what injury does the average reloading accident cause ?

MudChucker

MudChucker

Regular
Rating - 100%
21   0   0
Location
Niverville, Manitoba, CA
I apologize if this question sounds a little troll influenced, but I can assure you that this is not my intent. I've only recently started reloading and I have been asked some questions by folks around me.

I realize that this is an open ended question - I've used the word average quite loosely as I know the conditions under which some might define average will vary from person to person and condition to condition...

So... making some assumptions that we are talking about modern cartridge reloading using propellants and not black powder...that best practices were followed - primers were seated the right way up and the correct caliber projectile inserted into the brass etc...

What sort of injury should someone expect from their larger caliber rifle if the brass were to fail and split open in the chamber on firing ?

are lost fingers a concern ?

Burns ? Blindness ?

I do wear hearing and eye protection when i shoot and eye protection when I reload... should I be doing more ? leather gloves perhaps ?

the question is meant to cover the entire process from press to target...


Cheers guys.
 
Last edited:
In reloading? - Blisters... and to protect yourself what you need is thicker Epidermis (lol!)..

As for the consequences of a split case, from nothing at all to lost of live... but a slit case is not all, there are many other factors involved such as pressure and material resistance.

You need to use the right tools to determine the pressure rating and components to use. You need to know the case internal volume and compare it with existing ammunition of the same caliber / volume / pressure rating.
If everything is done correctly, there is no more danger than reloading for any other calibers.
 
Ya. If you reload correctly there is a minimal chance of injury besides a weevil bite on the finger or something.
If you're concerned, wear eye protection and have bystanders stand behind you when shooting and wearing eye protection.
 
Define 'average'.

Too high a load of the right propellant would overstress your action. Case failure is likely above a certain level, which means that incandescent high-pressure gas is now free to escape in the - very - wrong direction. Fortunately, many rifles have vents designed for this, but it's not going to be fun. Wearing eye protection is always a good idea, no matter what the load. In extreme cases, it might shear off the locking lugs or bolts.

Best case, you have a sore shoulder and a lesson to pay attention next time. Worst case, you could wind up with a surgeon trying to extract the bolt from your smoking right eye socket.

Loading the wrong powder on the other hand... Let's say you normally use 50 gr of 4831 in a rifle and put in 50gr of Bullseye by mistake. b: The latter is much, much faster burning and you have in effect created a bomb. That rifle is probably going to come apart at the seams. Say goodbye to whichever hand is on the forestock, plus other significant body parts as dictated by the laws of chance.

The US apparently did just this as a morale-killer for the VC in Vietnam - 7.62x39mm packed with pistol powder. It only takes a couple of doctored rounds in a pallet before the troopies get real unhappy when they have to pull the trigger.
 
MudChucker said:
I apologize if this question sounds a little troll influenced, but I can assure you that this is not my intent. I've only recently started reloading and I have been asked some questions by folks around me.

I realize that this is an open ended question - I've used the word average quite loosely as I know the conditions under which some might define average will vary from person to person and condition to condition...

So... making some assumptions that we are talking about modern cartridge reloading using propellants and not black powder...that best practices were followed - primers were seated the right way up and the correct caliber projectile inserted into the brass etc...

What sort of injury should someone expect from their larger caliber rifle if the brass were to fail and split open in the chamber on firing ?

are lost fingers a concern ?

Burns ? Blindness ?

I do wear hearing and eye protection when i shoot and eye protection when I reload... should I be doing more ? leather gloves perhaps ?

the question is meant to cover the entire process from press to target...


Cheers guys.
Click to expand...

you will be fine. If you screw up, or do something stupid, or overlook case wear, or fire into an obstructed barrel... look out.

If everything is done right, I have more faith in reloads than factory.

I know a lot of guys who reload brass until case failure....
 
Twoshoes said:
Been reloading for 20+ years. When I have my 1st injury I'll let you know...
Click to expand...

like the guy above me , nothing serious .

pinched my fingers a few times , always end up cutting myself trimming brass .
i really haven't done much in the way of bullet casting , but when i do , i expect i'll probally burn myself a few times .

when your reloading cases , be PARANOID ..... always ... in the context that it will make you extra careful .

if your unsure about a powder charge , pull the round apart and make sure it is the right powder and right weight .
measure everything , don't use some "super high power recipe " and unproven from your buddy ( let him pull the trigger on his own rifle for that ) .


and DO NOT let your wife / girlfriend / mom / kids near your reloading stuff ... EVER !!!
i know of a guys wife who thought all his 1/2 empty 1 pound powder cans where taking up too much room , so she dumped everything into a almost empty 8 pound powder container . who knows what would have happened if anyone actually used that mix latter on .
 
I was putting the bell into a lot of trimmed and deburred 45-70 cases and really getting into a pattern until I didn't get my finger out of the way fast enough and I .45 cal hole punched it. Only a couple layers of skin but it got gunk in the cut at the same time and it felt pretty crappy for a week or so.

That's the worst here and I've single stage loaded about 2000 rounds in the last year. :)
 
MudChucker said:
What sort of injury should someone expect from their larger caliber rifle if the brass were to fail and split open in the chamber on firing ?
Click to expand...

You're talking about an accident while shooting, rather than during the making of the ammo.

A serious case failure can allow a large amount of gas into the action. This is a big problem, and there is a lot design effort in good actions that seeks to handle this failure mode (it's interesting to see how various designers have handled the problem).

At worst, the action will "blow up". This might mean physically coming apart and therefore threatening the shooter with all sorts of flying broken bits. Or even if no part of the gun breaks, if the high pressure gas (50,000+ PSI) is not handled well, the gas itself can do some pretty serious damage.

If you want to get an idea of what those injuries might be, and what the range of injuries are, go get a copy of Hatchers Notebook. He devotes a chapter to the low-numbered (<700,000 IIRC) M1903 Springfield rifles. They had problems with nonuniform heat treating, which made some actions brittle, and they would occasionally shatter upon firing. I think there were several hundred accidents before this was found and fixed. Hatcher has a comprehensive summary, which makes interesting (if gruesome) reading. Everything from minor injuries, to lost eyes, to death, as i recall.

Lots of other interesting stuff in Hatcher's Notebook too. If you've ever wondered how far a rifle bullet will go if fired straight up, or how thick a .30-06 chamber wall has to be, or if a can of rifle powder will blow up if you shoot it, then you owe it to yourself to get it....

EDIT: Time now to cue 'Hungry' to tell him what might happen? ;-)
 
Last edited:
Ok, he says it is not a troll posting, so we will have to agree with him, I guess.
The posting is like a new driver writing to a car related magazine and saying they are learning to drive. "What are the things that may go wrong and harm me. What precautions should I take, etc, etc."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom