[quote]ORIGINAL: bigcountry
if you reload and shoot muzzleloaders on a fairly regular basis you are going to sustain a severe injury that could potentially cost you your life
I don't know if I agree that you WILL sustain a severe injury, but I will say that there is always a chance to make a mistake. Case in point:
I had just finished dropping two 50-grain Pyrodex pellets down the barrel when my friend called me over to check something out on his Encore. After a minute or so, I came back to my rifle, and while we continued to talk, I absent-mindedly dropped an additional two pellets down the bore, then seated a 295-grain Powerbelt Aerotip on top of the charge. I capped the nipple, aimed and fired. When I picked my dumb arse off the ground (as the recoil blew me off the seat of the bench), I was in a semi-state of shock. It took a while to figure out that I had actually shot a 200-grain charge. Thankfully I suffered no injury, and upon a phone call to Remington, I found out that a one-time overload like this one should not have caused any harm to the rifle, as the barrel and receiver have been tested at higher than specified loads, just-in-case an idiot like me did what I did.
However, it does go to show that, with one minor lapse in critical thinking, disaster can be right around the corner.
That is why I always handload for centerfires away from wives, kids, TV, radio and any other distraction. I never want to make an error with smokeless!
Brian