Years back I remember being taught never to shoot someone else’s reloads. I violated that rule only once, when I bought some “factory reloads” from a vendor at a gun show. Luckily I didn’t damage anything with the shoddy 9mm fodder, but I still have the remainder — in a sealed ammo can labeled “Dangerous Ammo – Do Not Shoot!” — somewhere in the garage.

That cemented my rule: no reloads that I didn’t make, not even one round. Why? Because you don’t know if that one round came from this guy’s reloading press.

Could I accidentally make a reload that achieves a similar level of destruction? Yes, but I know what my reloading precautions are; I take great pains to make sure that the ammo I reload is safe. No matter how well I might know the person proffering his handiwork, I have no idea if his attention to detail is similarly sufficient to keep me out of the emergency room.

I once knew a fellow who was a great guy. Well educated, important white collar job, meticulous in everything he did. One day he took some of his reloaded ammo to the range with two guns, a Glock and a Hi-Power. His first magazine blew up the gun, at which point he switched guns and proceeded to blow it up, too. No matter how bright people may be in the rest of their lives, sometimes they’re just not cut out to make ammunition.

Neither you nor I want to be one of their “oopsies”. If you didn’t make it, or it didn’t come from a well known factory, don’t risk it in your gun.

-=[ Grant ]=-