When I screw up I go big.

[mmb617]

As someone new to reloading I've made a boo-boo that might entertain those who've been doing it a while. I thought I was being careful but obviously not careful enough.

I was reloading 9mm and checking the weight of powder charges a couple times in each block of 50 I did with my Lee balance beam scale. Eventually I got to thinking that the cases seemed to be more full than they should be so I did some investigating. The problem was that my scale had at some point lost it's zero, and I hadn't thought to check that for quite some time. Apparently the vibrations on the bench had caused the little thumbwheel to move changing the zero.

This could have been avoided if I'd been watching the VMD chart setting on my powder measure, but I'd been relying solely on the weights showing on the scale. As soon as I noticed the problem I also saw how far off the volume setting was.

Once I rezeroed the scale I saw that I'd been overloading by a fair amount. Now I have a thousand rounds or so that will need rechecked as I don't know exactly when the problem started.

Here's my plan going forward, any suggestions are welcome. Since my beam scale can only measure up to 100 grains it's not going to tell me if a cartridge is overloaded, so I ordered a digital scale that has a 50 gram capacity (771 grain) and supposedly is accurate to .001 gram, or about .015 grain, so that should be accurate enough to tell which ones may be overloaded. I'll weigh every round and questionable ones will have to come apart.

Up till now I only had an inertial bullet puller and anticipating taking apart hundreds of rounds with that isn't going to cut it, so I ordered the RCBS collet puller which I hope will make the job easier.

They say we learn from out mistakes. I'll bet I don't make this one again. Since I'll now have both a digital and beam scale I'll be able to double check charge weights on both scales in the future. And I'll pay close attention to the VMD settings as well when changing from one caliber to another.

 

[tlawler]

1K rounds to break down? That is unfortunate, but you caught it before anything went boom. Get another scale to make comparisons to. I’ve got the original scale that came with my Lee turret kit, but also use a good RCBS balance and a Dillon electronic. I picked both up used for about half what they cost new.

 

[armorer951]

Do you have to break them down, or could you just weigh each of them, and compare their weight to the weight of a correctly loaded one?

I realize the weight and scale would have to be precise, but don't most of the scales, like the RCBS, weigh in tenths of a grain?

(sorry, but I'm clueless about reloading, at least at the scale of 1000 rounds at a time)

 

[SMSgt]

Lee beam scale. Not the first time I've read of an issue with that.

Get a more solid reloading bench, get a better scale. My RCBS 505 has not lost its zero setting since I bought it around 1980.

 

[max503]

Me personally? I think I'd have to pull them all.
Why?
What if a bullet or case had a slight defect, making it light then the over-charge brought the entire weight of the cartridge up to normal?

Nothing says you have to get in a hurry about it.
Pull them all. And thanks again for sharing. I gave you a "like" for being so honest.

 

[Speedo2]

Ouch! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but weighing the completed cartridges is unlikely to be successful for you in culling the over-filled cases. Depending on if you've sorted your brass by head stamps, the brass can vary by around 2 grains for the same head stamps and up to 8 grains for mixed head stamps. I wouldn't do that and feel very safe. I would have to recommend pulling the bullet heads, dumping them and re-throwing the powder from a more accurate scale or powder feed. -S2

ETA: here's a link to an earlier post that I did to show the differences in casing weights:
Some (probably useless) Brass Facts

 

[armorer951]

Wow, I had no idea the weight of the components would vary that much. Thanks

 

[Collo Rosso]

Do you have to break them down, or could you just weigh each of them, and compare their weight to the weight of a correctly loaded one?

Oh yes! With mixed brass, the weight of the cases can vary way more then a powder load. Better to pull 1K reloads then blow up a gun.
OP, sounds like you were weighing each charge. Invest in a powder measure. My RCBS uniflow once set, will vary no more than +/- .1 grain with ball powders.

 

[JtWilson]

I would pull them all, as well. Just too much variation and the stakes are too high.

JT

 

[Krogen]

Speedo2 is exactly right. You will have too much variation in individual bullet and case weights to identify over-charged rounds by weight. You can prove this to yourself by simply weighing a few bullets and cases. Your issue is familiar to many of us, I reckon. Some lessons are hard learned, as in pulling down 1000 rounds. Good thing is you noticed something was amiss and figured out the problem.

 

[rockquarry]

It's a good practice to check a scale's zero every time you use it. It takes just seconds.

 

[lrrifleman]

OP, the last thing you want to do is add insult to injury. DO NOT use the collet bullet puller to break apart your potential thousand round mistake.

The collet will, 99% of the time, damage your bullet. While it would be much faster, do you really want to toss up to a thousand bullets? Dedicate a day and pull those rounds apart using your kinetic bullet puller.

 

[Maurice H]

Pull them all, without question. Full stop.

I try to limit the amount of vibration that reaches my precision gadgetry. My bench is isolated from a wall-mounted shelf. When I'm rolling the press I keep the scales on the adjacent shelf.

 

[Carrier]

I’ve had to do a 100 rounds one time because of a stupid mistake on my part. Can’t imagine doing a 1000. On the upside you will get really good with the hammer puller

 

[muddocktor]

OP, the last thing you want to do is add insult to injury. DO NOT use the collet bullet puller to break apart your potential thousand round mistake.

The collet will, 99% of the time, damage your bullet. While it would be much faster, do you really want to toss up to a thousand bullets? Dedicate a day and pull those rounds apart using your kinetic bullet puller.

I've never tried using my collet puller on pistol rounds, just rifle. But, if they are lead bullets I fully agree with this. If they are jacketed, it would depend on whether the collet can get a solid grip on the bullet profile. I know that on jacketed rifle bullets my collet puller does zero damage to the bullet.

With that said, get a good good inertia puller such as the RCBS and get ready for several days of banging apart ammo. I would break it up into several days of processing 100-200 rounds myself to prevent burnout. And buy yourself a quality balance to replace the cheap Lee one you are using. I prefer mechanical over electronic, but I am also an old neanderthal anyways, as far as my loading equipment goes.

 

[stansdds]

To be safe, I'd use my inertia bullet puller and pull all of them. 1000 rounds is a lot, but an unsafe pressure round might cost a lot more than the time to pull and re-reload those 1000 rounds.

My balance beam scale is from Lyman. I did learn a long time ago that the vibration from the press slightly shakes the reloading bench, which can affect the scale's zero. I put a small trophy shelf on the wall above the bench, no more vibration and the scale stays perfectly zeroed.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You can't have too many scales! The RCBS/Lyman/Ohas 5-0-5 & 5-10-5 scales are some of the best! and most expensive!! I also use a Hornady "Magnetic Dampened" beam scale, I wasn't so sure when I bought it on sale 30 years ago, but it may be better than my 2 electronic scale. I have a Dillion beam scale also, $80 wasted, piece of junk!

I posted in another thread, that the electronic dope scales are inexpensive but very accurate, but you will need a pan (you can use anything) but Lyman makes a plastic pan with a built in funnel.

I never had to break down 1000 rounds before, but I have done 100 a few times. I also have a container of junk, mistakes and other peoples reloads I won't shoot. Every other year or so I reclaim the brass and bullets. The powder gets burnt and the primers get trashed. I own both types of bullet pullers, and collet works best but 9mm doesn't have much area to grab hold of.

If you shell retainer gets too worn to gran the extractor grove, most hammer type pullers allow you to use the correct shell holder you used to load them.

It gets old beating on the basement floor, wait for fair weather and do it outside or if you have a garage, try that. But very few tables will withstand 1000 tear downs!

Ivan

 

[wyo-man]

Pull them. As mentioned the weight is too variable.
Been there, done that. It took awhile, but did 50 or 60 at a session and it got done.

wyo-man

 

[scattershot]

I have a different take on it. Go ahead and weigh them, using an empty case, bull let, and powder charge in the scale as a baseline. Pull the heavy ones. Chances are, it’s an overweight powder charge, but even if it isn’t, no harm, no foul.

 

[Funflyer]

Looks like it's time for a bullet pulling party OP. Buy a few more pullers, your favorite snacks and drinks, then invite a few of your good friends over for an afternoon of fun. Amazon has a great price on kinetic pullers.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Puller-Inertia-Kinetic-Remover/dp/B078BSBS12/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=bullet+puller&qid=1584201715&sr=8-10"]Amazon.com : Bullet Puller Hammer Inertia Kinetic Style Impact Bullet Remover Fits .17 to 50-70 Govt, Blue : Sports & Outdoors[/ame]