Hey everyone, ill start off by saying my name is Tony, i have been reloading now for about 5 years. I'd like to tell you all about a valuable lesson, i learned the other day while i was in wainwright.
Last week while at a range in wainwright, I had all my equipment set up, including a chronograph. It was approx. 17:00 on a sunny, day with no wind.
I was looking to re zero my Timberwolf. I fired three rounds, all 3 had an average velocity of 2905 fps. Casing looked good, slight cratering which while unusual is not generally by itself a sign of over pressure. This being the speed that load has always shot, i disregarded the cratered primers and carried on.
The 4th round i fired, also shot at the average of that load, 2910 fps this time, a little higher, but not significant. While firing, i noticed the recoil felt different, so i immediately stopped to insect the casing. Upon grabbing my bolt handle, i noticed that the back of the firing pin assembly had been pulled back out of the bolt, and had rotated slightly and was stuck out of the bolt.
After seeing this, i immediately stopped, this being an obvious sign of extreme over pressure. The casings had the primers punctured, and had pressure signs in the way of transfer of markings from the bolt face, to the brass.
While trying to fix this, and rotate the firing pin assembly to put it back inside the bolt itself my finger slipped, the firing pin snapped back inside the bolt along with a small piece of my finger. No stitches, but it sure did bleed, even while applying pressure.
Once i got back from wainwright, i disassembled the rounds i had not fired, and upon closer inspection found that the primers where LARGE MAGNUM PISTOL, and NOT large magnum rifle. I use federal primers, which for those of you who do not know are color parked, large magnum pistol being blue, and large magnum rifle being purple. ( color mark is on the anvil )
So, needless to say, after 5 years, you can still make mistakes. Me and a good friend of mine who did the rounds can attest, that could have caused alot more injury then it did. So, everyone make sure you check your primers, and use the correct ones. Do not get complacent while reloading, take a break when you need to.
For those concerned, the timberwolf, along with my finger are still in perfect condition.
Tony
Last week while at a range in wainwright, I had all my equipment set up, including a chronograph. It was approx. 17:00 on a sunny, day with no wind.
I was looking to re zero my Timberwolf. I fired three rounds, all 3 had an average velocity of 2905 fps. Casing looked good, slight cratering which while unusual is not generally by itself a sign of over pressure. This being the speed that load has always shot, i disregarded the cratered primers and carried on.
The 4th round i fired, also shot at the average of that load, 2910 fps this time, a little higher, but not significant. While firing, i noticed the recoil felt different, so i immediately stopped to insect the casing. Upon grabbing my bolt handle, i noticed that the back of the firing pin assembly had been pulled back out of the bolt, and had rotated slightly and was stuck out of the bolt.
After seeing this, i immediately stopped, this being an obvious sign of extreme over pressure. The casings had the primers punctured, and had pressure signs in the way of transfer of markings from the bolt face, to the brass.
While trying to fix this, and rotate the firing pin assembly to put it back inside the bolt itself my finger slipped, the firing pin snapped back inside the bolt along with a small piece of my finger. No stitches, but it sure did bleed, even while applying pressure.
Once i got back from wainwright, i disassembled the rounds i had not fired, and upon closer inspection found that the primers where LARGE MAGNUM PISTOL, and NOT large magnum rifle. I use federal primers, which for those of you who do not know are color parked, large magnum pistol being blue, and large magnum rifle being purple. ( color mark is on the anvil )
So, needless to say, after 5 years, you can still make mistakes. Me and a good friend of mine who did the rounds can attest, that could have caused alot more injury then it did. So, everyone make sure you check your primers, and use the correct ones. Do not get complacent while reloading, take a break when you need to.
For those concerned, the timberwolf, along with my finger are still in perfect condition.
Tony
