Sized 50 223 cases. Then went straight to the powder drop of my workflow. With Varget powder. Only realized it after all was charged, and ready to seat. Picked up a charge case to seat then? Well, you guys know what happened next. I think I was just excited to use my new V3 setup. But then again, I did it in the past too. ?
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Reloading bloopers..
- Thread starter Rhed
- Start date
Just look away when you seat those primers. What could go wrong....
Yup, did the same thing not long ago. Had to dump the powder back into the Chargemaster from 50 pieces of brass. And recently grabbed the 55 gn Berger bullet box instead of the 77 gn box and seated 50 bullets. Don't know what to do with these since the powder charge is way too low. It would be a pain to pull 50 bullets and I would guess the necks would have to be resized so the primers would have to be pressed out too?
Dang.. I pulled bullets before, 15 and most. But 50? I agree with Supersubes on this on. Rapid shoot them for plinking.
Now I absolutely visually check every case.
Ask me why if you don’t understand.
Just because the die touched the shell holder doesn’t mean your headspace is good.
Ask me why if you don’t understand.
Just because the die touched the shell holder doesn’t mean your headspace is good.
I do a lot of reloading on a progressive for USPSA. I was cranking away, happy as a clam when I realized that like 30 cartridges didnt have any primers in them. I didnt even bother pulling them, I just tossed em. But they arent worth much since it's just 9mm coated lead in range brass.
Lol.. so your saying after you did the initial setup of the die, you just started sizing after?
Ah man.. I sometimes forget to push the ram forward to seat a primer on my 550. I use my 550 to make plinking rounds for rifle or pistols. And when the rhythm and speed gets me, that or placing a bullet to seat I forget sometimes. Must be getting old.. lol
I read his comment to mean the something else entirely and also just the opposite depending on which part you were replying to/.
The top part of his comment is the "something else entirely" that I took to mean he checks the cases for primers before loading. I do as well, I prime and then set them primer side up in the loading tray/box so that I can visually confirm the primers presence.
But to the bottom part of his comment that I took to mean just the opposite of your comment is that he is saying after initial set up you should still check the cases and not just keep pressing onward.
Size the case, then put it neck down in the block so the missing primer shows.
That's what I do, or the opposite. Either way I can make sure its noticeable
Recently harpooned a 22lr case residing in some range brass 308 with my universal decap die because it failed to get tapped upside down.
I wasn't even drinking so cant use that excuse.
Damn thing swaged it's self on the stem.
I wasn't even drinking so cant use that excuse.
Damn thing swaged it's self on the stem.
I made myself some nice wildcat rounds with an expander die set too low. 6BRA with a 90 degree shoulder lol.
Waaaaay back when I got into slightly more 'advanced' things like dies with bushings I managed to not completely comprehend the premise of bushings (well, I understood it, I just didnt incorporate it all into my thought process) and I managed to take 100 brand new 308 Lapua cases and run them through the bushing die that instead of a bushing diameter of something like .332 it had a bushing that was .306 in it.
Why? Because I want .002 neck tension and .308 - .002 = .306, right? I mean, who the hell figured you had to factor in some meaningless shit like case wall thickness or anything.
At first I thought the fact that I had to push the ram on the single stage so much harder than with my non bushing dies was 'working as intended'. Took me about 40 or so cases to think that something looked off. Put a bullet on the mouth and instantly realized what I did.
Why? Because I want .002 neck tension and .308 - .002 = .306, right? I mean, who the hell figured you had to factor in some meaningless shit like case wall thickness or anything.
At first I thought the fact that I had to push the ram on the single stage so much harder than with my non bushing dies was 'working as intended'. Took me about 40 or so cases to think that something looked off. Put a bullet on the mouth and instantly realized what I did.
When I first started, before getting organized...
I primed and charged 100 cases of 308. Only to find I pulled the 100 cases of just cleaned brass, not the ones I processed/resized.
The bullets fell right in.
Too make matters worse, it was my last box of primers so I couldn’t just prime the ready cases and dump the powder to them. Beam scale, too.
I primed and charged 100 cases of 308. Only to find I pulled the 100 cases of just cleaned brass, not the ones I processed/resized.
The bullets fell right in.
Too make matters worse, it was my last box of primers so I couldn’t just prime the ready cases and dump the powder to them. Beam scale, too.
Early 1990s. Loaded 300 win mag using a balance beam scale. I was going for 74 grains of H1000 behind a 220 gr SMK but missed the notch, didn't notice, and loaded 84 grains. I'm a slow learner so I got three rounds through it before I decided that something was just not right. That gun has gone through five barrels and, at the moment, needs a sixth so something like 7,000 to 10,000 rounds through thar receiver.
Shooting a benchrest match called the Crawfish in Lafayette Louisiana. Loaded my rounds for the next match, forgot the powder. Went to the line, range hot, load round, aim, ... pop. I got rounds from somewhere and shot the match but I didn't do well. Another guy did the same thing the same day - somebody loaned him a gun and rounds. He did better than I did.
Everybody who picks up range brass eventually breaks off a decapping pin by trying to decap a Berdan-primed case.
A few months ago I made up about several hundred rounds of 9mm in my Dillon 550 before noticing that the powder bar setting was too hot. They might have been okay but I was not okay with the mistake. I pulled every bullet with a Forster puller. It took me most of a day and was very very educational.
I have oversized cases, forgot to size cases, forgot primers, forgot powder, seated bullets too deep or not deep enough, used the wrong powder, too much crimp, not enough crimp, trimmed way too much, gone to the range without ammo, wrong ammo, went to a match with 100 rounds of ammo, half the right stuff and half for which I had no trajectory numbers, put the ammo box on my bumper then drove off and had it fall off on the road somewhere, no targets, no stapler, no hearing protection, loose scope base, loose scope rings, loose recoil reducer, loose stock screws, once I drove 150 miles to a range and forgot the bolt for a bolt gun. I now have a checklist, and I check it.
Shooting a benchrest match called the Crawfish in Lafayette Louisiana. Loaded my rounds for the next match, forgot the powder. Went to the line, range hot, load round, aim, ... pop. I got rounds from somewhere and shot the match but I didn't do well. Another guy did the same thing the same day - somebody loaned him a gun and rounds. He did better than I did.
Everybody who picks up range brass eventually breaks off a decapping pin by trying to decap a Berdan-primed case.
A few months ago I made up about several hundred rounds of 9mm in my Dillon 550 before noticing that the powder bar setting was too hot. They might have been okay but I was not okay with the mistake. I pulled every bullet with a Forster puller. It took me most of a day and was very very educational.
I have oversized cases, forgot to size cases, forgot primers, forgot powder, seated bullets too deep or not deep enough, used the wrong powder, too much crimp, not enough crimp, trimmed way too much, gone to the range without ammo, wrong ammo, went to a match with 100 rounds of ammo, half the right stuff and half for which I had no trajectory numbers, put the ammo box on my bumper then drove off and had it fall off on the road somewhere, no targets, no stapler, no hearing protection, loose scope base, loose scope rings, loose recoil reducer, loose stock screws, once I drove 150 miles to a range and forgot the bolt for a bolt gun. I now have a checklist, and I check it.
I've managed to decap my finger twice now. For some reason when I'm trying to decap quickly I stick the case in my press with my finger over the case mouth. If you pull the ram too quickly you can pretty easily shove the decapping pin through your fingernail. Luckily it only takes like 6 months for your nail to grow back.
I’ve forgotten to close the drain door a few times on my CM lites before. That’s a fuckin mess to cleanup. Especially when all that powder gets into the T-tracks on the bench.
I've done that. Cleaned it up with a shop vav, thinking the whole time "I'm running powder through an electric motor. This is a bad idea".
Forgot to lube a case once. Got it stuck in my full length die. I was a cheapskate, didn’t want to buy a stuck case removal kit. Tried torching the die to heat it up, pulling on it with a channel-lock pliers, put it in a vice, tried to tap the case head through the flash hole to thread in a bolt to pull on. Immediately broke the bolt off in the case. The head was all tore up. Biggest clusterfuck ever. Then I went to the interwebs, found and bought the kit. Out in two seconds. And boy did I feel dumb. I keep the case on my bench as a reminder, lest I get stupid again.
I pulled 250 bullets in a session using an impact puller. I had loaded them but then ended up swapping the barrel. I use the anvil on the vise for the block. 2-3 whacks, dump the powder and the bullet in a box, move the bullet to a different box, remove the brass, tap the brass to get the powder out of the flash hole, repeat. It goes pretty quick. I resized that brass with the primer in for the new barrel.
If you tumble your cases in corncob media before you prime make sure you knock the media out of the primer hole. That got me on a bunch of cases last week.
Switch to 20-40 grit corn cob blast media, does a great job and is small enough it won't stick in flash holes. Plus a 40lb bag is quite inexpensive and will last a long time.
Not sure which dies you use... but I stuck a case and was able to get it out on the press... ram all the way up, grab my wrench and unscrewed the die, had to do it a few times before when I was trying to full length size brass that I forgot to trim. I lubed em and was going to town, half way through the batch I stuck one, un stuck it, stuck another, unstuck it, and on the 3rd I was like "fuck this" and walked away. Came back next day and realized wtf I did. Had to get the kid from school and forgot to finish my case prep
I had a pretty big bone-headed move a few weeks ago, loading up some 6BRA rounds.
I grabbed a few boxes out of the cabinet I keep my bullets in (just recently moved, so I have a new reloading room to get used to). Thinking they were all Berger 105 hybrids, I started loading some bullets into charged and prime cases. I couldn't get the bullets to seat at the correct seating depth, and was wondering WTF was going on. Pulled my die apart and turned it inside and out, thinking it was something with the die. Keep cranking down on the micrometer setting to try and get the right seating depth - now I'm essentially folding the shoulders in - big time WTF.
Come to find out, I was trying to cram 6.5mm 140 Bergers into a 6BRA case - took about 5 rounds to figure that out as well. Wow, did I ever feel like a complete idiot when I finally realized it.
I grabbed a few boxes out of the cabinet I keep my bullets in (just recently moved, so I have a new reloading room to get used to). Thinking they were all Berger 105 hybrids, I started loading some bullets into charged and prime cases. I couldn't get the bullets to seat at the correct seating depth, and was wondering WTF was going on. Pulled my die apart and turned it inside and out, thinking it was something with the die. Keep cranking down on the micrometer setting to try and get the right seating depth - now I'm essentially folding the shoulders in - big time WTF.
Come to find out, I was trying to cram 6.5mm 140 Bergers into a 6BRA case - took about 5 rounds to figure that out as well. Wow, did I ever feel like a complete idiot when I finally realized it.
I make as many or more mistakes than anyone.
But, a very wise man once told me.....
"It's one thing to do something stupid, but it's another stupid thing entirely to tell everyone about it"
I'm unfortunately still looking at a perfectly round scar on my thumb from a misguided ,and definitely hard pull on the ram handle, while attempting to seat my thumb into a .300 win mag casing , instead of a bullet.............
Wish I would have just forgotten to prime before I powdered.
Happy loading!
But, a very wise man once told me.....
"It's one thing to do something stupid, but it's another stupid thing entirely to tell everyone about it"
I'm unfortunately still looking at a perfectly round scar on my thumb from a misguided ,and definitely hard pull on the ram handle, while attempting to seat my thumb into a .300 win mag casing , instead of a bullet.............
Wish I would have just forgotten to prime before I powdered.
Happy loading!
a
reading that alone sounds painful.. Well, for the shits and laughs of this thread, yes. But I also see it as educational too. To learn from each other’s fuckups and mishaps.. ?
I just got my new 6mm BRA and had a somewhat humorous blooper.
I only load rifle ammo, and my process when putting in the powder is to set a case alone in a reloading tray, weigh the powder, then put the funnel over the case and pour. For large cases I use a drop funnel. For smaller ones I use one that handles multiple calibers and fits over the top/outside of the case.
So, I'm loading my first BRA case, go through my process, pull the funnel away, and there's powder all over the tray. WTF? Remeasure, do it again, more powder.
It turns out that the reloading tray is too deep, and the funnel was just barely resting on the tray instead of the case neck. - close enough that it looked right, but wasn't flush so was letting powder through.
I only load rifle ammo, and my process when putting in the powder is to set a case alone in a reloading tray, weigh the powder, then put the funnel over the case and pour. For large cases I use a drop funnel. For smaller ones I use one that handles multiple calibers and fits over the top/outside of the case.
So, I'm loading my first BRA case, go through my process, pull the funnel away, and there's powder all over the tray. WTF? Remeasure, do it again, more powder.
It turns out that the reloading tray is too deep, and the funnel was just barely resting on the tray instead of the case neck. - close enough that it looked right, but wasn't flush so was letting powder through.
I did me another blooper today:
A PSA on primer safety.......
So, there I was..... A couple 215M primers dropped off the bench onto the concrete floor of the garage. No biggie, I'll pick them up once I load these last few rounds.....
Load...
Load...
Load...
Move metal legged chairPOP!!
me: JESUSCHRISTWHATTHEFUCKHOLYSHIT!!!
so, children, to avoid taking the Lord's name in vain and/or peeing a little.... make sure you pick up unused primers if they land on the ground before doing anything else.
A PSA on primer safety.......
So, there I was..... A couple 215M primers dropped off the bench onto the concrete floor of the garage. No biggie, I'll pick them up once I load these last few rounds.....
Load...
Load...
Load...
Move metal legged chairPOP!!
me: JESUSCHRISTWHATTHEFUCKHOLYSHIT!!!
so, children, to avoid taking the Lord's name in vain and/or peeing a little.... make sure you pick up unused primers if they land on the ground before doing anything else.
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I am NOT in any way saying that I've never made a mistake when reloading. I have. I started reloading my own stuff back in '88. I had helped my father starting back around '80 or so.
Short version is, and this is due to 2 massively huge reasons, our "He Hollow" reloading room is the cleanest/organizest of the house. (Well, a very close second to the kitchen then, how does that sound?) The point is, my shop, tool area, garage, and even shed are no-where near as clean and organized as is the area for 'loading and 'smithing.
Reason 1: mistakes can be damaging/maiming/fatal. Simple as that.
Reason 2; my memory is SO DAMN BAD because of the accident I was in, that I don't know what I've forgotten. Couple that with I can't remember if I'm remembering correctly, so every day is a whole new ball-game and Easter-Egg-Hunt.
So it is by-far easier and safer FOR ME/US to simply have EVERYTHING put away, and do one job at a time. And in doing such, start with the manual to verify the information, and only bring out those components that are necessary for the particular task. Do what it is we are doing, and do it WELL.
I'm not saying in any way/shape/form that what I/we do here is perfect. But what I am saying is, because I know what I don't know..... especially in this hobby/lifestyle that it is better to err on the side of caution. Hence why I am personally overly-anal and hyper-vigilant. For it might not be me pulling the trigger at a match, as it could just as possibly be My Lady pulling that same trigger.
None of that which I've written above is intended to be a lecture or a "I told you so" or any crap like that. What it IS though, is a simple description of how we do things here, because I/we learned VICARIOUSLY through so many of ya'lls comments, threads, and stories. And wound pictures, broken items, and healing times.
Err on the side of anal. I mean 'caution'. HA.
Short version is, and this is due to 2 massively huge reasons, our "He Hollow" reloading room is the cleanest/organizest of the house. (Well, a very close second to the kitchen then, how does that sound?) The point is, my shop, tool area, garage, and even shed are no-where near as clean and organized as is the area for 'loading and 'smithing.
Reason 1: mistakes can be damaging/maiming/fatal. Simple as that.
Reason 2; my memory is SO DAMN BAD because of the accident I was in, that I don't know what I've forgotten. Couple that with I can't remember if I'm remembering correctly, so every day is a whole new ball-game and Easter-Egg-Hunt.
So it is by-far easier and safer FOR ME/US to simply have EVERYTHING put away, and do one job at a time. And in doing such, start with the manual to verify the information, and only bring out those components that are necessary for the particular task. Do what it is we are doing, and do it WELL.
I'm not saying in any way/shape/form that what I/we do here is perfect. But what I am saying is, because I know what I don't know..... especially in this hobby/lifestyle that it is better to err on the side of caution. Hence why I am personally overly-anal and hyper-vigilant. For it might not be me pulling the trigger at a match, as it could just as possibly be My Lady pulling that same trigger.
None of that which I've written above is intended to be a lecture or a "I told you so" or any crap like that. What it IS though, is a simple description of how we do things here, because I/we learned VICARIOUSLY through so many of ya'lls comments, threads, and stories. And wound pictures, broken items, and healing times.
Err on the side of anal. I mean 'caution'. HA.
