About made a BIG boo-boo

[stimpylu32]

Sat down to load up some 45LC rounds , drug out my data log that I keep all of my past loads in that I have worked up , set the powder measurer for the load of Green Dot and started filling cases . Got 100 loaded with powder in the blocks and than grabbed the little flashlight to check to see that all were the same .

Something just didn't look right , got out the scales , weighted up a random few of the cases and all were with in .02 grains of each other . Still something was amiss , then it hit me -- I had transposed the numbers when I wrote the data in the log , instead of writing 6.9 grains , I wrote 9.6 grains .

That could have been very bad , considering that 6.7g to 6.9g is max for all the loading manuals that I have .

Point being -- Double check your loads , even the ones you have used before .

stimpy

[kitchawan kid]

You are right,but if it was Trail Boss you would have know right away.

[stimpylu32]

You are right,but if it was Trail Boss you would have know right away.

Yep , I'd have had little cherrio's all over the bench . 

stimpy

[kitchawan kid]

You got it,and you have a hard time seting the bullet.

[Skunk]

Good catch Stimpylu, thank goodness. Your years of reloading experience saved you on that one. Thanks for sharing that. Think I'll go recheck all my numbers.

[FW Conch]

Stimpy, the 6.9 to 9.6 is an easy one for anyone to flip, but in my case, I'm dyslexic so I always have to be careful to "measure twice, cut once" as it were !  My problem is @ it's worse when I'm fatigued, so I never reload when I'm tired.    Jim

[LaOtto222]

I am glad you caught the error. Getting numbers mixed up is an easy thing to do. I loaded up some 223 cases with 26 grains of powder. When I dumped the first one in it filled up the case and ran all over the bench. Hmmm - some thing must be wrong. I double checked and I punched in 36 grains in instead of 26 into my digital scale - oopsee. I am not sure I was thinking 36 or just hit the wrong button. It pays to visually check your loads.

[okielectrician]

I wonder how many have loaded up a box or more with a miscalculation and relized it only after firing that first one.If nothing is damaged (self or gun)it sure makes for a short day at the range.It is always good to reload with no distractions and a clear head.

[Sweetwater]

great catch, Stimpy!!! When you keep your head you get to keep all your fingers?!!

Good reminder to all!

Regards,
Sweetwater

[jhalcott]

  Along your lines Stimpy, I loaded some .17 Remington cases. About half way thru, I ran out of powder. I grabbed another can off the shelf and dumped some into the hopper. Thinking ahead, I weighed a few drops BEFORE continueing reloading. Every thing went smoothly( I weighed each charge)and finished the 50 cases. When I shot them, I felt no problems loading or ejecting the rounds, BUT did notice the groups were larger than they should be.!?? On the 11 round I got a face full of debris and smoke.! The base of that shell was about .050" larger than it had been and the primer was gone. The primer vent hole was several times larger also.I had no trouble raising the bolt and removing it from the action with the case held tightly by the ring of steel. I removed the brass by thumping it against the table. The ejector worked as normal and I could see no damage to the lugs or bolt. I did cycle a round thru the chamber a few times and every thing seems to be OKAY! I fired an older reload and I'm sure the gun suffered no permanent damage. After pulling ALL the reloads apart and weighing the powder,bullet and case in each.I am certain the problem was MY fault for NOT CHECKING the new can of powder. It was picked up by a friend and I thought it was one of MY old cans.

[EVOC ONE]

Good work, Stimp.  Another lesson we can all learn from ... second guess anything that looks the slightest bit different or odd.

 

[Glanceblamm]

Thanks for reporting stimp, we should take nothing for granted while reloading and this will help keep us on our toes.

[Jal5]

thanks for telling us Stimpy. Glad it wasn't a disaster for you.

Joe

[stimpylu32]

Ya guys , it could have been ugly , as I would have ben shooting these rounds in a 5 shot Taurus Tracker , and its not one of the stronger framed guns on the market . so I'm glad I caught it when I did and not at the range .

stimpy