Was this guy pulling my leg?

Knuckles Muldoon

Knuckles Muldoon

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Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
 
There are some cartridges which you cannot possibly overload with certain powders. One of Jack O'Connor's favorite loads was such. He would dip the case in the powder and shake out enough powder to press a bullet in.

Of course, it depends entirely on the type of powder and what cartridge.
 
Just because nothing blew up that time doesn't mean it won't the next. There are cartridge/powder combos that are next to impossible to overload, but it doesn't make it a good idea. Have you seen the guy in question take long shots? Or does he just talk about them all the time? I can't see any kind of charge to charge consistency without any type of measuring. Can't be good for accuracy.
 
As others have stated depends on the cartridge being loaded and the powder used.

For instance I have original Turk ammo in 8x57. I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder in a few just to see how much powder and type was in there. The cases are absuloutly stuffed with powder and the bullet compresses the powder with quite a lot of force. So if I was loading 8x57 Mauser with this same powder and bullet then I could in theory fill the entire case and seat the bullets.


On the other hand I shoot a lot of cast rounds out of .30 cal military rifles using fast shotgun powders. The max charge for those loads is 14 grains of that powder. This charge only fills about 70% of the case. If I filled the case completely and then seated the bullet if have a dangerously overpressured round for sure.

So the guy in question may have been pulling your leg or he may have been speaking of a specific load that he uses where the case can be completely filled with powder safely.
 
Really??People are saying this okay to do depending on the cartridge??

And they next post is going to be an issue with a model holding fake gun in an unsafe manner.

WOW!

Seems like the safety nazi's have their priorities not so strait.
 
I wonder what would happen if he filled a 300 win mag case full of say bullseye and topped it up with a 180 gr bullet. The guy is an accident waiting to happen.
 
what I have found for myself when loading for my 45-120 a uncompressed case load of a certain powder ( i'm not going to mention which one ) is 2 grains below a max charge with a 400 grain bullet .

when I first built the rifle brass was difficult to come by , and expensive so I had about a dozen cases .

when I went hunting I took a 45-70 lee hand loader , a pound of powder , primers and bullets and reloaded the fired cases right there in camp at the end of the day . it worked really well .

BUT it was far from a random , " lets dump any old powder in a try it " .

if you don't know exactly what you are doing , blindly filled cases with powder equals making a bomb that will remove the fingers from your hand and your hand from your wrist .


btw just because some guy did a torture test on a rifle and it didn't blow up right away , doesn't mean that something equally as bad won't happen .
the action may be strong , but the case head on the brass may separate , causing high pressure gasses to be blown back into your face ....... which to be blunt about it , can remove half of your face .
 
Knuckles Muldoon said:
Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
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I'd say dont shoot any ammunition he gives you and dont shoot his firearms.

As others have said some cartridges you can do it with certain powders. But accuracy is going to be all over the map.
 
Perhaps the guy mentioned in the first post is just proof that Darwin was correct when he said nature has a way of eliminating unsuitable genes from the gene pool. Now if only we can get some mayors ( the "Big" guys) to start reloading!
 
Knuckles Muldoon said:
Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
Click to expand...

Well Knuckles Muldoon if you believe the guy telling you that tale I have a deal for you.
Prime obscured view water front property just West of the Dyke, be the first to build and have a majestic view of the Gulf Island from the North to the South.
But, seriously now the guy was likely pulling your leg and possibly tempting you into a very serious and dangerous experiment.
There is a reason why the Bullet and Powder manufacturers publish books for hobbyists to use and follow.
Back in the day the Black Powder guys would dip a spoon/scoop of BP and place it down the barrel before the patch and ball where rammed home.
Either call Bravo Sierra on this guy or find a better class of friend. Hanging out with this guy is either going to kill someone or at the least be seriously injured following his recommendations.
Rob
 
Knuckles Muldoon said:
Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
Click to expand...

Generally this is terrible advice, as others have stated.

However, if the fellow you are talking about uses a specific primer/powder/case/bullet all the time and knows what he is doing, he could get away with it safely.

What the hell am I talking about you might say??

Well, I know for a fact that I can take a .270 win case, fill it to overflowing with IMR 4831, shake off the excess, seat any 130 - 140 grain bullet on this charge, and I'll be safe and within published load data (admittedly older, not so "lawyerized" data).

So, if the fellow you were talking about happens to know for a fact that his load is safe, then he's basically just being tricky when he explained his reloading method to you, and left out the fact that his load is much less random than he makes it sound.
 
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Northman999 said:
Generally this is terrible advice, as others have stated.

However, if the fellow you are talking about uses a specific primer/powder/case/bullet all the time and knows what he is doing, he could get away with it safely.

What the hell am I talking about you might say??

Well, I know for a fact that I can take a .270 win case, fill it to overflowing with IMR 4831, shake off the excess, seat any 130 - 140 grain bullet on this charge, and I'll be safe and within published load data (admittedly older, not so "lawyerized" data).

So, if the fellow you were talking about happens to know for a fact that his load is safe, then he's basically just being tricky when he explained his reloading method to you, and left out the fact that his load is much less random than he makes it sound.
Click to expand...

Maybe the fellow was indeed just mentioning a load that he uses which fills the case full but is within specs. But generally speaking a rifle case full of powder is an unsafe condition that's for sure.

This is why most of us have many loading books so we can cross reference data to be sure we are being safe.
 
His process probably isn't as random as he let you think, but he's likely having some fun watching your reaction at the same time. I wonder if you can hear an aneurism burst?

I used to have a .223 that shot very well with all the Varget I could fit in a Win case. If I told people that I filled the case to the top and seated the bullet, it would be true. If I suggested working up from partially full, to mostly full before going to right to the top it might raise a few eyebrows. How about "start at the bottom of the neck and work up watching for pressure signs"? In certain well defined situations that would be true as well.
 
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