Twiki357
Member
That’s why I don’t load in batches. I start with all cases neck down in a loading tray. That confirms no powder and all are primed and no high primers. One case get powder and bullet seated, then the next case and so on.
Dumbest reloading mistake
- Thread starter KB0VSO
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Asking for trouble sooner or later.
I load in loading trays too.
50 mouth down in one block.
The pick up and charge each case and set it in another loading block on the other side of the measure.
After all 50 are charged, I use good light and compare powder levels in each case.
If all are the same, and each has powder in it?
I set a bullet in each case and proceed to the press to seat the bullets.
Charging & seating one at a time leaves lots of places Mr. Murphy can eventually sneak up behind you and wipe you out!
rc
I load in loading trays too.
50 mouth down in one block.
The pick up and charge each case and set it in another loading block on the other side of the measure.
After all 50 are charged, I use good light and compare powder levels in each case.
If all are the same, and each has powder in it?
I set a bullet in each case and proceed to the press to seat the bullets.
Charging & seating one at a time leaves lots of places Mr. Murphy can eventually sneak up behind you and wipe you out!
rc
As rcmodel states, I think processes (for any stage of reloading process - not just charging) that involve movement of cases from one side of the bench to another are really wise. For met at least it helps reinforce what has been processed and what has not. To extent the "to be worked on" is physically close to the "already worked on" the greater the chances, for me, of making a mistake.
KB0VSO
Member
thank you all
All those that replied you have made a grate contribution by telling others there story. We learn from our and others mistakes.
My comments to: “one tenth does not make any difference” There is a physics law that states: You can not change one thing with out changing something ells. In some cases
the change is easy to see (pistol cartridges). In larger cartridge (rifle cartridges) it is imposable to see the change but it is still there. Just because we can not see it does not mean it does not exist.
I take comfort in knowing my 505 scale will weight .033 grains and repeat it every time because I know all rounds have the same exact charge as close as possible and if the results are not as expected there is some other reason for it.
All those that replied you have made a grate contribution by telling others there story. We learn from our and others mistakes.
My comments to: “one tenth does not make any difference” There is a physics law that states: You can not change one thing with out changing something ells. In some cases
the change is easy to see (pistol cartridges). In larger cartridge (rifle cartridges) it is imposable to see the change but it is still there. Just because we can not see it does not mean it does not exist.
I take comfort in knowing my 505 scale will weight .033 grains and repeat it every time because I know all rounds have the same exact charge as close as possible and if the results are not as expected there is some other reason for it.
Dudedog
Contributing Member
I thought I would save money by reloading..........
Presses, dies, scales, tumble media etc.
Of course it might help if I just didn't shoot 3 times as much Ammo.
Presses, dies, scales, tumble media etc.
Of course it might help if I just didn't shoot 3 times as much Ammo.
fallout mike
Member
Mistake? I thought I made a mistake once. But I was mistaken.
ljnowell
Member
I Wouldn't say I don't believe you because I have no reason to doubt you, you seem like a good honest fella.
That's just a hard one to believe. I almost think I would have called Hodgdon if I were you to report that big of a volume vs weight change.
KB0VSO
Member
Yes it is hard to believe.
I would check the scale before I thought about there being something wrong with the powder, since the volume is the same.
LeonCarr
Member
The first time I tried to load shotgun shells on a MEC 600 Jr. I took the first one out and the shotshell felt "off-balance". I knew something was wrong.
The powder was where the shot should be and the shot was where the powder should be.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
The powder was where the shot should be and the shot was where the powder should be
. Just my .02,
LeonCarr
goathollow
Member
I've not been reloading long so my first stupid mistake was just last week. I loaded a tray (30 rnds) of .460 with 5 different volumes of powder. I reached for something on the bench and my shirt cuff caught the corner of the tray and I dumped the entire bunch mixing them all. I got to spend the next 2 hours minutes or so pulling the bullets, reflaring the brass and reloading them all again. the second go round I put away each load before starting on the next one.
el indio
Member
My problem is that I'm perfect. When I make a mistake, it's a perfect mistake. Didn't charge 357 case with powder but I was shooting single action and was able to catch error. Wood dowel removed the bullet.
chiggerbyt
Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2006
- Messages
- 98
After a family shoot at the range coming home and throwing a bunch of 45 ACP, 40 S&W, 9mm and 9mm makarov into the tumbler thinking it would be easy to sort after cleaning. What a mating frenzy! Never do that again! One caliber only from then on.
Weighing powders
Quoting Ljnowell...I Wouldn't say I don't believe you because I have no reason to doubt you, you seem like a good honest fella.
That's just a hard one to believe. I almost think I would have called Hodgdon if I were you to report that big of a volume vs weight change.
__________________
As far as not believing me on the powder discrepancy. I checked it on my Dillon electronic..then being a non believer myself..I checked it on both of my RCBS 304 scales.. not only was the electronic correct both beam scales agreed. Why it was this way I don't know..but..not wanting to take a chance..I will be taking them all apart. I learned a long long time ago that changing lots of powder CAN(but not usually) mean a fair sized difference. Learned that loading a powder called P-5066 about 1960..couldn't figure out why the ol M-12 kicked so much more. Musta been a good bit more cause I was impervious to recoil then at the age of 12. When I changed to a new can..it weighed more than a grain more.. Same one time with a mil powder..called wc-820..loading in the 410 it was makin zingers.. in a AA case too... when I opened a new keg. it went from 14-14.2 to 16.5-16.7. So these things can happen. I must say...powders today are certainly much more consistent than powders of yore...but this coming from a guy who still uses Hi-Vel #2 from a keg dated 1937 and WWII surplus 4831 that I bought in 1964 or so. It cost about 75 dollars delivered for 100 lbs.... It was my 2nd 100 lb keg
Quoting Ljnowell...I Wouldn't say I don't believe you because I have no reason to doubt you, you seem like a good honest fella.
That's just a hard one to believe. I almost think I would have called Hodgdon if I were you to report that big of a volume vs weight change.
__________________
As far as not believing me on the powder discrepancy. I checked it on my Dillon electronic..then being a non believer myself..I checked it on both of my RCBS 304 scales.. not only was the electronic correct both beam scales agreed. Why it was this way I don't know..but..not wanting to take a chance..I will be taking them all apart. I learned a long long time ago that changing lots of powder CAN(but not usually) mean a fair sized difference. Learned that loading a powder called P-5066 about 1960..couldn't figure out why the ol M-12 kicked so much more. Musta been a good bit more cause I was impervious to recoil then at the age of 12. When I changed to a new can..it weighed more than a grain more.. Same one time with a mil powder..called wc-820..loading in the 410 it was makin zingers.. in a AA case too... when I opened a new keg. it went from 14-14.2 to 16.5-16.7. So these things can happen. I must say...powders today are certainly much more consistent than powders of yore...but this coming from a guy who still uses Hi-Vel #2 from a keg dated 1937 and WWII surplus 4831 that I bought in 1964 or so. It cost about 75 dollars delivered for 100 lbs.... It was my 2nd 100 lb keg
ljnowell
Member
I believe you skeet, don't get me wrong. I expect to see variances coming from surplus military powder but coming from canister grade powder seeing that kind of variance is worrisome.
The last minor mistake
Loaded 3.6 grains unique instead of bullseye for a 38 special load. I caught this on the bench and maybe loaded 200 rounds. One manual stated it was a minimal load. So safe to shoot. I could actually see some of the bullets travel to the target at 25 yards on a sunny day. They must have been in the 500 FPS range. The cases were all sooty because of such low pressure.
Loaded 3.6 grains unique instead of bullseye for a 38 special load. I caught this on the bench and maybe loaded 200 rounds. One manual stated it was a minimal load. So safe to shoot. I could actually see some of the bullets travel to the target at 25 yards on a sunny day. They must have been in the 500 FPS range. The cases were all sooty because of such low pressure.
Garage Dog
Member
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2010
- Messages
- 72
My BIGGEST mistake was thinking I was going to save money on ammo!
Coldfinger
Member
Anvil down on 100 cases. Discovered after all 100 charged, bulltes seated and crimped. Long afternoon
Powder Variations
Heck I don't even expect to see large variances in Military anymore. I do have an awful lot of old powder I even have a type of powder sold by Hodgdon that they didn't even remember..4676. (actually a close relative to 3031 I think..but the data on the can still works. I recently bought 10 lbs of old Winchester 230. It seems to load fine and shoot fine but it has to date from the early 70s or so. buck a pound..even though different lots they are so close in weights they may as well be statistically identical. I pulled the powder on the 1050..right after this happened. I will try another lot in the machine. See what it does. I know I didn't change the powder charge at all. To even check my own figure the loads in the bottom of the bin checked and they were right where they should have been 5.2 to 5.3 gr.. The first one off the top I checked weighed 6.5 gr, Next I am going to check the machine to make sure it is right with a new lot of powder...then I have to pull them all apart...LOL Oh Boy.
Heck I don't even expect to see large variances in Military anymore. I do have an awful lot of old powder I even have a type of powder sold by Hodgdon that they didn't even remember..4676. (actually a close relative to 3031 I think..but the data on the can still works. I recently bought 10 lbs of old Winchester 230. It seems to load fine and shoot fine but it has to date from the early 70s or so. buck a pound..even though different lots they are so close in weights they may as well be statistically identical. I pulled the powder on the 1050..right after this happened. I will try another lot in the machine. See what it does. I know I didn't change the powder charge at all. To even check my own figure the loads in the bottom of the bin checked and they were right where they should have been 5.2 to 5.3 gr.. The first one off the top I checked weighed 6.5 gr, Next I am going to check the machine to make sure it is right with a new lot of powder...then I have to pull them all apart...LOL Oh Boy.
Way back yonder I had a P-W 800B in 410. Heck I changed my loads over to Magic powder(that's what we called WC-820) from 2400. that powder just fouled up the charging gears on the powder side so badly after a 1000 or so loads that the powder shutoff was moving with the gear and not allowing powder to enter the case. Only did about 90 or so..but I surely hated to lose those AA cases when I cut the shells apart. What I did after clearing it was to wire the powder shutoff open and never had another problem..with the loader anyway. The powder was a different story.,,,
BTW can someone tell me..was Winchester 295(not 296) the same powder as WC-820.?? .cause I have some 295 here.. I don't have loading data for the 295.
BTW can someone tell me..was Winchester 295(not 296) the same powder as WC-820.?? .cause I have some 295 here.. I don't have loading data for the 295.
gamestalker
member
I'v only been have at this for about 30 or so years, which is nothing compared to the number of years folks like RC has been at it. But I have managed to avoid any major mistakes thus far, so I think that accounts for something. I think the single biggest mistake I ever made was exactly the same as what you did. The only difference, is I caught it before I finished charging that tray, and before I seated a single bullet.
After experiencing this mistake a couple of times, I decided it was time to incorporate another safety measure into my process. I have since been priming, then I place the primed brass in the tray mouth down.
The absolute best method to avoid making a critical error that makes it to the range, is by loading in batches. I would never even consider loading one at a time, that right there is just asking for trouble, and is almost a guaranteed way to eventually experience a catastrophic event.
Use a loading tray:
Resize all of them in one session / batch.
Perform what ever brass prep may be necessary, trimming, primer pockets, ect, all in one session / batch.
Bell all of them all in one session / batch.
Then prime them all in one session / batch, place them mouth down in the tray.
Then charge them all in one session / batch.
Once you've finished charging all of them, take a good bright light and inspect each and every case to make sure they all have a charge, and to see if any look light or heavy. Once you've verified they all have powder, then weigh several charges. I like to check a couple from where I started, and a couple of the last one's I charged. This is to verify that nothing changed while I was charging. A missing powder charge, is the single most common cause of KB's, hands down!
Then as I seat the bullets, and even though I've already inspected my charges, I do one more visual inspection as I seat the bullets. Some might consider this excessive, but 30+ years of uneventful reloading says other wise.
GS
After experiencing this mistake a couple of times, I decided it was time to incorporate another safety measure into my process. I have since been priming, then I place the primed brass in the tray mouth down.
The absolute best method to avoid making a critical error that makes it to the range, is by loading in batches. I would never even consider loading one at a time, that right there is just asking for trouble, and is almost a guaranteed way to eventually experience a catastrophic event.
Use a loading tray:
Resize all of them in one session / batch.
Perform what ever brass prep may be necessary, trimming, primer pockets, ect, all in one session / batch.
Bell all of them all in one session / batch.
Then prime them all in one session / batch, place them mouth down in the tray.
Then charge them all in one session / batch.
Once you've finished charging all of them, take a good bright light and inspect each and every case to make sure they all have a charge, and to see if any look light or heavy. Once you've verified they all have powder, then weigh several charges. I like to check a couple from where I started, and a couple of the last one's I charged. This is to verify that nothing changed while I was charging. A missing powder charge, is the single most common cause of KB's, hands down!
Then as I seat the bullets, and even though I've already inspected my charges, I do one more visual inspection as I seat the bullets. Some might consider this excessive, but 30+ years of uneventful reloading says other wise.
GS
I'm a reloading newbie but my biggest mistake so far has been to decap 150 9mm cases only to figure out that I had actually put fresh primers in them a few days before and just forgot.
I also swapped to a Lee charge bar and found out that it had a hard time throwing small amounts of pistol powder. I took my eyes off the ball for a minute and then realized I was pressing in the bullets without visually inspecting the powder charge (Lee Classic Turret Press). I marked the batch "QUARANTINE" but shot them anyway. I did have a squib load and shot it through my carbine. It got stuck so I tried to pound it out with a wooden dowel which I also got stuck. Took me two days to clear the barrel. What a mess.
I also swapped to a Lee charge bar and found out that it had a hard time throwing small amounts of pistol powder. I took my eyes off the ball for a minute and then realized I was pressing in the bullets without visually inspecting the powder charge (Lee Classic Turret Press). I marked the batch "QUARANTINE" but shot them anyway. I did have a squib load and shot it through my carbine. It got stuck so I tried to pound it out with a wooden dowel which I also got stuck. Took me two days to clear the barrel. What a mess.
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