I have always heard you should never use someone else's reloaded ammo. I recently swapped some new Hornady ammo for a batch of reloaded ammo for a different caliber. The reloader is an outfitter and very experienced. I took the ammo to the range to test fire a few, it is loaded in 3 batches with different projectiles. Half of the cartridges won't chamber and the case sizes seem to be inconsistent. Looks like no attention to detail at all. I'll salvage the components and load them over, but lesson learned.

I hate that for you. Could have been worse though-could have been loaded to hot and had some bad results. Had a guy give me a box of .223's one time for the Contender I once had. I told him I didn't want them but he insisted. I finally took them and just never shot them. Dicey deal, that's for sure.

We talked about them before he loaded them. Agreed on factory specs for case, OAL, powder load, bullet type. He just didn't bother to do it. Oh well, live and learn.

I guess it is weird, I would never shoot anyone elses, but have a number of people that shoot mine. My brother, dad, cousin, and some friends have shot them, I guess it just has to come from someone you KNOW you can trust.

+1, I do this as well... load for a few family members and two close friends..never had an issue, everyone insists on shooting my stuff. I will not shoot someone else's reloads.

I will NEVER load for some one else, I learned that lesson early from the old man that owned the gun shop in my home town.

Reason being if somebody gets your loads and plugs the barrel with mud or has some kind of accident that results in the gun breaking your to blame by default weather its your fault or not.

Kory still have pictures of the Sako with the split barrel?

At the CHL class I was at, a guy destroyed his gun with a double-charged .45. Not injured, but the slide was jammed up solid. Had a friend reload it.

A guy at work loaded some .40 for another co-worked. 3 out of the 100 had no powder. Just enough to wedge a bullet half-way down the barrel.

I learn from other people's mistakes. It's less painfull.

I got some reloads with a gun I purchased and normally wouldn't shoot someone else's reloads but I decided to pop them off at the range. They were 44 mags and funny thing was about 45 of 50 were not loaded like a magnum round, felt more like a 44 spl. Guess the guy who loaded them wanted some low recoil practice rounds. Of course the 5 that were magnums gave me a nice surprise! No gun damage or problems so I'll clean the brass and load them myself so I know what they are.

thats why I only shoot my own reloads,I do not trust ayone else just for safety concerns. Be CAREFUL

Shooting another persons handloads/reloads, is a crap shoot at best, a nightmare at worst.

Over the years, 90%+ of the game I have killed has been with my handloads/reloads, but I don't handload/reload for other people.

Too many things can go wobbly.

I went to the range a couple years ago and the guy sitting next to me was getting ready to shoot a 300 win mag that he just bought for the first time. I saw the bulits, and they looked weird, asked if I could see one he said sure, they are 100 grains and really fast. Sure enough they were 100 grain round nose bullets, i thought ok whatever and went about my business. A couple minutes later he fired the first shot and the bolt wouldnt open, I didnt think too much about it he used a hammer(claw hammer not a mallet) to open the bolt which I thought was kinda funnly. Shot a second shot and bolt was stuck again! Out came the hamer again. I asked him about the ammo he said it was reloads that came with the gun I told him to throw them away.

matt