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Posted: 4/4/2010 1:04:47 PM EDT
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When those new guys (and even some experienced guys) get to reloading its tough to understand how distractions can result in a screw up that could translate to firearm damage or injury.
I was reloading some .45 ACP brass. A couple hundred pieces. I look it over when I'm resizing it (look for cracks, rough case mouth edges, little splits in the case mouth, etc.). I look it over when I'm belling the case mouth (looking for the same things I look for when resizing it). I look the brass over again while putting the primers in it (to make sure the primers seated completely). I tossed a couple for little short cracks at the edges of the case mouth. While seating the primers I had two that the primers just "fell" into. One would start to fall back out when I tapped the edge of the rim on the table. I grabbed an old primer punch shaft (Lee die) and just pushed the primers right back out by hand. I started to toss those two pieces into the scrap brass bucket when I noticed the RCBS primer pocket swager in another press. Then it hit me, "can I swage the primer pocket back down a little?" I screwed the primer pocket swager die out of the top of the press and screwed it in from the bottom till it protruded from the top of the press. I inserted a piece of brass so that the inside of the case rested on the pin/support inside the die. I took a flat bottom punch and put it on the brass around the pocket and tapped it with a small hammer a few times. When I pulled the brass up out of the die and put it back in the primer press tool the primer was nice and tight (went a little too far on the second one and had to run it through the primer pocket swager the right way to open the pocket back up). I put powder in the brass and set it in the plastic brass holding tray and got to looking for more bullets (I'd used a couple other pieces of brass to replace those in the box of reloads so I could get them off the table/out of my way. Sure enough, when I finish priming more brass and put them in the plastic brass holding tray I got to the point where I was going to put powder in the cases before putting a bullet in and seating the bullet. I ran the shell tray under the powder measure and put powder in all the cases. Then I did yet another "check" I do when reloading. I got the little mag lite out and shined the light down in the cases. Wow!! Two of them way more powder in them than the others!! That's right! I had put powder in them when I had them in my hand after installing the primers in the "repaired" primer pockets. Had I not checked the powder with the light I'd had two loads out of two hundred with 11 grains of Bulllseye instead of 5.5 grains of bullseye. Can you say KABOOM!! Then, while inspecting the cases/bullets again after seating the bullets (I always look for split case mouths again and for swells/bulges that might keep a round from chambering) I found two with split case mouthgs. I pulled the bullets, punched out the primers, put more powder in the new cases and reseated the bullets in the new cases. For me, reloading is check, check, check, check at each step of the process. It keeps things fun rather than exciting. Oh, had one bullet that just dropped into a case. It seated so easy. I pulled the cartridge out of the shell holder and pushed the bullet deeper in the case till it contacted the powder. No splits in the case on this one, just a real loose case (TZZ brass, don't remember the year). I pulled that bullet and got yet another empty and put the primer, powder and bullet into the new case and seated the bullet. Maybe another KABOOM averted by yet another check. You need to learn how seating a primer and bullet into a case in good conditions "feels" and when it doesn't "feel" right, find out what is wrong and fix it. It's your fingers and eyes. Not trying to scare anyone from reloading. I've been doing it since the mid 70's and its great. |
| I would have to agree with the "check and check again". I am a total newbie to reloading (only 120 rounds reloaded). I had an experienced friend check my setup before loading, and I pay attention to detail, measuring every few powder throws, OAL measuring every few rounds....hell, my kid is going to shoot some of these! I am just glad to see an experienced loader that is so cautious...so there is no reason for us newbies not to be. |
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+1 with dryflash, would like to see how that works. my only concern is that primer pockets opening up is a sign of soon-to-be case head seperation. and agreed with you, check, check, check again. but also pay attention to detail when reloading, so when you check, you have less things to fix. |
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