Reloading mistake

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mdThanatos

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A buddy and myself recently started reloading .40s&w last year. We decided to start with Winchester WSF powder and had decided we were going to start with 6 gr of powder for the 165 gr and got our press setup for that load. When we tried to get bullets we couldn't find the 165 gr so we decided to use 180 but didn't switch our powder load so now out of a 1000 round batch we loaded up 130 with the wrong charge. We haven't shot any of them and they are separated from everything else and we are deciding what to do with them. I suggested getting a bullet puller and see if we can't take them apart but he isn't sure if it would be worth the time and that we should just chalk them up as a loss. Any ideas?
 
I would certainly pull them; especially with the cost of components right now. You could reuse the primer and bullets. I suppose you could capture the powder and reuse it, too, but I tend to toss any powder when I have to pull bullets apart.
 
You darn right Id get a bullet puller and pull em with the price of stuff right now any way you can save is good.
 
With the current component prices and scarcity??

I sure as heck would get a hammer puller and pull them!!

It will be a good lesson for you & your buddy you won't soon forget.

rc
 
I agree you should pull them just so you remember to be more careful in the future. You did not get lucky on the charge weight because with a 180gr Hornady XTP bullet Hodgdon recommends a Max charge of only 5.8gr which is above your charge of 6.0gr. You will need to pull those...
 
You can get an inexpensive bullet puller for like $12. And since you guys are now reloaders now you can count on needing a puller at some point in time.
Than on the other hand, if you are dead set on throwing those rounds away, I'll pay shipping and you can send them all to me.

GS
 
I suggested getting a bullet puller and see if we can't take them apart but he isn't sure if it would be worth the time and that we should just chalk them up as a loss. Any ideas?
I think a kinetic bullet should work ok with 180 gr bullets. You're lucky that they're heavy-for-caliber. That's one of the easier bullets to pull with a kinetic puller.

"Chalk them up as a loss." - At worst, you might be able to easily salvage the brass, powder, and primers with just your press and a pair of pliers. Take the die out, put the cartridge in the shell holder, and at the top of the ram stroke, see if you can't get a pair of pliers on the bullet. Then lower the ram. This will more than likely destroy the bullet, but it's a lot faster and easier than using a kinetic puller if it works. I don't think I've ever tried this with 40SW bullets. They are not an ideal candidate for this method, because the case is so short, and the bullets are so deeply seated and truncated, leaving not much to grab onto.
 
You will probably need more than 1 hammer puller. After pulling 60 rounds the stupid aluminum or cheeeeeeeap metal, wears out and whole shell falls into the hammer. Mine was RCBS. I tossed the thing in the trash. POS!!!!!
 
wear muffs when using the bullet eraser...and wack it on a 2x4 or thick piece of wood.
new model puller that one does not have to completely unscrew to dump the powder & bullet. worth the extra few $ers...especially for 140.
 
After pulling 60 rounds the stupid aluminum or cheeeeeeeap metal, wears out and whole shell falls into the hammer.
Thats odd.

Mine is 30 years old and works as well as the day I got it.

Maybe you were using the wrong set of chucks for the caliber you were pulling.
They come with three different size chucks for different size case rims.

rc
 
If you pull the bullets, you'll probably have to resize the cases. Remember to pull the deprimer pin out of the resizing die before you resize those cases. Don't ask how I know.
 
If your going to use one got out on something harder then wood.

I don't know that powder but if it is only .2 gn over Max I'd work the load up to that & see if the gun could handle it before I pulled them down.

I normally load light but one of my carry rounds is way up in the +P range just to get that bullet to open up. It is used in a tank tho.
 
My RCBS puller has worked great since about 1982. Have not been able to break it yet.RCBS does not make substandard equipment in my opinion,and stands behind everything they sell.Sure you weren't using it as a hammer?
 
I finally bought a puller last fall to pull 95 40Super loads form Double Tap that were piercing primers. It was the new RCBS and it did all plus about 30 odd and ends rounds that I had lost track of what was in them. The collet shows some wear but will still go another 150 easily if not more. I was hitting on concrete and multiple blows. You did have to tighten the nut good or it would loosen up.
 
Like others have said, I would pull the bullets using a kinetic puller. You can reuse everything including the powder.
 
This may be getting of track a bit. But... I wore out a collet but RCBS sent me two new ones to replaced it.
 
archangel mentions the max charge for a 180gr hornady xtp is 5.8gr so your 6.0 grains is above max. what type of bullet is it? is it just a standard jacketed truncated cone, plated, lead or is it a HP? It may not be a bad idea to load up 5 different sets of 5 ranging from 5.7-6.1 and test out each load looking for pressure signs. If they are xtp's or similar hollow point, id just pull em all, but depending on what type of bullet they are, they may be loaded to a safe pressure. Its always a good idea when starting a new loading to make small batches of 5 or 10 in increments of .2gr going from the minimum to the max loading and noting which shoots best and keep track of any pressure signs as you work your way up and stop there and back the charge down.
 
Your buddy's attitude would concern me.

Of course I'd get a bullet puller.
And YES it is worth it.

I'd make sure that the brass was resized too.
Just remove the decapping pin, & resize, recharge & recrimp 'em.
 
I bought the least expensive puller RCBS makes, and it works just fine. But the thing about kinetic pullers is making sure you use the right surface to whack them on. I either hammer on smooth concrete, or a 1/2" piece of steel plate. Wood or anything else that can absorb part of the kinetic energy necessary to free the bullets and will also break the puller, not to mention it will take many more smacks to get them free. I can pull any bullet, pistol or bottle neck in 2-3 sharp whacks on steel or concrete.
GS
 
Mine is 30 years old and works as well as the day I got it.

That's probably why it still works. I have a 30+ year old manual can opener that works like a charm. I bought a new one of the same model and the same brand for a family member who asked about it, and that one stripped out in a few months because of the steel parts that had been replaced with pot metal.

However my el cheapo Franford arsenal (MidwayUSA) bullet puller is still going strong.
 
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