Will you shoot someone else's reloads and/or let them shoot yours?

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OK - so I know this topic has been brought up before in other threads, but I couldn't track down a good dedicated thread - so here goes.

As someone who DOES NOT reload myself, I've traded folks on numerous occasions for their reloads. I've purchased reloads from gun shows (booths from folks in the business of selling reloads, and booths of individuals selling their own reloads). I've re-traded reloads for other reloads, or traded my brass for reloads. You get the picture...

Long story short, I've generally trusted that folks who are doing the reloading have taken the proper precautions, although because I do not reload myself, I don't have a good appreciation for how easily one can screw up and double-charge a round, use a faulty piece of brass, etc. Nor do I really know how dire the consequences can be (are we talking death here? serious injury? or just a messed up gun?)

I know there are numerous folks on here who will simply not allow others to shoot their reloads, nor will they shoot someone else's.

So tell me - am I being too cavalier about my willingness to shoot reloads done by others?
 
A random reload by someone out of the blue? Maybe not. There are some here that see it as a science. Even if he does hate cats, EddieCoyle is known to be an exacting reloader and I would tend to trust (someone like) him. If you should run across a man identifying himeself as Captain Walt, do not engage. Back away slowly taking care not to startle him. Do NOT fire anything he offers.
 
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I shoot my friend's reloads. He's a master bullseye shooter in NYS and is obsessive when it comes to reloading properly with scales and guages. I've shot over 4K rounds of his and never had a squib or FTF. He makes good stuff and is kind enough to sell me some. I have another 500 rounds waiting to be picked up when I get back to Buffalo this spring. [smile]

200 gr. SWC lead .45acp.

I also shoot the .45acp lead RN ultramax commercial reloads you can buy at Dick's Sporting Goods. Never had a problem with these either after 2K rounds.
 
I think you might be. I will shoot other's reloads but only folks that I know have a solid history of reloading with success. To give you an example of how fussy I am- if I extract a cartridge from my gun and don't see MY cartridge hit the ground- I most likely will not take it.

I also usually don't let anyone shoot my reloads. If I'm helping a noob with my gun I will usually bring commercial ammo from the.
 
You are putting your personal safety in someone else's hands when you shoot their reloads. An accidental double-charge in a handgun and you (and possibly someone near you) are off to the hospital. Even a squib load, if you don't notice that it lodged the pill in the barrel, will spoil your day.

I would shoot a "professional's" and reloads those from a few trusted friends. I would never shoot reloads from a random stranger.
 
i have two friends that reload that i trust impecably and those are the only reloads other than mine that i will shoot (unless its bought in a gun shop)
 
There are several folks on the forum whose reloads I would shoot without hesitation. A complete stranger's reloads? No, thank you. I have had strangers fire my reloads in my guns...with my close observation. I'm more concerned with a squib round than an overcharge, since I tend to use "bulky" powders that make a double-charge almost impossible. I check and double-check when I reload but I'm also very aware that anyone can make a mistake when loading....and that includes factory ammo.

There are also some folks that I wouldn't want to be around when they're firing their own reloads in their own guns. [laugh]
 
Although I know plenty of people who reload that I would trust, I do not shoot anyones reloads except for my own. I can probably count the times through the years that I tried someone else's ammo. Not many! I used to reload once in a while for a few shooters including juniors but one time I reloaded .223 ammo for a fellow shooter using her brass and she had a case head seperation. After thinking what could have happened, I decided not to load for anyone again. I think after a few years she still doesn't understand why!
HS
 
I'll shoot someone else's reloads if I trust that particular individual and likewise in the other direction.

I will not let someone else shoot my reloads unless I am 110% sure of the QC on whatever given batch I produce.

-Mike
 
I've shot several people's reloads, and just finished out some of WeedWacker's (or what I thought were reloads at the time, I think they were actually factory). I'm reasonably trusting both in the general competence of re-loaders and that my Sig can handle anything that goes bad. I've even fed ammo that miss-fed in others' firearms. Most thing I've personally seen go wrong with ammo have cleared just fine with immediate or remedial action drills.

I quite sure I'm probably ignorant, but I've never been able to envision a failure (other than a dreaded squib) that really worries my all-metal guns.
 
Here's my two cents worth on the subject of shooting someone else's reloads:

  • If it's from someone you know and trust to be precise, accurate, and repeatable, go for it. But, only if they have documented the reloading data on the box, and you can confirm it.
  • If it's from someone you know, but aren't sure about the potential quality, skip the chance. Even if it's free. If it's gonna cost you, then avoid it as politely as possible.
  • If it's from some UNKNOWN source, as they say in Brooklyn, "Forgetaboutit!"
 
if i trained them , i trust them

strangers.....not so much

many of my loads are gun specific. eg; P-7 or BHP
or replicate a SD round: cor-bon and gold dots
or a friends class lll and his EMP.
 
Underwhere let me try a few of his reloads (very light recoil 9mm) and I've bough reloads from qmmo.

I agree with the others about reloads from a stranger though. In fact, I probably wouldn't buy them from a gun show either.
 
I'll shoot someone else's reloads if I trust that particular individual and likewise in the other direction.

I will not let someone else shoot my reloads unless I am 110% sure of the QC on whatever given batch I produce.

-Mike

Mike loads some of the best .45ACP I have ever fired in my life - factory or otherwise. And I'm not just being nice...
 
Now, if someone wants to GIVE me some reloads, and they aren't marked, or documented, and I have no idea what they are, I'll gladly accept them .......

(this is a point that I forgot to make yesterday)......

What I'd do with freebie stuff like that is disassemble them (inertia bullet puller), save the parts, and reload them into my formula.
 
I'll absolutely shoot somebody else's reloads in their gun. I will in mine if I know and trust the person.
 
I won't do either, it's too much assumtion of risk. If I screw up and someone gets hurt it's my fault and if someone else screws up, I have a bad day. Either way it's a bummer.
 
The only people I'd go shooting with is people I trust in the first place.
That being said, I'd take reloads from anyone I go shooting with, and I would shoot them in my own guns.
I have shot friends reloads in their own guns (only because at that time I didn't have any guns that took the reloaded calibers).

I would not take reloads from a stranger I met at the range.
 
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