First reloading scare

[Silphidae 33]

Tough office day, lots of conference calls and stress as the day went on. Decided to take an hour to recharge and take my mind off of work by reloading a few rounds. 90 rounds into it I started to think about work again.......mind wandered and all of a sudden I was at the 100 round mark. I ALWAYS visually check each case for a double charge (use titegroup) and got an uncomfortable feeling that I didn't check the last few cases. I think I over reacted but I pulled 100 bullets to ensure that all was good. Ended up all was well and the 100 rounds were perfect. I'm sure I was over cautious but reinforced a few things:

 

1. Distracted loading is dangerous.

2. If in I doubt I will always take the cautious route.

3. I will now remove finished rounds from the collection tray every 25 or so rounds. I had 100 in the collection tray and couldn't figure out which ones were the last 10 so I had go sort through all 100. Could have saved a lot of work.

4. Free rock chucker set up as a bullet puller is NICE.

 

I may be a touch paranoid but I'm 5k rounds into reloading and haven't had any issues and want to keep it that way. Titegroup is easy to double charge and I'd rather be safe than sorry, no point to the post but I really had my first scare.

[Candyman87 10]

Good to hear you opted for safe. Glad to hear nothing happened, but better safe than sorry.

 

I'll learn from this and keep this in mind when I start learning to reload.

[Njbanshee 9]

You could have just weighed them

[Worn_Holster 2]

I caught myself on a visual inspection (which I always do) loading .44 mag with W231 once. No amount of extra effort to be safe is over the top. Distractions while reloading can be dangerous.

[Silphidae 33]

You could have just weighed them

Excellent thought....I weighed 10 of them and they fell between 186 and 192 grains....mixed brass so that may account for the difference. The spread was too large for me to have any confidence in the 3.8 grain load.

[10X 3,296]

You could have just weighed them

Doesn't always work.  With very light loads, the round-to-round variation in bullet and brass weight can be more than the charge weight.

 

Update:  As the original poster had already discovered and posted as I was typing...

[Bully 749]

Good call.

 

I recently did that with 50 .44mag loads.  Glad that you and I did it.  Very much better to be safe than sorry.

 

C

[carl_g 568]

I had to do it once while loading 223. Powder was getting stuck on my powder thru die and during the spot checks my weights were not consistent. I had no confidence in those rounds , so I pulled them and cleaned up everything.. Now, when i get going, I weigh every tenth charge.

[T Bill 649]

Wow, when I reload only check powder drop charge with every primer reload (every 100).  Never had a problem.  Guess it's getting to know your equipment and reliability.  I do keep the powder measure hopper at least half full and I graphite the hell out of the moving parts an charge area. Until last year never used a powder cop die, so I guess its what you are used to and can tolerate.

[DaveR 42]

You could have just weighed them

Would only work if all brass is same manufacturer and all bullets same weight.

I've found on cast lead a couple of gr difference from heaviest to lightest and as much as 5 gr on cases between manufacturers.

The difference exceeds the powder charge I use in a 9.

[GrumpyOldRetiree 38]

IMHO,it's good you choose the prudent course. Particularly with Titegroup.

In the 9mm loads I use Titegroup for there is only a .4 grain difference between starting and maximum charge.

Not much leeway for error, let alone a double charge.

[lunker 274]

That's why I like slower powders. A double charge causes an overflow. 

[MartyZ 692]

Thanks for posting, this is a good heads up as I was planning to load a few hundred rounds this weekend 100 at a time.  Will do 25 at a time instead.

[Silphidae 33]

I'm in the process of loading 1200 rounds for a training I'm taking next week, 400 rounds into it and thinking another 2.5 hours and I'll be done. Great practice doing so many at one time. I'm only checking charge weight every 100 rounds and it's been spot on, titegroup meters well through the dillon. It's nice to start building that level of trust now I just need to find a more effective way to load primers......that's the slowest part of the operation.

[Jersey Joe 4]

I'm new to brass reloading also, and so far visual inspect all rounds. After reading a bunch, I decided to also install an RCBS lockout die. I of course plan to still visually inspect each cartridge, but the extra safety makes me feel a little better.

[Oakridgefirearms 224]

I'm new to brass reloading also, and so far visual inspect all rounds. After reading a bunch, I decided to also install an RCBS lockout die. I of course plan to still visually inspect each cartridge, but the extra safety makes me feel a little better.

THIS^^^^^^^

 

RCBS Lock Out Die - THE best thing on the market to ensure powder charges are correct in progressive presses. You do need to pay any attention to it, it will lock up your press with an over or under charge.

[Silphidae 33]

Can you use it on a 4 stage press like a Dillon 550b? What is the concept?

[Jersey Joe 4]

Not sure, mines a 650.

[raz-0 1,259]

You could have just weighed them

Only for entertainment. Most billets vary between 1-2 grains same with cases. Ones heavier, ones lighter, is it the bullet, the case, a squib, or a double charge?

 

 

[Oakridgefirearms 224]

Can you use it on a 4 stage press like a Dillon 550b? What is the concept?

I don't know......I use mine on a Hornady LNL

 

It takes up one spot on your press and would be set up just after your powder drop. A plunger goes down into the case and touches the powder, the plunger must be between the high and low settings you set it at. If the charge is not correct, the lockout die locks up and doesn't allow the press to rotate.

[Respect2A 0]

Dillon has a powder check. I'm not sure if it will work on the 550 though.

[Rob0115 1,105]

I just ordered the rcbs to try it looks really effective. I have the dillon powder check and i don't really like it. I took it out and visually look at case fill through the hole and randomly weigh charges.

[Jersey Joe 4]

It definitely works as advertised. Once I dialed it in, I tried different scenarios and it always caught the incorrect charge. It takes a little while to get it set so just be patient. My friend has the Dillon checker and it works as advertised also. The fact that with the RCBS the press literally will not function with an incorrect charge is what sold it for me.

[raz-0 1,259]

It definitely works as advertised. Once I dialed it in, I tried different scenarios and it always caught the incorrect charge. It takes a little while to get it set so just be patient. My friend has the Dillon checker and it works as advertised also. The fact that with the RCBS the press literally will not function with an incorrect charge is what sold it for me.

It actually can if it is mis-adjusted. I can only confirm this for squibs, not for over charges.