My confidence in my loading ability is completely shot

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disk

My problem was squibs with the auto disk. I solved that problem. I bought a dillon with the powder check. If I make a mistake, it catches it. The dillon handles the powder and squibs or doubles are rare now. It's nice to know that I can also see the rod and where it strikes on the checker, besides the sound.
 
Hey MTNBKR,

The bullet puller is actually free when I borrow yours! :D

Hey, what do you know, I have yours!

I had to borrow it to pull apart 20 .357 Mag. shells that weren't going the way I wanted them to go.

And did you see what Virginia Arms wanted for the RCBS hammer? Just shy of $30!

I'm sorry, but that's WAY out of line.
 
Glad you're okay, and glad the gun escaped damage as well.

I haven't been loading nearly as long as some of you, only about 9 years for me. I'm pretty detail focused when I load, so much so that people often tell me I'm being a little too anal about it.

But...I've loaded a squib round recently. On a single stage!! That got my attention. Bullet jammed just inside the chamber so the next round wouldn't chamber, otherwise I'd probably be writing a post about how my CZ97 KaBoomed on me...

I also witnessed a friend blow a FAL apart with an apparent double charge. It's an eye-opener, that's for sure, both at the range and in your head. But, you have to go back to the bench, re-evaluate, identify the problem, solve it, and get your confidence back.

It's kinda like my flight instructor told me way back: there are two types of pilots: Those who have had an accident, and those that will have an accident. Everyone makes mistakes. The only time it's bad is if you make the same mistakes over and over again.
 
Sorry to hear about the Gun glad your not hurt.. Ive had my own probs last year after 10 years reloading ive had 6 squibs recently ..not sure if it was primes powder etc but man it makes ya not sure about your work
 
I don't like fast dense powders. Fastest powder I am using now is Hodgdon Universal. Fairly bulky, fast enough. Split a .44 case once using 231 and Lee measuring equipment. I know this is not the answer, but it is my answer. I load on a progressive and look in the cases after they are charged. 6.0 Universal looks like a half filled 10mm case. Try a slower, bulkier powder. With 231 an extra couple grains is barely noticible and gets you into some dramatic pressures.
 
Glad you weren't hurt. Except your pride. :D

I would throw those 142 rounds in the Potomac. Get a Lyman # 55 measure or weigh each charge on a scale. My seat of the pants guess is that 4.9 gr of 231 is close to tops, as it is pretty fast like BULLSEYE. YMMV

Not saying I told you so but that's why I don't believe in using progressive stuff.

PS: Why is there never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over?

:neener:
 
I'm not familiar with the Lyman Turret. Is there room for an RCBS Lock-Out die? That die stops my press cold at half-stroke on squib loads and double charges (I got out of rhythym once).
 
When I first got my progressive I discovered the "rhythm" you are talking about. I was very careful not to double charge a case, but I had a couple finished rounds missing a primer and once a bullet. All this was from not yet having the sequence down to boring routine. So I would guess you are right, it's one of those deals where you weren't used to it yet.

That said I have had a problem with my Lee disk measure and inconsistent charges. When using a small charge of Titegroup in a 38 case, the charge would vary sometimes as much as one grain. I figured out it was the length of the die that was the problem. If the case was just a tiny bit short, or the stroke was not complete, not all of that charge would be dumped. Now that I've written that I just realized that couldn't be your problem since you ruled out a squib.

At any rate I'm happy to hear there was no major damage to you or the gun.
 
G,

4.9 grains of 231 under a 230-gr. LRN bullet is actually pretty low.

Ugly,

The Lyman turret is a non-progressive -- turning is done by hand. There are 6 stations on the turret head, so yes, there would be room for a lockout die, but I'm not sure how well it would work.
 
Mike:
Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience.

I have tried using my RCBS electronic scale to check on inconsistent powder charges in 12 guage shotshells. Powder variance turned out to be inconsequential compared to variation in shot and case weights. Also, I have weighed unloaded .45 cal cast bullets and found significant variation (I suspect amount of lube to be a factor, as well as the lead).

You might, however, try weighing a number of the suspect cartridges, keeping the lightest and the heaviest. Disassemble these two and compare powder weights. If the powder weights are similar, you know that weight is not a valid discriminator and you'll have to pull them all.

By the way, was the WW231 part of the group buy you orchestrated a few months back?

How did the range staff at NRA react to this incident?

- Bob
 
Bob,

No, this is still the last of the previous batch of 231 that I got a few years ago.

I've been discussing this issue with a couple of people who use the same powder measure, and we agree that there is simply no way that this measure could throw a charge that heavy, even with a bridge load (which is pretty much impossible in this measure with 231).

The only answer is that I double charged a case through inattentitive loading processes.

Hardly anyone on either side of me at the range noticed.

One of the range guys saw and was out in about 5 to 10 seconds. I was still hopping around and cursing by the time he got there. :)

I want to get some photos of the case in question. It's pretty damned impressive.
 
I have tried using my RCBS electronic scale to check on inconsistent powder charges in 12 guage shotshells. Powder variance turned out to be inconsequential compared to variation in shot and case weights. Also, I have weighed unloaded .45 cal cast bullets and found significant variation (I suspect amount of lube to be a factor, as well as the lead).
Click to expand...

You mean you don't count individual shot granules for the shot charge?!!! ;) :D
 
MORAL: If it can happen to an experienced reloader like Mike Irwin, it can happen to anyone.
Lesson taken: (by myself, anyway) always go back to the basics, read (again) the procedures, never take shortcuts, no distractions or interruptions while reloading.

Glad you're OK, Mike.
 
Hey Mike,
Sorry to hear about this. At least you and the pistol are ok.
One option other than the powder issue-did you tumble these .45's in walnut media, or with a liquid case polishing agent?
I've had several .45's that had been tumbled, then manually shaken out,surprise me by dumping a few grains of media out,even after decapping,repriming and belling.
 
Ironic.............

That's the range that saw my first squib in my Colt 1991A1.

I've had metering problems with my Dillon 550B before (bad powder bar from the factory) but I later wore out the little plastic part that returns the powder bar. That was the cause of my squib.

I had 8yrs of flawless reloading until then.
 
The Lyman turret is a non-progressive -- turning is done by hand. There are 6 stations on the turret head, so yes, there would be room for a lockout die, but I'm not sure how well it would work.
Click to expand...

Mike,

The lockout die would work on any press (though I should say I've never used it with rifle loads as I measure each of those charges singly) ; it doesn't require a special configuration to align itself in a progressive/non-progressive reloader to work. Basically, it's a die with a stem and a collar that senses the powder charge. I don't know how much "slop" the stem allows; my wildest guess is probably +-.3gr. In my experience, it has allowed me to continue even if the charge is over or under by ~.1-.15 gr high or low. It stops the handle cold in its' mid-downward stroke on light charges, and as I said, it stopped me the only time I got out of rhythym and double-charged a case. I too, was loading 45ACP at the time, with 5.6gr of 231.
 
Its good to hear that ya got out unscathed. Sometimes those little embarassing experiences are good for us when no real harm is done. It tends to kick our arses when we get complacent doesnt it.

I was so darn scared of doing something like that when doing single stage.

I have really stopped worrying about it since I purchased my Dillon 650. The powder check system is what I have my eye on during every press and it also beeps at me if there is wide variation in powder. Great little set up.

It is available on other Dillon presses too.

BTW, where in VA do ya live? I live in NW NC
 
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