Hard Way Learning

[Trapper Jim]

Hello fellow GO! I thought we might start a thread on silly mistakes that we have made on the handloading bench. Several years ago in this Galaxy I was going to change powders in one of my hoppers. This was back when I was cramped for space in a basement. Anyway, I took the powder measure which contained my Hercules Bullseye and when I put it back in to the newly opened eight pound container I did not spill a flake! However when I put the cardboard can of powder back on the shelf, the label somehow read Hercules 2400. Needles to say, we used that can for backyard fertilizer. Wasted $32!

 

[crewchief888]

primer system jammed up on my dillon, i pulled the primer system and promtly dumped the rest of the pri,ers on the floor.
i get the mess cleaned up, replaced the tip of the feed tube, and dumped in another 100 primers. 5 or 6 rounds later it jams again...

you guessed it, dumped the primers on the floor again.

I got up, turned off the lights, and went back upstairs.. ordered a new prier system from Dillon the next day

 

[parson]

Quite a few years ago, pretty new to reloading; had just bought a Dillon 550b and loaded 50 rounds of 38sp. with what I thought was HP 38. Putting powder back in bottle, I saw that it was H-380. Right then I realized that I really did need a bullet puller!

 

[spencer rifle]

Kept my 9 mm brass on shelves downstairs in our old house - one with lots of ways for critters to get inside. Chugging away with the Lee turret press and noticed what looked like a bit too much powder in the case before I set the bullet. Was suspicious, so I dumped it out and found a dead asian lady bug/beetle in the bottom. Dodged a pressure spike.

 

[cjcycles]

These taught me the value of having extra decapping pins and the downsides of picking up once fired brass at the range.


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[AmmoManAaron]

These taught me the value of having extra decapping pins and the downsides of picking up once fired brass at the range.


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I guess I'm a bit old school, but checking for berdan is one of the things I always look for when inspecting my brass. Brass inspection is also the first thing I do when I'm back from a range trip - no sense in polishing up something that is going in the scrap bucket.

Was that one also a steel case with a brass plating?

 

[Usmccookie]

Going to set my press up and try to reload. Figure I'd rather learn here. Lol carry on

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

Going to set my press up and try to reload. Figure I'd rather learn here. Lol carry on

If you are just getting started, watch out for small primers in 45 brass. Several headstamps use them now.

There's nothing wrong with them, it just kinds of buggers up the system when you have a mix of small and large. Especially in a progressive with a case feeder.

 

[Usmccookie]

If you are just getting started, watch out for small primers in 45 brass. Several headstamps use them now.

There's nothing wrong with them, it just kinds of buggers up the system when you have a mix of small and large. Especially in a progressive with a case feeder.

I've heard grumblings about this. Is it just 45acp?

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

I've heard grumblings about this. Is it just 45acp?

As far as I know it is just 45 acp. I've seen it mentioned from time to time in other threads. Currently, Federal and Blazer Brass are two I know for certain.

I have a growing box of small-primered 45 that I will either reload myself someday or sell off at a gun show.

I think there might be a couple others now. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will chime in.

 

[cmann250]

I’ve seen Speer small primer 45acp brass too.


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[judgecrater]

After years of reloading I started writing the name of the powder in bold letters on a piece of paper. I then insert the paper so the name is visible through the plastic, into the power dispenser. When I come back a week later I never have to wonder, "is that CFE Pistol or Autocomp or what in there?"

 

[bwframe]

I use masking tape on the outside of my powder measures, with the last cartridges loading information along with the powder. It also gives a reference, in case the powder throw is off for some odd reason.

 

[cjcycles]

I guess I'm a bit old school, but checking for berdan is one of the things I always look for when inspecting my brass. Brass inspection is also the first thing I do when I'm back from a range trip - no sense in polishing up something that is going in the scrap bucket.

Was that one also a steel case with a brass plating?

I didn’t even realize there was berdan brass before this. LOL Appears to be brass all the way through.


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[Clay Pigeon]

primer system jammed up on my dillon, i pulled the primer system and promtly dumped the rest of the pri,ers on the floor.
i get the mess cleaned up, replaced the tip of the feed tube, and dumped in another 100 primers. 5 or 6 rounds later it jams again...

you guessed it, dumped the primers on the floor again.

I got up, turned off the lights, and went back upstairs.. ordered a new prier system from Dillon the next day

Look for primers that the anvil doesn't sit so high on the primer. High anvil primers tend to cause problems with Dillons, the anvil catches leaving the primer tube and flips 90* ,180* or flips on the floor. It get worse with high mileage presses from wear with the primer slide bar.
There was a few guys selling a longer plate on Ebay so the primer slide bar would not tilt and cause primer issues.

 

[russc2542]

-Lee loadmaster: finding out the priming system only reliably feeds about 90 primers.
-Berden primed brass cases... still need to get a new .308 decapping rod
-If it feels different, STOP. had some range pickup .380 that depriming was punching out the back of the primers rather than the whole primer. went to press a new primer in and POP. primer-only doesn't sound loud in a gun on the range with ear pro but inside a small room without ear pro it's noisy.
-You'll need more space.

As far as I know it is just 45 acp. I've seen it mentioned from time to time in other threads. Currently, Federal and Blazer Brass are two I know for certain.

I have a growing box of small-primered 45 that I will either reload myself someday or sell off at a gun show.

I think there might be a couple others now. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will chime in.

I’ve seen Speer small primer 45acp brass too.


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Blazer, Speer, CCI all come from the same parent company. Not sure about federal though.

 

[Fullmag]

I started reloading on an used press. The ram was a little wobbly but I thought someday it get a new one. The case I loaded was a bottle necked cartridge no problem. Then loaded straight walled cases in 45acp. Tried a few 357mag but it was very inconsistent crushing a few and not crimping enough on few. The 45 acp about the same thing but not as bad. So to fix it I would really bell the case mouth to get the bullet to start better thinking I was not getting the bullet in straight so the case would bulge on one side. Bought another press. Same problem, with a new press. Found out I was belling the case mouth too much and the old press linkage was worn-out causing the case bulges and was also making the same mistake with a quality press. Now just enough bell to start bullet and much more consistent crimp and no more bulged cases.

 

[BE Mike]

I've been having problems with the primer bar sticking on my Dillon 550B, which was originally a Dillon 450 from the '80's. Being hard headed, I've futzed with it over time; trying one thing and another. I finally wrongly determined that some part was worn out, since the press has produced many tens of thousands of reloads. The day before yesterday I finally broke down and called Dillon tech support. I had to wait in queue for 20 minutes, but finally got to talk to a living human being. He instructed me to do four things to the primer system. I completed all four steps and yesterday I loaded a hundred rounds to test the function of the primer system. It works fine and it was worth the 20 minutes of being on hold! It's never too late to learn.

 

[johntheplinker]

Hello fellow GO! I thought we might start a thread on silly mistakes that we have made on the handloading bench. Several years ago in this Galaxy I was going to change powders in one of my hoppers. This was back when I was cramped for space in a basement. Anyway, I took the powder measure which contained my Hercules Bullseye and when I put it back in to View attachment 82056 the newly opened eight pound container I did not spill a flake! However when I put the cardboard can of powder back on the shelf, the label somehow read Hercules 2400. Needles to say, we used that can for backyard fertilizer. Wasted $32!

Ouch. BTDT. That's why what ever powder I'm using, the canister is on the back of my bench and all others are put away.

I use masking tape on the outside of my powder measures, with the last cartridges loading information along with the powder. It also gives a reference, in case the powder throw is off for some odd reason.

Good idea. Whenever I'm done I put the powder back in the can but at least it would give me a clue on how its set the next time.