to me)...

 

[baxterb]

Good to hear that he was not hurt.
It will probably be difficult for him not to flinch the next time he squeeze off a reload.
I am sure I would.

Years ago after I had put 50 freshly loaded 338 LM in the safe I got a strange feeling.
Did I use the right power?
I had 12 different types so it would have been easy taking the wrong one.
I was 99% sure it was correct, but that one percent of doubt made my pull all the bullets and discard the powder.
After that I made a new reloading routine.
When I reload I always have the powder cannister on the bench right in front of me in a spot where I will have to look at it.
The same with my loading data.
It will be impossible for me not to notice if it is the wrong type.
And only one cannister on the bench at a time.
I double check once again BEFORE I put the cannister away.

Yup. My powder throw is filled and emptied every time I load and I do the same…powder canister sits right next to it while I am working.

 

[PARA45]

I actually take it a step further...

Where I load powder is a completely different location than where I have my press... brass resizing, priming, etc.. get done on the reloading bench... powder charges get loaded at a different work station.. and then I bring the charged cases back to the bench/reloading press to install the bullets..

I primarily use IMR 4064 and H110.. those 2 powders cover about 90% of my needs.. but I do keep a few cans of IMR 4227 and IMR 4350 around as well for a couple of cartridges that dont really like 4064 (300 H&H, etc)..

I do NOT want a powder screw up..

So I load powder in a separate location.. and I measure each charge twice before dropping it into a piece of brass...

Its worth the additional time and ass pain to do it that way (to me)...

I measure twice as well, and the powder dispenser and electronic scale are next to my press. Once I load the powder, case goes into the press for bullet seating. I also do the primer seating on a separate section of my bench. Oh, and I do not rush to load anything.

 

[pilar]

When I reloaded we usually only had 3 powders we used, H1000, 4350, 4831
and then only used one at a time, I was always nervous about using any other powders

 

[Inline6]

By the sounds of it, not a lot of high volume shooters? I load up the powder hopper on my V3 with the powder I'm going to use for that round. It dispenses the powder and empty it into the case and seat a bullet. That process take me about an hour to load 180 rounds if things are flowing I can load 200.

When finish return unused powder to original container.

Primers are the same way.

I prep brass in batches, I anneal after every firing.

 

[mdwest]

By the sounds of it, not a lot of high volume shooters?

I used to be... back when I did some competitive rifle and pistol shooting (as well as a little bit of 3 gun)... but not really anymore..

I own a single stage press.. and almost exclusively load hunting ammo for rifles..

The only semi-autos I own are a brace of AR's in a variety of calibers.. I dont reload for the 556 guns at all (would take WAY too much time on a single stage press to be worth it), and have learned that I HATE loading for the 300 BLK (same reason I dont load for the 556).. so I may well stop reloading for it... The 350 Legend and 458 SOCOM rifles arent so bad to reload for.. I also dont shoot a high volume of ammo in either of those calibers.. maybe 20-30 rounds out of each per year on the range just to confirm zero and to have a little fun prior to heading out on a hog hunt.. and then a hand full of rounds on an actual hunt..

Were I loading 9mm, 45 ACP, 556, or the like.. I'd probably invest in another Dillon progressive...

But with just the RCBS Rock Chucker in play... Its all slow, methodical, and precise loading efforts these days...

 

[Inline6]

All my reloading is done on a PRÄZIPRESS.

It is a nice press, is it better than a Rock Chucker? I don't think you can use one press make ammo and out shoot the other.

I have been thinking about picking up a Mark 7 (manual). Everytime I think about it, I take a step back and look at the lack of volume I shoot in 9mm and 223. Maybe 2k to 3k a year? It is not really worth the cost when I look at it that way.

 

[shootist~]

By the sounds of it, not a lot of high volume shooters?

Days gone by.

90% of my powder needs these days are covered by RL17 and H4350.

 

[Inline6]

Days gone by.

90% of my powder needs these days are covered by RL17 and H4350.

My 90% is Varget and H4350

 

[mdwest]

All my reloading is done on a PRÄZIPRESS.

It is a nice press, is it better than a Rock Chucker? I don't think you can use one press make ammo and out shoot the other.

I have been thinking about picking up a Mark 7 (manual). Everytime I think about it, I take a step back and look at the lack of volume I shoot in 9mm and 223. Maybe 2k to 3k a year? It is not really worth the cost when I look at it that way.

Im in the same position...

Im actually down to probably 1K 9mm.. maybe 500 45 ACP.. and maybe 500 556 a year in total these days (at one time in my life I was shooting close to that much every couple of weeks).. From a cost and time perspective, it just makes more sense to buy factory ammo in those calibers (despite the high cost of ammo these days)..

Thankfully I stocked up pretty well on all of those calibers prior to the summer of mostly peaceful protests when ammo availability became scarce and prices skyrocketed.. and have enough to last me I'd guess into the next decade.. I also anticipate that the volume of shooting those calibers will decrease a bit as each year continues to go by.. and that the stockpile may last me a good bit longer than planned for... So.. reloading for those calibers isnt really a concern (although I'll continue to pick up the brass and be able to at some point if necessary)..

 

[Inline6]

(although I'll continue to pick up the brass and be able to at some point if necessary)..

Haha I do the same thing. Old habits