September 1, 2021
This is a sad tale. This man nearly lost his right hand and suffered severe injuries to his fingers. He accidentally bought the wrong powder from the shelf. This story has been told before and we will continue to tell it every year as a warning to our readers. This is a common mistake, but it can have serious consequences. Before you begin hand-loading, make sure to double-check the powder labels. You may not have a hand to load next time if you don’t.
Similar Labels, Dangerous ConsequencesThe shooter was assembling rounds for his 7mm-08 Savage hunting rifle. He thought he was loading Hodgdon Varget. He had actually filled his powder measure instead with Hodgdon TiteGroup. This is a fast-burning pistol dust. The labels are identical, so it is easy to see why. The results were disastrous. Here are the results of 41 grains from TiteGroup in a 7mm-8:
Denny posts on the Firing line in a thread titled “Lucky To Be Alive”.
“This is the most difficult post to write. It is clear that if I had seen it a week ago, my comment would have been: “You have no business reloading.” Everything was perfect except for the fact that I used the wrong powder in my powder measure. I am embarrassed to type this slowly using my left hand.
CLICK HERE to see a larger, more graphic image of injury
The Varget Still-Sealed Bottle
Denny didn’t understand why the kaboom occurred at first. He thought it was his Savage rifle. On his return to home, he discovered…
Denny wrote: “The seven hour period it took to get to ER, transport at Trauma Center, and surgery made it clear that it was a Savage rifle problem. New rifle, new brass, triple-checked loading information. I was shocked to discover that the Varget powder was still sealed the next day.
I knew which powder to use. I thought Varget was what I used. It wasn’t until the next day that I realized Varget was still sealed.
Denny realized that the accident was caused by operator error. He realized he had to warn others about the wrong powder. “I knew I had to share my error, even though it was embarrassing, just so people would be reminded. I’ve been reloading for over 30 years …”
Editor’s Note: Denny was not a novice loader. This is a mistake that any hand-loader can make, even one with decades of experience. Take your time loading your ammo. After loading, remove powders from the measures (pistol powders may look very similar to rifle powders). Also, make sure to check the label on the jug. TiteGroup labels it as “A little goes far.”
It is a good idea to separate your pistol powders and your rifle powders.
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Tags: First Aid, Emergency, Explosion, Fingers Lose, First Aid, Kaboom. Pistol Powder. Reloading, Reloading Fail. TiteGroup. Varget.
