Odd Reloading? Want a Broader Audience

[mike7mm08]

Got a odd, perhaps morbid to some, reloading question. As some may have read my dad just passed. He wanted no service and to be cremated.

Well he did want a service. But a viking funeral is kinda difficult to do legally.

Anyways I got to do some kind of send off. His ashes ain't going to just sit on a shelf til I die. Of course some will be spread in special places.

But I want to send some him out with a bang. I have his absolutely beautiful OM Super Blackhawk. He sent it in for the conversion. Came back scratched up. He complained to Ruger. They made it right and returned with the most perfect highest polished blue I have ever seen on a Ruger.

Anyways gun has some history. Was a wedding gift to him from my mother. Unfortunately she did not also give him hearing protection. Being young and tough, by tough I mean dumb, he thought it would be a good idea to fire off a box of fifty rounds. Cannot tell you how many times a year since I was about five years old I heard the story.

Figure what better way to send him off. Want to load some rounds up with a little "extra" powder in the form of ashes. Thinking starting load of trailboss topped off with ashes to reach the case fill level of a max trailboss load. Bullet wise probable just a basic powdercoated 240 grain soft lead

Anyone done anything similar? Trailboss is my thought of powder as you can per their instructions figure loads based on volume.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[powder smoke]

Maybe shot capsules loaded with ashes instead of shot may be something to think about!
Sorry for your loss may god bless! ps

 

[Dan in MI]

A while back there was a local request to load 12g with ashes.

 

[contender]

Not as morbid or uncommon as you think.

We had a local shooter,, a truly great guy,, who passed a few years ago are the young age of 49. (Cancer.) His request,, not the normal mourning & all,, but instead,, for all of us shooters to go to his home gun range,, dressed in normal range attire, and his ashes were fire from a cannon,, by his son. The first funeral service I have attended in shooting garb, and barefoot.

May I suggest a "duplex" load.
A lighter charge of a hot powder, such as bullseye,, a cardboard wad,, the your Dad's ashes, topped with a light bullet, that doesn't take up too much space.

It's similar to an old load for 38 spl, where we'd put a "filler" such as cornmeal, or poly fiberfill in the gap between a 2.8 to 3.2 grns of Bullseye,, and a 148 grn wadcutter. (The idea is to make sure all the powder was against the primer,, and the filler took up the air space gap.)
Just figure out something to duplicate that idea.
Trailboss is a large grain, lofty powder doing that very same purpose. Wrong choice.

 

[nvbirdman]

I like the idea of the shot capsule.

 

[blume357]

Either way, my vote (for what it's worth) is go for it.

 

[mike7mm08]

Thanks for the ideas.

Contenders idea might be the way to go. Will get out the reloading books and find a charge that fills the case minimally.

The bark of a his favorite pistol. A high dollar bottle of bourbon. Perhaps a puff or two of his favorite herbal remedy from days gone by :wink:. Some Skynyrd, CDB, and Hank Jr playing. Be a fitting send off.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I would think Bobski would throw out some ideas. I remember he talking about people doing the same thing in Shot shells. Lot's more room for ashes.

 

[sncup]

Reloading is going to need a LOT of cartridges to fire off an average size guy. A cremation site lists 1 cubic inch per pound of live weight. So a 200 lb guy needs 200 CI after cremation. If you load all his cremains in cartridges you better have a progressive press and several Thousand cases.

I understand your need but offer a different solution. I am going to have my cremains put in a 200 rd GI ammo box (227 cubic inches) and then the ammo box buried in a cementary plot. This keeps the family happy, I have a grave stone that only need a VA plaque put on it to finish things.

 

[Chief]

Reloading is going to need a LOT of cartridges to fire off an average size guy. A cremation site lists 1 cubic inch per pound of live weight. So a 200 lb guy needs 200 CI after cremation. If you load all his cremains in cartridges you better have a progressive press and several Thousand cases.

I understand your need but offer a different solution. I am going to have my cremains put in a 200 rd GI ammo box (227 cubic inches) and then the ammo box buried in a cementary plot. This keeps the family happy, I have a grave stone that only need a VA plaque put on it to finish things.

I like this idea!

 

[Thumbcocker]

Tannerite?

 

[UmpquaCharlie]

When my father died we loaded some of his ashes in a black powder 50 caliber TC and had a 21 gun salute. All the relatives got to fire at least one shot. What you are doing is a great idea.

 

[tinman]

Not as uncommon as you might think. I've had several friends that loaded shot shells with ashes of the deceased relative/friend. Then, with as many as wanted to participated, went out to the deceased's favorite hunting spot for a "hunters funeral". 8)

 

[Snake45]

Didn't they do something similar for Hunter S. Thompson? Only with cannons, I think. :?