Just how stupid am I

KungFooBob said:
I'm somewhat familiar with the process of reloading, but I don't have a press and don't currently reload. I thought the Dillon 550 was mostly automatic.

How would a double-load occur?


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The 550 is not automatic you have to index the shell plate manually. Thus a double charge is REALLY easy if you loose track of what you are doing. Kids, phone call, daydreaming about some hot chick anything.

To get to fully automatic progressive from Dillon you have to move up to the 650.

That is why I went for the Hornady Lock N Load after I double charged on my Lee.
 
stormbringer said:
The 550 is not automatic you have to index the shell plate manually. Thus a double charge is REALLY easy if you loose track of what you are doing. Kids, phone call, daydreaming about some hot chick anything.

To get to fully automatic progressive from Dillon you have to move up to the 650.

That is why I went for the Hornady Lock N Load after I double charged on my Lee.
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I had a Lee press....for a very short time. I now run the Dillon SDB, and what a difference it makes to have a progressive machine that has the auto index feature! Makes life so much better! The only complaint I have about it.......I CAN'T SEEM TO STOP RELOADING!!!:eek::D
 
I have been following this thread very closely considering I am about to start reloading my self. I have to say I appreciate the fact you have been so honest in dealing with this issue and not just running and hiding from it or even in denial that you did any thing wrong. I can feel the sincerity in your threads. Hang in there.
 
Tens of thousands of reloaders fill millions of fired brass cases every year. What happened here is VERY VERY rare. I have personally loaded over 100,000 45 ACP reloads using nothing but once fired cases and have never had anything like what was described here happen. I load my cases till they split at the neck or won't hold a primer.
 
I estimate I have loaded about 6000 rounds since last August. Nothing even remotely like this has happened to me. I just found another 55 rounds that I made in the same batch. I weighed them all. about 30 of them were all around 320g. These were mostly Federal and WInchester brass. Another 12 or so were all around 325 with unrecognizable head-stamps. 2 at 328 and 4 at 332. I opened all the 332 rounds and weighed the powder - these were all aound the 3.8 grains of Clays I set up for. Heavier brass make up the difference I guess.
I found a winchester shell, at 328, Opened it up and it had 5g. (+ or minus a few tenths - might have mixed up with some powder left in the bullet puller). I didn't see any double charges - would 1 grain over the reccomended make a boom? I usually set the powder dispenser a few tenths lower than max so that if more does come out, it won't be much over.
 
I say Double charge as well.............

I have reloaded .45ACP and used brass from various sources....................never a problem.

However when using progressive type reloading presses, it is easy to do a double charge and go along your merry way unnoticed...............you have to pay extra attention when using progressive presses and not have any distractions...(especially if new to there loading game)........if indoubt, dump the case and start over, or pull the bullets and start over.........

A buddy of mine was using my set up, and even though I instructed him to pay attention and go slow, and to stop if he there was a problem, he had a double charge of Win 231 go BOOM at the range.............it blew the gun out of his hand..............blew the mag out of the gun..............blew the remaining rounds out of the mag and jammed the follower at the bottom of the mag................he received brass shrapnel in the face (He had shooting glasses on!!!) causing two small cuts, and swelling to his right hand.

We found the case and there was an area halfway around the rim that was blown out....(Colt 1991A1s don't fully support the case head when chambered, so the force of thecharge blew straight down into the magwell....)

This was a good lesson for the both of us........

SKBY.
 
I also think it was a double charge. I would not blame the brass as I use mixed brass and have been using my 1800 rounds of 45acp brass for 5 years. The only used brass I will not use is brass that has changed color from being exposed to the elements. I always inspect the brass before reloading and after reloading. I have set up a system on my press so that I can see the powder in the shell before I cap it with a slug. I have in the past had some issues with my reloads but learning from them and making changes to how I reload has corrected the problems I was having. I also will not let anyone shoot my reloads just because I do not want to be responsible for the possibility of harming someone as accidents can happen.
 
Nothing short of a double charge could do that damage. No chance of 45 ACP pressure doing that to ANY brass case.
 
So to recap - the consensus appears to be;
1) reloading once-fired brass is okay, as long as you inspect it. I did that and threw out what, to my eyes, looked unsafe. Might have to re-assess my criteria, but I believe I have been doing the right thing.
2) Double charge - I guess I can't really argue that point effectively. I do take great care when I reload. I have a system that (until now) seemed to work for me, but obviously I dropped the ball somewhere, somehow. Time to review and make changes in the process. I came to the bad brass conclusion from reading the manuals.
Lastly -
3) How stupid am I? Since I have done over 5000 rounds with one bad round it comes out to about two/tenthousands of a percent bad. Still way too high form my liking. So I'll rate myself as slightly stupider than average.
I'm still a little upset over all of this.
I'll probably take a few more days off before I pick this up again.
 
Your being too hard on yourself unless you think you are somehow more perfect than others who have posted here.;):)

It's impossible to prove anything after the fact. From the info supplied, popular consensus is overload, but how do you suppose all those people could recognize that so quickly?;)

Regardless of what happened, you got the best reminder of all to be careful and pay attention. That's one where nobody got hurt.

Carry on and have fun.:shotgun:
 
There is one other possibility and that is a bullet not getting a proper crimp. Without a proper crimp a bullet could get pushed deeper into the case as it hits the feed ramp going into the chamber. I recently saw some factory PMC in .40 have this happen and it was only discovered by the fact the guy shooting the ammo removed the unfired rounds from the chamber. No KB in this case no but doubt it jacked up the chamber pressure.

I've been loading .45's on a 550 for 20 years and while not having a double charge have have had no powder go into the case and subsequently have a bullet stuck in the barrel upon firing. You don't want to go "Tap, rack, bang" when this happens.

Really, I would not let it get you down. Reloading and shooting is far safer than scores of activities people do not think twice about participating in.
 
you're OK!

Dunsforo,let me add my .02 to this very worthy discussion.I tend to agree with the double charge theory.

I have been loading for over 20 years and I have loaded lots.Never had the catstrophic incident you describe,though I know they happen.

Contrary to what 1 contributor said,you would likely have been responsible for injury to another.Think about it:had your gun gone boom and hurt the guy in the next port,who would be responsible?

I have little hesitation in using any old brass that will go through the die after I clean and visually inspect them.Literally.I have 45 ACP brass that I have fired so many times the case rim won't go into the shell holder,it's so battered.That can be fixed if you want to buy the machine! I toss them at that point.

The brass is unlikely to be at fault.I have had numerous case ruptures in revolvers and rifles with no bad consequence.Semi auto actions open on their own and spread their good news easily,ie,what the chamber once contained.

Did you examine the gun for an overly stoned sear?It is possible that you had a slam fire mishap,which can be caused by a gun defect..not sure,but I think weak springs can also contribute to that.

To conclude,

The problem is your responsibility,but not necessarily some fatal flaw that should cause you to stop reloading,or from sharing your guns and handloads.It does show the importance of attentiveness...I ride a bike and have done for over 30 years ,and we say(not necessarily true,but a good philosophical outlook) that of bikers,there are those who have crashed,and those who will.

Don't beat yourself up.Thanks for the instruction.
 
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