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pulling bullets ARGHHHH

mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited April 2006 in Perry Shooter Competition Shooting and Reloading Forum
Alright, I was loading some 45 last night on my Dillon 550b, I started having non feed problems with the primer feeder. So as I played with the feeder and got it working, I ran the cases up and down twice on some of the rounds. Didn't think much about it a the time, BUT, I am pretty sure that each case that was run twice in the powder stage will be double loaded. SO, I spent the next hour pulling bullets. Kinda ticked me off that I was so careless, and did not think about the powder issue while I was doing it.

Oh well better safe than sorry.

I think 10 grains of 231 is probable a little too much in a 45. [:D]
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Comments

  • MosinNagantDiscipleMosinNagantDisciple Member Posts: 2,612
    edited November -1
    Thats why I dont think I could trust myself with reloading handgun calibers. Handgun cartridges are so much easier to overcharge/doublecharge (especially on a progressive).

    Like you said, better safe than sorry.
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  • mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    MND,

    Yea I really thin it is only 2 cases that are over charged, BUT that is the breaks. I just setup up the progressive for the first time and this was in the second hundred rounds I loaded. Definitly something to watch out for in the future.
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  • dclocodcloco Member Posts: 2,967
    edited November -1
    Muss....please weigh the rest that you loaded...please!!!!
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  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hello double charge of 231 at best will blow the bottom of case remove the magazine and blow the floorplate off and blow the grips off for black hand etc next will be small pieces of brass out the back of slide as it goes past the ejector thru your cheek that you can spit out if there were rounds still in the magazine and the double charge was not the last round you migh have the other rounds go off for much smoke and flame and more fun with a big buldge in slide and frame this will leave the pistol as toast and a great learning lesson I will mail you 100 cases and bullets free if you throw them all away . I don't want to read about you . I have seen all of the above happen during 40 + years of bulls-eye shooting and it ain't perrty .
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  • mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have pulled all 100 rounds and will start over. I would never take a chance, just because of what Perry Shooter describes. I have seen that happen and it is not fun.
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    Just a dumb question, but can't you weigh the loaded bullets to tell if you have a double powder charge. Weigh out a few correctly loaded bullets to get a baseline and anyting over that baseline has to be broken down and reloaded.

    Sig232
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  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hello Sig 232 There is always varation in weights of both powder and cases much more when the 2 are combined then the small amount of a double charge of pistol powder a good thought but remember murphy's law light bullet + light case + double powder charge = weights normal, performance "OH #$%@ "
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    Yes, I guess you are right about that "Perry" better to be safe than sorry. Not worth taking a chance, especially after that discription of the blowup you discribed. Picking brass out of your teeth would not be a fun experience.

    I have witnessed a couple of double charge firings in Ruger and Colt single actions and neither gun was damaged to much extent. Ruger had no effect the Colt had a screw shered off and the ejection housing launched into space. No damage to either shooter. Scared them quite a bit.

    I do know that pistols are another storey. Like the pressue release if the slide does not lock or is kicked back. Nasty stuff!

    Sig232
    NRA Patron Member
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  • mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sig,

    I did think about that, So I weighed each case. Perry shooter is a wise man, They weights were all close but not decisive enough for comfort. I then weighed some empty cases, WOW some were 5 - 10 grains more than others. Typically the military cases were much heavier than the commercial cases. So as he said, this is not a good way to go.

    Oh well, all is reloaded and "quality control" was much better.

    Live and Learn, as long as you still "live".
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  • ThrockmortonThrockmorton Member Posts: 814 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    kudos to you for pulling the whole batch for safetys' sake.Way better to be safe than injured.
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  • OutlawsOutlaws Member Posts: 83 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by MosinNagantDisciple
    Thats why I dont think I could trust myself with reloading handgun calibers. Handgun cartridges are so much easier to overcharge/doublecharge (especially on a progressive).

    Like you said, better safe than sorry.


    I haven't loaded any postols yet, but my 243 fills almost all the way up with the suggested minimum. If I ever doubled carged it I would overflow the thing. I take it pistol brass is much larger than needed for the powder charge?
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    I find it fun and easy to load on the progressive press but you need to be extra careful. If you are intrupted in the process by the wife, the telephone or forgetting to punch in the primer, you must stop and check all cases in the toolhead.

    If I suspect a double charge or forgetting to put in a charge I stop and check each and every one on the toolhead.

    I find its easier to forget to put in the primer and then you spread powder all over the toolhead and have to stop, clean up and pull the bullet that leaked powder because it had no primer seated. That happens sometimes because the primer doesn't feed correctly in the tube. I now watch to see that there is a primer in the cup as I put it into the primer pocket. If you sleep you weep!

    Sig232
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  • mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sig232,

    I am learning those exact things you spoke about, check the primer, powder, etc before rotating the shell holder. I did find one in the batch I pulled that had NO powder in it. I have loaded on single stage presses for years, but the progressive is a bit more challenging. On the good side, the first two hundred I loaded went Bang just perfectly.

    I found myself thinking about the progressives "speed" of loading instead of the actual process of loading, I have changed my thinking about the progressive. The speed will come with good habits and routines.
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  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hell muss Make sure if you are loading pistols that for each time you pull the trigger you have a bullet leave the barrel with just a primer it will most times get the bullet out of the case but leave the bullet in the barrel this will ruin your day if you fire another round . I have seen straight blowbach semiauto like ppk in 380 auto work the slide but leave a bullet in the barrel with a light load when the second shot is fired it will buldge the barrel. same thing with a relvolver.
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    Another thing to remember is to be careful as your speed comes up on the progressive press to ease that primer in and not hit it too hard. I had loaded on a single stage for 30 years, bought a Dillon and got a bit over confident and two primers slipped out of the primer feed and "pow". I jumped outa my chair. Had the proper protection on so there was no harm done.

    I limit the amount of powder that I keep in the powder measure to about half full and seldom put in more than 50 primers in the tube. Thats just my little effort to be a bit safer after my little scare.
    Keep extra primers and powder in the cabnets and away from the bench. Darn primers can creat a hot blast so you don't want anything that will burn very close to the press. This is just common sense stuff but its good to revisit it often.

    Sig232
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  • mussmuss Member Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I did crush one primer sideways in the Dillon 550. I only load about 25-50 primers in the tube, I am not sold on this progressive thing YET. I will continue to play with it. It may be faster, but if it is not safer and accurate it is history.

    Thankfully I have many years of loading experience to draw upon, I do not know how a beginner would properly handle setting up and running a progressive press.
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  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry about my last post I forgot the letter O on the first word. I have loaded about 7 to 10 thousand 45 acp a year on a star progressive press during the last 35+ years and added to the star with addition of a case feeder then came a case colater then and auto indexter all these items were after market and took some tweaking to work correctly . during this time I never had a hickup 100 % good rounds then I tried to adapt a LEE bullet feeder result 2 overloads in first 400 rounds threw bullet feeder in the trash zero failures next 5 years make sure you take a complete stroke each and every time "short stroke " can cause problems with any progresive press "PRAISE THE HARD-BALL GUN"
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  • GUNFUNCOGUNFUNCO Member Posts: 2,919 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    With the Dillon RL550B-you WILL double charge with the condition you decribe unless you only lifted the ram a short distance (short enough not to actuate the powder measure)-so you did the right thing by pulling the loads-the only way to be truly safe-don't throw them out-some poor garbage man might shoot them in his gun if he finds them.
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    Yes, if I screw up a reload I never throw a primed case in the trash. I don't want a child to find the case or the trash folks to set it off and cause a fire.

    I understand this is a no no, but I will gently remove the primer from the case after making sure there is nothing flammible in the area. Eye protection, hand and arm protection and "gently" decap. Never had one fire doing that procedure.

    I also use a flashlight to check powder levels in my cases if I have any idea that I may have double charged. Extra step and slows things down but worth the time to prevent a damaged gun or shooter.

    Sig232
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