Author Topic: I made a boo boo and I really need to know what I should do about it. (Read 1604 times)

teddy12b · « **on:** April 12, 2007, 03:56:15 PM »

Hello Everyone,
Wow, did I ever step in it tonight! Ok... so I'm just loading rounds after rounds of 6.8mm SPC on my Dillon 550B and loving life. All of a sudden I put another case into the first stage to be resized/deprimed/reprimed and I know something doesn't seem right when I go to push in the new primer.
I pull out the brass and look at it and I notice that the old primer is still in. I looked at the die and the pin that knocks out the primer is gone! At this point I start looking and looking for it and I don't find the pin. So I get thinking "Ahhh crap, what if it's in one of the loaded rounds". I put every round I loaded on my RCBS chargemaster combo and weighed each one. I weighed an extra pin that was for another set of dies and it weighed 4.5grs. I didn't find any of my loaded rounds that deviated that much in weight but I still ended up pulling the bullets on half a dozen or so and checking to make sure that pin wasn't in with the powder.
So here's where I'm at now. There's no way for me to know if that pin isn't inside the powder of one of my loaded rounds without pulling the bullet on every round.
So even though I think I should be ok, but don't really know for sure, would it damage/blow up my barrel if I fired a round with the pin inside of it? My 6.8mm SPC is an AR-15 and it's still very very new. I really don't want to pull every bullet so let me know what you think.

MnMike · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2007, 04:31:10 PM »

I doubt that the barrel would blow, but I cannot imagine that a hardened steel rod going down the barrel would do it any good. I would put those rounds aside and wait till you find the rod. I would guess it is not in a shell, from what you said about weighing them. I also know that strange things happen.

mike

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2007, 04:49:47 PM »

Teddy

You have 2 choices here .

1 - Pull the bullets

2 - Take the chance that you will trash the rifle .

For the time that it takes to pull and then reload the rounds to save a new gun this is a NO BRAINER , is your Health , time and rifle worth the effort ?

stimpy

gypsyman · « **Reply #3 on:** April 12, 2007, 04:54:17 PM »

Teddy12b, if the previous rounds had the primer knocked out, the pin would still be in the die. The only loaded round, that the pin could possible be in, would be the last round that the old primer was pushed out, and a new primer pushed in. My guess is, the pin is in the case that the primer didn't get knocked out. Do you have carpeting around your loading bench? I have a 3'x4' thick piece I stand one, and I found a live primer in it once, when I ran the vacuum cleaner, and the primer exploded in the vacuum cleaner. Not sure who jumped the highest, me or the dog. I wouldn't worry about it to much. We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01)gypsyman

teddy12b · « **Reply #4 on:** April 12, 2007, 04:58:39 PM »

I'm with Stimpy on this. As much as I really, really, really don't want to pull every bullet I just made tonight. It takes less hours for me to do that than the amount of hours it would take me to work to buy a new barrel. I just keep hoping I'll find it somewhere and not have to keep worrying about it.

I won't fire these rounds until I've either found the pin, or pull and checked every round.

Don Fischer · « **Reply #5 on:** April 12, 2007, 05:26:34 PM »

If it's not in the last case to have taken a primer, it won't be in any case. Scratch that, look in the case that the primer stayed in. Maybe the thing came loose and slid up a bit without punching out the primer than stuck in the flash hole of the case and pulled out of the de-priming arm.

teddy12b · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2007, 01:51:34 AM »

After my last response last night I went back to the garage and look in the empty case that the primer didn't come out of, nothing was in it. I looked high and low for that pin. After i couldn't find it I just started pulling bullet, dumping powder, and then loading them back up, one by one. What a pain in the rear. I still have another 50 or so to go.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2007, 02:06:59 AM »

Teddy

Ya i know that its a pain , but its better to be safe and do it this way compaired to what could happen .

stimpy

OLDHandgunner · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2007, 04:51:33 AM »

teddy12b

It's better to be safe than sorry.

I believe the pin probably fell out on the floor or is caught on the press, but you will never know unless you pull & dump. Let us know were you find it.

Questor · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2007, 04:59:16 AM »

I would search everything to find that pin, and if I couldn't find it, then I'd pull all of the bullets. There is no way that I would shoot ammo that I suspected to be defective. I'm not just giving armchair advice. I once threw out handgun 200 cartridges because I suspected that one had a double charge.

Aside from having a rod that might become a bore obstruction for a subsequent shot, the rod is decreasing the volume of the case and may raise pressures to dangerous levels. There aren't many hangfires anymore, but having a rod interfering with ignition might be enough to induce one.

Fortunately these are rifle cartridges and you can use a bullet puller.

Black Jaque Janaviac · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2007, 07:26:12 AM »

I don't get it.

You're loading cases. Then suddenly you notice a problem priming one. The problem is that the old primer did not come out. If this problem didn't exist with the previous case, then the depriming pin HAD TO BE IN PLACE. How else would ALL the previous cases be primed with new primers? What punched the old primers out?

Did you look inside the die? On my Lee dies, if I get a berdan primed case mixed in, the pin will retract into the case.

I would certainly look until I found the pin. But I would dismantle my press, and clean EVERYTHING around my bench looking for it BEFORE I would pull all that ammo. Unless I could come up with some explanation on how all the previous cases got the old primers punched, and new primers placed without a pin. As yet, I'm baffled how you could think the pin would be in a case.

jim dab · « **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2007, 07:58:57 AM »

If it's in a load case at all it would have to be in the last one loaded, but the problem may be that teddy doesn't absolutely know which case is the last one loaded with the new primer.

Jim
Alberta

jim dab · « **Reply #12 on:** April 13, 2007, 08:12:05 AM »

Come to think of it, this may be way to ovbious but sometimes the obvious is over looked. You have a catch pan for the spent primers or something to that effect, have you checked there?

Jim

Dee · « **Reply #13 on:** April 13, 2007, 09:49:23 AM »

Check the die. I have over the last 35 years bent several decapping rods, They usually wad up in the die. If it did fall down into the case it is going to be in the case after the powder is burnt. It would be very unlikely for it to go rattling down the barrel. It would be at the bottom of the case buried in powder, and probably a compressed powder load. It ain't goin anywhere.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #14 on:** April 13, 2007, 10:26:54 AM »

I would think it wouldnt hurt a thing to shoot it out. Ive shot thousands of wolf steel jacketed bullets in my ar without any damage and that little chuck of steel surely isnt going to rub on the barrel as hard as a bumped up bullet. i would check the bore after each shot though to insure that it didnt stick somewhere in the barrel and cause a problem on the next shot.

KN · « **Reply #15 on:** April 13, 2007, 12:12:32 PM »

I'm with "jim dab" on this one. If it fell out de-priming it had to go down the spent primer shoot, tube, cavity, or whatever. KN

teddy12b · « **Reply #16 on:** April 13, 2007, 01:55:46 PM »

I'd like to thank all of you for your helpful advice, truely.

I did check the catch pan for spent primers. I didn't think of it at first but I end up sifting through the whole thing carefully.

I keep thinking that a little piece of steel is going to damage a barrel any more than a bullet would because that's what barrels are made for, but at the same time bullets have uniform contact and aren't just crashing their way through. It's probably be fine to fire it down the barrel but I'd rather just be safe than sorry.

I've checked out the end of the die and the pin isn't bent over inside the die.

I didn't know what round was my last round that I made because they were all in the bin and by the time I figured out what was going on I had already cycled the press a couple empty.

I was loading 27gr of H322 for an AR-15 and that's kind of a lighter load anyway so I wasn't too worry about the added pressure, but that's a really good point to bring up that I hadn't thought of.

As of now, I having starting looking, or pulling bullets yet tonight. I really do appreciate all the advice to such an oddball situation.

teddy12b · « **Reply #17 on:** April 13, 2007, 04:23:04 PM »

I removed the bullet from the remaining cartridges, removed the powder, inspected it, poured it back into the case and reseated the bullet. I did this over and over and I never found the pin. At least I know I have some good rounds ready to go. They're already in magazines and I'm ready to no longer be looking at them anymore.

PHATINJUN · « **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2007, 05:20:34 PM »

Not trying to be a wise guy here as I have not even reloaded my first round yet as I am still reading and putting all the componets togeather . But isn't this why they tell you to use loading blocks and do one step at a time? Just wondering to keep from having to learn this lesson myself. Kurt

jim dab · « **Reply #19 on:** April 14, 2007, 07:22:24 PM »

Absolutely Kurt, but best not to put salt on an open wound. I'm betting Teddy has learned alot from this experience. It's not right kicking a sick dog.

Jim
Albrta

quickdtoo · « **Reply #20 on:** April 14, 2007, 07:46:10 PM »

Kurt, Teddy is loading on a progressive press, it's a multi-tasking press that takes care of a lot of loading steps without any handling of the cartridge that would normally be done by a handloader using a single stage press and a loading block.

Tim

http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=12&dyn=1

http://hunting.about.com/library/weekly/aa010321c.htm

PHATINJUN · « **Reply #21 on:** April 15, 2007, 08:23:26 AM »

Thanks Quick I was kinda thinking a little about progressive press having differant checks and balances but not wanting to cloud my mind with that type of press operation I have not read much about it. I am right now just waiting for my scale to get here so I can fill some cases. I have cleaned polished sized and primed every thing that I am going to reload now if my scale would get here I could mak my first case. Kurt

teddy12b · « **Reply #22 on:** April 15, 2007, 12:28:19 PM »

Peanut,
I understand what you're saying and that you're not trying to be a wise guy. When I noticed that de-priming pin was missing I was afraid that it may have ended up in the brass along with powder and loaded into into a round. It was a slim chance that it could have happened, but there was a reasonable chance. As you'll learn in reloading, it's better to be safe than sorry. You'll also learn some day that single stage reloading is a huge consumer of time. A progressive press is most certainly the only way to go, but basically everyone starts with a single stage, I did, now my rock chucker just collects dust.

Range Report:
Today I took the rounds in question and set them free. There were gusting 20+mph winds today so it was the perfect ammo just to shoot off. I fired every one and none of them felt any different than any other round I've ever fired through that rifle. My rifle is still in great shape and now I have more brass to reload and fire off.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #23 on:** April 15, 2007, 12:38:44 PM »

teddy

Don't feel bad , i pulled a good one last night , loadsd 50 rounds of 218 Bee and then relized that i forgot to prime the cases . Boy do i feel like an a** .

Grabbed the puller and started over .

stimpy

quickdtoo · « **Reply #24 on:** April 15, 2007, 12:44:17 PM »

At least loading single stage, when I notice powder in the bottom of the loading block holes, I know I did something wrong!!

Tim

teddy12b · « **Reply #25 on:** April 15, 2007, 04:57:06 PM »

Thanks Stimpy,
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only guy out there who makes mistakes. I just wish I new where my depriming pin went. Oh well, I already put a replacement one in its place anyway. My brass from earlier today is done being polished and it'll be ready to run through the press again. Hopefully this time I won't have any little Boo Boo's on the way.

OLDHandgunner · « **Reply #26 on:** April 16, 2007, 05:41:01 AM »

If you have loaded long enough you have made at least one stupid mistake. I have made a couple of stupid mistakes in my 40 yrs of reloading but just don't talk about them. It's better to here about someone elses stupid mistakes.

teddy12b · « **Reply #27 on:** April 16, 2007, 06:32:29 AM »

I can learn a lot from you OLDHandgunner. Now I know I'm not the only imperfect one out there.

HL · « **Reply #28 on:** April 16, 2007, 07:49:46 AM »

Have you checked to see if the pin got pushed back up into the die. I have had this happen before when the knurl that holds the pin became a little loose. The pin just pushed back into the die and looked like it had fallen out.

Just a thought.

teddy12b · « **Reply #29 on:** April 16, 2007, 08:47:58 AM »

Yup, took the whole die apart. took the knurled part completely off thinking it could have even broke off. I never found it. It was just the weirdest thing I've ever had happen to me in over two year of handloading my own ammo. Some day I'll find it, just don't know when.