Something wrong here

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DukeConnor

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I decided to load up some 45 supers today. Cast some 200 grain powder coated (mostly) linotype bullets last night.

Broke out the Longshot and something didn't look right. I have no idea how or when this happened but it was a oh crap moment.

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At least you caught it before you destroyed a firearm and hurt yourself in the process. Lesson learned. One thing about reloading, it pays to be meticulous.
 
Good Catch! Things happen even with the best of habits. I'm another that only allows one powder at a time to be on the loading bench and I always empty the hopper when I'm finished and put it away. Glad you caught it.
 
For me there are two things I love most about this particular group on THR:
1. Learning from the experts that have so much knowledge.
2. Hearing about others' process expertise and also "Oops" moments - so we all can look at what we do at our own benches and continuously improve on making this hobby as safe as possible.

Apparently I mixed some powder. I am a firm believer of only having one type of powder on the bench while reloading. I truly do not know how this happened.

Many people will report (as will I and @DukeConnor did) that we only allow one powder on the bench at a time. While I understand no safety step can be relied on as being foolproof, I'd be fascinated to understand how this might have happened - so we can see how our own "one powder at a time" practices might have vulnerabilities.

For example, after thinking about this situation, I could imagine forgetting to empty the powder hopper from one session and then walking up to the next session and just dumping powder into the hopper. I try to empty my powder hopper when I seat my last bullet - independent of what additional steps I need to complete. (For example, with pistol rounds, running every round through a Lee factory crimp die. I figure once the last case has a bullet I'm guaranteed to not need to use the powder during that session...and squaring away the powder then takes away the chance of forgetting to do so during my other wrap-up activities.) Or maybe some only have one powder on the bench at a time, but after filling the hopper they put the bottle they're using back on the powder shelf, and grab the wrong bottle when it's time to empty the hopper? It's these more minor process details, that we each don't report, that also fulfill us following the "one powder on the bench at a time" practice, that utterly fascinate me.

OR
 
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I have a pair of Dillon 650 presses mounted on my bench. I use masking tape and a sharpie to mark the powder hopper with the powder in the hopper.

Right now the 9mm Dillion has Ramshot Competition in it and the .45 acp Dillon has IMR Red in it. I keep the powder containers next to the bench.
 
I too mark the powder on the hopper. My procedure is to only work from 1# containers (factory labeled), refilled from the 8's. That limits any mix ups to 1#, powder is never put back in an 8. Each 1# has an additional tape label that is removed and placed on the hopper and the 1# remains on the bench as long as there is powder in the hopper. At the end of the session, unused powder is returned to the 1# after verifying the labels. However, the tape label remains on the hopper to tell me what was last used in it. The 1# goes back on the shelf. At the next session, I can see from the label on the hopper what was last in it. If I'm going to be using a different powder the hopper gets a good cleaning with compressed air and the tape label goes back to its original 1# bottle.
 
This is where my tiny bench (23" wide") comes in handy.

Once the press is mounted, the brass in a bin, the projectiles ready, the caliper handy, etc, well, there's no room left for 2 jugs/bottles of powder.:)

My bench is 24 x 48, which leaves just enough room for another error. Like the time I filled my hopper with 800-X and the measure jammed. Spent primers will do that. o_O
 
The hopper on my dispenser will hold a full pound of powder. I just set the empty bottle on top (upside down), used as lid. I always empty the contents left back into the 1# container it came out of when I finish for the day.
 
I too mark the powder on the hopper. My procedure is to only work from 1# containers (factory labeled), refilled from the 8's. That limits any mix ups to 1#, powder is never put back in an 8. Each 1# has an additional tape label that is removed and placed on the hopper and the 1# remains on the bench as long as there is powder in the hopper. At the end of the session, unused powder is returned to the 1# after verifying the labels. However, the tape label remains on the hopper to tell me what was last used in it. The 1# goes back on the shelf. At the next session, I can see from the label on the hopper what was last in it. If I'm going to be using a different powder the hopper gets a good cleaning with compressed air and the tape label goes back to its original 1# bottle.

This is exactly what I do
 
This can actually be a serendipitous happening. In a month you have the 4th of July and your powder can be burned in the driveway after dark for family amusement! :)
 
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