Novice Mistakes

6) Don't try to use the Lee Auto Prime shellholders on your press. Your common sense is right on this one. Listen!

Sounds like "someone" needs to ream or swage some Gi crimped primer pockets!!

rc

I haven't got into rifle reloading yet. I have a .308 & 5.56 but don't have a case trimmer or the other stuff needed for rifles. A friend of mine, really anal about his rifle rounds, even counts the grains of powder. I don't have the patients for that and killed my interest. This is for pistols.

Mistakes I've made learning to use my Dillon 550B:

The unit comes with the large pistol primer installer in place instead of the one for the small pistol primer. Resulted in primers not installed properly till I caught the mistake.

The outside diameter of the primer pickup tubes for the large and small tubes have the same outside diameter. Naturally, I started out with the wrong one. Results=more messed up primer installation.

The directions for creating the bell at stage two that come from Dillon flares the brass more than is necessary. I called Dillon about this and they said 15 thousands was plenty for most brass instead of 20 listed in the direction pamphlet that came with the unit.

My Lyman reloading manual only lists one OAL. It's not a one size fits all as I first thought. I reloaded 12-15 before realizing something wasn't right. I printed out the correct length for each bullet weight using the internet from the powder supplier.

The crimp setting needed a lot of tweeking to get right. I used factory rounds as a guide initially. After researching types and amount of crimp, I think I now have a grip on what is needed for each bullet, lead or jacketed, etc.

Don't scrimp on the small stuff. I didn't have check weights to start and trusted my beam scale but "trust but verify" is good advice. Makes for a lot less anxiety over powder weight.

I tried to get by without a bullet puller. Found myself putting marginal bullets in the "to shoot" box that should have gone into the "pull bullet" box. Tempting to do so to not waste rounds.

There is no such thing as to much light over the loading bench or table. I like to be able to SEE the powder before the bullet goes on.

Having a dust buster handy to clean up messes is a good addition.

My loading bench is an old Black & Decker workmate table with a roll around secretary chair. Works very well. I clamped a board in the vise part to form a trough to hold bullets and duct tape over the holes.

Out of the first two boxes I had one bullet that went spwett instead of bang. Had to scrounge up my wood dowel rod. What happened was when I checked the weight of the powder, I dumped it back in the hopper and put the brass under the powder funnel, stopped, and came back to the bench later. Instead of filling with powder, I progressed it to stage three, where the bullet is placed. Another related issue, I had a failure to feed where the bullet, powder, and brass followed each other into the chamber in trail (no crimp), or at least tried to. Had to field strip and clean. I now have a set routine. If something interrupts my routine, I start over. I don't leave any stations open if I have to stop loading. I have a habit of daydreaming with assembly line type tasks and have found it better to stop if I go off on a mental tangent.

After loading about 1500 or so rounds, I've developed a "feel" when something isn't right. Most feel issues involve seating the primer. Learning my equipment.

I'm having to mark across the primer with a magic marker to tell new from reload, even though they are kept in seperate boxes. I suppose that is a good sign. I'll load a mag in my carry gun and then a few days later forget where they come from new or second time around.

Load the minimum number of rounds you need until you are absolutely sure you have the right load dialed down. Otherwise learn to be good friends with your bullet puller.

Use case lube sparingly. A thin uniform film is way better than a splotchy thick film. Case lube does not spread out over the length of a case just by the sizing die. A build up of case lube has nowhere to go except toward the vent hole and will dent the shoulder.

A crimp doesn't do the majority of holding the bullet in the case, it's neck tension. Your cases must have enough neck tension to hold the bullet and initiate the powder ignition and pressure build up. Crimps only hold the bullet in and prevent setback or pullout due to mechanical bumping and jarring.

Don't force anything, you'll likely just break it. This includes primer seating, depriming and stuck progressives.

When loading, if you have any interruptions, take all cases out of the press and start from station 1 when resuming. For fewer squibs and kabooms.

I should probably watch this thread...

Question: It's possible to make hollowpoint rounds, right? You just need a hollow point bullet mold?

Check your powder charge. Did you already check it? Are you certain? Good. Now, check it again!

New to reloading? Read. Study. Get a single stage press and learn how to use it. Don't over equip your bench with a complicated press that muddies the water and that you aren't ready to use.

Choose one caliber to load, buy quality components for which load data is specifically available, start with published starting recipes, and work up slowly based on actual range results. Practice with that one caliber until you can't get it wrong (and never believe that you can ever really achieve that). Then start another.

With all that said, just one more thing to remember...

Check your powder charge. Did you already check it? Are you certain? Good. Now, check it again!

Samari Jack said:

A friend of mine, really anal about his rifle rounds, even counts the grains of powder.

Click to expand...

WOW!!

That's some dedication. I've never heard of that! I can't even imagine doing that!!

Question: It's possible to make hollowpoint rounds, right? You just need a hollow point bullet mold?

Click to expand...

Yes, No.

Casting hollow-points is possible, although the amount of time and work to make them for any more then occasional shooting makes it pretty pointless.
They are extreamly dependent on proper casting alloy to even open up without shattering.
Or not opening up at all, and acting just like a SWC cast bullet.

If you want HP's, buy them.

even counts the grains of powder.

Click to expand...

Anal isn't what he is.
Clueless is what he is.

You can bet the farm 500 counted out numerical grains of powder have nothing at all to do with 500 grains weight of powder.

And you can count out another 500 physical "grains" of the same powder and get a completely different grain weight.

I don't care who ya are.

rc

4) Don't bother with corncob/walnut media and vibratory tumbling.
I haven't yet been able to purchase as rotary tumbler and stainless steel pins, but as soon as I have the funds I will. The costs are close enough and ease and quality of the clean is worth the extra money.

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Are you kidding? Have you checked the cost of a Thumlers Model B and the SS pins?
I have bought three vibratory tumblers. Put together they cost less than the Model B, which goes for ~$155 (plus shipping). Did I need three? No,but I am prone to excess.
I gave the $40 Frankford Arsenal to a friend, have been using the $50 Cabela's one for several years, and the $45 Hornady is a spare (currently on loan to a new loader). I could get by with any one of them.
The pins go for about $50 (plus shipping, because they are not available locally). I can buy a lifetime supply of walnut or corncob (or both) for that price.

That said, I will probably end up with the SS tumbler and pins, but it certainly won't be due to cost savings, or because I see any advantage to cleaning the inside of cases. (Hell, I don't deprime before tumbling. Nobody sees the inside of my cases or primer pockets but me.)

I will do it because I'm a tool junkie, and because I can sell the vibratory tumblers and media and "kinda/sorta/almost" break even.

If I were starting out, there is no way I would spend $200+ for an SS tumbling set-up. A vibratory set-up (including media) for ~$50 will get you into handloading just as effectively, and most new loaders are getting into handloading to save money, not spend more of it.

If you are not getting good, or great results with a vibratory tumbler and walnut & corncob?

You are doing something very wrong.

I got past the wet cleaning methods in 1960 something.

Drying wet cases is a PITA!!
I don't care who ya are.

rc

"Hope this help somebody. I'll add some more later."

Sounds like in only two months you've learned all those things that were mentioned in the instructions are correct as stated. ??

You will learn to enjoy wet case cleaning too. At least until you learn it's a messy PITA and meaningless to your reloads.

I'll take the high road on this one and just say thanks for sharing. I would hope that by now some of you have gone back to the manuals you probably skimmed and actually read them. The Darwin Awards has plenty of candidates, they need none from the shooting fraternity.

And for the record, I make errors as well. As anyone who reloads knows, we're seldom perfect reloading machines. I have a Camlock puller, a collet puller, and an inertia puller.

I'm concerned that you may not have enough fundamental experience reloading, and I think it would be wise to go back to square A for safety sake. An individual that reloads would most certainly know that counting granules of powder would have no value, not too mention how inherently dangerous a cartridge loaded in this manner would be.
I mean absolutely no offense.

An individual that reloads would most certainly know that counting granules of powder would have no value, not too mention how inherently dangerous a cartridge loaded in this manner would be.

What? Really? The fact that all my cases contain the same amount of powder is dangerous?

Click to expand...

Consistent charge weight is essential, but counting granules is not how one achieves it. A scale is the way.

Whubbard,

Post 18 noted that counting granules would be at best pointless, and in Post 19 you seemed to question that assertion. Thus my post.

Drying wet cases is a PITA!!
I don't care who ya are.

Click to expand...

Actually, it's quite easy. Just put 'em in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob media. Of course, if you're gonna do that, anyway, might as well just tumble them clean while you're at it! That's exactly what I do. Sift them around in hot water and dish soap to get out the dust and grit. Grab them by the dripping handfuls and dump straight into the tumbler with the lid off. The cases and media are dry well before they're done cleaning. Doesn't take long at all. At least not in the Arizona desert.

whubbard: No offense but jeez. Did you miss the smiley? I guess humor is lost on some. I'll stop.