Know your ammo or know your re-loader
By MARJ LAW
(On a Wednesday…)
“OMG! OMG! What a huge kick!”
I am shocked at this Kahr’s recoil. It’s only a 9mm. Am I turning into a wimp?
I put the gun on the shooting bench.
What’s this? How odd! Looks like part of the Kahr is missing! I can see the internal mechanism near the ejection port! And where’s the magazine?
Travis, the gun’s owner, is reaching on the ground, gathering pieces. Pieces of the gun’s magazine.
It blew up! Yes, the gun blew up! Oh, no!
I shake my dominant hand. The webbing between thumb and index finger smarts.
Travis is still on the ground. He has located the casing of the spent round and holds it up for me to see. The metal is twisted and broken.
“What happened?” I am stunned.
Travis’s friend, Ed, a certified NRA Instructor and Range Safety Officer, comes over and inspects the casing.
“The round may have been double-charged,” he muses. “It might be a re-load.”
Travis looks ruefully at his Kahr.
“I didn’t like that gun, anyway.”
We had been shooting most of the morning.
(Earlier…)
Travis owns a brand new compact 9mm Kimber and a 9mm Kahr.
“I’ve never shot a Kahr, and sure am interested in your new Kimber. Want to try out each other’s guns?” I’m always up for learning about other handguns. So, Travis is going to shoot my 9mm Smith & Wesson Equalizer and 9mm Canik. We’re both ready to swap guns to see how they shoot.
I’m interested to see Travis shoot the Canik. He has been using some rounds that are “hotter” than my 124-grain rounds. The Canik is a small defensive gun and prefers stronger loads. I haven’t been shooting it all that well.
Blam! Blam! Blam!
Travis gets three bullseyes right off the bat with those hot loads. Drat. I haven’t managed one yet with that gun.
He picks up my Equalizer. He pulls back the slide and grins.
“Very easy slide!” he exclaims happily.
Blam! Blam! Blam! He’s in the shooting groove today! Can I pretend that’s my target?
It’s my turn to shoot his Kimber. He has it loaded for me.
Blam!
“Wow! That little guy has more recoil than I can manage well,” I admit.
“Do you want to shoot it again?” he asks agreeably.
“No. There’s no point. Too much recoil for me.”
So, that’s when it happens. I pick up the loaded Kahr and fire.
Whack!
What a hard hard kick! I shake my hand. Yep. Got a bruise going on.
And that’s when I look down and realize the gun has exploded.
I am so lucky. Part of the frame is missing, and the magazine is in bits.
All morning, Travis has been using ammunition given to him. And some, if not all, may be re-loaded rounds.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not dissing reloads. For the past decade, I’ve bought 124-grain reloads from Georgia Arms. They’ve been great, and I’ve saved a few dollars. In fact, most of my ammo is reloads from Georgia Arms. Just about all of my shooting friends have bought re-loads too.
Re-loads from a reputable manufacturer can save you money, especially when you purchase in bulk.
And I’m not dissing the Kahr, either. I’m impressed that because of the design: that the majority of the force of the explosion pushed downwards towards the magazine and outward to the right instead of backwards towards me, the shooter.
In the past, I have shot ammunition that has been given to me, and haven’t always known where it came from.
Guess I won’t be doing that again. Travis probably won’t either.
I take a photo of the damaged gun, magazine, and round casing and go to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range deputy. He agrees with the Range Safety Officer, and with Joe, who came over from the rifle range, that the round may have been double-charged. Or the re-loader may not have noticed that the casing may have been too old and/or flawed before re-loading.
“Know your ammunition,” he advises, “and if you have re-loads, then know your re-loader.”
Shooting a handgun can be a dangerous sport. When you shoot at the WCSO range, you must always use safety glasses to protect your eyes, and hearing protection as well.
But accidents happen and you can minimize them by using dependable ammunition.
*Next Wednesday, around 10:00, we’ll be at the WCSO range again, and plan to shoot the fairly new Ruger Security 9mm handgun. It has a remarkably easy slide to manipulate. If you’d like to see this gun, join us at the range!
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.