Mistake ... Accident ... or Just Not Paying Attention

[JimT]

I have had a 50 caliber Ammo Can full of .38 Specials since 2016. Many were loaded around 2005 or so. But the mistake/accident with them happened in 2016. I had just come back from Africa, my wife having passed away a couple weeks before. I started reloading and casting bullets as therapy and to keep my mind occupied. I noticed I had .38 Special ammo in 4 or 5 containers and, not paying attention, I dumped them all into a 50 caliber ammo can.

Little did I notice that there were 3 different bullets and 2 different powder charges among them.

A few years later I took 50 rounds out of the ammo can to the Range and discovered some went POW and some went POP. Investigation revealed that some rounds were loaded with the 160 gr. cast flat point, some with 158 gr. round nose, and some with 158 gr. round nose flat point. The 160 gr. bullets were loaded with 3.0 gr. of Bullseye. Some of the 158 gr. bullets were loaded with 3.0 gr and some were loaded with 2.5 gr. Bullseye .... and there is no way to tell which have what powder charge.

So I sat down a couple times this last week and sorted ammo. All the 160 gr. FP went into one container. All the 158 gr. RN went into a container. And all the 158 gr. RNFP went into a container.

I am determined to shoot up all this ammo and reload the cases ... carefully!

At the Range the 160 gr. loads were accurate. The 158 gr. RNFP were accurate when I accidentally got the cylinder loaded with rounds that all had the same powder charge.

IMG_6226.JPG

Shooting the 158 gr. RN and the 158 gr. RNFP has been interesting. Some go POW! Some go POP! But I discovered that they all work well at about 15 yards, shooting clay pigeons on the backstop. Making me watch my follow-through. So they will get used for good purpose.

And it's a good lesson to not make serious decisions when your mind is in turmoil and your emotions are about out of control.

[GunnyMack]

I ran across a plastic ammo box a few weeks ago that I had forgot about with 44 specials, had 180 or 200 gr xtps. I decided to shoot them up as I guess they were loaded about 30 years ago.
Same thing you had Jim, pop to POW. the cases that went pop had un burnt powder stuck against the web of the case. It was un burnt as I put a match to it and it burned !
I thought that strange the primer set the charges off but it must have been pushing the flame through the charge before igniting the majority of the charge.

[JimT]

Mine are just different powder charges ... but I have seen some like that in the past.

[Griff]

I recently attended a match to compete in a couple of side events and the main cowboy match. When I got to the long range event with my Sharps, the scorekeeper asked me "smokeless or BP?" I replied, "We'll both know after the first shot." I'd loaded these 50 rounds a couple of years ago and hadn't marked the box with the tag I usually use, nor in a color coded plastic box... I could only tell that they were the 330 grain bullet, while the 100 round box I knew to be BP as it was in the red box and had 350 grain bullets loaded. My green box for smokeless was only about ½ full... this blue 50 round box was now a mystery load. I now know the blue box contains 39 rounds of BP! I think! Apparently headstamps are not an indicator either, as this blue box had a mix of no headstamp, CSA 45 Basic, HDS 45 Basic and a few BB .40-90SBN headstamps! Whereas both the green & red MTM boxes have all BB .40-90SBN headstamps.

I did much the same thing, loaded a bunch of C45S cases with BP and put them in a bag to carry up to the house. I then opened my 45 GI can with other C45S loads and dumped the new ones in. Oops! The ones in the can were all smokeless! Unfortunately, the Smokeless rounds in the can were already a mix of powdered coated and plain lubed bullets. The new BP rounds are all plain WW with BP compatible lube... which can't be seen! So I pulled 200 rounds off the top of the rounds in the GI can... Time will tell if I got all BP out, or not!

Loading ammo when distracted by anything can lead to some interesting experiences at the range. I plan on going to the range on Monday to wring out my two 1885s (45 Colt & .32-40) and the Sharps @ 100 & 200 yards, plus get some real range experience with the new Longshot "Marksman" range camera.

[Bill in Oregon]

I used to worry about this sort of thing with .44 Specials when a Charter Bulldog and a Ruger BH flattop lived at my house at the same time. No longer have either one, darn it.

[samsi]

I used to keep an ammo can full of 44 Special range loads - a 240 swc over 5.5 W231 in mixed brass. Some years back I opened the can to find a speedloader with 6 rounds loaded with what I believe was a 200HP. I couldn't remember what the load was or when I'd loaded them, so to be on the "safe" side I shot them in the SBH. They weren't very fierce and it remains a mystery.

[AJMD429]

I used to worry about this sort of thing with .44 Specials when a Charter Bulldog and a Ruger BH flattop lived at my house at the same time. No longer have either one, darn it.

That's one reason I never got a Ruger No1 in 45-70 - because it would mean I'd have to get rid of my Marlin Guide Gun and Cowboy Rifle. Instead for the 'big thumper' I got a 500 S&W levergun - no mixing up the ammo now.

[Ysabel Kid]

You picked the right gun to shoot them Jim. I bulged a cylinder on a S&W Model 29 shooting an unknown reload. Rugers are built like a tank!

[JimT]

You picked the right gun to shoot them Jim. I bulged a cylinder on a S&W Model 29 shooting an unknown reload. Rugers are built like a tank!

Well ... these are not totally unknown ... I just don't know for sure which are the lightest until I shoot them.
If I get reloads that I don't know what they are, I would just as soon pull them apart. I've seen too many guns ruined by shooting someone's unknown reloads.

[Ysabel Kid]

You picked the right gun to shoot them Jim. I bulged a cylinder on a S&W Model 29 shooting an unknown reload. Rugers are built like a tank!

Well ... these are not totally unknown ... I just don't know for sure which are the lightest until I shoot them.
If I get reloads that I don't know what they are, I would just as soon pull them apart. I've seen too many guns ruined by shooting someone's unknown reloads.

I started to pull the ones I referred to, and whoever loaded them crimped the living heck out of them. Got lazy, and these were HOT. 3 shot into the cylinder and the gun locks up.

I just tossed the rest of the unknown reloads. Not worth the headache. I got darn lucky, as I bought the S&W used, and then used reloads, and reloads I didn't make. S&W repaired it free anyway (this was shortly after the Clinton agreement debacle, so I guess they wanted to keep customers). A mistake I'll never make again.

[FLINT]

Can you not weigh them and sort them that way?

[JimT]

Can you not weigh them and sort them that way?

I don't know. Such a small difference ... it was a whole lot more fun to shoot them. I finished up the last of them this morning. Fired over 300 rounds. Practiced offhand ... two hand hold ... resting my left elbow to steady the gun .. and some from the Outers Pistol Perch. Also practiced pulling the gun, bringing it up, catching the front sight and touching it off when it felt right. Those I did shooting clay pigeons on the bank from about 15 yards.

That close there was not a lot of difference in the elevation between the "heavier" load and the "light" load. Shooting at 50 cent piece size targets at that distance there was enough difference that I either shot over or under, depending on which load it was and what I had previously fired. But shooting the clay pigeons was just right.

[samsi]

Can you not weigh them and sort them that way?

In mixed brass the variation between case weights would likely be more than the half grain powder difference. I once ended up with a batch of medium 44 loads with 10 grains of Unique where a handful didn't get charged due to an old Dillon measure hanging up. I tried weighing them to find the duds but even at a 10 grain charge weight the brass variation made it impossible.