Reloading Blunders/Dedicated to the "New Reloaders"

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pyscodog

Active member
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I'm sure we all have had a few. Tell the stories and maybe help the new guys not feel so "New" at reloading.

How about forgetting to put the pan under the dispenser and running out 57 grains of H-4350 out on the table.

Or, forgetting to prime your brass before charging the case.
Or, Running 223 cases in your 204 dies.
If your reload, your gonna screw up sooner or later.
pyscodog
 
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An empty cartirdge in a semiauto. What a beach to get the projectile out. The reason I don't use auto indexing/progressive load equipment anymore.
 
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The first time I ever ran a cartridge into a die for resizing I was so excited that I sprayed a little gun oil on and ran it up into the die. It did not come back down, that was alot of firsts on that one. First broken decapping pin, first bent spindle assemble, first broken brass while reloading......etc.

The first bullet I tried to seat I did not unscrew the seater. When the bullet was seated It was seated all the way into the brass.

First time with Hornady resizing dies I was crushing brass. They looked like an accordian. Now I know to unscrew the Hornady resizer quite a bit.

I continue to make mistakes, but every time I do I laugh and laugh at myself and try not to make the same mistake twice.
 
Forgetting to prime cases before putting powder in em continiues to be my nemisis. And since most of my loading involves sphericle powders, it always causes a mess.
 
mgysgt,
you can eliminate that for the most part on a progressive with a lock out die if you have the room.

My nemisis is forgetting to clean the flash hole after tumbling in the Lyman rock type media, then priming the cases with plugged flash holes, DOH!!!!!
 
How about forgetting to write you reloaded ammo data down in your record book. I just (today) noticed I had done it....twice.
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I was way back in the woods with my blackhawk loaded with 38s trying to thin out some porcupines last winter,I got 1 then when I fired at the next I got a squib,I new right away I had forgotten the powder. I walked about 2 miles out of the woods,see 4 more porcupines and had a bullet stuck about an inch in the barrel with no way of getting it out. Of the 30 rounds I took there was only 1 bad apple,but I picked it. I thought I always went over the loading blocks with a flashlight before seating but must not have that time. Now I do it twice.
 
Don't drink while reloading...

Smoking around primers can get very exciting

Don't reload after having a fight with the wife...You will load everything on a max load.

When reloading, only have one can of powder near your scale

Use a mini mag flash light to check all cases to be sure that powder is in them before seating bullets

When using any auto prime tool, have a jeweler's screw driver handy to get out primers that start in side ways

Double check your powder scale to make sure it is set properly

Cover your scope lens with a small plastic bag when you are cleaning your rifle, to keep the solvent off the lens

Keep accurate records on everything...especially the stuff that does not work, don't forget the OAL!!!

When you are getting your cases ready, stand them head up in the block till they are primed, mouth up means ready for powder.

If you leave powder in the hopper of the powder measure, put a piece of tape on it with the powder type wrote on it.

Don't drop primers in the carpet, it will cost you big time when the wife runs the vacuum cleaner!

Put the cat up if you reload on the kitchen table.

It's not a good idea to cast bullets on the kitchen stove YIKES!

Beware of loading for friends! They will always bring you crap for brass in all kinds of different brands.
 
I got out of routine once and charged w/no powder.
great tip about using a flashlight to make sure you didn`t miss any. The friend who helped me in the beginning showed me that and it has always been a reg. practice of mine.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanBeware of loading for friends! They will always bring you crap for brass in all kinds of different brands.

So true! You'll get 5 boxes of brass of 3 different kinds, none are full, some still have tarnish from 1967, they just don't comprehend what goes into this if they haven't done it. All they see are the incredible groups you're shooting compared to the pie plate groups they get. They don't see the hours and hours of work put into getting a good load for a rifle.

Lots of good tips, especially shining the light into each case to check for powder. When I was starting out I had some loads for my 6.5 Swede that I took pdog shooting. Drove all the way out there, only to have a load with no powder about 3 or 4 shots into the shoot. A stuck bullet and no cleaning rod. And no spare rifle, so I was done. I got to watch my shooting buddy shoot pdogs the rest of the day. Never forgot that.
 
A 30-06 case and a 308 die makes a REALLY long neck!
Mark

Done many of the others, too.
PITA when you forgot the powder in 50 cases of 38 - then dumped them in a 2/3 full 3 pound coffee can of loaded 38 rounds, and didn't figure it out till you've hit the range.
DONE THAT
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogHow about forgetting to write you reloaded ammo data down in your record book. I just (today) noticed I had done it....twice.
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This is one that may come into play.

As for some of the others I am uncertain how some of the steps in reloading can be overlooked. A lot of them can be fixed with a couple of zip lock bags, a flashlight and not drinking when reloading.

I think that some may try to go to fast in the process. Take your time. Be patient and although a joy that reloading is. It is a pain in the beep at times.
 
Quote:Don't reload after having a fight with the wife...

Well, there I was. I was loading up several boxes of shotgun shells for dove hunting. I just got my just released Rem 11-87. I was using a MEC progressive press. Well my wife comes into the gun room and somehow we ended up in an argument. Well, I got distracted, she left and I went back to reloading. I was trying out the Active hulls, they were all plastic. We went hunting the next day and the Active hulls didn't work too good in the semi-auto. The extractor was chewing up the rims pretty good. I had 9 shells left. Now rather than cutting them open when I got home, I decided to just shoot them off. We were done hunting and I loaded up the first 3, boom, boom, boom. Loaded up the next 3, boom, boom, boom, loaded up the last 3, boom, BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!! Thank God I was just shooting them off from the hip and not my shoulder. It was so loud that I literally thought I was deaf. My buddy was looking at me and I thought he was saying something and I couldn't hear him, I mean nothing. I look down at my gun and well, it was totaled. The received was blown out on both sides and looked like a diamond while looking down at it. The bolt was stuck all the way back, the forend was cracked, the bolt handle was gone, it was bad. I managed to charge a hull with 34 grains of Red Dot instead of 17grains. That is my one and only reloading accident and hopefully my last. I am extremely attentive when I reload. Find a routine that works for you and stick with it. I still use the same steps 30 years later as I did back then except my wife doesn't bother me anymore. Well heck, we haven't had an argument in so many years I couldn't tell you the last time anyways. Just pay attention, keep good records, be safe and have fun!
 
I just did this one the other night. I was using my RCBS chargemaster and as I was pouring powder in the hopper, it came out the drain valve! DUH!! After I got the mess cleaned up and finished charging my empties, I went to put the chargemaster away and it was open. My new routine is to close it LAST!!!
 
I have made my share of silly mistakes but only one has sincerely frightened me. A proud primer in a 30-30 case. Whatever it was, lack of squeeze when seating, burr in the brass or cleaning material in the pocket, when I ran five rounds through to check functioning Ka-Pow! Right through the kitchen cupboard, out the wall and into the wild blue yonder. Never so much as cracked a cup, and the gun was pointed towards 3 miles of empty country, thank God, but I was really shaken by that one.
 
I've done a lot of the above.

I've had my lee scale ball bearing off a notch so that I was ten grains off when loading shotshells.

I've poured powder back into the wrong can.

I've left powder in the measure and had to throw it out because I had forgot what it was. More than once.

I've not written load data down.

I've left the lid off powder cans.

I've loaded shotshells with no powder. That is interesting while goose hunting. You expect a good thumping recoil, instead you get a "poot" and you can see the pellets barely leave the barrel. Then have to find a stray piece of wire from an old fence to push the wad out of the barrel. Happened twice in one day. That's why you can't get in a hurry.
 
Discoveries I have made whilst handloading

RL7 powder is small enough to fit thru a flashhole of a piece of .221 Remington brass. If you fail to put a primer in one you will find this out. Its like a mini hour glass.

Powder "bridging" is for real in nearly any type of powder measure. It can give you 15 gr. one time and 55 gr. the next. You really wanted 35 gr. everytime.

Underloaded shotgun shells will allow the shooter to actually see his pattern.

Not all new brass is of the very best quality. The Remington Munitions plant re-stocked me on a very large quantity of .357 max brass the split end for end on first firing.

Powder tricklers are somebodys bad joke that should be on the same list as case lube pads. "Things I got suckered into buying List"

A rechargeable drill and a small hex bit make for a better power case trimmer than $100 widget.

If you spill primers on a hardwood floor the easiest way to find them is to turn off the lights and walk around bare foot. They will inevidibly land anvil side up and your bare feet are like magnets for them.

If you flip the handle on a powder measure just to see 'what it does' there will most certainly be powder in it. Ask any child who has watched the process.

Its the end of a beautiful day, you've been shootin pds all day, you and your buddy have a small bet on that last long poke on the big fat prairie buddha. Your shot, you lean in, give it your best squeeze and boink but no boom. Its at that moment you extract the culprit to discover primers inserted upside down don't allow for the "boom" you expected
 
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Well I will have to admit it I made one / twenty mistakes. I was loading twenty .243 Win. rounds in phases / stages ( Size one night -- Trim the next night ETC ) Missed the priming phase. Using IMR 4350 so did not happen to see any powder running out, got to range set up and loaded first one in chamber, lined up on target and squeezed the trigger.NO BANG wait about one minute and unchambered round
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NO PRIMER
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... Needless to say my wife laughed at me all the way home.
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Moral of the story is,if you load in phases / stages put a piece of tape over the cases and write on the next stage / phase to be done.
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DAB
 
Didn't check my balance beam between loading sessions and loaded 25 of my 243 loads somewhere between the 39 and 49 grains. I noticed they seemed awful full when seating. I checked the scale and the weight was riding the hump between 30 and 40 grains
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Which brings me to another point. You can pull a bullet by removing your die from the press and holding it with pliers while you pull the ram down. This I learned after destroying my kinetic hammer while forcefully hitting it on an anvil. Later inspection of the instructions with the replacement hammer noted not to hit hard objects like metal or concrete like I had been doing for the past 4 years,
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