Reloading bloopers

[robert1804]

I'm a returning shooter and reloader after about a 33 year lay-off. Started again 4 months ago. Thought I'd share a few bloopers and a blunder.

First, I charge powder with the cases in a loading block. About a month ago, I got bullets seated in 30-odd cases out of the 50 in that block before realizing I hadn't visually checked them for the powder level. Since it was a 7 grain charge in matching .38 brass, I weighed them (beam scale). All were fortunately within 3-4 grains and shot just fine.

One failure to fire. Primer in upside-down.

Then, three days ago, I managed to run a .44 case into an expander die with my left index finger in the way. A small cut band-aided, then back in business.

The best one though, was emptying a powder measure about half full of Unique into an almost new 1 pound container of Power Pistol. Well, $*^@!!. A $30 pound of fertilizer isn't as bad as finding more Power Pistol.

I'm sure nobody else here has ever done anything, well…….less than fully smart while reloading.

 

[Nevada Ed]

You just need to pay a little more attention to you loading and have only one powder open at a time.

You need to put the tv, phone, Ipod etc. out of sight until you are through with your loading.

Distractions are not a good thing when messing with powder.

Stay safe.

 

[rwsmith]

It's great to admit mistakes....

It keeps the rest of us on our toes. The only problem I see is that I hope those matching cases were REALLY close in weight and that the bullets were also. Weighing a loaded case is not a good way to check the powder load. A five grain charge of powder weighs .324 grams.

 

[Doubless]

All I can offer is that many years ago when I first started handloading, I once loaded a full box of test loads for a friend's .243; the problem was, I used the charges of powders recommended for the 6MM Remington!

It happens to all of us, and hopefully prior to leaving the bench and heading for the range. I won't assume I have any knowledge of what distractions you had, if any, nor will I offer any recommendations for you. I find experience to be absolutely the best teacher ever invented.

 

[Bkreutz]

Here's the result of a .38 Super Comp case going through a 9x19 flare die (I've only done this once)

 

[novalty]

Here's the result of a .38 Super Comp case going through a 9x19 flare die (I've only done this once)

 

[kbm6893]

I'm a pretty new reloader, and I'm kind of OCD, so I check EVERY charge. I have one loading block with 50 primed cases primers facing up in the tray. I drop powder and as scale is settling (I weigh every charge, especially with the Red Dot I am currently using for 38. It meters very inconsistently), I take the primed case out and inspect it. When the scale is settled I place the case primer up in the powder funnel and reach for the powder in the pan. The cases are always primer up so I know there is no powder in there. I pick up the funnel with the primed case and flip it so the primer side is down and dump the powder. I allow a .1 variance in the powder. I'm loading 3.2'grains of red dot, so if the scale reads a hair above or below the line, it's acceptable. Max charge for my bullet is 3.4 grains, but up to 3.8 for +P. I have no intention of ever double charging a case. The powdered cases are then put into a seperate loading block.

After 50 rounds, I check them all with light, then seat and crimp.

I ve been doing it like this since day one. Don't see myself changing. I'm in no rush

And am I reading you right? Your recipe calls for 7 grains, and when you weighed them they were all within 3-4 grains? That's 50-60% high or low, depending on how you screwed up. So you felt safe shooting a bullet with 10 grains when the recipe calls for 7?

And as for powder being out. Only one is. I have the bottle of whatever I am using closed but sitting right next to the powder thrower. Never gonna mix them up.

 

[gm272gs]

I have made mistakes before. My reloading process includes redundant checks, so I have never done something wrong at the reloading bench that went out to the range.

I operate under the assumption that people are fallible, but the quality-assurance process cannot be.

In the past when I have made a mistake and caught it before a cartridge was finished, I have just stopped right there and quit reloading for the day. I suppose that one would say that I believe in Karma, when it comes to reloading.

 

[BB57]

There are a few practices I've picked up over the last 38 years to prevent stupid mistakes, or forgetting what you have in a given item of equipment:

1) Powder measure marking.

I put a card in the powder measure hopper indicating the powder, powder charge, and caliber. I can walk away from a given powder measure for months and know what's in it.

As an aside, I am also inclined to leave powder in my measures given that the powder is marked, as they are not in direct light as my reloading area is pretty dark when not in use with the shades closed. My powders also don't usually stay in the measure more than a few weeks, and if they do, I'll dump them back in the can.

With some powders and measures, the acetone in the powder won't attack the plastic, but to ensure nothing bad happens to the hopper, you can use a sheet of paper or thin clear plastic rolled in a tube and slipped into the hopper to create a liner. If you use black construction paper, you also don't have to worry about light affecting the powder over the long term.

2) Powder organization and location.

When I am actively loading, the only can of powder I will consider keeping on the bench is the can of powder I am using in the active powder measure. It's also the only can I have on the bench surface - the rest are stored on shelves away from the press. And, the only time I'll do that is in large volume reloading where I know I'll be refilling the powder measure that session.

3) Primer management

I keep track of the primers loaded in the magazine tubes by threading the cardboard jacket from the primer package over the tube. I also slide the jacket over the priming assembly on the press as well to ensure I know what primers are in it.

The box of primers I am currently using will stay on the bench or on a shelf, but the rest of my primers will stay in a .50 caliber ammo can under the bench, sealed against moisture and well away from the powder.

4) General organization.

I try to keep my bench clean and reasonably well organized, as it speeds the loading process if you don't have to look for tools or components, and it helps prevent mistakes. I also mark my toolhead with the caliber they are currently set up for, just as an added reference. Brass is stored in 5 gallons buckets under the bench.

5) Press operation.

Any time I am distracted, interrupted, lose focus, or return from a break in the loading process, I check every position on the tool head to ensure every case on the tool head is ready for the next stroke of the handle, with particular attention paid to the cases on the charging and seating stations.

This is important on any press, but it's absolutely essential on a non auto indexed progressive press, where an extra stroke of the handle without rotating the shell plate could result in a double powder charge. In large cases with small powder charges like the .38 Special, a double charge won't announce itself by overflowing the top of the case.

On a single stage press, you'll want to inspect the powder level in all the cases in the loading block once you've filled the block. Any high or low charges will stand out.

-----

The most common mistake I make is running a .357 Magnum case through a belling die set up for .38 Special. Sometimes I feel the difference soon enough to be able to "unbell" the case, other times it just goes in the scrap brass bag. Despite my best sorting efforts, a .357 Magnum case occasionally gets in with a back to of .38s. As mistakes go it's pretty harmless and I like to keep it that way.

 

[kbm6893]

There are a few practices I've picked up over the last 38 years to prevent stupid mistakes, or forgetting what you have in a given item of equipment:

1) Powder measure marking.

I put a card in the powder measure hopper indicating the powder, powder charge, and caliber. I can walk away from a given powder measure for months and know what's in it.

As an aside, I am also inclined to leave powder in my measures given that the powder is marked, as they are not in direct light as my reloading area is pretty dark when not in use with the shades closed. My powders also don't usually stay in the measure more than a few weeks, and if they do, I'll dump them back in the can.

With some powders and measures, the acetone in the powder won't attack the plastic, but to ensure nothing bad happens to the hopper, you can use a sheet of paper or thin clear plastic rolled in a tube and slipped into the hopper to create a liner. If you use black construction paper, you also don't have to worry about light affecting the powder over the long term.

2) Powder organization and location.

When I am actively loading, the only can of powder I will consider keeping on the bench is the can of powder I am using in the active powder measure. It's also the only can I have on the bench surface - the rest are stored on shelves away from the press. And, the only time I'll do that is in large volume reloading where I know I'll be refilling the powder measure that session.

3) Primer management

I keep track of the primers loaded in the magazine tubes by threading the cardboard jacket from the primer package over the tube. I also slide the jacket over the priming assembly on the press as well to ensure I know what primers are in it.

The box of primers I am currently using will stay on the bench or on a shelf, but the rest of my primers will stay in a .50 caliber ammo can under the bench, sealed against moisture and well away from the powder.

4) General organization.

I try to keep my bench clean and reasonably well organized, as it speeds the loading process if you don't have to look for tools or components, and it helps prevent mistakes. I also mark my toolhead with the caliber they are currently set up for, just as an added reference. Brass is stored in 5 gallons buckets under the bench.

5) Press operation.

Any time I am distracted, interrupted, lose focus, or return from a break in the loading process, I check every position on the tool head to ensure every case on the tool head is ready for the next stroke of the handle, with particular attention paid to the cases on the charging and seating stations.

This is important on any press, but it's absolutely essential on a non auto indexed progressive press, where an extra stroke of the handle without rotating the shell plate could result in a double powder charge. In large cases with small powder charges like the .38 Special, a double charge won't announce itself by overflowing the top of the case.

On a single stage press, you'll want to inspect the powder level in all the cases in the loading block once you've filled the block. Any high or low charges will stand out.

-----

The most common mistake I make is running a .357 Magnum case through a belling die set up for .38 Special. Sometimes I feel the difference soon enough to be able to "unbell" the case, other times it just goes in the scrap brass bag. Despite my best sorting efforts, a .357 Magnum case occasionally gets in with a back to of .38s. As mistakes go it's pretty harmless and I like to keep it that way.

I do most of what you do. I notice you're using 3.2 grains of red dot. That's my load. How does it meter when you drop powder? I'm using a hornady powder measure. It's dead on to the grain with my 7625 that I use for 9MM but very inconsistent with red dot. One I dropped this morning weighed in at 2.4 grains. I have it set for 3.2. Most of the charges are pretty spot on, but I usually have to trickle in a bit to raise it to 3.2. It's almost never too heavy. I'd say the range is 3.0 to 3.2.

 

[Hillbilly77]

The biggest thing I've found (aside from learning from my mistakes) is to keep a sense of humor about it.

You will make small mistakes. Use these to learn so that you don't make big mistakes. Small mistakes ruin brass or powder, big mistakes ruin guns.

I keep all of the brass I've wrecked on my "Wall of Shame", just as a reminder.

The .30-06 brass was my very first attempt at a full-resize. I didn't use enough case lube.
The other brass are miscues like trimming too short or crimping the case mouth on an expanding die, etc.

 

[BB57]

I do most of what you do. I notice you're using 3.2 grains of red dot. That's my load. How does it meter when you drop powder? I'm using a hornady powder measure. It's dead on to the grain with my 7625 that I use for 9MM but very inconsistent with red dot. One I dropped this morning weighed in at 2.4 grains. I have it set for 3.2. Most of the charges are pretty spot on, but I usually have to trickle in a bit to raise it to 3.2. It's almost never too heavy. I'd say the range is 3.0 to 3.2.

I recently moved up to 3.4 grains, but generally speaking my Dillon measure will drop it dead on the desired charge, but I use an extra small charge bar.

I use IMR 7625 in .32 ACP and I also use an extra small charge bar there as well.

 

[kbm6893]

I recently moved up to 3.4 grains, but generally speaking my Dillon measure will drop it dead on the desired charge, but I use an extra small charge bar.

I use IMR 7625 in .32 ACP and I also use an extra small charge bar there as well.

I'm not familiar with the term "charge bar". I just use the metering insert that came with my Hornady Lock N Load powder dispenser. I bought the one pound of red dot last summer when I started reloading. It was all I could find. It's been fine other than the inconsistent drops with red dot. Only other powder I have used is 7625 and it's dead on every time. I've loaded about 1000 rounds with the red dot and once it's all gone I'm gonna try the Hp38 I have. I heard it meters very well.

 

[novalty]

A charge bar is the sliding powder system on a Dillon. The Hornady uses a traditional cylinder with metering stem.

 

[kbm6893]

Ah. Good to know.

 

[S&WIowegan]

Many years ago I loaded at least 500 rounds of 45ACP with 200 gr LSWCs and 231 powder using a Dillon 550. First time at the range I had several squib loads but most rounds fired OK. I went back to the press and kept looking at the powder measure trying to figure out what happened. Finally I found that the bell crank lever had somehow loosened just enough to allow the little Teflon square to slip out and fail to drop a charge.

Lesson learned: Always keep checking everything!

A buddy and I tried to find a way to detect which rounds had no powder by weighing each one. NOT! I finally sat on the floor with my kinetic bullet puller and opened every round. Final tab was about 30% bad rounds....a hard lesson. To this day I sort all my brass by headstamp but even then a 5.0gr powder charge is too light to detect with certainty.

 

[Leonard]

How about seating 45 caliber Penn TH bullets into a 44 mag case all of my 45 colt brass is nickle forget I had some 44 mag brass that was also nickle was surprised at the uneven waist almost ready to question bullet diameter then looked at head stamp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Goblin]

kbm6893, are you using the smaller pistol drum? If not, it may help. It's pretty small, I can't load my 44 mag with it.

 

[ko41]

The Bugle.....handle slipped when setting up a new die set.

The 40-9KO....the stopping power of a .40 in a compact 9mm package.

KO

 

[kbm6893]

kbm6893, are you using the smaller pistol drum? If not, it may help. It's pretty small, I can't load my 44 mag with it.

Yep. Smaller drum. My reloading experience is pretty new, but the 7625 drops perfectly every time. Red dot is dead on maybe 50% of the time. The other 50 it's off. Maybe 40% off by a grain of two that I fix with the trickler. But 1 out of ten drops is usually way off. I'm talking a grain of more. That would definitely cause a squib, shooting 2.1 grains when the minimum is 3.0.