Brain Fart - Wrong Load and Powder

Ganderite

Ganderite

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I had few hundred 32 Auto cases to load. They have been sized and primed and sitting on my desk for months. So I finally switched the tool head in the Dillon and did the deed.

I had 500 of the CamPro 85gr plated bullets and 50 of the Lehigh Defense 55gr copper bullets.

The light 55 gr bullets needed a faster powder than the 85 gr bullets, so I did my research and decided to load 3.1 gr of Win 231 (fast) for the 55 gr copper bullets and 3.1 gr of Power Pistol (slow) for the 85 gr plated bullets.
The 55 gr bullets were loaded. They chronographed at 1145fps out of a Colt 1903. Perfect.

I then loaded the 85 gr bullets, but forgot to change powders. The book says that 2.4 is the max load for 231. I loaded 3.1

I discovered my mistake as I was making the label for the box of several hundreds rounds I had just loaded. I reached for my inertia hammer, and found it would not work.
I did not want to toss 300 cases and bullets. What to do?

Then I recalled that the 32 Auto is semi-rimmed and will chamber in a 32 revolver. I have several quality (strong) revolvers, so maybe this hot ammo would work in the revolver. I tested 3 rounds. 875fps (about right for a 32 revolver) and the empties dropped right out. No pressure at all. I guess the long chamber in front of the short 32Auto case acted as a very long leade and dropped the pressure.

So I labeled the box of 32 Auto as “Revolver Only”. Probably a lifetime supply of ammo.

I was curious about how hot the same ammo would be in a 32ACP pistol, so I fired one round through a disposable pistol – 1030 fps. Max would be around 900 with the correct powder. Pistol was not damaged, but the empty went into low earth orbit.

The loading error was caused by the 3.1 gr being common to both loads. Because I did not have to change the weight, I overlooked changing the powder.
 
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I used to wonder what circumstances would cause such mistakes but as time goes on I now load several calibers, shoot multiple bullet weights, have dozens of powders and multiple presses.

Yep. I see how it happens now.
 
Brain farts come in all shapes and sizes. I have 2 boxes of 20 rounds .308 development loads. I didn't mark down weight or powder used (either Varget, 4895 or 4064) although I can probably figure out the what the projectiles are. I know they are safe as I didn't go near max loads back then. Maybe I did mark it down and lost the paper somewhere or didn't save the info on my computer. Now I have 2 boxes of mystery load .308s that will be use as foulers. If they shoot well, I am really going to kick myself and wasted invaluable Varget/4895 powder in there *sigh*.

These are just scenarios why people should not sell or buy reloaded ammo privately.
 
mimile said:
If this happens to Ganderite, it can happen to anybody....
Click to expand...

True, mistakes can happen to anyone. What I feel sets Ganderite apart is when he relates how he handles his mistakes.

Then I recalled that the 32 Auto is semi-rimmed and will chamber in a 32 revolver. I have several quality (strong) revolvers, so maybe this hot ammo would work in the revolver. I tested 3 rounds. 875fps (about right for a 32 revolver) and the empties dropped right out. No pressure at all...

I was curious about how hot the same ammo would be in a 32ACP pistol, so I fired one round through a disposable pistol...
Click to expand...

So many reloaders I have seen on so many forums would have resigned themselves to scrapping the ammo, but he uses his experience, knowledge, and apparently expansive inventory of .32 pistols to come up with a useful resolution to this situation. He uses his understanding of interior ballistics to go away from the obvious path and finds success. This is to me the real value in a post like this.
 
Just because I am incredibly good looking does not mean I am incompetent.

I used to work in R&D, where it was fairly common to say "I wonder what would happen if...." and then find out.

Like when a customer wrote to report our ammo had blown up his rifle. "I wonder what it would take to blow up a gun like that....?" And then we proceeded to find out.

BYW, it is difficult to blow up a rifle. Pistol powder will do it (almost every time) and a barrel obstruction placed more than 50% down the barrel.
 
BattleRife said:
True, mistakes can happen to anyone. What I feel sets Ganderite apart is when he relates how he handles his mistakes.



So many reloaders I have seen on so many forums would have resigned themselves to scrapping the ammo, but he uses his experience, knowledge, and apparently expansive inventory of .32 pistols to come up with a useful resolution to this situation. He uses his understanding of interior ballistics to go away from the obvious path and finds success. This is to me the real value in a post like this.
Click to expand...
I feel the same. Ganderite adds a level of honesty and professionalism that is seldom seen anywhere, let alone online.
 
Not making a mistake comes from successfully reminding yourself time after time that you COULD make a mistake. I dread the day I forget to stop for that wee ritual.
 
LOL...man I can relate to this post !!

my buddy and I were in a hurry on a friday night loading 9mm for 3 gun for the following day.
I was "positive" that my powder measure was set for 9mm because thats all I was reloading, BUT I had loaded a few 357 in between and forgot about it ! I noticed the mistake when I seen some 357 cases on the table under a rag, Then I remembered !!! YIKES
Oh boy...we were on the floor with our Hammers pulling hundreds of rounds the morning of the shoot.

It WILL eventually happen !
 
well I never figured out what I did wrong with some of my 25-06 reloads

it was hit and miss that batch some were just fine but 2 were overpressure, hard bolt opening, primers oversized and fell out, the rest of the batch got pulled down salvaged and reloaded.

everything looked just fine from the rounds I pulled down.

I must have somehow managed to contaminate the powder, that's the only explanation I have, but I'm careful to only have one powder open and that I clean out the powder thrower at the end of any reloading.
 
Yes, Sh!t happens.

I have done it a few times and have seen the results of many mishaps.

One thing that I have noticed is that quite often the gun survived several shots before letting go.

The shooter had to pound the bolt open, or the primer was badly blown with an enlarged primer pocket, etc. and then on the third shot, the gun let go.

If we are familiar with the gun an load, and it is very unusual to have to pound the bolt open, that is God's way of saying "Stop!" I have learned that my "perfect" load may have been made with the wrong powder or bullet, so am prepared to stop after one bad shot and take it back to the shop for inspection. A warning is a wonderful thing. Don't carry on.

In one case the guy blew up a rifle on the first shot. He decided it was a bad rifle, so switched rifles and blew up that one, too.

I have examined many blown up rifles. Almost all were due to pistol powder. Most blew on the first shot.
 
Recently I was looking at a similar two-bullets-one-calibre reloading exercise, in this case .45 ACP with the usual 230 gr jacketed bullets and also 200 gr bare lead. Not wanting to have to keep recalibrating the powder measure I looked at charts for the various powders, finding most of them had non-overlapping ranges for those two loads, Titegroup just barely touched so the same charge would be hot in one and light in the other, but Clays lined up fairly well and looked like 3.8 gr or so would be nice behind either bullet.

Note that I haven't managed to buy any of the stuff and try loading anything up yet, so that's only a thought exercise so far. But too lazy to want to reset the powder measure could have the side benefit of helping not load the wrong charge in that calibre.
 
Why I don’t trust myself with a Dillon.

I just spent two days pulling bullets from unknown loads etc, almost half a 5 gal pail of powder….. primers galore.

Thanks for sharing to remind us all.

SCG
 
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