Be Careful With YOUR AMMO AT THE RANGE

[pablo]

Today at the range my wife, son and I were shooting a variety of different loads in different rifles to prepare for Prarie Dog season. I was trying to fire-form brass for my new 6-5 284 and we were doing load development in a 204, 17 Fireball, and my sons 260AI. My son had just picked up his rifle to clean it and allow it to cool and I took the opportunity to fireform a few rounds in my rifle. I asked my wife if she wanted to shoot it and she said she did so she sat down chambered one of my sons 260AI rounds in my 284 and fired it. After the she cleared the empty she said "my this case looks funny". I looked at the round and at first didn't understand what had happened. The case looked like a 284 case with a short neck then I looked at the rim and realized what had happened.
Can you believe it didn't seperate. Lapua makes great brass. If I can ever figure out how to post pics. I'll post a pic and you guys can see what stupid looks like. I never thought that this could happen. If you hold up the two rounds the 260AI is shorter than a 6.5-284 but apparantly Murphy is alive and well in Colorado.
And to add to the odd part the bullet impacted right with the other fireforming rounds. Go figure.
In the future when we take a rifle off the bench we will also take the loaded rounds off of the bench.

 

[Gnome!]

Dang! you are very lucky that that is all that happened and not worse.

Like you said though remove a gun and the ammo for it and that will save a lot of grief.

 

[FEENIX]

Glad to hear no one got hurt!

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f22/how-post-picture-25504/

 

[winmag]

Isnt it crazy how its always the simpelest of mistakes that can make you absoultely shudder. You set a good example and check the round before you load for years and years. then 1 time you forget............
The good news about it all is that 1. your all ok. 2. you all probably got so dang scared after that, that your son especialy wont ever forget to check the ammo first. and 3rd. you didnt report any damage to your rifle.

My dad taught me from the time I could pick up a rifle or gun to check the barell and the ammo. I started to become complacent after many years. The ocasional story of someone mixing up ammo kept me checking, but the barell WAS STRICTLY OUT OF FORCED HABBIT.......... I was up in Idaho Elk hunting. We'd ride dirt bikes in for about 8 miles or so every morning, then get off and hunt all day and ride back at night. One morning I didnt check my bbl before I chambered a round. Hunted for a while and something wasnt right, I hadnt done something that I always did. I stopped and cleared my chamber and found a small pebble just ahead of the bullet. The only way that rock could've got there was from the ride up in the morning. Must've flipped up off a tire or something and somehow found its way down the barell. We cleaned our rifles daily due to poor weather, but you wanna talk about a SHUDDER! Sticks with you and makes you think! Im glad my dad taught me to check.
You just showed your son why these lessons are important. That lesson weather it seems like it or not will stick with him for his hunting/shooting career. Ill bet you he never forgets to check first, or if he does, he'll remember befort he pulls the trigger, and clear it and check. Not to mention he may save someone else from the very same thing because he knows how easy it is for the simple stuff to sneak up on you.
Hey if you catch up with ''Murphy'' kick his @$$ for me too. Glad you and yours are ok.

 

[B23]

I can relate with your funny looking cases.

I had a buddy in high school that had a 300wby MKV and this one time I was riding around in the truck with him and noticed his empties sitting on the seat looked really short and goofy. I picked one up to get a better look and realized it was a 300 Win mag case but with the WBY shoulder and a reallllllllly short neck. I asked him if I could take a look at his box of shells. Sure enough, it was a box of 300 Win mag. I asked him why the hell he was shooting 300 win mag in his 300WBY. He said "are you serious, have you seen the price of the WBY stuff? This stuff is alot cheaper! " Now we were only 17 at the time and I knew very little but none the less I tried to explain to him it was a bad idea and he could possible hurt himself or worse yet me. To say the least I made sure I was never even close to him when that thing went off.

I do wish I would have saved one of the cases though cause they sure were funny looking short neck Wby shoulder cases.

 

[Gnome!]

This story jogged my memory for info that I had read a while back and I found this link to be very helpful in being instrumental on wrong caliber combinations anmd has since been used on several Rifle ranges that I attend.

http://www.saami.org/specifications...1-Unsafe_Arms_and_Ammunition_Combinations.pdf

 

[pablo]

Looks like many others have lit the fuse without paying attention.

 

[mike33]

Yes, thank god no one got hurt. I have to be real careful having a 6mmx284 and a 25x284 imagine how easy that good go south. One good thing i shoot hollow points out of the 6 and spitzers out of the 25. Little things you have to be careful on. I got in to a good habit even at the reloading bench many times i load for 3 guns to take to range. Usually this means 3 different powders i will always keep the powder im using sitting behind the measure instead of placing back on the shelf. If i see im going to not finish for the claiber at the time and maybe come back to it few hours later, i will always pour powder back in can then place back on shelf. I actually one time had some mixed powders got away with it at the time but now take the precaution of not to happen again.
Mike

 

[elkaholic]

Remember when Remington called their .280 ammo "7mm express" for a while? I know of a case where a guy went in to the gun shop and asked the clerk for some 7mm ammo. He was shooting a 7 Mag and they sold him "7mm Express". He fired one off in his 700 ADL and blew the wood out below the Magazine. When he took it back to where he bought it, the owner jokingly offered to sell him a floor plate to make a BDL out of it! The gun owner was NOT amused

 

[TerryLamb]

No matter how much experience ( I have been shooting and reloading for more than 50 years) a failure to follow basic procedure can result in tragedy at the worst or embarrassment at the least.

Two weeks ago I took my old Winnie M94 .32 Special to the range to re-sight for a new Williams aperture. I was surprised at light recoil, and astounded that I was not on the paper at 50 yds. Brought the boards in to 25 yards, and only occasionally hit the paper with elongated, ragged holes and wildly erratic flyers!

While gazing perplexed at the target boards, I glanced down and realized I had been feeding my .32 Winchester Spl with .30-.30 ammunition. Stupid, embarrassing, but, luckily, not hazardous in this case.

It was also remarkable how these undersized bullets immediately tumbled from the bore, with some smacking the 25 yard targets completely sideways.

At any rate, like the old pilot I am, I have forced myself to proceed once again through a pre-fire checklist without exception, including, of course, confirming the right ammunition on the table.

 

[Chas1]

fire-forming brass for your new 6-5 284 and doing load development in a 204, 17 Fireball, and your son's 260AI. IMHO it sounds like too much going on at the same time in the same area...assuming you had all this stuff layed out at the same time/table. Over the years I've developed a habit of only having out in the open all the stuff for one caliber/cartridge and it's rifle. Before I change to another all the previous gets put up and the new gets brought out. I also keep a close eye on anyone with me. Glad to hear no one got hurt.

 

[mike33]

Remember when Remington called their .280 ammo "7mm express" for a while? I know of a case where a guy went in to the gun shop and asked the clerk for some 7mm ammo. He was shooting a 7 Mag and they sold him "7mm Express". He fired one off in his 700 ADL and blew the wood out below the Magazine. When he took it back to where he bought it, the owner jokingly offered to sell him a floor plate to make a BDL out of it! The gun owner was NOT amused

I think that is the best one yet. I was at a Hecks a chain store around 25 years ago we had local. Asked the girl behind the counter in sporting goods for a box of 308, she said they didnt have none. I said right there they are she repiled no they are 38's.
mike