[Oathkeeper1775]

I was going along pretty good today loading some .45 Colt on my new Lee Deluxe Turret;

I wasn't keeping an eye on the powder drop, the .71 disk didn't re-set when I lowered the handle on 6 cartriges. :what:

Now I have 6 primed cartriges with bullets and no powder in them.

"Greenhorns", I know...., you should have seen me the first year I bow- hunted for wild hogs on FT Benning, I mean wild......... :D

I'm going over my options on what to do with the cartriges and I figure I will loose or destroy the bullets if I pull them out manually.

I could load them up into the Colt and pull the trigger?

I've never fired a powderless cartrige in my Colt but I've had a couple "wet - powder days" where the bullet stuck in the barrel, so whats the worst that
could happen?

I don't know what will happen.

Going to hit the book tonight.

Does it come down to: Save the primer @.0375 cents, or can I save the bullet @ 9 cents?

[bigedp51]

Impact hammer, pull bullets, add powder, re-seat bullets, crimp, shoot.

Simple ;)

[MEHavey]

I could load them up into the Colt and pull the trigger?

No. I cannot imagine a case to be made for doing that at any time. Go get an impact hammer bullet puller. It should be the tool one gets immediately alongside the first set of dies purchased

I've never fired a powderless cartrige in my Colt but I've had a couple "wet - powder days" where the bullet stuck in the barrel,....
There is no such thing as a wet powder day with self-contained cartridges, so what you describe is an accident waiting to happen downstream. Badddd JuJu.

What powder/bullet combination are you experiencing this with?

[Sport45]

And how do you know there were only six with no powder?

[GooseGestapo]

Sounds like you had powder "bridging" in the hopper, or clumping of the powder. Also could be due to static build up in the plastic "hopper". Spherical powders can tend to clump, as well.

I suggest you remove the powder from the hopper when you aren't loading. This will prevent it from absorbing moisture. Also, shake or stir the powder in the hopper.

Also, could be that you are using a large flake powder such as Red Dot, or Herco. These have a tendency to "bridge" in powder measures intended for rifle and pistols.... (small drop tube and cavities).

[Carl N. Brown]

6 cartriges had no powder drop, what to do
I'm going over my options on what to do with the cartriges and I figure I will loose or destroy the bullets if I pull them out manually.
I could load them up into the Colt and pull the trigger?

I would be more willing to "bite the bullet" and write those six bullets off as a loss.

I would suspect a stuck bullet in a barrel of a handgun (or a bullet stuck in the forcing cone of a revolver binding barrel and cylinder) could be more work or cause more problems than would justify saving six bullets or six primers.

[RandyP]

IF you have under $20 to invest, and I did say if, a kinetic bullet puller is the safest way to go and still be able to re-use the components. Availble at Cabelas, online and most good gun emporiums:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=630146

If money is tight (and we're all in THAT boat-lol) just pull the bullet with pliers and pitch it. If you unscrew a die, raise the round up in the shell holder, you can grab on to the bullet with the pliers and then lower the ram for a nice straight pull.

I too am curious how you know which rounds got no powder?

[Jim Watson]

Everybody needs a bullet puller. The inertial types are not expensive.
Even after you learn to LOOK in each and every case to confirm the presence of one and only one (1.0) powder charge, there will come a time when you will be better off to dismantle a round than shoot it.

Do NOT pop these in your gun. Driving out the stuck bullets would be a lot more trouble than pulling them. Just set those six (as said how do you know there are six and only six?) aside til you can get a puller.
Shoot the rest of that batch slowly so you don't find the seventh and blow it out with the next shot and ruin your barrel.

[highlander 5]

I would be cautious as you may have more than 6 rounds missing powder. For my 45 Colt loads I use either 231 or universal clays. As the others have said get an inertia pullet puller,they are the "eraser" of reloading.

[Oathkeeper1775]

I'll get a bullet puller.

Uh, couple questions surfaced; on the so-called wet powder days, occurred shortly after Elk season where I carried the colt in a western holster, it gets really wet here.

Wet Powder day? Three or four factory cartridges (Ultramax) barely fired and only went about twenty feet, the fifth load went about 15 feet and the sixth cart stuck in the muzzle.

I fired off the rest of that ammo on the belt without a hitch.

How do I know only six didn't get a powder drop? I am loading in 10 round innerations, when I noticed the disk sticking it was on inneration 3.

So, I took the 18 rounds; I weighed and compared them with a confirmed cartridge.

It looks like I'd better pull all 18 bullets since I wasn't watching.....

I was using HS6. When I slightly loosened the two screws on the powder bowl the disk moved regularly but a little powder (few flakes) escaped.

I've only loaded with the .46, .61 and now the .71 disks. I dismounted it from the die and it moves freely and it doesn't stick when I cycle a case through without powder when its mounted.

The initial wear marks appear to be on top of the disk where it meets the bowl.

I have emptied the powder back into the bottle each time (3 or 4).

I seen a comment here a couple days ago on graphite, I'm checking into that as well.


I'll get that puller asap, much thanks for all the info.

[amlevin]

Is your Lee powder measure the Auto Disk with a somewhat rectangular powder hopper or the "Pro" with the bathtub stopper chain?

The original powder measure used to stick all the time for me and unless you checked to see that it reset every time you ended up with "primer powered bullets", no powder.

Lee came out with the "Pro" model that has a pull back lever, actuated by a piece of bathtub stopper chain. It pulls the powder measure back to the reset position every time the ram is returned to it's lower position.

It sounds like you have the original style and it got stuck. To prevent this in the future, if you continue using the lee powder measure, consider spending less than $20 and get the conversion kit:

Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure Update Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=155227)

[rg1]

Not familiar with your powder drop, but are you SURE that 6 more rounds don't have DOUBLE charges?

[zxcvbob]

Pull 5 of them, but save one to fire at the end of a range session (be sure and label it!) so you can see what a bad idea that was. End of the range session because the gun will be unusable until you can take it apart and drive the stuck bullet out. Sometimes the "take it apart" step can be pretty difficult if the bullet is stuck in the forcing cone.

Don't ask me how I know all this.

[Oathkeeper1775]

Is your Lee powder measure the Auto Disk with a somewhat rectangular powder hopper or the "Pro" with the bathtub stopper chain?

The original powder measure used to stick all the time for me and unless you checked to see that it reset every time you ended up with "primer powered bullets", no powder.

Lee came out with the "Pro" model that has a pull back lever, actuated by a piece of bathtub stopper chain. It pulls the powder measure back to the reset position every time the ram is returned to it's lower position.

It sounds like you have the original style and it got stuck. To prevent this in the future, if you continue using the lee powder measure, consider spending less than $20 and get the conversion kit:

Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure Update Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=155227)

I have the rectangle (old style) then, I will look into the conversion kit.

I went ahead and ordered a few items from F & M today; the bullet puller is on the "manifest".

Man, I love this stuff.

[rcmodel]

I would pull all of them, all 18 I mean.

If you had powder bridging, there is no way to know what the other rounds really have in them.

Weighing loaded rounds is really pretty meaningless, as normal variations in case & bullet cast weight can cover a multitude of different powder charge weights.

rc

[TheCracker]

I agree with others that you defiantly need to pull the bullets.

Also get in a habit of looking in each case to verify that you have powder before seating. This is for the safety of you and your gun. Good lighting or rigging a flashlight could make it easer to see down the case.

[RustyFN]

Lee came out with the "Pro" model that has a pull back lever, actuated by a piece of bathtub stopper chain. It pulls the powder measure back to the reset position every time the ram is returned to it's lower position.

Actually the chain is only to be used with the Lee progressives. There is a spring return also to be used with the turret or single stage presses.

[Overkilll0084]

When you get the bullet puller, get a scrap piece of foam or an earplug and stick it at the bottom. Give the bullet something soft to land on and you should be able to reuse the bullets without drama. When I pull the occasional bullet, it's rare that they are unusable.

[mdi]

"What to do?" No offence intended, but I'd suggest you go to single stage loading untill you have all the operations down pat. One or 2 "uncharged" rounds out of 500 may be acceptable (but not for me or my guns), but 6 in a row, sum ding wong!

[MEHavey]

I carried the colt in a western holster, it gets really wet here. Wet Powder day? Three or four factory cartridges (Ultramax) barely fired and only went about twenty feet, the fifth load went about 15 feet and the sixth cart stuck in the muzzle.

This gives me real pause. In 6 years of combat engagement in the field and (many, many many) more hunting I have never experienced this.

I have experienced FTF using ball powders when reloaded with <<80% case fill combined w/ non-magnum primers -- but never weather related.

POLL: Other users' experience?

[Lost Sheep]

Is your Lee powder measure the Auto Disk with a somewhat rectangular powder hopper or the "Pro" with the bathtub stopper chain?

The original powder measure used to stick all the time for me and unless you checked to see that it reset every time you ended up with "primer powered bullets", no powder.

Lee came out with the "Pro" model that has a pull back lever, actuated by a piece of bathtub stopper chain. It pulls the powder measure back to the reset position every time the ram is returned to it's lower position.

It sounds like you have the original style and it got stuck. To prevent this in the future, if you continue using the lee powder measure, consider spending less than $20 and get the conversion kit:

Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure Update Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=155227)
The OP is using a Turret Press on which one usually uses the "F" lever and spring for the return function instead of the "T" lever and chain.

Both the Standard Auto-Disk and the Pro Auto-Disk can be used with either setup.

Quite often, when you buy an Auto-Disk in a kit with a press, you will get only one option. If you buy an Auto-Disk all by itself, you should get both the "T" lever with chain and "F" lever with spring.

Lost Sheep

[Lost Sheep]

Never happened to me, but I don't get rained on a lot. Nor do I shoot the ammo I carry for protection in the woods very often. Maybe I need to re-think how often I rotate those cartridges.

This gives me real pause. In 6 years of combat engagement in the field and (many, many many) more hunting I have never experienced this.

I have experienced FTF using ball powders when reloaded with <<80% case fill combined w/ non-magnum primers -- but never weather related.

POLL: Other users' experience?
Military ammunition is often sealed against the weather (case mouth and primer) with some kind of varnish or tar. Completely waterproof. Handloaded ammunition SHOULD be tight enough, but who knows?

Carried in belt loops, the primers would be up and rained on. Perhaps the OP should consider applying a little nail polish, varnish, or other sealant.

Lost Sheep

[Blue68f100]

Any place that sells reloading supplies normally have the sealer. I know Cabellas does http://www.cabelas.com/product/Markron-Custom-Bullet-and-Primer-Sealer/740257.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dprimer%2Bsealer%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=primer+sealer&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products. That would be my first option if I know the ammo was going to get wet.

[SlamFire1]

I could load them up into the Colt and pull the trigger?

No.

You may have a double charge in there.

[dickttx]

Puff some powdered graphite on both the base and on the top of the disk before you assemble it.

[Hondo 60]

POLL: Other users' experience?

I've never seen or heard of the so-called "wet-powder days."

I too agree, you need to pull ALL of them.
Bullets & cases will vary - sometimes by as much 5 grains or more.
So you have no way of knowing that all the "other" rounds are fine.

[PO2Hammer]

I don't know about y'all, but I have to see every charge before I seat a bullet.

[Sunray]

"...I'll get a bullet puller..." A kinetic one and find yourself a nice rock about the size of a cantaloupe with one flat side to bash it on. Nothing else works as well as a rock. Not even concrete. A couple of good whacks and the bullets will come out, even if you crimped. You don't need bits of foam in the puller either. The bullets won't be damaged. The point of a bullet doesn't matter anyway.

[Lost Sheep]

I would not use a rock. A good, solid piece of wood provides some rebound, which helps pull the bullet. Also, a rock or concrete will begin to damage the face of the hammer.

Here is the technique I have found works best for me.

Hold the kinetic (hammer-style) bullet puller loosely and bring it smartly down on the end grain of a 4x4. At the instant of impact, be holding the hammer with only thumb and forefinger. Let it rebound without resistance. You will nearly double the bullet extraction force.

Before I learned to hold the puller loosely, I bent the aluminum handle every time I used it.

[RustyFN]

Hold the kinetic (hammer-style) bullet puller loosely and bring is smartly down on the end grain of a 4x4. At the instant of impact, be holding the hammer with only thumb and forefinger. Let it rebound without resistance. You will nearly double the bullet extraction force.

That's the same thing I do. Works as fast and easy as a kenitic puller can. I pulled 93 bullets one time and it didn't take very long, but that's another story.

[MEHavey]

This has got to be a classic HighRoad technical exchange that has
now moved into the proper finesse and use of...

... a hammer.

:evil:

[RustyFN]

This has got to be a classic HighRoad technical exchange that has
now moved into the proper finesse and use of...

... a hammer.

Sorry if it upset you that we were trying to keep him from destroying his "hammer" by hitting it on a rock.

[FROGO207]

I sometimes even hit the wood with less force than full to move a bullet partially out so I can reseat it to proper depth without actually having it come apart. No need to resize/bell the brass or mess with the propellant if it does not come apart.:D FWIW I used the top of my press (RCBS RC) to whack the puller on for a lot of years and it worked fine for me.

[Jim Watson]

Gee, I have been whacking the same puller on a concrete floor or steel plate for years and while it is slightly scratched and dinged, it is still serving well.

I recently timed myself and pulled 25 water damaged 9mm in 6 minutes.
Problem is, I have a case of spoiled new Blazer to salvage for the bullets and some good number of brass cased rounds to break down for the bullets and brass. A couple of thousand whacks would get old. I have a Cam-Lock press mounted puller in the works, just as soon as Midway gets 9mm and .45 collets in stock.

[RandyP]

If I may, while you are waiting for that kinetic buller puller (mallet)... head over to the nearest discount sports store or megamart and buy one or two hard rubber hockey pucks. They can usually be had for about a buck or two.

They make terrific portable striking surfaces for that puller,.. also for general gunsmithing that requires tapping out a pin or light drilling. The puck surface lasts about forever, deadens the sound a little and does not leave dings in your table top or workbench. Protects the puller too.

[MEHavey]

Sorry if it upset you that we were trying to keep him from destroying his "hammer" by hitting it on a rock.

Now we're worried about rock technique !! :what:




:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
.

[RustyFN]

Now we're worried about rock technique !!

I'm not, I don't use rocks. If you need technique on rocks you will have to ask somebody else.

[Lost Sheep]

RustyFN, I think MEHavey (post 31) was just poking a little fun at the seeming incongruity of finessing a tool that is usually associated with brute force.

I thought his comment hilarious.

To post 37, I reply with a riddle. I have three different grades of rock or stone in my toolkit. You probably do, too. Each grade has a specific purpose to perform a single task. What is that task?

I will edit this post with the answer Monday evening.

Lost Sheep

p.s. Moderators, please forgive my off-topic subject.

Lost Sheep obviously likes his knives nice and sharp.

Correct, RandyP. Whestones. Soft, medium and hard.

[Lost Sheep]

In an effort to get back on topic, I re-read the OP.

Oathkeeper1775, did you resolve the sticking return problem? How? I have heard of using the graphite (or other dry lubes that will not contaminate powder), but also have heard of polishing the sliding surfaces of the disk(s), hopper and base.

If you are using a 3-die set, it would be possible to install a powder-check die in the unused station, or change your loading process to include a quick look into the case with a small mirror and flashlight.

I don't know if your powder is stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Usually the original containers are sufficient to control humidity, but wide temperature changes could conceivably cause condensation that would not be good for consistent ignition or burning. So, I would recommend keeping your powder within the range of temperatures comfortable for humans.

It may be less of a problem than I imagine (Why don't powder makers pack dessicant in their powder containers like medicine manufacturers do?), but an excess of caution costs little.

Good luck

Lost Sheep

[FROGO207]

Jim Watson I have the Hornaday Cam Lok puller/collets and I love it!!! BUT I find that pulling bullets in pistol rounds are often a problem. Usually there is not enough of a flat surface to get a good grip on the bullet without ruining the profile. Specially true with the 115 GR 9MM bullets with mine. Hope you get better results, I use the whacker with my 9MM/45 ACP.:scrutiny:

[Oathkeeper1775]

I'm 50. Before last Friday, I never heard of a "bullet Puller". I would have considered it a "muffler bearing" or a "stove stretcher" prank.

I've fired hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition out of every weapon in the US Army from 1979 to 2003, I've fired rockets, missles, lazers, thrown grenades, cut steel with C-4, blown relieved face craters with TNT, cut trees with det cord, arm and disarm mines blindfolded. I can weld, sew, make sawdust, raise beef, cook, make sausage. I maintain all my equipment..... and I never heard of that term...."bullet puller". (sorry, I'm already married :D ).

I love this stuff.

I am committed to a life-time of learning-still going to college. I really appreciate all the advice, comments, misunderstandings and criticisms.

Thanks.

.............................................................................................................

As far as the disk sticking, there is obvious wear on top of the disk where it makes contact with the bowl. I sent Lee an email inquiry and will see what they say.

My gut feeling is to do a little fitting of the components but I will eventually get one of the adjustable chargebars and use a little graphite.

Funny, when I run a case through dry, the disk doesn't stick, when I finished the box, I watched each drop like a hawk; I had to lightly push the disk back with my finger about 4 times of the 50 round project. My HS6 is about a week old, I didn't see any clumps.

This stuff is interesting and I welcome the challenges, all of them. One thing I always admired about reloaders was their in depth knowledge of the science. My goal is to keep learning and someday become a reloading expert.

[RandyP]

Lost Sheep obviously likes his knives nice and sharp.

[billybob44]

I sometimes even hit the wood with less force than full to move a bullet partially out so I can reseat it to proper depth without actually having it come apart. No need to resize/bell the brass or mess with the propellant if it does not come apart.:D FWIW I used the top of my press (RCBS RC) to whack the puller on for a lot of years and it worked fine for me.
FROG-did EXACTLY that today after seating a 9MM too deep when setting up the seater on my RL550. Bill.

[1SOW]

Repeating what was said above:

ALWAYS look INTO the case after the powder drop on EVERY case--NO EXCEPTIONS. If you have trouble seeing into the case you can mount a LED light to shine into the case when the you pull it out out of the powder die. I have used a hot wax glue gun to mount the light and it works nicely on the LEE Turret Press where there's not much extra room to mount lights.

Hope this makes sense.

There are many versions of lights that work, and numerous pics are posted of reloaders lights.

When in doubt--any doubt--pull the bullet(s). The inertial hammer is a handy "safety device".
Like Mr. Watson, I'm at least a "Master Class" inertial hammer user. I once loaded 300 9mm with not quite enough powder to make the required power factor. I use a 4X4 cut to about 8" standing on end for my reloading bench inertial puller "anvil" It's starting to look like a cereal bowl on top.:D

[RustyFN]

Funny, when I run a case through dry, the disk doesn't stick, when I finished the box, I watched each drop like a hawk; I had to lightly push the disk back with my finger about 4 times of the 50 round project. My HS6 is about a week old, I didn't see any clumps.

HS-6 meters very good in my pro auto disk measure. You might want to take it apart and make sure the tab that moves the disk is in the slot in the bottom of the disk right. The spring is pretty stiff and should have no problem returning the disk all the way back if it's on the tab right.

[Jim Watson]

FROGO, I have heard of and considered the risk that a collet puller might not grab a smooth roundnose. Maybe I should just plan on whacking a box out at odd moments and not get in any hurry to recover the components.

I have no clear answer what to do with the primers - some of which will fire - or the primed aluminum Blazers with the bullets salvaged. The local PD wants nothing to do with them. A box worth at a time in the domestic trash probably won't blow up the garbage truck or cause a garbage volcano at the landfill.

Yes, it is quite feasible to employ calibrated whacks to move a too-deeply seated bullet out for redoing without completely pulling it and spilling powder.