First hand loads - won't fire???

kb007

kb007

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So, I made up a total of 8 rounds for .338 lapua using all my new re-loading toys and some 1f lapua brass.

I cleaned (ultrasonic), de-primed, followed the book, videos, etc.

Here's the process I followed:
de-primed using rcbs supreme and rcbs die
cleaned ultrasonic
cleaned primer pocket
sized to proper dimension (glad I was only doing 8 - crap that painful using a completely manual cutter. (bought a rcbs trimmer today)
let dry for an hour or so
primed using the press (LRmag primers)
weighed powder (used 85gr 7828 poweder)
dumped into primed cases.
Setup die as per instructions and desired seating depth
seated 225 gr hornady sp and crimped using rcbs die
measured all for oal - 3.535 which is in spec for that bullet.

Went to shoot - just click - primer was def struck, just no bang.

2 things I think may have been the problem:
1) did I let the cases dry long enuf? If there was still a little mositure in there would it stop the primer from igniting?
2) I think I seated the primers perhaps a little too far in - they were just lower than the case head (not flush or even just a hari proud??)

Cases all looked good, I compared to a factory round, case dims were all good.

Any other thought?
TIA
 
Let it dry for hour my guess was not enough. I loaded 20 and had the first one jam in the gun because I did not trim them enough. Lesson 1 learned. Just pull them and give it a go.
 
Cases must have had water in them, an hour at I'm assuming room temp wouldn't do much to dry cases at all.
Sounds like your primers are seated as should be, just a little below flush, you don't want them sticking out.
 
Pull the bullets and dump the powder. You should be able to tell if it wet. Maybe try burning a bit.. if it doesn't light then that would be your problem.
 
I rinse my brass in warm water after taking it out of the ultra sonic then place the brass on a perforated rubber mat to dry. The mats are actually floor tiles that are meant to be used as "soft tiles" on a work shop floor. Excellent ventilation but I have found that in order to be completely air dried, it takes 24 hours.
 
Thanks - I was pretty sure it was the cases being wet. Lesson learned - clean this weekend, load next weekend ;)

Do you pop the old primers before cleaning with ultrasonic? It seems like the right thing to do.

Would the powder in the other 5 rounds actually dry out by next weekend, or having been wet it's just no good now?
 
kb007 said:
Would the powder in the other 5 rounds actually dry out by next weekend, or having been wet it's just no good now?
Click to expand...

I would not trust those rounds. Pull the bullets and dispose of the powder safely (water it down and flush it). Then ideally deprime (safely) and reload normally.
 
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Pull the bullets, dump the powder, decap and let dry until next weekend. When I use my ultrasonic cleaner, I dry the brass on a cookie sheet in the oven set at 250 F for about 10 minutes. If I want them shiney, they go into the tumbler for a couple hours after they come out of the oven.
 
I think I saw you at Stittsville yesterday looking frustrated and later brought some of the handloads into the store. I only remember because not many people bring out 338's.

The unfired cases will not dry out. Seated bullets and seated primers make a very tight seal. Not quite air tight but most definitely 99% water tight. If they dried out it would take a very long time with so little air flow through the cases. Several guides I have read for ultrasonic cleaners say to bake the brass as 150-200'C in an oven or toaster oven to dry them out. Not hot enough to anneal the cases but hot enough to rapidly evaporate the water.

Leatherstocking said:
I think you should deprime before tumbling. Be sure to check for tumbling media in the cases, espescially the flash holes,if you do.
Click to expand...
He's using an ultrasonic cleaner which uses high frequency pulses through a liquid. No tumbling, no tumbling media.
 
This is where lots of brass comes in handy, leave some drying while you're loading some others that has had plenty of time to dry. If you're in a rush or don't have extra brass, you could try something like bundling it in a cloth and shaking it around to get the excess out and then baking it for a short while.
 
Wet for sure. I use an ultrasonic as well and I let them dry 24 hours before loading. I also run a qtip inside before loading just to make sure they are dry ( I just use the qtip to check and see if they are wet, not dry them with a qtip. Don't have that much time on my hands)
 
It helps when ever you wash firearm related items with water to rinse with scalding hot and use enough hot water to heat up watever you have cleaned. Give a good shake and then let dry where there is good ventilation. The heated item sure dries a lot faster if time is short...
 
Thanks guys.
Yes, that was me at Stittsville.

Will get into the routine of cleaning one weekend, loading the next. I've got a decent supply of 338 brass, and will probably buy more. Def take care of those other rounds properly then re-do with dry cases.

Also getting quite a supply of 30-06 ready to re-load. Frustrating that I seem to be missing something for each caliber that I want to re-load other than 338. Can't find small pistol primers anywhere (still haven't unpacked my Dillon 650 yet), Waiting on trimmer parts for 30-06 as well.
 
Been there done that, loaded some .223 that were not dry, in a hurry to get them done, spent way more time unloading the rounds and reloading. Thats when I bought a collet bullet puller, also if your worried about depriming cases, just put water in em again and your good to go.
 
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