Reloading incident. Remeber to check before seating bullets.

I too have just had my first(hopefully my last such experience)where I loaded some reduced velocity target grade .44 magnum rounds in a batch of 50 where 3 of the cases were had no powder.The first squib load fired lodged the cast bullet about 4" down the tube of a S&W 629,8 3/8 barrel.Having noticed it immediately I ceased firing the remainder of that batch and boxed the gun.When I got home and later used a wood dowel to drive the cast slug out the muzzle,I thanked myself for being attentive enough to realize the situation I had at the range.For future reloading regimens I now weigh the completely loaded rounds for referencing should a comparison be required to determine if any other rounds have been loaded without the powder.But of course this is all after the fact and a visual inspection should always be done for evidence of powder prior to bullet seating.The bottom line is that never let a distraction enter into the picture while loading as it could be catastrophic.
jackpine
 
Roll your own. Squibbs, Etc.

Weigh every round on it's way to your cartridge box. It doesn't take that long, it is a quick indicator and you personal safety along with the rest of ours that might be standing next to you are paramount. Think about it!
 
I use a RCBS 4x4 progressive press to load all my pistol and smaller rifle cartrigdes, but I never use it for the powder measure. I use a Redding uniflow type of power measure, so I can always check the powder levels in the casings.

One more point, if you reload pistol and rifle and different calibers ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS clean up after one caliber before you even think about starting to load something else.... It is just too easy to get powders or primers mixed up.... I found this out when I guess I loaded some of my 45ACP with rifle primers once.... But the problem this time was that nothing happend. I was using them in my Glock, and their little firing pin just doesn't have the ummph to even dint them. And this could be a real problem in the middle of IPSC compatition.... not to mention the problems one would run into loading pistol primers in a high power rifle cartridge...
 
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Hi Chewbaka
If that ever happens again, having doubt in your reloads that is, you could always refer to your log, weigh all your components, and check each round for weight including the powder. This may save you a lot of time, taking your rounds apart that is. A good quality electronic scale would make this foolproof.

Just a thought
Steve
 
petriw said:
Weigh every round on it's way to your cartridge box. It doesn't take that long, it is a quick indicator and you personal safety along with the rest of ours that might be standing next to you are paramount. Think about it!
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That would work if the disparity in weight from case to case did not amount to a significant portion of the load being used... It is not uncommon to have pistol cases where the difference in weight from case to case is greater than the weight of the charge being thrown.
 
I think loading rifle cases with light loads is the potentially most dangerous procedure because it is difficult to compare the powder levels in the deeper case. When I am loading these, I use 2 loading blocks. I put the primed cases in one, base up. I then move each loaded case to the other loading block as I load them. I have experienced the no powder bit and, on one occasion, loaded 20 cases without primers. I had bullets seated in almost half of them before I noticed the powder droping out of the base. I thought I had them primed before I went to lunch.
 
gerardjohnson said:
I think loading rifle cases with light loads is the potentially most dangerous procedure because it is difficult to compare the powder levels in the deeper case. When I am loading these, I use 2 loading blocks. I put the primed cases in one, base up. I then move each loaded case to the other loading block as I load them. I have experienced the no powder bit and, on one occasion, loaded 20 cases without primers. I had bullets seated in almost half of them before I noticed the powder droping out of the base. I thought I had them primed before I went to lunch.[/QUOTE]


Done that too. Felt like a dweeb.

One thing that happened to me that I haven't figured out the cause yet was while loading Cowboy loads for my .30-30. I used a Hornady progressive press to make 500 cast bullet loads with a light charge of Red Dot. Out of the 500 loads, two of them were not like the others. For one thing they sounded and recoiled like a hunting load rather than a light Cowboy load, like the other 498. Both fired cases also got stuck and had to be removed by tapping them out of the chamber with a cleaning rod inserted from the muzzle while a friend was pulling on the lever. And lastly, a mirror image of the bottom of the case was imprinted on the bolt face. To this day I can still read the inverted letters from thet R-P case.

Any thoughts on what could have gone wrong?
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When I'm at the loading stage , I put all my cases mouth down in my loading block then turn them over one at a time as I pour in my powder charge. One last visual before seating bullets.
 
I am going to get into hand loading. ie 500 S/W. big $$. I have a lot of gear set up. Reading handloading for handgunners by Maj. Nonte Jr. Very interesting. Got the gear when it came with a gun collection I bought. Is there a video one could buy to visualize all this reading i'm doing ?

THX Bill in NS
 
Hey Bill, similar boat here. Have reloaded only 9mm so far, with success. I found a pile of videos about reloading on YouTube.com....it's a good start anyway, just search for "reloading"
 
For pistol shooting the idea of using a powder that more than half fills the case is a grreat idea. Double charging is not a question of if, just when. Murphy always wins. Bulky powder will prevent that.

It is real important to scan up and down the case mouths of a all the cases sitting in the loading block. Not only can a case (or a whole row) have no powder, but if you are using a powder funnel, someitmes some of the powder bridges and then gets dumped into teh next case. One case with 5 graisn too little is not a big deal, but the next case is a dandy!!

I used to use Winchester pistol powder (291?) (231?) I stopped using it after I saw three rifles accidently destroyed by a case full of pistol powder. Ball powder looks all the same.

If a can of pistol powder is on the bench it can be used to top up the power measure. Or, if a can of rifle powder is on the bench, a powder thrower full of pistol powder can be dumped into the rifle powder can.

I have personbally examined a Win M70, a brno 223 bolt gun and an AR-15 that got blown up with pistol powder. I have the AR15 and Winchester here. The locking lugs have sheared off the M70 bolt. Pretty scare stuff.

I have made a point of only having one container at a time at or near the bench.
 
I like to wad my loads with a small piece of toilet paper. I cut a square of tp into 3 strips, then cut each strip in 3 - creating 9 squares in total.

when I'm done charging my cases, I lay the square of tp on the mouth of the case and then slip it into the case with a dowel. I find this does 2 things:
1) helps prevent me from loading an empty cartridge (if the tp makes it to the bottom, there's obviously no powder in there)
2) packs the powder down to the primer - so that the powder doesn't slip away from the primer when chambered. this helps accuracy enormously.

I hope this technique is as helpful to you as it was to me...
 
One of the most dangerous reloading problems is the use of reduced loads in rifles with rifle powder. Rifle powder burns from the flash hole to the case mouth.
If the load is reduced enough, then the powder lies flat in the casing with a hugh air space all along the top. In this case the "Flash" from the primer can cover the entire charge at once so instead of a burning action from the back to the front you get a detonation of sorts. Using, as stated many times before, a powder that fills the case is the best avenue to avoid this little problem.
Scott
 
I hear you millwright. And this a hobby its being drilled into me check check and recheck. I love reloading for hunting and target. But there little or no room for error. I dont stand in jugdment of you, but please be more carefully. I dont want to read about this on CBC.:p
 
I'm just new getting into this, is it possible to do a weight of the total cartridge when your done to confirm it is in the right range to avoid a double charge? Like your order at McD's at the drive through?
 
Absolutely. The "right range" will depend on weight consistency of the bullets and brass, so expect more variation with lower-quality bullets and mixed brass.
 
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