Thank you, thats eye-opening! My take-away, if you cant pay complete attention, its not the day to reload.

I had an interesting thing happen. On one of my 458 win mag loads, everything was fine, the cartridge loaded fine in the breech, when I pulled the trigger, click. I thought maybe it was just a misfire, so I opened the bolt, a little smoke came out and H335 powder spilling everywhere, on the bench on the bolt and in the magazine. The bullet had actually moved into the barrel landings and was stuck there. So, the primer detonated, the powder did not burn, and the primer detonation was enough to send the bullet. I easily removed the bullet with a wooden dowel. Brand new lb of H335. Never opened. My point, if this happens, STOP! Put your rifle away. DO NOT shove another cartridge in the chamber.

Reloading is a pastime just waiting to prove the old adage about familiarity breeding contempt. Best practices like only having one can of powder on the bench at one time exist for a reason. It hurts a lot less to learn from someone else's lesson. Thanks Randy.

I’m 72and have been shooting reloading for 52 yrs. I’ve seen four blown firearms all caused by squib loads or obstructions in the barrel. I always check my barrel before firing. When loading or shooting I always tell,people . If it doesn’t smell right hear right look right feel right it probably isn’t right. I once had a small patch come off the jag and remain in the barrel, l noticed something was wrong prior to a shoot as I always checked the barrel.

That video of Kentucky Ballistics and his 50 BMG is quite the horror show. Keep them coming Randy. Thanks.

Great video. I had an uncle that was a reloading “guru”. He use say that no matter what, loads should always start at the minimum and always stay a half grain below max. No matter what safety is paramount!

Excellent video. Please keep them coming. As an inpatient RN, from time to time I had to undergo training for things I already knew. Sometimes, I realized I really needed that refresher. Same with reloading. In both fields, mistakes can be very costly. Once again, thanks, and God bless.

Thank you for this...this is definitely a problem with new loaders, chasing velocity..

Thanks Randy for the good vid & advice . Let me give you another horror story . In 1964 my brother had a 30 Swiss Army Rifle , strait jerk bolt, he could shoot it so fast it almost sounded like an auto , problem was ammo supplies were drying up, so he decided to to have it rechambered , to 308 ,took it to a supposed gun smith & asked him if he could do such , answer was yes . Now brother was & is a very accomplished machinist , he would have taken it to the shop where he worked & did it himself, but of course his boss would have been very displeased with him doing a G-job especially on a gun ! Now he discussed with this Smith about the job and told him to make the sleeve X” oversize freeze it in nitrogen & install , which the man agreed he would do. When brother got the gun back & fired it the sleeve slide back , now for #2 mistake, he took it to work , drilled the side of the receiver , installed a set screw , next shot the receiver split , & the gasses blew the 2 middle fingers of his left hand, + broke most every bone in the hand ! When he was able to return to work, he took it in , used the industrial hack saw, cut it up & found that the sleeve was made small & had a tapper, so when he added the set screw it crowded sideways & gasses came back the side & split the receiver. So since then he has no cupped palm, but kind of flat with 2 fingers & a thumb! Because he had altered the job he received NO compensation!

It always interests me when you mention Bill Prator. I grew up best friends with his nephew Will Prator. My father went to gun smith school in Trinidad where Bill taught. I own a 7mm Mauser that my father built in that class. He and Bill made the barrel for it. It brings back memories of my youth.

I met a fella on the range one day with a shiny new contender in 44 mag, just like the one I was shooting. This fella claimed he liked to load his hot. Give em a little extra. I decided it was time to go to the rifle lanes. But not before he blew his new contender apart. I was not injured, he got a bloody hand. Remember folks, you could very easily injure or kill a bystander.

About a year ago, a friend of mine bought reloads from some guy on the internet. He just wanted the primed cases. He pulled the 200 bullets and dumped the powder and saved the bullets. He had no use for the powder but knowing how hard to find/expensive it was he asked if I wanted it. It was a lot of powder as it came from 200 .300WM rounds. I told him to just get rid of it. Yes, it was a lot of powder to dump but although it was recorded as IMR4350...he never saw it come out of the can. What if it was mis labeled and was something else but then loaded as the IMR4350? Not worth the chance....luckily he agreed and dumped it.

Again great advice. One cannot be to careful. I’ll share one of mine where recently I came close to a barrel obstruction situation. I had just put a new Leupold scope on one of my rifles. Typically I I’ll use a laser bore sight at home to get it close before heading to the range. But this time I laser sighted it at the range at 25 yards and then moved to 100 to shoot. I have a habit of pulling my bolt and checking for any obstruction before shooting. But this time I loaded around and was about to squeeze the trigger. I stopped, thought I better follow my practice. Laser sight was still in the bore. I was a second from running a great rifle and new scope. Not to mention my health. Developer safe habitats and follow them.

I bought a 7mm remington magnum model 700 from a local gun shop. took it to the range and fired it once. the bottle neck front of the case blew off and nothing tearable happened. I took it back and it was sent to a gun smith school. someone had rechambered the barrel for a longer cartridge but not remarked the barrel. the gun smith school put a brand new remington barrel on it and remounted the muzzle brake. the gun shoots really nice now. the gun store was able to resell the now properly marked barrel to someone else. I was lucky. I put a timeny after market trigger in the gun to prevent the dangerous problem with the factory safety.

One of my greatest fears is that something happens to you and all your knowledge is lost. Thanks for sharing with us! God bless you and the Mrs.

I wish we could hang out. I'm learning so much. Thanks Bud!

Great video. My favorite of all time is your video about Les Bowman and the 7mm Remington Magnum...Legendary information!

Nothing but 100% agreement! I'll never know all that you know about firearms, but what I do know, I know with confidence. From a young age I was taught that hand loading is a dangerous business. That a clear and serious mind be used in doing it. I know a fairly new guy from our range. He was working up a handload and decided to make some substitutions. He used a broad spectrum of powder weights when working up his hand load. He brought his loads to the range and shot his lighter load first and the round squibbed but he didn't know it. When he stepped up with his next shot he blew that rifle up and I was there. Thank God he wasn't injured. Read from an established set of hand load books and pay attention and don't stray from the path. Because one day you'll go too far in your compromises and it could cost you a lot more than money. I love all your videos sir! Thank you!

Thank you for the video yall really informational and makes you thank even more especially when hand loading.God bless

Thanks Randy good show as per usual

Love this channel, GOD bless you and yours Randy...

Never can get enough of your wisdom sir. Much appreciated content you give.

That is responsible and safe reloading lecture we all have to follow these golden rules

Terrific, knowledgable, common sense information and warnings. Thank you.

I have a rule, "if in doubt, pull the bullet!" (Also, cleaning rods should ALL Have a large red ball for handle that blocks aim!)

Thank-you for your experience,research,.....and hard work.....and good videos.... important !

I love listening to you! Much is above my visualization, but pure wisdom and commonsense reigns in the stories! Thank you!

thank you for all this excellent information.

Thank you Randy!

Another great video! Thank you sir!!

Definitely am glad for these videos, a real treasure trove of advice. Thank you for time

You sir are a reloading wizard, and a true font of information.

I know I commented yesterday, but I am hoping after watching some of your older videos, 3-4 yrs ago, hoping that you may have apprenticed some of our younger gunsmith’s, you have so much talent, knowledge to pass along. Blessings you and yours.

I saw a mini 14 that someone fired a 30 carbine round in . That was a ruined rifle. The other one was a friend who borrowed his dad's 7mm mag against orders. He put the barrel into the snow and didn't think about it. It ws on display at a local gunshop for years as it looked like a cartoon barrel explosion. 4 equal sections peeled back in a curl half the length of the barrel. 😮. I continue to ask internet people where did they get their information. ALWAYS READ YOUR MANUAL .THE WHOLE THING. Thanks again for your sage advice.

Sound advice, thank you sir.

Great video sir. Thank you for all the safety tips.

A privilege to hear from you sir. I see this was a recently published episode, and one which will be invaluable to shooters who know what they're doing, and the novice of today's culture. It has been a few minutes. Regarding 'unsupported case'. Maybe there was too much reliance on lathes which do all of the work within the 21st century C&C machining process.

Thanks for sharing your videos and keep them coming please.

When I started reloading there were about 12 powders to chose from. A look at the burn rate chart shows 163 choices. There always seems to some “miracle powder of the month” . Temperature insensitive, low flash, even cleans the bore for you , high velocity per caliber , a real brew of chemicals. Anyways I just want to point out with all the powder choices out there and colour coded cans allot of the cans appear similar. Make sure you check the numbers before loading and only have one can open on the bench. When I started loading powder was $2.00/lb.

I always take the bolt out of my rifles before I do any shooting whatsoever and look down the bore to make damn sure it's clean and empty . Can't be too careful with these rifles.

I have been reloading ammo for for 53 year . Never had a blow up yet. Came close. A overload with a 6mm Remington Ackley improved on a Remington 700. Primer blew and part of the case head . Hot a face full of gas . No injury but scared the heck out of me. Used a rubber mallet to hammer the bolt open . I was shooting 5 shot groups 5th round Blew . Using a load with Winchester 760 ball powder and a 70gr. Sierra bullet . Don't remember the powder charge but all weighed out . The previous 4 cases showed no cratered primer but flatting around edge of primers but not bad añd no ejected marks on case head or difficult extraction. Never trusted slower burning ball powder again even though that may not have been the problem.

Very good talk. Thankyou

Thank you sir, sound advice once more!

Great to see you again.

Always enjoy the videos.

I always rely on current published data and work up loads with attention to detail. I never want to see "that Light" you speak of. Thank you for your wisdom and sharing these experiences. It means a lot. Stay well and God Bless.

Great episode.

In regards to powder measures, same with electronic powder measures. In the RCBS measure, if you don't tip it sideways when emptying it can leave powder in the hopper area where it intersects the trickle tube. You also need to tip it forward to empty the trickle tube.

The real gunsmith. I would love to see a muzzle loader video. What guns you like and a load work up.

Randy , you and Mrs. Selby are God sends and you two do phenomenal job !!! I also love the depiction of Jesus on the crucifix that appears in many of your videos ! Thank you both , you’re awesome !!!!!

This topic is important. Lot of hot rodders out there who will load until it just about bursts the action and bolt has to be beat open with a mallet. I start at start and work up until I get acceptable and reliable accuracy.

Man I have learned alot from you. Thank you very much

Thanks good information and video,

Thank you that is great advice

Well said exactly 💯% right

THANK YOU!

Yes. Good advice. Less the barrel obstructions have experienced all the other scenarios or similar. you speak of. Fortunately caught them before it became an issue. Check twice and check it again is my 2 cents.

Randy, I agree 99% of everything you say. Just haven't found the other 1% yet! :) Appreciate all you share. I've also been in this business for many decades myself. Would love to shake your hand and buy a cup of coffee. Bucket list thing I guess.

Thank you Sir

Great to hear you talk mate! I re load for hunting I load all my guns 1 grain above minimum less recoil more accurate and longer service life of my gun! I hunt so I can shoot from 50 to 200 mentors max depending on what gun I'm using

I'm a little surprised I've never had any catastrophes while hand loading. I'm very careful, but when I started I definitely slacked occasionally. Only one really near miss. Had a 9mm squib. Didn't notice (amateur) and racked a new round. Lucky for me it was lodged maybe 1/16" away from letting me chamber, or I would have yanked another.

Powder sticking in the case is so common and some powders are very dense so what looks like a little can be a lot. Especially ball powders used in 223/5.56 and 308/7.62 NATO, for some reason they love to stick and you might have a grain or 3 stuck in the case and you won’t have any reliable way of knowing how much is stuck in that case without getting it all out. Also powder measures are largely if not exclusively made of plastic, and that builds static potential which causes static cling to effect the powder, this leads to a phenomenon called bridging, where one charge will throw a light drop and another a heavy drop. With plastic wiping with dryer sheets is the recommended method of mitigation and frequent spot checking charges by weighing them. Also visually inspect every case before seating bullets, so you have a final check and while some powders are so dense a full grain isn’t always visually evident many will give at least some clue.

Regarding pulling down ammo, I have found that with heavily compressed loads, some of the powder will stick to the underside of the shoulder and can only be removed with a bent paperclip or a hex wrench with part of the short side ground off.

Thank you... great advise. easy to screw up.

I saw the light it was only 9mm but you don’t put the same charge in a 147 grain as you do a 115 grain. God bless you and yours Mr.Selby

This is good advice, glad you didn't bag on any 6.5s this video.

My father gave me some good advice on this subject. Don't try to turn a 9mm into a .357 Magnum! If you need a .357 buy one.

Words well spoken. This sport is not worth your life.

excellent info

great advise! especially concerning reloading information. I have frequently come across guys talking about making binary loads.....and I cringe every time I read them. if it's not in a manual, I don't load it. thank you for another great video.

Well Sir we have yet one more real world problem and I am almost key word being almost guilty of it and that's the availability of components or lack there of and substituting one for a norther Ie. magnum primers for regular primers, trying to match burn rates of powders that are not listed in the manual for a particular load to find a substitute for a powder I could not get. It was then that the light came on for me and decided to put every thing away before The big light comes on. Through your channel i will keep learning thank you

Words to live by!

There is a video on kentucky ballistics a few months old. The man had a .50 bmg overpressure blow up, and a lot of luck that hw survived it

I would like to see a video on safety concerning tempature Sensativity with various types of powder. I have loaded ammunition that had zero pressure sighns and ran fine until it sat in the sun in the dessert. That powder was sensitive enough to being set in the sun that it blew primers.

Good vdo people who reload need to watch this.

One great way to avoid negligence in hand loading is to scrupulously keep accurate records. Write down what you intend to do before you do it. This is the "mother may I" approach. After you complete each step check it off. Make sure the completed rounds are properly labeled. This way you are sure to keep proper records. This avoids mistakes such as using the wrong powder. With proper record keeping negligence can be caught before the accident happens.

Wow, that first one the stupidest story I ever heard. I always look down my barrel to check for obstructions.

I've made my share of mistakes, luckily never anything that damaged any rifles or myself. Had a pet load in my remington 700 in 270 win. 60 grains of RL 19 would push 130gr hornady bullets at 3225 fps, and would keep 5 shots in 3/4 of an inch as long as I didn't let the barrel get too hot. However I only ever shot it in winter, while hunting. I fired a round once on a warm summer day, and pierced the primer. Bolt was excessively hard to lift. I immediately unloaded the rifle, and when I went home I pulled all the bullets. Not worth the risk. I have a new load with 140gr hornady bullets and imr 4831. Shoots 3050 fps and no issues on even the warmest summer days.

At a ranges in my area I know of two people killed. One was a blow up, one was a result of "Tuning" a handgun. The man that was killed by a blowup was using a Lee Navy (If I remember it right) and was hit in the head with a piece of the receiver ring. This was the coroners report. Obviously the steel was heat treated too hard and it may have been reloading involved too. I get laughed at because I always refused to work on '03 Springfields. I remember an auction in Canada where a guy had a large pile of '03s AND 1917 Enfields for parts. They all had cracked receivers. I was a little leery of using WWI Mauser actions for anything hot. The thing that always amazed me about people was they knew something was wrong or had changed and they just keep shooting it!

I was lucky. Had a bore sighter in the muzzle end of a 22 magnum. The instructions said don't forget to take it out before firing about 500 times. What did I do, yes I did. About 4 inches from the muzzle end inside the barrel it left the image looking like a wedding band pushed into the barrel all the way around. I was lucky.

I would love for you to do a video on field shooting conditions. For example when hunting do you normally shoot off of your pack or take a bipod or what is your typical method?

intresting to listen to your experiences😊 I'm reloading all evrything i shoot,rifle and handgun. To be safe, you have to know what you are doing,that is essential. Keep up the good work 👍 Really like your videos 😊

Hopefully you have just saved some people from a nasty surprise..... I've only been reloading for about 30 years, and usually stick to the manuals. Even then I usually work up, watching the Chronogrpaph for those sudden velocity jumps that say "whoa....back off!".......So far have avoided "the big light goin' off" :-D

As an old (as in retired) Field Artilleryman, I have a great respect for things that go boom. I forget how I did it, but managed to catch a major overcharge of H110 in 45 Colt Ruger loads when I was putting together my first Ruger loads. I hate to think what those 34 grain (IIRC) loads would do to a good Blackhawk.

Everyone should watch this video periodically, no matter what the experience is. People sometimes are ignorant or like @LB mentioned, get complacent. I check every load in several manuals as well as Quickload for pressure estimates. I take my Labradar and work up to the highest load charge in small increments, always looking for signs of pressure as well as measuring with a micrometer and calipers on the case head once I get to the top of the ladder to look for abnormal growth in relation to my chamber (I like to do new load development with new brass for this reason and then repeat the test with fireformed brass). I do this even though I never get close to exceeding theoretical pressure calculations or exceeding maximum published loads by any sort of large margin. I do this when I change primers or primer lot or powder lot. I have a modern action that can withstand a lot more pressure than I’m giving but its all fun and games till you get shrapnel in your face or at best destroy a barrel or action. I would skimp on safety glasses - not anymore, ever. Regardless, complacency does set in - so watching this and stuff like Kentucky Ballistics getting blown up gets me right in line again.

I completely screwed up once loading a Carl Gustaf 6.5 Swede using 4198 powder instead of 4350, 43.0gr load. I’m not a rookie, been hand loading for 50+ years. I wound up with a load that created 101,116 psi instead of 49,115. I wound up with 7 pieces of metal in my left eye, two are too deep to remove. Completely wrecked the action. It blew out the bottom of the mag well, broke the stock, sheared off a lug. My fault totally but in my defense the color of the bottles are almost the same. Heck of it is, I didn’t load 4198 in anything for a long time. Use 4350 a lot. I have no idea how I didn’t see the difference but I didn’t. Bottom line, 4198 is in a completely different place now and I triple check my powder.

Had a Remington 700 come in the shop in .308, shoulder had a chunk missing in the chamber no lug set back from inspection headspaced fine it was the weirdest thing I have ever seen.He brought it in when he noticed his brass had a contoured bulge on the shoulder.

Hey Randy, big fan incredible knowledge base. Btw if you happen to slide down my chimney this Christmas, could you bring one of your rifles chambered in 28 Nosler.

Word to the wise.

1/8" of an inch!? That's a mile in gunsmithing/machining tolerances. I have always stayed within the limits of published reloading data.

Common sense ain't so common...anymore

You are a great wealth of knowledge did or does anyone make a 2506 lever with a clip? If you had to get one custom made what would you recommend?

You should publish a journal or short stories

The Mark 5 weatherby action would not blow and probably the barrel would not have either. Roy tested his actions to 200,000 PSI. He claimed to cram a 220 gr. bullet in the throat and chamber a 220 gr. Factory ammo behind it shooting both bullets out the barrel. The action was taken apart and miked. The receiver only expanded 1/1000. Tremendous strength.

If the velocity is crazy high? probly the pressure is most likely dangerous.

I was reloading 25/05 rounds mildly I thought? Went for a hunt with some rounds in my pocket. Checked If any rounds in my pocket had fallen out. Oops, yes rounds still, there but also gunpowder also there? About 4 rounds in my pocket, but the primers 2 had fallen out and the powder also. Primers only fall out if the shell casing head had expanded from overcharge. Ooops straight home and that batch mic'd and unloaded and casings thrown out. So using a micrometer when loading trials is very important. Lucky I never saw a flash or rounds stuck in the chamber.

I'm working up loads at the moment. By measuring case heads is .001'' expansion a stop singn ? . Im working up of .1 grains over 10 cartridges at a time .

Any idea how Me Gibbs chose powder that he would mix? Did he have accidents? Could you also go over how he would somehow put a tube from the primer end to the forward end of the case to light the front of the powder for efficiency? Always seemed to me to be an engineering enigma to do that due to pressures and collapsing tubes leaks etc.

Kind Sir, I bought a 350 Legend with a 20" stainless steel barrel in a AR15 body. In my STW my gun builder used Vehitavuoeri N165 powder. It's a slower burning powder and might not be the hot ticket for a gas charged firearm? This is a very new caliber with straight wall shell and Vehitavuoeri doesn't have any guidelines to follow. Is there a comparable powder that I can start at It's low end and develop up to the most premium results? I truly appreciate any information that you can provide. God bless you and your wife. Eric Dailey

Complacency kills