I just read another thread last week about this very incident, but thought, "That'll never happen to me." But it did.
I was going through some old reloading stuff I have had in a box for 30 years or more. Among the contents were some .22 Hornet cartridges that I'd loaded back when I was shooting that cartridge. I believed I knew what the load was because I still have all my reloading logs from those days. But I thought I'd dismantle one of them to verify that the powder charge was what I expected.
I have used one of those hammer-type inertia pullers since the 80's; I still use it today, although that may change after this experience. I put one of the Hornet rounds into the puller and gave a good whack. I knew it would take a couple and because the bullets are light, would take several good, hard hits. Hit the floor once, nothing (as expected). Hit it again, and there was a pretty loud crack, powder hit my face, and I heard the case hit the ceiling. The bullet was in the bottom of the puller but the powder charge and case shot out like a rocket. The primer obviously went off with sufficient force to fire the bullet and powder charge. Fortunately because the powder was well on its way from the pressure of the primer it didn't ignite.
I've used this puller for many years and have never encountered this before. I think what I've learned is that they work well for heavier bullets that have sufficient mass that you don't have to swing the puller terribly hard. But the lighter the bullet, the less momentum and therefore the harder you have to hit the puller. I've been using it with 20 and 25 grain bullets more recently and have learned that you really have to smack it hard to dislodge the bullet. Obviously the harder you hit, the more possibility of the mass of the primer casing hitting the anvil with sufficient force to detonate.
I wasn't hurt at all, but if that case had shot out in the right direction it could have done serious damage to an eye (I was wearing glasses). Worse, if the powder charge had ignited, things could have been much worse.
Lesson learned, I think.
I was going through some old reloading stuff I have had in a box for 30 years or more. Among the contents were some .22 Hornet cartridges that I'd loaded back when I was shooting that cartridge. I believed I knew what the load was because I still have all my reloading logs from those days. But I thought I'd dismantle one of them to verify that the powder charge was what I expected.
I have used one of those hammer-type inertia pullers since the 80's; I still use it today, although that may change after this experience. I put one of the Hornet rounds into the puller and gave a good whack. I knew it would take a couple and because the bullets are light, would take several good, hard hits. Hit the floor once, nothing (as expected). Hit it again, and there was a pretty loud crack, powder hit my face, and I heard the case hit the ceiling. The bullet was in the bottom of the puller but the powder charge and case shot out like a rocket. The primer obviously went off with sufficient force to fire the bullet and powder charge. Fortunately because the powder was well on its way from the pressure of the primer it didn't ignite.
I've used this puller for many years and have never encountered this before. I think what I've learned is that they work well for heavier bullets that have sufficient mass that you don't have to swing the puller terribly hard. But the lighter the bullet, the less momentum and therefore the harder you have to hit the puller. I've been using it with 20 and 25 grain bullets more recently and have learned that you really have to smack it hard to dislodge the bullet. Obviously the harder you hit, the more possibility of the mass of the primer casing hitting the anvil with sufficient force to detonate.
I wasn't hurt at all, but if that case had shot out in the right direction it could have done serious damage to an eye (I was wearing glasses). Worse, if the powder charge had ignited, things could have been much worse.
Lesson learned, I think.
