Worst Reloading Mistakes

#51
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Ive never fully made a mistake in almost 20 years.

Ive had some "near misses".

Dropped 50 cases into the loading tray from the wrong bucket before I noticed they weren't primed.

Spot checking a tray before seating bullets Ive come across one row that I didn't have powder in a couple times.

Popped cases into the shell holder to re-size before realizing I had a larger shell holder in the press.

I know a guy that had to pull bullets on hundreds of rounds after discovering there was 1/2 a grain of powder UNDER the brass tray that sits in a RCBS 5-0-5 scale that he hadn't noticed when he zeroed the scale and set up the powder measure.
 
#52
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I bought 1k Berry's plated 165 grain bullets to shoot out of my 10mm. I worked up a load for jacketed 165 grain bullets using AA#7, not realizing that you are supposed to use hard cast lead recipes for all of the thinly plated bullets (Berry's, Montana Gold, Ranier, etc).

Wow, I shot two of them, and noticed stout recoil, so I unloaded my G20, and picked up the brass. The Glock bulge would be better classified as "Glock 9 months pregnant". I was astonished that I did not have a case blow out.

I pulled the ones I had loaded and downgraded over 4 grains of powder.
 
#53
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

The one thing I did was.................. I had just sold my Remington SPS in .308, and well I had a lot of cases that were fire formed to the SPS's chamber. Well know this but being naive or a dumbass I said screw it I will just neck size and should be good enough. well I loaded about 60 rounds of 175 loads and went to the range to pop off the loaded rounds in my new SPS Tactical in .308 well I could only get about 5 of the reloads to work and had to call it a day. So I went home and had to pull 55 rounds, and redo the brass and pull primers, and drove about 45 miles for nothing.
 
#54
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I guess I can add to this as it was a very serious lesson for me. I've loaded for several years now. I've always been very strict on who, if anyone was even in the room while I was loading, no tv, no distractions. Well as my son got older I started to allow him to play in the floor in the same room while I loaded. Like most 3 yr olds every now and again you may have to turn from what your doing to check on them. I guess in the time frame I turned my head to call him down for something I failed to index the machine and I managed to double charge a 9mm case. At some point in time I managed to pull the trigger on the 1 double charged rnd out of about 1000 rnds I had loaded. It kaboomed my glock 34. Blew the magazine out of the bottom, sent the extractor somewhere into orbit to never be found, cracked the chamber of the barrel on both sides, blew the slide lock lever into my thumb and obviously made my hand hurt like hell. Couldn't believe I still had fingers left. So it was a very very good lesson to me of how serious reloading is. I think sometimes we get so use to loading and shooting thousands of rnds that its almost second nature to us and you lose some of the respect or seriousness of what can happen in the split second you are distracted. Needless to say it scared my pretty good as I was sure I had lost a few fingers.

Not as serious but recently while trying to calibrate a mec jr .410 loader I managed to dump shot back into the powder container some how. I had already dumped the shot back into the shot holder and removed the wad and went to dump the powder back into the powder container and shot come out with it. I don't know if it was a defective wad or what. Anyway go figure. Now I have to figure out how to get a little bit of shot from my powder container.
 
#55
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

25 years ago or so I was loading up some .44 mags. My father was over visiting me at the time and I somehow tranposed the powder charge. If memory serves me right, I was loading up some 240gr HP using Hercules 2400 powder. Instead of dropping 20.5gr I dropped 25.0grs of 2400 into the cases. I wound up doing about 150 rounds this way until in dawned on me that I had made a mistake and it resulted in pulling all of them down. Goes to show you that distractions are not needed while handloading.
 
#56
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Yeah, this finally happened to me!
Chargemaster.jpg



 
#57
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Drove 40 miles to a nice indoor range in Englewood.

Put five rounds into my Rem 700 SPS Tac, shot two, third round was rewarded with a "click." Bad primer - unlatched bolt, and shell came out, spraying AA2520 all over the chamber and mag.

Bullet was stuck in rifling, and I had not brought a cleaning rod. Shop didn't have one either.

Drove 40 miles home after paying $30 and driving 40 miles TO the range, all to shoot two rounds. Wooo Hooo SHOOTING!
 
#58
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

when I first started reloading I went to resize the rifle brass and would spray on the lube and promptly put that lubed case in to the Dillon resizing die. The case got stuck...dammit. Finally got the case out and promptly did the same thing again. That time I screwed up the die getting it out.

After buying a new die I thought must have not put enough lube on it so I hit with some more lube until it was dripping wet...stuck case again. WTF- screwed up another die getting it out and finally asked a friend what I was doing wrong. After laughing for quite some time he said let it sit on the case for about 10 - 15 minutes and then try it again. Hey, that works now. Cost - 50 dollars for two sets of dies...lesson learned.
 
#59
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I worked up some loads for a DPMS LR308 using once fired mil brass and 175 FMJ. They were pretty accurate for what they were intended for just plinking. I FL resized 500 pc. of brass, prepped it and loaded it. The next week I went to the range loaded up a mag went to chamber a round and none of the one chamber. I had somehow reset my FL die and it had not fully resized those 500 cases. So now they are setting in the shop waiting to be pulled and probably will be this time next year. Lesson learned always check your dies adjustment. I double check everything which is the best advice I can give anyone.
 
#60
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

this sounds like it may have been a mistake.
talking to a freind that runs my go to gun shop about reloading; which i'm just breaking into about what all i needed. fella walks over and says i'm getting bottom of a coke can size groups at 500 with my reloads. i say "that's awesome what kind of gun and loads are you playing with?" dude proceeds to say nothing about his loads or gun but he's getting 3,400 fps out of his 308 with them. after a moment of silence he says i think it's varget powder and that he would bring a couple rouds by to let me try.
funny thing is we havn't heard of or seen him sense. i've got a pretty good hunch as to why he dissappeared.
 
#61
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

double charged a 45acp once... luckily it was the last round in the mag... blew out the bottom, Wilson mag body still in the pistol, spring, follower, and base plate gone... grips were rubber molded around sheet metal, they bulged.
 
#62
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Okay, okay I admit it. I usually use a RCBS 505 but it was acting stupid and my 6RAT was trying to one hole so I pulled out an old Redding non-magnetic scale with an oil damper resevoir with a set up different than the newer scales. For a while I'd double check the Redding against my proven scale and even with a digital sometimes. This time I didn't. I was in a hurry, in a new room I'd move my stuff into that was dark, and someone was bugging me to go to lunch. I misread the scale. The RAT had to go back to the shop to replace the barrel extension and bolt because they were sheared, seared (well done) fused and and otherwise jammed. First time - I think - in 35 years of handloading. Oh well; c'est la vie.
There. I screwed up. Now that I admitted it maybe it will stop bugging me.
 
#63
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Well, this could be a therapy session. After loading almost 10k on a single stage press, I felt it was time for a progressive. First time I loaded some 45 ACP about every one out of five had no powder. yes a primer will stick a bullet in the barrel.

One thing I have taught my wife and daughter is a gun should go BANG,BANG,BANG. Anything that does not sound or feel like the last 1,000 shots needs to be investigated before the trigger is pulled again.

I used universal powder but was looking at unique loads, caught that one after 200 rds, i am pulling them down now.

and my last one. I accidently mixed to powders, had my head up my ASS on that one. cost me $30 in powder. That one really pissed me off.
 
#64
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I was using cast lead bullets in my 45 as an IDPA load. This was when I was brand new at reloading. Well, I didn't crimp them at all, and found out at the local rock pit that half of them didn't chamber. Whoops! So I figured with a good crimp I was good to go. I then proceeded to load up about 700 of them. Went to a USPSA match for the first time. Being used to IDPA rules, I was feeling the stress of re-learning how to shoot a competition. Well, half way through the match, every other round started not feeding all the way into the chamber. You guessed it, I had crimped the lead rounds so much, I buried the case rim in the lead, and had pushed the lead up where the case rim should have been. It was only a matter of time till enough lead built up in my chamber that nothing would chamber. I got so pissed, I still haven't gone back and shot that match again... I now use plated bullets, the lead was a PITA to clean out of my springfield anyway.
 
#65
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Seems like most of the posts so far are just honest mistakes, mine is due to stupidity. I am really new to reloading so I got my cute little kit set up and marked off the no estrogen area in my newly created MAN area. I had my cases sized, trimmed, lubed...powder spitting out just right, weighed the powder and double checked just to make sure it was perfect. I grabbed the sexy little funnel that came with the kit and when I went to pour in the powder it would fall and stick to the damn funnel and basically coat the inside of the funnel like a coat of paint. Freaking static electricity. I was so excited and wanted my first round loaded I spent 5 min trying to push the powder down the funnel. I was using RL15 at the time. After three rounds and 30 more minutes I figured I would switch to a winchester ball powder. This was even worse, I cursed and screamed until I ran out of atmosphere in my lungs. I could not pour any powder of any type into a shell. I got so frustrated i even came on here, hung my head in shame and posted for help. I got a lot of helpful replies but it seemed nothing would work. To be honest I don't remember what finally did it but it finally started to cooperate.
Good thing stupid isn't painful or I would require some asprin.
 
#67
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

When I first started to reload, I was living in a place with no electricity, no phone. I was pretty scared the first few rounds I loaded and pretty cautious, I think that has helped me into carrying it over for the last 4 years. First gun I ever loaded for was a ruger vaquero 45lc. I bought Clays powder for it, looking at my reloading books, I say it said Clays univ. Not knowing better I loaded them all as that. Well hell, it was the only pistol I loaded for at the time, didnt know the differnce. Gun was stout to shoot, but didnt seem horrible, and was accurate so I kept shooting it like that. 6 months later, after I found someone to talk to about reloading, they told me what a dumbass I was. Come to find out, my loads were close to if not passed a 44mag.

I was pretty embarassed from that. Now, I check everything TWICE and make damned sure I have the right powder/primer. In fact I only keep the powder/primer I am using at the time on my bench. Everything else goes into an old ammo can when not being loaded.
 
#68
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Not keeping the recipe records on a batch of rounds that I loaded and lent a friend to shoot my rifle with. All 5-five shot groups were under 0.25" at 100 yards. I've never been able to duplicate the load.... :>(
 
#70
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chaosrages</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Seems like most of the posts so far are just honest mistakes, mine is due to stupidity. I am really new to reloading so I got my cute little kit set up and marked off the no estrogen area in my newly created MAN area. I had my cases sized, trimmed, lubed...powder spitting out just right, weighed the powder and double checked just to make sure it was perfect. I grabbed the sexy little funnel that came with the kit and when I went to pour in the powder it would fall and stick to the damn funnel and basically coat the inside of the funnel like a coat of paint. Freaking static electricity. I was so excited and wanted my first round loaded I spent 5 min trying to push the powder down the funnel. I was using RL15 at the time. After three rounds and 30 more minutes I figured I would switch to a winchester ball powder. This was even worse, I cursed and screamed until I ran out of atmosphere in my lungs. I could not pour any powder of any type into a shell. I got so frustrated i even came on here, hung my head in shame and posted for help. I got a lot of helpful replies but it seemed nothing would work. To be honest I don't remember what finally did it but it finally started to cooperate.
Good thing stupid isn't painful or I would require some asprin. </div></div>

dryer sheets work for me...
 
#71
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

allowing to be distracted and not paying attention to the task at hand. I have forgot to put the funnel on a empty case after I just got done dropping powder. Then trying to get the double charged case and funnel out of the tray without it spilling. Well, never goes the way I want it, so I dump the powder all over the ones I just charged and have to start all over again.
 
#72
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I loaded 4000 rounds of .308 on my Dillon 650 using surplus "once fired" machine gun brass. I ASSumed that the sizing die was setting the shoulder back enough to meet the SAAMI minimum spec, but it wasn't.

NONE of the ammo would chamber--in several different rifles.

I then bought an RCBS precision mic, and the shoulders were anywhere from .005" to .010" over.

I punted and bought a Redding body die, set it at 0 on the mic, lubed those rounds, and resized all of them, one at a time. I then had to tumble them all again to remove the lube.

It turns out that bumping the shoulder back did not affect OAL, and they now feed perfectly. Indeed, that ammo shoots about 1.5" groups or better depending on the gun. And that is with Varget, which meters very poorly though the Dillon, and with 152 grain surplus 30.06 bullets.

Now I use the mic every time and my brass gets sized properly and worked less.

Part of the problem was that my Dillon sizing die was too long, and even touching the shell plate, was not sizing the brass. I ditched it and my old RCBS FL die works fine.

The other part of the problem was that I was a dumbass.
 
#76
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 5R milspec</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the one time I loaded some rounds for the wife to shoot was my worst thing to do.went to the reloading room and picked up about 10 old 223 cases and went to loading them.I even picked out a powder that I thought was a bad choice.to top it all off I choose a bullt that I could NEVER get to shoot.just wanted to get her at the range and shoot with me.you know show her what it's all about.thats why I loaded up the bulletrs with the powder and bullets that I THOUGHT WOULD NOT SHOOT.

the nexted day we went to the range too shoot and she out shot me.and to top this all off with whipcream this was the very first time she had ever shot a rifel in her life.but will say for myself that I was shooting a different rifel and testing some loads for it.and yes she has yet let me forget that day.she shoot a 3/4 inch group or less with the load of choice.they should have shoot all over the place.but hey now she will go out and shoot with me. </div></div>

My wife says scopes are cheating...yeah she out shoots me.
Damn near legally blind before she got Lasik, and she out shot me....damn, I love her!!!!
 
#77
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: scap99</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hell, I just got mine...now you've jinxed me!!!

I'll post it to this thread when I do.
</div></div>

I'll look for your full confession by Sunday night
wink.gif
 
#79
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

My worst one resulted in finally getting all of the metal/brass out of my face about 16 yrs later.

Back in the late 80s early 90s when I was shooting IPCS I was using a Lee progressive to reload and was using the primer feeder. I forget exactly what happened but later I sort of remembered that I'd had a problem either seating a primer or a bullet that made me half stroke the handle. Well, I must have re-indexed. I was loading hot, if I recall correctly it was about 5.5gr of 231 in my 45 to push some 145gr SWCs up to a major. Well, one of them seems to have gotten <span style="font-weight: bold">11gr</span> of 231.

I was out plinking at my parents property over Thanksgiving before leaving on a ski trip.

<span style="font-weight: bold">
BANG!</span>

Sort of disorented.

-I noticed that I hurt, my face stung and my right hand hurt.

-Mag is on the ground

-looked at right hand, still there, black lines in the palm (Pachmayers may have saved me some hurt there)

-touched my face with left hand, bleeding

At this point I sort of realized what had happened. I carefully looked at the 1911 to make sure there were no missing parts that may be sticking out of/into my face that I may not feel due to shock.

Slide was frozen. I put the pistol down and went and got cleaned up. In the couple of minutes that it took to get back to the house I bled like a stuck pig. There was blood all over the front of me. I had the equivalent of about 25 or 30 deep shaving cuts all over my cheeks and nose. My shooting glasses saved my eyes. They were covered with splatter.

After I hammered the pistol apart I diagnosed what happened.

Blew a hole through the primer, blew out the bottom 1/3 of the casing just forward of the base where it was unsupported over the feed ramp.

The detonation blew the mag out of the pistol and blew brass backward between the slide and the frame, that's what hit me in the face. There was brass wrapped around the ejector and the front of the hammer.

The slide was split and slightly bowed at the ejection port on the right side. I attribute that to it being the weakest part of the slide because it's drilled all the way through back to breach for the extractor to pass trough.

Four yrs later a dentist found a small chunk of metal in an X-ray. It had entered just below my cheek bone in line with my pupil and had embedded about 1/4 inch back just below the skin. Once I knew it was there i figured it out.

About 4 yrs ago it surfaced and came out.

I'm real attentive now when I reload.
 
#80
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Yeah, this finally happened to me!
Chargemaster.jpg



</div></div>

That's like the sticker on my helmet that says "turn on the gas dummy"
 
#81
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ukshooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I tried to full length size on my dillion 550,I didn't bump the cases enough.
Well to cut a long story short,they wound not chamber properly.
I managed to chamber 1 round,but the bolt was solid.
After a slight tap with a rubber mallet,this happened.
15632Picture_031.jpg

LESSON LEARNED </div></div>

LOL. I've done the exact same thing. Nothing my smith couldn't fix though.
 
#82
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Yeah, this finally happened to me!
Chargemaster.jpg



</div></div>

I have to admit to this one too.
 
#83
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

Long Long ago Started with a Lyman shotshell ?4 station press, you will never get all the shot from the floor if hull is not under the shot charge bar when pulled. Next with a 30carbine Lee loader, I guess not uniforming the primer pockets made a few go bang when you were seating them, make you wet your pants.Also had some no powder charges in 45 & 357, yes a primer will move the bullet. ALLWAYS LISTEN FOR THE BANG Primers upside down. loading block full of diff loads dropped on floor means wasted time When you pull the trig on a a HiStandard double 9 still in the hoster, you will shoot yourself in the leg. Enough for now, Thank GOD for takeing care of me in my stupid times.
 
#84
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

1. Did the no powder, primer ignition bullet stuck in barrel option. Fortunately noticed it an tapped out no prbs.
.
2. Didnt check the sizing on the ammo loaded for my 308 AR realized it after wouldnt chamber when I was out hunting. AWAY from home...made quick trip to store to buy factory
frown.gif
ammo and problem solved. Reset die once home...problem solved.
.
3. Tried the spray lube ()#*$)(#*$&)#(, anyone in south central PA want some that one shot shit pm me...you can have it.
 
#85
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I also did the now powder thing with the bullet stuck in the barrel, not a hard fix with a rod but i was lucky to notice it before a incident occured.

Did not realize LC 556 brass had a military crimp, let alone know what one was and couldnt figure out why i was ruining every primer i tried to seat.

Have also failed to document some really good shooting loads and havent been able to dulicate them since.

At first i could not figure out why my primers were seating upside down, after a while of investigating i found my reloading kit at the time had priming arms for large and small primers, not just one for everything. Loading small primers with a large priming pring arm does not get it done, and will seat most of them upside down.
 
#86
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: USMC0331</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Yeah, this finally happened to me!
Chargemaster.jpg



</div></div>

I have to admit to this one too. </div></div>

Who hasn't!
 
#89
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

I've double charged/wrong powder before, but always caught it before it left the loading block. The most annoying mistake I've made (more than once, dammit) is to have a brain fart and have the wrong die in my Co-Ax. There is little difference in feel between a normal sizing and having a .308Win meet a .38 die.
 
#90
Re: Worst Reloading Mistakes

It's nice to know I'm not the only one that has stuck a case in a sizing die, seated primers backwards, loaded a squib round, dumped most of a pound of powder on the bench, and double charged cases (fortunately caught it before it got loaded).
 
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