What I learned on the bench last night

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Beat-tu

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I sat down last night to decap about 500 spent .357 brass. Here's what I learned:
1) Lee classic turret has a lot of leverage
2) The tip of the universal de-cap pin, driven by the leverage has a lot of force on a little bit of surface area
3) When the tip, driven by that leverage enters your left index finger just at the base of your finger nail, it makes a really loud screaming noise...oh wait...that was me...
4) With all this happening on top, the mouth of .357 case will cut the bottom of your finger.
5) Ultrasonic cleaners remove blood from .357 cases really well, but doesn't work worth a hoot on shirts, pants, the floor and the carpet.
6) You have to be really, really, really careful, even doing the simplest reloading step, cause you can get hurt... really.

Tom
 
Sometimes we really put ourselves into our work.

Hope you are OK. Been there, done that, definitely not fun.
 
I did that with my first reloading press too but I didn't get cut. I ended up with a nice blood blister and a bruised fingernail. I haven't done it since. I am extra careful now to make sure the hand is out of the way before operating the ram.
 
I have never did that but I have pinched my fingers seating bullets tho. Never really hurt myself.
 
In over 30 years of reloading, I can fortunately say that I do not recall ever injuring myself, at all.

I guess I am extremely methodical and do my best to be patient and be totally unhurried when I am reloading. To me, reloading is like a very non-anxiety sport. When it becomes a "hurry-up and git-r-done" so I can hurry to the range and hurry to make accuracy, then I would want no part of that. To me, that would be defeating the whole purpose of reloading and shooting sports!

It would be like saying "I have 40 minutes to run down to the woods, hope I get a deer then come back and hurry up and go to my appointment in an hour." Basically, that would be a recipe for possible disaster.
 
Tom you should try forgetting to take your fingers out of the way when seating a bullet, lots of pain but no blood. You should hear that press swear then (Oh, Ya that was me too) (LOL)

Jim
 
Ouch man, That sounds painful.
The worst I ever did was like Kingmt, Pinch my fingers when seating a bullet.
Learned from that mistake. Never again!
Oh, Have you ever hit your head in the bottom of the press before? Yeah, It hurts just as bad as you think it does.
 
But don't go thinking about taking five days off!

Sometimes it seems like you're not getting much neck tension--you know, the bullet is going in with so little resistance. But then you remember just how hard a reloading press can push...

I've never drawn blood, but I have been reminded a few times to keep my fingers clear of the business end of the ram.
 
To remove blood from shirts, pants, etc. pre-soak in water with some meat tenderizer added. Works well on bloody game bags! For the carpet---I don't know--.
 
I have never did that but I have pinched my fingers seating bullets tho. Never really hurt myself.
Click to expand...

Been there, done that. It is really a shame that flat base bullets work so well at shorter ranges...
 
I feel for you.

Things I have learned include not running your left thumb through a Lyman 450 Lubrisizer .358 die with a SWC punch either.

File that one for reference if you ever get into bullet lubing & sizing.

BTW: It takes approximately 6-8 months to grow a new thumbnail.

rc
 
Last edited:
Yes, I have to admit to pinching a blood-blister (or two) on my index finger or thumb.

A mere "paper cut" compared to the OP's mishap. OUCH........! :eek:
 
To get blood out of clothing put it in the washing machine using cold water only add 1 can diet coke and nothing else. Run cycle as normal you will be surprised at how well it works but only with diet regular wont work. A little tip from someone who has saved a lot of clothing.
Carpet is a whole different animal but I have had the best luck with a cold water scrub followed by a paste of Oxyclean. Be careful I didnt realise how dirty my carpet was till I thoroughly cleaned one spot lol.
T
 
Compound leverage is a wonderful thing, but can hurt you if you aren't careful. I have come real close to doing the same thing. Most of us have. Just hold onto a bullet a hair too long and ....... crunch.
 
Josh45 said:
Ouch man, That sounds painful.
The worst I ever did was like Kingmt, Pinch my fingers when seating a bullet.
Learned from that mistake. Never again!
Oh, Have you ever hit your head in the bottom of the press before? Yeah, It hurts just as bad as you think it does.
Click to expand...
You're either really really short or your bench is way too high.
 
I've never brought blood, but I've crunched my thumb in the press a time or two to the point of having the purple thumbnail. It's not really what I would call a pleasant experience.
 
Ouch! I've suffered various blood blisters and pinches, but not what you had. Hope you're on the mend! And +1 to the hydrogen peroxide tip.
 
I hate when that decapping pin goes into your finger to cause an insane amount of pain, but doesn't bleed. It takes 2x as long to heal when it doesn't bleed.
 
Yes, have pinched the snot out of my fingers a couple of times, think I'd have learned after the first! Didn't really notice any difference in how the cartridges shot with the blood in them though........ next time didn't hold onto the bullet so long! :banghead:
 
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