How do I dispose of bad rounds?

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mljdeckard

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So as I have been slowly progressing in my reloading, I have accumulated some bad rounds. I have mostly just let them accumulate, and didn't worry much about them.

I just got a Lee Breech Lock Pro progressive press, and I cranked through 300 ish 9mms. I took some out with my wife's new Ruger EC9s, and it was a great day.....until she hit a squib. (Fortunately it lodged in the barrel right in front of the chamber, and prevented another round from chambering. I popped it out with one tap.)

But the bad news is......how can I trust the rest of this batch? What if there's another squib? What if I did a double charge? I have gotten the rhythm now, and I have re-mounted the press in a way that lets me eyeball every single case from now on, I think I have learned the lesson. So I need to be a grownup and ditch the iffy batch. It's about $19 of supplies. I'll call it a cheap lesson learned.

But where and how? It's one thing to toss one round in the trash. It's another to drop 300 and hope that they don't get dropped on the floor of a landfill station and run over by a front loader against a concrete floor. If it was maybe a dozen or 20, I would pull them and reuse them. I don't think my range slaves have that kind of focus to pull 300. Is there any way to bulk neutralize them?
 
Pull them.

Get a good hammer type bullet puller and a chunk of lead. Use the lead as the striking surface for the hammer.

You have then saved all the components. You can reload them at this point.

I throw bad rounds into a bucket, once or twice a year I break them down. You can do 300 rounds in a couple hours max.
 
I just got a Lee Breech Lock Pro progressive press, and I cranked through 300 ish 9mms.
It's about $19 of supplies.
Nah man, even if you don't count the cost of the brass, you probably have more than "$19" into 300 "ish" rounds of 9mm.:)
Pull them.
+1
Edited to say: The money you'll save by pulling 300 rounds of 9mm apart and saving the "components" will more than cover the cost of a puller - which you're bound to use again sometime anyway.;)
 
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For 300 rounds I would use a collet bullet puller die, it will be faster and worth the setup time. For 50 or so rounds I wouldn't mess with the bullet puller die and I would just use an inertial puller.

Hammer type - inertial - kinetic = all the same thing.
 
The bullet puller and 're-cycle' them is the simplest solution. If you throw them in the trash the garbage man may object (yeah, IF he finds out). By pulling the bullets, you can save most of your investment. And doing that as penance will help you to remember not to do 'that' again. I would (as suggested by Mike) check on the price of a collet type puller for the quantity involved.

If you do use a kinetic (hammer) type, do not beat the plastic body on cement. That will crack the plastic body of the device. I use the end of a cut off 4x4" wood beam. Texas suggested a lead slab. You can figure it out.
 
Pull them and put it behind you.
You learn from your mistakes.
You are lucky the next round didn't chamber with the squib in the barrel.
A guy out here in Washington State cut back on the powder (below minimun charge)
To save on powder and to have less recoil for his wifes 38spl.
Shem aquired a squib, next round blew the revolver apart. They were lucky no one got killed.

You can NEVER BE TO SAFE.
 
I have both a collet type, and inertial pullers. Every reloader should have the hammer type, but after 300 rounds, you'll wish you had the collet puller.
Money well spent, either way
 
There seem to be differences in weight of the cases, but you could start by weighing one you KNOW is correct. If the powder charge weighs more than the spread of the cases, then a round with no powder will weigh enough less, and a round with a double charge would weigh enough more to be immediately suspect. Keep the ones that are within the correct range, set aside any that may be questionable. That would give you less that you would need to pull.
 
Use vise grips on the bullet and pull them with the press?

(I forgot, double charges.)


Like this.

image.jpg
If you’re gentle you can use them again.

I originally thought to shoot them very cautiously, using a wooden rod to pound any squibs, like when loading really low, but then I reread the part about the progressive and the chance of a double charge.

To that, what powder are you using?
Would a double fit? Would it fit but be a noticeable forcing to seat? Was it a powder bridge or, forgive me, operator induced? Would a double charge be an over charge for that cartridge?



That would give you less that you would need to pull.

Only a waste of time. The charge weight is the spread in brass weight.
 
Like this.

View attachment 866261
If you’re gentle you can use them again.

I originally thought to shoot them very cautiously, using a wooden rod to pound any squibs, like when loading really low, but then I reread the part about the progressive and the chance of a double charge.

To that, what powder are you using?
Would a double fit? Would it fit but be a noticeable forcing to seat? Was it a powder bridge or, forgive me, operator induced?





Only a waste of time. The charge weight is the spread in brass weight.
That will destroy the bullets, the hammer-type kinetic puller works just fine.
 
Since you are aware there might be a problem I see no reason not to shoot them slowly so if another squib shows up you don't pull the trigger again.

Which powder measure are you using and what is the powder and charge weight? Is a double charge even possible with the powder you are using in a 9mm case?
 
1) shoot them, slowly.
2) or pull them, but I'd shoot them.
3) 300 rounds of 9mm in the trash doesn't even move the needle for interesting and dangerous stuff in the trash.

Since you don't already know this, you should dedicate at least a few to learning; toss a round on the camp fire, and stand back. The primer will pop out with a bang, and the powder will voosh, disappointingly. It's not dangerous, just expensive; a half can of hairspray is much more dangerous. A half a propane torch bottle is downright exciting.
 
Your local Sheriff's department may take ammunition for disposal. But when you have 300 of the same round, pulling is a better option. I think I prefer a collet type pulling die as safer than the inertial pullers (hammers). They're a little more money, but if the 300 doesn't justify the expense, put them in a bag or plastic tub, label them (particularly the powder type) and set them aside. When you've accumulated enough to make pulling worth it, then go for it.

I would not use the vise-grips as photographed. That will mar the threads on the press.

One time I needed to pull a bullet, one bullet, and I didn't have a puller. I needed to avoid damaging the frangible bullet so I could not clamp it or it would just break off. So I drilled a hole in a 4' board, inserted the rimmed case so it was held by the rim. Safety glasses on. Gave the board a few hard whacks on the ground and the bullet eased out.

Now to avoid squibs and double-charges, I highly recommend using a powder that fills the case and will overflow with a double charge. Also use an RCBS lock-out die. If you're reloading 9mm, it should be easy to find a powder that will overflow with a double charge. I know you can use Hodgdon Longshot or HS-6, but feel free to ask advice of others that load 9mm (I don't). The lock-out die will stop your progressive press if the case is empty, or if the powder level is excessively high. It is not a powder measure though. You can be off a whole grain and it might pass. But it will definitely catch empty cases (squib from just the primer) or double-charges. The additional safety it offers is well worth it. Don't live to regret being a cheapskate on something that adds a measure of safety for you and your wife.
 
Reminds me of an old story:
Years ago, while in the back room of a commercial reloader friend of mine, I saw a 5 gal bucket of .40 S&W loads (about 1/3rd full.
I ask my friend about it, and he said that he was in a "run" of loads on his Dillon 650, and noticed a problem with his powder drop=seems like he said 1800 and some loads that he did NOT know the charge of TiteGroup in them??
A few more times in his shop still saw the bucket of 40's??

I made a deal with him=I take the bucket, pull all loads for components, and give him back 1/2 of the projectiles==I keep the rest..
I DID buy a .40 caliber collet for my RCBS collet type puller.
It took a few 2-3 hour settings, but I did give him back 900 and some 180gr. projectiles back and I kept the rest.
I pulled the de-cap pin on my Dillon die, and ran the brass through as usual, less the priming operation. I did keep the operation clean and did reuse the TiteGroup powder also.
It DID take some time, but I did come out with some "Free" loads, less my time and the cost of the collet...Bill.
 
mljdeckard asked:
How do I dispose of bad rounds?

Disassemble them and salvage the components.

If they are un-fired, reloaded rounds, then essentially everything should be reclaimable.

Pull the bullets, salvage the powder (you do know what powder it is, right?), resize the brass, recharge the cases, reseat the bullets and start again.

BUT, you had that squib.

A squib is prima facie evidence that your reloading process does not include sufficient quality checks to make sure this (and other potential problems) do not occur.

STOP reloading.

Go back and review; NO, STUDY, the "How to Reload" section of the published manual you are using (if you are not using a published reloading manual, buy one before you touch a press again - it is irresponsible to do otherwise). Once you have studied (not just read) the front of the reloading manual, sit down and write out a set of reloading procedures in the form of a checklist. Print out copies of the checklist. Each time you go to your reloading bench, check off each step as you complete it. This, should largely solve your problem.
 
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