Stupid reloading moments...

[Shooter98]

Ok, so as a novice in the world of reloading I have already within my first 200 rounds of reloading have made several mistakes.

1st. I made my very first batch of 50 rounds of ammo and it came out flawlessly, and apparently I now thought my s*&t don't stink and ran the next 50 real quick. Well I had to pull them all apart after realizing I didn't let the brass dry out long enough after the cleaner bath and now the powder was all wet.

2nd. mistake was I was on the phone while trying to load and after I hung up I realized I forgot to put powder in all the brass, doh!

3rd. I mixed brass and was having a few rounds get kind of sticky on the bolt after firing and didn't understand why until I realized only 1 brand of brass was sticking. I assume they may be thicker walled and may need a little less powder for less pressure?

So, with this being said I have learned humility once again lol and also that I really do need to completely concentrate all the time no matter how much I do this. So, I took my tv out of my loading room and now only have a radio in there.

Please tell me others have learned the hard ways like this as well? lol...

Mike.

 

[learning]

Just wait till you stick a case in your sizing die. That will ruin a day real quick. Cause up intill you stick that first case you never had a reason to have a stuck case remover around. Then you have to go track one down. Unless you already have a tap, socket, and screw around.

The other one that I did twice was get a primer in upside down. That is just a little glitch though.

 

[eddybo]

If you use any of the old millitary pulled powders that come in gallon bleach jugs make sure you clearly mark the jugs so that you can discern the type powder from any angle.

I touched off 95 grains of 8208 instead of 95 grains of WC872 one time becuse I did not have my jugs clearly marked. That mistake was further compounded by my assumption that people put things back where they got them when they come borrow something.

 

[elkaholic]

Mike.....I have been reloading for over 40 years now and have made plenty of mistakes so don't feel bad. The important thing is, you have learned a lesson early enough to spare yourself some REAL grief! Two things that you can not do in reloading is (1) get in a hurry (2) have any distractions while you are doing it. This includes other people standing around talking or??? So far you haven't done anything that will have lasting consequences so consider yourself fortunate. An example would be to have more than one powder on the bench and maybe load a magnum case full of 3031 instead of 4831. DISASTER! In reloading you need to be very deliberate with every step and think about what you are doing. As you have already discovered, load up to max SLOWLY and never assume that a max load in one case is good for another brand or even the same brand in some cases. One thing I would recommend you do right away is to carefully study your manual and pay attention to what it says. Reloading is "nothing more than controlled bomb making"lightbulb. Good luck and enjoy safely.....Rich

 

[Shooter98]

Mike.....I have been reloading for over 40 years now and have made plenty of mistakes so don't feel bad. The important thing is, you have learned a lesson early enough to spare yourself some REAL grief! Two things that you can not do in reloading is (1) get in a hurry (2) have any distractions while you are doing it. This includes other people standing around talking or??? So far you haven't done anything that will have lasting consequences so consider yourself fortunate. An example would be to have more than one powder on the bench and maybe load a magnum case full of 3031 instead of 4831. DISASTER! In reloading you need to be very deliberate with every step and think about what you are doing. As you have already discovered, load up to max SLOWLY and never assume that a max load in one case is good for another brand or even the same brand in some cases. One thing I would recommend you do right away is to carefully study your manual and pay attention to what it says. Reloading is "nothing more than controlled bomb making"lightbulb. Good luck and enjoy safely.....Rich

Ouch, I can imagine getting powder confused would be a mistake I don't care to make. It makes me think i will keep my powders away from my loading bench, that way I have to deliberatly get up and seek out the specific powder I am wanting to use. I do try and make sure I reference my loading charts several times before I even get rolling on the loading. I also pin up my load chart on the wall that I'm loading as I work on it so I can constantly reference it.

Great tips guys, thank you!

 

[tomestone]

Well I have a couple of cans of,[ do not fire] but all my guns are all safe, when not sure use a bullet puller.

 

[BountyHunter]

Keep a small maglight on the reloading bench and look at each case in the blocks with it BEFORE you go sticking bullets in. Takes 10 seconds and might save your face, eyes or life.

Might surprise you what you find missing sometime or when loading pistol you see a double charge.

That normally leads to a "significant emotional event" which culminates in a change of underwear as a minimum.

BH

 

[dirtball]

I don't even have a radio on when I am loading. Get YOUR system down and stick to it. ONE container of powder on the table next to the press turned so I can read it while I am loading with that powder. I don't even load multiple cases with powder any more, Powder goes in then bullet goes in that case, fortunately I do not load a LOT of pistol ammo.

What ever system you use make sure you have thought it through and stick to it, it might save yours or someone else's life one day.

Dave

 

[358sta]

If you use any of the old millitary pulled powders that come in gallon bleach jugs make sure you clearly mark the jugs so that you can discern the type powder from any angle.

I touched off 95 grains of 8208 instead of 95 grains of WC872 one time becuse I did not have my jugs clearly marked. That mistake was further compounded by my assumption that people put things back where they got them when they come borrow something.

I did something similar when I used WC-852 powder in a load instead of WC-872. But it wasn't because my bottles weren't properly labeled, I just grabbed the wrong 1 lb. container off the shelf. I was breaking in the barrel and only loaded one round but it was enough to seize and ruin the action.

 

[Forester]

I have never done it, but mixing up powders is my greatest concern. Is it H1000, H110 or H100V I picked up?

I have powders stored on a separate shelf arraigned in order roughly of burn rate. On the bench I only keep 1 jug of powder-whichever one I am using. In addition to that I mark my powder dump with whatever powder is in it/on the bench with a dry erase marker.

I did load about 15 pistol cases once with bullets and no powder and was dropping them into a bin with about 200 already loaded cases. I weighed every single loaded case and started pulling bullets with the lightest rounds until I fond them all...about 75 cases later

 

[tomestone]

I have never done it, but mixing up powders is my greatest concern. Is it H1000, H110 or H100V I picked up?

I have powders stored on a separate shelf arraigned in order roughly of burn rate. On the bench I only keep 1 jug of powder-whichever one I am using. In addition to that I mark my powder dump with whatever powder is in it/on the bench with a dry erase marker.

I did load about 15 pistol cases once with bullets and no powder and was dropping them into a bin with about 200 already loaded cases. I weighed every single loaded case and started pulling bullets with the lightest rounds until I fond them all...about 75 cases later

Hello Forester I have mix feelings in leaving powder in my powder measure. Do you think gunpowder absorbs moisture easily? How would one check moisture content in gunpowder?

 

[Long Trang]

My close call was having reloaded 10mm and took the batch out shooting. One of the taper crimps wasn't tight enough and the hammer fell when my much younger friend pulled the trigger...click, but no bang. Naturally, he racked the slide to extract the 'dud' and chambered the next round from the magazine. When he did, an empty shell casing flew out. He cleared the pistol and showed it to me. There was gunpowder everywhere inside the gun. I tried to blow out the powder, seated the magazine and chambered a round. I was just preparing to fire, when it hit me...why an empty shell casing? I pulled the magazine, cleared the chambered round and visually inspected the throat. Guess was was staring back at me?

Another one I heard of from a friend who was at a pistol comp. Some dude was firing a .45 with his reloads. He also reloads for his .40S&W; managed to accidently slip a .40 in with the box of his .45s. He was chatting with someone while loading his magazine and didn't notice the .40 snuck in with it's bigger brothers. While firing under time, he had a misfire, racked the slide to clear and fired again. Of course, the diameter of the .40 set the primer too low for the firing pin to strike it, but it struck the upper rim, stuffing the live cartridge into the throat. When he racked it, no round ejected, but he was in a hurry.

Needless to say, that next shot ended his set.

 

[eddybo]

Hello Forester I have mix feelings in leaving powder in my powder measure. Do you think gunpowder absorbs moisture easily? How would one check moisture content in gunpowder?

If you are thinking about enough moisture to ruin the powder, no. If you are talking about enough moisture to change the volume to weight ratio, yes. Take small case like a 223 and drop a charge that completely fills the case to the top of the neck. Weigh that charge and write it down. Next time your reloading if there has been a humidity change repeat that using the same case and powder and compare the results. Let me know what you find, I have been challanged to do that several times but always lose the case I used or lose where I wrote down the first results.

 

[Good]

I loaded 3 brass with powder and seated bullets one time, without primers. I had powder trickling everywhere and finally figured it out... Doh!