Perils of the wrong powder
- Thread starter BMcCarron
- Start date
Chuckbuster
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Haven't watched the video, but makes me think of the times of forgotten powder in a hopper or other unmarked container...fertilizer it became. And yeah...1 type of powder at a time.
I have always had two shelves for powder. One for rifle powder and the other for the fast, pistol type powders.
As well, as has been stated, have just ONE container of powder on your loading bench at a time.
Further, you should mentally be on top of all your powders. That is, look at the designation and know where it fits in. Don't have to look at your manual to see where the powder fits in.
Many of us on here have all our common rifle and pistol loadings completely in memory.
I have found two common causes of wrong powder incidents;
After a break in loading of a few weeks, Fred returns to the bench and assumes the powder in the powder thrower is 4831. It is actually 4198 and blows up his 300Mag.
After a break in loading of a few weeks, Fred returns to the bench and assumes the powder in the powder thrower is 4831. It is actually 4198 and he dumps the powder into his can of 4831.
I have a roll of masking tape on my bench and label the thrower each time with what is in it.
After a break in loading of a few weeks, Fred returns to the bench and assumes the powder in the powder thrower is 4831. It is actually 4198 and blows up his 300Mag.
After a break in loading of a few weeks, Fred returns to the bench and assumes the powder in the powder thrower is 4831. It is actually 4198 and he dumps the powder into his can of 4831.
I have a roll of masking tape on my bench and label the thrower each time with what is in it.
I agree with everything that's been said here, and I'm not making any excuses for this guy's mistake, but just want to point out that the manufacturers could EASILY help reloaders avoid this situation by NOT having all their products labeled so similarly. It would be SO easy to mistakenly grab the wrong container when the labels on different powders from the same manufacturer look almost identical.
I do this as well but now empty it pretty much every time if I am going to step a way for a while.
He had a horrible mix up I have no idea how you could mix those two thou, they don't even look similar.
I hope I wouldn't mix up Varget and titegroup.
unstableryan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Another reminder to pay attention when reloading. I hate to hear of it happening to anyone, but at least learning about it keeps me from relaxing too much and putting myself in more danger.
Quickload tells me that 41gr of titegroup as mentioned is a 113% case full... where as 41gr of Varget is 96%. Perhaps titegroup weighs less by volume than varget... but even so, 19gr of titegroup in a 7mm-08 with a 139 SST passes 66k PSI.
If he did fit 41gr of titegroup in there, it says he would have hit about 236k psi in .05 ms. I think that's higher than smokeless can get up to, but still....
Quickload tells me that 41gr of titegroup as mentioned is a 113% case full... where as 41gr of Varget is 96%. Perhaps titegroup weighs less by volume than varget... but even so, 19gr of titegroup in a 7mm-08 with a 139 SST passes 66k PSI.
If he did fit 41gr of titegroup in there, it says he would have hit about 236k psi in .05 ms. I think that's higher than smokeless can get up to, but still....
All good tips. I'm not really worried about which powder is in the thrower because I'm new enough to the game that I don't reach for a powder container without looking at it. And I unload my thrower back into the container after I'm done to keep the powder away from sunlight, humidity, etc.
What I mark with a "flag" of masking tape is what kind of PRIMER is in my press' loading tube because I don't unload those unless I have to.
What I mark with a "flag" of masking tape is what kind of PRIMER is in my press' loading tube because I don't unload those unless I have to.
Only one can of powder on my bench, the measure is always kept empty.
The article said he was an experienced reloader, although Titegroup and Varget are similar in colour one is a flake and the other is extruded he must have been too excited about his new rifle to notice.
The article said he was an experienced reloader, although Titegroup and Varget are similar in colour one is a flake and the other is extruded he must have been too excited about his new rifle to notice.
Reloading is less complicated and less dangerous than driving a car, but nobody starts a thread cautioning us to stop at the stop sign and look both ways before proceeding.
When you are done using a powder, empty the hopper etc back into the can, and put the can away - EVERY TIME - and you won't have any problems. This is not rocket science but it's so simple that we tend to forget the consequences.
When you are done using a powder, empty the hopper etc back into the can, and put the can away - EVERY TIME - and you won't have any problems. This is not rocket science but it's so simple that we tend to forget the consequences.
This works for me:
Only one powder out on the loading bench at any time during loading. It sits on my bench just to the back of my hopper with the label facing me.
Zero powder remains in the hopper at the end of the reload session. All remaining powder in the hopper goes back into the same bottle that was on the bench at the start of the session even if I'm going to reload using the same powder the next day.
Triple check load for caliber/bullet combo and that my scales are zeroed at the start and spot checked during the session.
Any spillage on the bench or floor is considered contaminated and it is collected into a plain bottle to be later burned up at the next camp fire.
So far it's kept me safe...
Only one powder out on the loading bench at any time during loading. It sits on my bench just to the back of my hopper with the label facing me.
Zero powder remains in the hopper at the end of the reload session. All remaining powder in the hopper goes back into the same bottle that was on the bench at the start of the session even if I'm going to reload using the same powder the next day.
Triple check load for caliber/bullet combo and that my scales are zeroed at the start and spot checked during the session.
Any spillage on the bench or floor is considered contaminated and it is collected into a plain bottle to be later burned up at the next camp fire.
So far it's kept me safe...
^^^this, I'll leave everything set up if I know I'm going to load more of the same later but the powder measure is completely empty, all powder is back in storage and any leftover primers are back in their original packaging with a note about quantity.
This too, any spilled powder gets gathered up and wrapped in a kleenex to make the worlds saddest fireworks.
I use titegroup in my galleryloads, and h380 in my serious loads. I could double charge a Gallery and be just fine...almost 10x in titegroup would have me looking for pieces assuming I still had eyes.
I am a novice reloader and reload for my hunting rifles only...... I agree with the posts above....
Part of the appeal to reloading to me is taking your time and following the process to a tee..... Taking meticulous steps to reach meticulous results..... I am not set up, nor will I likely ever be, to "bang out" 500 rounds in an afternoon..... I like to focus on one rifle and make sure I am doing all I can to make the most accurate kinds possible...... The safety stuff comes along naturally.......
I only use 4 powders, and am actually contemplating getting 4 powder measures and labelling them.....
Part of the appeal to reloading to me is taking your time and following the process to a tee..... Taking meticulous steps to reach meticulous results..... I am not set up, nor will I likely ever be, to "bang out" 500 rounds in an afternoon..... I like to focus on one rifle and make sure I am doing all I can to make the most accurate kinds possible...... The safety stuff comes along naturally.......
I only use 4 powders, and am actually contemplating getting 4 powder measures and labelling them.....
I did that too, definitely a little overkill, but I ended up setting up a tool head with dies and a powder measure for each caliber/powder combination. Then I put matching color coded stickers on the powder measure and bottles of the powder it was set up for.
When you think of what we spend for everything else, it is a borderline no brainer if you have the space....... I still advocate emptying the powder measure at the end of the session.......
