Hi all,
Have been reloading 9x19 for a short while now (~1200 so far), partly thanks to the help of some of you on this forum.
Have a Lee Loadmaster that has been after a LOT of tinkering reliably (95% or so) loading the ammo, used a wide collection of cases; Geco, Finocci, Blazer, Speer with N330 and up until this very memorable day CCI primers.
Today I bought a 1000pcs box of Federal. Don't think I have all the manuals for the press but I think it did say somewhere about not using Federal primers... risk of explosion... long story short idiots learn by own mistakes.
I had perhaps 100 or so primers left in the tray, loaded the tray 200 at a time, when on the upstroke (primer insertion)... BANG! Smoke, <deleted> flying eveywhere, my first thought was that a full case with bullet went off.
Thankfully I was smart enough to use some heavy duty goggles at least... though this time "well, I'll miss them most once I lose my eye or something".
Goggles helped, although I don't think I was hit.
As I was saying, upon primer insertion one of those bastards went off because it was being pushed in so that it was tilted, and eventually pressed halfway-flat and went off. The icing on the cake is that ALL primers in the tray went off in a chain-reaction. The tray vanished in a myriad of pieces.
I found the primer that went off because it was the only one still in the press, the rest are empty primer cups scattered around.
LUCKELY the nearly empty powder hopper got away easy and the powder never went off, but it is riddled with primer-impacts, like little dents all over.
Long story short - gave a bit of a scare, ears ringing, but I'm ok. Haven't seen myself in the mirror yet but both eyes work, he he.
pro tip: use those <deleted> earmuffs as well as a full face shield. And DONT use Federal primers in a Lee press!!!
Going to return the Federal primers to the store, and go back to CCI, as well as invest in an extra sizing die that will center the cases in the priming stage.
PICS TO FOLLOW SOON
Have been reloading 9x19 for a short while now (~1200 so far), partly thanks to the help of some of you on this forum.
Have a Lee Loadmaster that has been after a LOT of tinkering reliably (95% or so) loading the ammo, used a wide collection of cases; Geco, Finocci, Blazer, Speer with N330 and up until this very memorable day CCI primers.
Today I bought a 1000pcs box of Federal. Don't think I have all the manuals for the press but I think it did say somewhere about not using Federal primers... risk of explosion... long story short idiots learn by own mistakes.
I had perhaps 100 or so primers left in the tray, loaded the tray 200 at a time, when on the upstroke (primer insertion)... BANG! Smoke, <deleted> flying eveywhere, my first thought was that a full case with bullet went off.
Thankfully I was smart enough to use some heavy duty goggles at least... though this time "well, I'll miss them most once I lose my eye or something".
Goggles helped, although I don't think I was hit.
As I was saying, upon primer insertion one of those bastards went off because it was being pushed in so that it was tilted, and eventually pressed halfway-flat and went off. The icing on the cake is that ALL primers in the tray went off in a chain-reaction. The tray vanished in a myriad of pieces.
I found the primer that went off because it was the only one still in the press, the rest are empty primer cups scattered around.
LUCKELY the nearly empty powder hopper got away easy and the powder never went off, but it is riddled with primer-impacts, like little dents all over.
Long story short - gave a bit of a scare, ears ringing, but I'm ok. Haven't seen myself in the mirror yet but both eyes work, he he.
pro tip: use those <deleted> earmuffs as well as a full face shield. And DONT use Federal primers in a Lee press!!!
Going to return the Federal primers to the store, and go back to CCI, as well as invest in an extra sizing die that will center the cases in the priming stage.
PICS TO FOLLOW SOON
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