How Dangerous is Reloading Ammunition?
Dangers Of Reloading Ammunition
What is so dangerous about reloading your
own ammunition? If you are considering reloading your ammunition
to save money, consider the dangers involved. Reloading can be
dangerous to your personal safety as well as those around you. Dangers include, but are
not limited to the following. See also
Ammunition Reloading Instruction & Reviews.
Damage to Firearm/ Personal Injury
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Dangerous pressures can build up if
you don't seat the bullet to the correct depth.
-
If you make a mistake you can double charge a round or use
too much powder
-
If you use too little powder you may end up with a
squib
stuck in the barrel. If you don't realize it and fire off
another round then you may end up with an exploded gun and a
mangled hand or worse yet.
-
Shell cases that are used too many times have the
potential to crack
-
Gunpowder from different purchases or batches may act
differently.
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If the
primer hole is too loose, the primer may blow out
due to the pressure of firing the cartridge.
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Brass shells may become hardened by being cleaned with
ammonia or repeated reloading. This hardening may provide a
greater tendency toward cracking.
-
The obvious hazards of smoking while you are reloading. A
definite no-no.
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The potential hazard of breathing lead filled fumes if you
cast your own bullets.
-
The dangers of working with lead bullets. The lead you get
when handling lead bullets and with lead deposits on fired
casings can be dangerous if they get into your body.
-
Exceeding maximum loads (possible
double charge) may cause over pressure
conditions.
-
Forgetting to put any gunpowder in the casing.
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Using the wrong bullet when you reload.
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Using the wrong powder.
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Using the wrong primer.
-
Primers can
detonate when crushed
(unlikely but possible).
-
WARNING! - Users have reported that the
primers in the tray of an
auto prime can explode for various
reasons, some of which include: a cocked primer, or an
attempt to prime a case which has a primer already in place,
or more than one primer on the punch, or priming a military
case with the crimp not completely removed. Should an
explosion occur, our tests have demonstrated that safety
glasses will normally prevent serious injury to the user if
CCI or Winchester primers are used, because the explosion is
minimal. Other primers, however, can explode with sufficient
force to seriously injure the user, or persons nearby. We do
not take any position with respect to the quality or
performance of primers available on the market. However,
only those primers manufactured by CCI or Winchester are
recommended for use in the Lee Auto Prime, and when loading
those primers, safety glasses should always be used. No
other primers should be used with the Lee Auto Prime. ref: http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/primtool.html
Personal Defense Dangers
If you're shooting at something with teeth
or someone that can shoot back or hurt you in some way then
having a round that does not fire can be dangerous in itself.
Storage Dangers
Having a pound or more of bulk gun powder in
your house presents a hazard in itself.
Where will you store it?
Will you lock it up to keep it away from the kids. What if there
is a fire? Will having bulk gun powder in you house effect your
insurance rates? Do you have to tell your insurance company.
Does having bulk gun powder in an apartment provide danger to
your neighbors? These are questions to thing about before you
decide to reload your own ammunition.
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Winchester
AutoComp Smokeless Powder
How Dangerous Is Gun Powder?
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Is Reloading Ammunition Worth the Effort and Danger?
Some of the dangers and mistakes associated
with reloading may cause personal injury or damage to your
firearm. Other may simply result in poor accuracy, jams or
failure to chamber. Most if not all of these may be mitigated by
safe loading practices.
From the above listing it is apparent that you have to be
extremely careful when reloading your own ammunition. There are
many mistakes (mostly human error) that can lead to a bad day at
the range. Is it worth it to save a few bucks? Are you really
saving money especially when you consider all the money you
spent on the loading equipment and the time that you spend doing
the reloading?
I made this listing to help me decide whether I want to reload
my own ammunition or not. The information was obtained from the
internet and talking with friends who reload their ammunition.
I have been watching many reloading videos on the internet. You
surely don't have to be a rocket scientist to do reloading. With
a good press and the right equipment the process is very simple,
especially if you only reload on size caliber. You just have to
be very careful.
I have some more research to do, but I am seriously
re-considering whether I want to continue to buy new (safe)
ammunition or spend the money, time and effort to reload my own
and face the above potential risks/hazards. I may be lazy and
just play it safe.
Can You Throw Away Live Primers? Discarding Live Primers in
a Case.
"De-active" them first. Place them in a
plastic container (an old powder container labeled accordingly
will do) covered with a little penetrating oil/WD-40/gun oil
(maybe even water?). Soak overnight. Oil is suppose to
deactivate them (no guarantees). I read that someone said that
oil doesn't really "kill" a primer, it raises the ignition
temperature which means that it takes more to set the primer off
but it is still "live". Wrapp it in duct tape as a extra
precaution before throwing it into the garbage.
Notable Quote
"No, I don't reload my own ammo, because humans are
invariably prone to mistakes, and the odds of me double charging
my reloaded rounds is significantly higher than simply buying
them new. And it's not worth it to me to blow my gun up and my
hand off to save a few cents." ref:
http://forums.overclockersclub.com/?showtopic=169962
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AMMUNITION RELOADING SAFETY AWARENESS
To minimize the dangers and accidents of reloading
ammunition, please consider the following:
- wear safety glasses
- don't watch television or have distractions around
while reloading
- don't eat or smoke when reloading
- don't reload when you are tired
- don't reload when affected by alcohol or drugs
- clean up your work are and wash your hands after
reloading
- store your reloading equipment and supplies in a safe
and secure area
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Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2010 6:00 PM
Subject: Reloading Room Hazards
I reload in a room that is below ground it sometimes gets humid which i
have a dehumidifier and air cleaner machine to help ventilate the air is
that enough or is it still hazardous to my health?
Dennis,
I can't answer that question for sure and I could never tell you if you
are
safe or not but I am trying to think what the health hazards would be
for
doing reloading in such a room.
If you melt and cast your own bullets, that's one thing, and you would
definitely need good ventilation and working conditions but if you are
just
reloading ammunition where is the hazard to your health coming from?
I could see where you might not want to store your powder, primers and
unlearned brass in that room.
As far as health hazards go, the only other thing that I can think of is
the
possibility of inhalation of gun powder vapors during the reloading
process,
and I don't know if that is hazardous or not. I have never heard of any
such
concerns. It would just be good practice to have good ventilation.
Sorry I can't give you a good answer.
Tanner
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Sent: Friday, November 10, 2010
Subject: Dangers Of Reloading
I have been reloading for over 20 years and
NEVER have anything Explode. If you can follow directions reloading is very
safe and if you shoot a 1,0000 rounds on a week-end its a MUST. True long
range shooters ALL RELOAD they are more accurate and reliable. To be scared
of reloads is just rubbish. All the parts come from the same place. Because
mine are Tom's ammo you will not shoot them....but if I put Tom's ammo Inc.
you will. Total rubbish.
Tom
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Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010
Subject: Dangers Of Reloading
Wow. I could come up with a similar argument on the dangers of driving a
car. On the other hand, fear dictates what one should do, or does do. Those
that overcome fears, do more in life. (We all have a limit, so I'm not
saying fearless is too bright either). I reload for two reasons: 1) In
regards to pistol ammo, it cost $.15 per round vs. $1.10, 2) My loads are
more accurate and reliable.
"No, I don't reload my own ammo, because humans are invariably prone to
mistakes, and the odds of me double charging my reloaded rounds is
significantly higher than simply buying them new. And it's not worth it to
me to blow my gun up and my hand off to save a few cents." THIS COULD ALSO
BE; "I don't drive a car because humans are invariably prone to mistakes,
and I might uncontrollably floor the gas and kill someone in a bad
accident."
Well, reloading is definitely ONLY for responsible adults, and in light of
having to have your wife's approval, or not doing it based on someone else's
fear, it is also only for...let's see....responsible adults.
Steve
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Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 2:20 PM
Subject: Reloading Dangers
So my wife and I got into a discussion and I wanted to get another
perspective. I just got a new rifle and my father reloads his own ammo,
and has been for forty years. He has books on it and scales and accuracy is
very important. I have sat with him and witnessed him even measure out
powder down to the grain. He is very strict with how accurate things are. My
wife on the other hand is adamant on ensuring I don't fire anything not from
a ammo manufacturer, she regards the practice of loading ammo to be foolish.
I have seen my father research ways to get his bullets faster or reduce the
kick by lightening up the slug, but only after hours of research though. He
doesn't do any experimenting when it comes to reloading rounds. I want to
know what you think on the whole practice and what are some credible
resources on the topic (pro or con)
James
Response - James
It's probably not what you would expect to hear, but if I had a wife who was
adamant that I not reload and who was so concerned about my safety I
probably would not reload ammunition. I would buy and shoot only factory
ammo if that gave her peace of mind. I doubt that it is worth the marital
problems. You're probably lucky she lets you shoot at all.
That being said, reloading is safe, when done correctly, but not as safe as
shooting factory ammunition. Last week my brother came up from Fort
Lauderdale for a visit and I took him to the range to shoot my handguns. I
shot my reloads, but I gave him three boxes of 9mm factory ammo to shoot. I
shoot my own reloads but I don't give them out to other's to shoot nor do I
shoot other peoples reloads.
When I first took up shooting handguns at the range I looked around at the
guys picking up brass and though to myself "boy are those guys stupid".
Reloading you own ammo is a good way to lose a hand, a gun or even die from.
I never dreamt that I would reload my own ammunition. After talking with a
few of the guys and doing extensive research on the internet I changed my
mind and decided to give it a try. Note - I can only speak of reloading
handgun ammunition. I have never reloaded rifle ammo.
I have always considered myself a very safety conscious guy. Safety and
quality control was drilled into me when I used to work as a propellant
engineer at Kennedy Space Center and it has stuck with me throughout my
life. So when it came time for reloading, I felt confident that I could do
it safely.
But stuff happens. People are human and make mistakes, equipment fails,
defective components, etc.. You might get a bad casing, become distracted or
tired, load an improper charge, set the bullet to the wrong depth or a raft
of other possible errors. I am fairly new to reloading and have reloaded
only about 5,000 rounds. They all fired properly but one. That one gave me a
squib. I still can't figure out how that happened, but it happened. Since
then, I only shoot the next reload after I am positive that I know where the
bullet went and I do not shoot my reloads fast.
Another bit of info. I go to the indoor shooting range each week. I would
estimate that over the last two years I have not witnessed nor have I heard
of any reloading accidents, but I have seen about 5 squibs resulting from
reloads (and I am only there about 3 hours per week).
What are your reasons for wanting to reload? To save money? To increase
accuracy? To have a hobby?
My friend send me an email of some pictures of what happened when someone
shot a reload when they made the mistake of using black powder instead of
smokeless powder. Let me know if you want me to email it to you. IT IS GORY.
If your wife ever saw these pictures she would probably go through the roof
and the decision would be made - NO RELOADING. These pictures will make you
think twice before taking up reloading as a hobby.
Sorry, but I can't provide you with other credible resources (pro and con)
on reloading other than what you are able to find on the internet.
Best regards,
Tanner
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