First Attempt at reloading Pistol - Failed and need Help

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Crashediv

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Ok. I have taken my time getting to this point and am a little deflated at the results, I very carefully went through all the steps and made sure that things were as they were supposed to be but the bullet went nowhere.

I am following the lyman manual using a lee press for 40 s&w

155gr bullet
.400 diameter
5.3gr powder (win 231)
Small pistol primer (federal)

I double checked using a micrometer the diameter of the bullet, good, the height of the case and trimmed to spec, double checked the powder grains, seated the bullet and verified the overall length and diameter all checked out good

Went to test the bullets today and pulled the trigger, very small pop, waited the 60 seconds (maybe more as my mind was going wtf) saw some smoke fizzle out the back of the hand gun, slide the rack (had only put one bullet in just to test) the shell popped out, the primer went off, the black makes me thing all the powder went off but the bullet was stuck at the very back of the pistol, a slight tap with a rod and hammer and it popped right out, so what did I do wrong? Is it something with the crimp since its a slightly beveled bullet?

Very confused, and thank you for any all tips
 
it sounds more like a SQuIB LOAD or bad powder- is it possible your powder absorbed moisture or maybe your primers were bad- from experience, that sure sounds like a NO POWDER incident- the primer has enough "push" to get it put of the case and into the barrel just ahead of the chamber, if that far- did you physically check and see if there was powder in that case or just crank it through?
 
My first thought is - no powder. Try pulling one and see if there is any in it - or if your hearing is real good, give it a shake up by your ear. Hear anything?
 
I was using the lee saftey scale for each one, pouring it till it was 5.3 grains on the nose then pouring the powder into the cartridge, It may have been a fluke and maybe I missed one case inbetween reading and measuring, will probably do a batch of 10 and see if I get it right that time
 
if you're loading for pistol, unless you're loading with steel dies, there is NO NEED for case lube anyway- that question shouldn't even enter the foray in this case
 
Positive it was 231 and not 296, May be lube, as the first four cases I did lube before realizing I was using a carbide die, I did wipe them down ect but perhaps there was an issue, I will need to try one of the last of the batch to be sure

And yea hand loading on a lee classic press, changing each die, don't have a turret press or the money to buy one yet and I just weigh the grains on the scale, then pour it off the scale, time consuming but I'm more worried about getting it right so far
 
What kind of lube did you use??

I'm having a hard time believing that the lube completely destroys the powder's ability to ignite, unless of course the lube pooled in the primer pocket.

I stil think that you "forgot" :)p hehehe) to put the powder in the case. I avoid that mistake by decapping/sizing and priming by the batch method (all at once), and then I pour the powder in the case and immediately seat a bullet. I find that this method on a single stage press like your Lee Classic is both the fastest AND safest way to reload ammo.

Give it a try and see how it works for you.
 
I'd be really concerned about having one double loaded round and one with no-load. I't far from being unusual for newbies to do so. Check out all your other rounds by weighting them and watch for 5 gr. fluctuation and / or dismantle the whole lot. If you're not sure, just discard all the lot (pull all bullets and save the powder).
 
Even the oil from you finger prints is enough in some cases to contaminate your primer and cause a FTF. What kind of primers are you using? Also if you seat the primer too heavy in the case it crushes it enough that it may not fire. When I first started to load for pistol I had this problem myself with a single stage press. You can also PM me if your in need of assistance. Good luck.
 
Use a case tray/shell tray and charge all of your cases, then take a flashlight and shine it into the cases from the top, visually checking each and every case for powder as well as verifying the level. If you must use a single stage this virtually guarantees elimination of the dreaded "no powder squib"...
 
Sounds like a squib. Glad you didn't fire another round with the squib in the barrel!

You will get it right. I would pull the whole batch that you loaded to see what's up.
 
Mudgunner's technique is spot on. You won't visually detect minor inconsequential variations, but you will see empty cases, or doubles.

Single stage, deliberate handloading is the best way to learn this game. Volume is overrated, unless you are putting down suppresive fire to prevent armed adversaries from moving! One of IPSC's first world champions lived in a country where, as an international competitor, his practice ammuntiton allowance was a few hundred rounds a year. He still practiced, and he made every practice round count!
 
Case lube contaminating powder?

Sheesh .. I throw 200 cases into a big ziplock, spray, shake a bit and then dump into the case feeder. Load on the 1050 and away it goes. Never had an issue. I'm sure some gets into the case. Not saying it can't happen, just saying I've never had an issue. Maybe it depends on the type/brand of lube you're using?

And I would humbly disagree that carbide dies do not require lubing cases. It is much easier on the dies, especially the sizing and swaging stations on the 1050. You can feel and hear the difference when you lube first. A bit of a pain to remove after but worth it. That issue was discussed recently in another thread.

To answer the question .. I would agree with the other opinions ... Sounds like a squib load.
 
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