In response to those of you who cast some doubt as to how many incidents I've had first hand knowledge of that involved a blown up gun is largely due to the fact that I worked in the retail end of the industry.
I sold numerous complete hand loading set ups to beginners and always informed then to please come in or call me with questions or problems. Some would return with guns blown up and bruises asking me what went wrong.
Upon disassembling remaining rounds I often discovered a percentage that were either without charges or double charged and in fact some with as much as a triple charge. But of all the really bad incidents, most were related to the extreme over charged cases.
I recall at least 3 incidents in which the individual didn't properly adjust the resizing die and even though the bullet would fall in side of the case after charging they still tried to chamber the round resulting in the gun blowing up. All of those were with high powered rifles and over charged cases were a mix of rifle and handgun rounds.
Some destroyed guns were the cause of powder not properly weighed, using a powder scoop but not checking it against a scale first, wrong powder for the charge or cartridge being loaded, failing to zero the scale before weighing because they didn't know how or didn't know it was necessary to do so.
As would any claim of issues with this process being addressed with the retailer, I always requested the person bring in their remaining loads and fired cases for inspection. When I stated an astronomical occurrence of improperly charged cases being the culprit I was being honest. And to reiterate on that, it is definitely because of my involvement in the industry that surely exposed me at a level most wouldn't experience. I also taught hand loading classes which had a profound impact on the number of incidents I encountered regarding my claim above regarding powder charges the primary cause. That part of my experience and background often left me with some blaming me, for failing to explain the process in better detail, even though it was certain they were the ones who failed to take the process seriously enough to pay attention, and ask questions at any point in time during or after the conclusion of training classes.
I can honestly say that even though I learned hand loading from books such as the Speer manual and other very detailed instruction sources and without a mentor, I never had one single miss-fire, squib, or other failure in the over 2 1/2 decades of hand loading. I'm not a brain surgeon or have a particularly high I.Q., I simply read front to back multiple times until I fully understood what I was doing was being shone the right way. I've now reached a point in my teaching that has given my the ability to spot those who are not capable of ever grasping the concept or simply display a lack of respect for the process in that they show a disregard for certain steps as though they are excessive and unnecessary. I'm rather blunt with those individuals about the fact that such a lack of respect will find them into dangerous territory.
43 line paragraphs are real hard to read. I usually don't bother, but the subject needs to be aired.
HINT when you reach the end of a thought IE you're ready for the next paragraph, hit enter twice.
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The old adage goes like this, foolproof something, they'll just invent a better fool.
When I worked in a gunshop, I sold a lot of reloading set ups. One thing I made sure of, they left with at least ONE reloading manual. We would not sell a loader without one. Then we asked them to read the front section at least twice before even opening the box.
It is impossible to control what a free person does. So he could easily ignore the advice, thinking the old adage, DISTRUCTIONS, I don't need no damn instructions! You could still get sued, but it didn't happen during my time at the GS.
Here's something a group over on the NAHC website came up with. I was the originator of this, others added some stuff, and Mike Woolum edited it for spelling and grammar. RIP Mike
BASIC RELOADER RULES & REQUIREMENTS
1. Do you have the patience to do detailed work away from distractions, (TV, Children, guests)?
2. Do you have a secure area that can be dedicated strictly to a loading bench?
3. Do you thoroughly understand what goes on inside a cartridge when you pull the trigger?
4. Are you mechanically inclined? In other words can you understand and follow instructions exactly, to make needed adjustments to equipment? Do know how to use measurement tools such as calipers and micrometers?
5. Read the front sections of several reloading manuals. I suggest one manual, printed by a company that sells reloading equipment AND bullets. The other one should be by a company that sells only powder. Case in point Hornady then Hodgdon. After reading and understanding the “HOW TO” section in those manuals, find someone who already loads to show you how and talk you through a box of shells. Better yet find a NRA Metallic/Shotshell Reloading instructor and take a basic reloading class. See links below for locating an instructor.
6. Never be in a hurry. If you are pressed for time, this is when a mistake will be made.
7. Do not under any circumstances smoke, eat or drink, especially alcoholic beverages. The reasons are obvious, but I’ll state them anyway. Smokeless powder burns at a very high temperature; it makes a dandy accelerant to start a fire. Drinking causes loss of motor skills and judgment.
8. Wash hands thoroughly when you are through. You are dealing with lead in many forms when handling bullets and primers.
9. Walk before you run. Buy a single stage press to start out with. The progressives are neat and useful when doing large quantities of ammo. You will always have uses for the single stage loader for special loads later.
10. Stay with the basics at first. The tools for neck turning, flash hole uniforming, primer pocket uniforming and checking concentricity will be useful after you get some experience.
11. To start with, stay in the mid-range of the suggested loads for medium power levels. Save the maximum loads for when you have more experience.
12. Buy the best equipment you can afford. It will last a lifetime; the cheap stuff will wear out and need replacing.
13. Have ONLY the bullets, powder, primers and empties on the table that you are loading at that time. Put everything away as soon as you are done, in a separate place.
14. The only stupid question is one that doesn’t get asked. If you’re not sure, ask somebody. Use common sense, logic is a great tool for a Reloader.
15. Maintain a log of all loads developed with the test results. Label all boxes with the load data and date of the load.
16. Every Step is an inspection point.
17. The last thing you do before the bullet goes in " Look in every case to verify the powder charge".
18. Get a good pair of shooting/safety glasses and wear them whenever in the loading room.
Basic steps to reloading. This is a short edited version from the "NRA GUIDE TO RELOADING".
There are 17 steps of which most are for both rifle and pistol and one for pistol only. This is will mark with an * .
1. Inspect cases,
2. Clean Cases
3. Organize cases by batches
4. Select proper shell holder
5. Insert and set up sizing die
6. Lubricate cases
7. Resize and deprime cases
8. Measure case length
9. Trim cases
10 Deburr and Chamfering
11. Clean Primer Pocket
12. Expand Case mouth (*)
13. Prime Cases
14. Measure powder charge and charge cases
15. Check powder charge in case
16. Seat bullet in case
17. Identify the reloaded cartridges (Mark the box etc)
