SHARE YOUR HAND LOADING MISTAKES

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Highland Lofts

Highland Lofts

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Just read another post where some left over powder in the powder measure was put back into a wrong powder container.

We all have made mistakes in the loading room some time or another. This would be a good thread to list mistakes you made or mistakes someone you know made so others can read about them and be more aware in the future.
 
I wasn't paying attention one day and threw a bunch of primed brass in the Ultra Sonic cleaner with Citric acid and Dawn. Cleaned them for 16 minutes before I realized they were already cleaned and primed.
I rinsed them out good and set them on the shelf above my loading bench for about a month and went a head and shot them. They all went bang, couldn't really tell any difference.
 
When I started back in to reloading after a forty year laspe. I loaded a lot of straight walled pistol cases. When I started reloading necked rifle i primed a bunch of primed 223 brass with out trimming the rifle cases. I had a Lyman trimmer that has the ball to center the cases.
So I bought a RCBS trimmer that uses the collet system to hold the primed cases so I could trim them before loading them.

I made other mistakes that I will post later.
I'm sure every one has atleast one mistake to share.
 
Virginia Jim said:
Not me, nope, never.
Click to expand...
Right ... :rofl:

In my very early days of reloading in the 90s, in a rush to get to the range, I rushed and mixed up the load data with another powder.

First round at the range went BOOM instead of bang and after checking to see if I needed to change my underwear, I slowly lowered the pistol and hands from above my head and quietly packed up my stuff as I realized what I had done.

I pulled the rest of rounds and ever since, have double and triple checked my load data for the powder I am using. And only one powder container on the bench at the time and powder in the hopper returns to the container at the end of the reloading session.

Did I ever tell you about my squib rounds? :D

I mean, how can I produce a squib round when I am reloading on a progressive press? Really. :p

Now, I have an inspection mirror looking into the case with light source to be sure I have the proper powder charge before seating a bullet.

And "one time" I copied/pasted the wrong load data and boy did I get a grilling from THR elders ... If you are going to copy/paste load data, do it right and make sure you always link to the source or don't do it at all. So I started screen capturing published load data ... And you know what? ... Grumble, grumble ... :oops: I guess you can't please everyone. :eek: So I am back to copy/paste but now triple/quadruple checking while leaving the copy selection highlighted on source page to be sure I am on the right bullet/weight/powder.

I guess I am just a mere human ... There must've been a product recall that I missed from my maker ... :)
 
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Sat down to load my first .38 S&W cartridges. Not my first caliber. So I've been through this before. Just wanted to load 5 rounds. Easy peasy.

Had a container of 100 primed cases on the bench. Hadn't set up the seating die. "No problem. I'll charge 5 cases and then set up the die on the first case then seat the remaining 4."

I get done setting up the die and I"m holding a primed case with a seated bullet. And there are 5 cases in the loading block. When I went to set up the die I'd grabbed an empty primed case....not a charged case from the block. Fortunately I'd had the goal of loading 5. And I knew I'd charged 5. So the one in my hand didn't compute - and I knew I'd loaded a squib.

Prior to this I'd always set up my dies before I loaded. Adding that step with charged cases on the table, at least for the way my brain works, was not the right thing to do.
 
Found a primer in backwards Thursday.
Whole bunch of primerless rounds when messing with my progressive for the first time....easy catch what with the powder falling out the bottom.

Bunch of rounds not chamber, because I didn't size the new brass before loading.
Forgot powder a few times, and when I do I'll usually miss a whole row. Don't think i ever actually put bullets on any of those, at least with pistol ammo.

I have put a bullet on a powder less rifle case with the powder still sitting in the pan......
 
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At my age you tend to miss things more easily.
I use the Hornady powder drop. I was filling all fifty cases then I would seat the bullets.
Well a couple of trips to the range I had a squib.
So next loading block of cases that I loaded with powder I checked and had an empty case when they should of all been charged.
So after that I would have one loading block with the cases with the primer end up. As I fill them with powder I put put the case in the press and seat the bullet then when I take the seated bullet case out of that press I put it in my second press and crimp it. Done.
Never had another squib.
 
Mistakes are easy to make, even with just the slightest distraction.

Mine was twelve rounds that I overcharged. I didn't have the weight on the beam scale completely in the notch. It was the grain weight and not the tenths weight. I balanced and zeroed the scale as usual, and began loading a workup for a new round. But I just couldn't figure out why my measure was throwing charges that were so far off. When I measured the thirteenth charge I knew something was wrong. I didn't load that one, I chose to pull one of the ones I had already made. I was about 2 grains over maximum charge weight using W-231 for a 45acp. :what:

I knew to check and double check, but I learned a valuable lesson that day while hammering out the other eleven rounds.

chris
 
I managed to load a .380 case in a batch of 9mm. Pre tumble sorting, primer check, powder check, shoving it in magazine... never noticed. New to me P320 just went click. Wait 30 seconds, eject round, rest of mag shot fine. Look at “dud” round with light primer strike, notice it’s .380 ‍♂️
 
Ok heres mine, I was installing Winchester primers in a hand primer and I was having a lot of "Not fitting" I had a nail handy and tried to punch out the primer, It went off. All was ok but I learned a valuable lesson. Now when a primer cants or sticks in the primer pocket I use a flat bottomed punch the same size as the flash hole and practice extreme care as I punch it out. In 35 years that has only happened once but that was enough.
 
My eye sight is going, not surprising at my age, a couple of months ago I was using the lyman hand primer to prime some federal 45acp and suddenly one felt funny when i tried to prime it. I was trying to load a small primer in a large primer pocket. It could have turned out noisy the other way around ?
I grabbed a federal .45acp shell with large primer pocket and another with small pocket and I could not see the difference. Just sitting a small pistol primer next to a large pistol primer I have difficulty. Dedicated a Lee bench mount prime tool to large pistol primers only, Lyman is now only small pistol primers. I use a go no gauge on each shell before I prime. All calibers on that last. If I get loose pockets on say , the .45 colt I should pick it up. Really slows me up, but maybe that's a good thing.
 
My favorite mistake is leaving the powder out of the cases.

What I find unusual is this happens more with handgun rounds which are loaded on a progressive than rifle ammo, loaded more or less one at a time. Sometimes, the powder measure gets clogged and doesn't drop a charge when it thinks it does. This is typically a constant problem until fixed, not just a random occurrence now and then. By the way, a large pistol primer will reliably jam a bullet into the lands of a Government Model.
 
Highland Lofts said:
Just read another post where some left over powder in the powder measure was put back into a wrong powder container.

We all have made mistakes in the loading room some time or another. This would be a good thread to list mistakes you made or mistakes someone you know made so others can read about them and be more aware in the future.
Click to expand...

Mistake #1: Drinking alcohol within 12 hours of reloading.
Mistake #2: Eating while reloading.
Mistake #3: Loading more than one cartridge at a time.
Mistake #4: Failing to have a set of written reloading procedures to be followed EVERY time the operator approaches the press.
Mistake #5: Failing to have a written checklist to verify each step of the reloading procedures was actually followed.
Mistake #6: Failure to adequately inspect cases entering the reloading stream.

Hugh


.
 
Hmmmm? In 55 years of handloading I’ve done a few stupid things, I’ve got about half a pound of powder that’s approximately 50/50 760 and VV N-140. I had a primer jam up my 366 at the primer seating station. I keep an extra Hornady de-priming punch pin combination on my bench for a multitude of uses. Not thinking at all I stuck it in the hull, pin down and smacked it with my plastic face hammer, expecting that to pop the primer out freeing up the press. Yup! It went BANG!
I once fired a round in my custom match AR that I had charged with 5 gr too much AA2200. Sure glad I didn’t have my hand under the magazine! When I set my scale to set my powder measure the pose was off one notch. It was still like that when I got home trying to figure out exactly what happened! I can tell you one thing, the DPMS heavy match upper is built like a tank, so is the Kreiger barrel extension. A new bolt and carrier and it’s no worse for wear. Old eyes, late at night, wanting to put together a few rounds to try tomorrow, pay really, really close attention to what you’re doing. I’m sure there have been other things that have happened, these are just what quickly came to mind!
 
Years ago when I worked at my local range I was loading and shooting my way thru 10k or more rounds a month.
I was at the bench cranking out 40. I didn't realize it but my powder drop ran dry. The next day at the range I was shooting said 40. I fired a last round and gathered up my stuff and closed up the firing line.
When I got home I tore down my pitols and started cleaning. My G27 had a bullet lodged in the barrel. Thankfully it was the last round fired. Needless to say I had quite a few hundred 40 to pull apart. There were 25 rounds missing powder. That's not a rookie mistake that's an attention to detail, over confidence, complacent mistake. I'm just really thankful it was the last round fired.
 
Did the forgot the primer thing.
I first started I over lubed the inside of the neck and flooded the primers.

Working up a load I forgot to adjust the scale so had all the same charge.

Forgot to change powder from the hopper had an overload which blew the case head off and locked up the rifle.
 
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