I don't care how long you have been reloading!

[Tellico]

You can still have an oops moment! I have posted that I've been reloading for 50 yrs or more and never blown up a gun or had any serious accidents. Well I came as close as I want to the other day. I have a pet load for my .30 Carbine and it is with 3n37 (7gr with a 110 PSP Hornady varmint bullet) I use a Lil Dandy powder measure. I shot up all the loads I had on hand and thought I better load some more. I got ready and could not remember the rotor #. Senior moment. I grabbed my notes, saw 3n37 and a rotor #, said a-hah and proceeded to load 20. Went to the range and touched off one. hmmm that felt stout! Cylinder refused to turn and had to knock it out with palm. Looked at case and primer had flowed into recoil shield and case was stuck. Stuck case not unusual. Like an idiot I tried one more. and same result. Enough! Came home and checked things out. Well the rotor # I used was for a .45 colt load with a 250gr. Only the extreme strength of the Ruger .30 cyl. prevented a bad deal as the load was 11gr. 3n37. Thanks Mr Ruger!
I am only telling on myself to remind you all to be vigilante no mater how long you been reloading!
Sorry to be too long winded but if it saves a finger or a gun it is worth it. If you have a oops story post it to help the new re-loader.
Embarrassed Fred

 

[gramps]

Thanks Fred! Things happen, the phone rings, the doorbell chimes, dog barking a warning etc. distractions occur that are detrimental to the process. We find high time pilots having accidents also. Keep safe guys, and thanks for the heads up Fred.
gramps

 

[GP100man]

Fred , THANK YOU !!

I just wanna say I learned the hard way also (no injury to person or firearm)to double check powder weights coming from the measure & double check (visually) the powder levels in the cases.

I`m glad no harm came to you or the carbine!

GP

 

[Old Shooter]

I have been using lil dandys for 30 plus years. I weigh the charge at the start of the run and several times during it, and at the end. If I leave it and comeback later I throw some charges and check em before filling the first case. Cycle two or three loads thru it prior to testing a drop to make sure everything is settled down. I am not in a race to produce the most ammo in the least time but rather the safest in whatever time it takes. Develop safe work habits and never rush.

 

[DGW1949]

The bad part is that yep, something went missing with the proccess. Otherwise, mistakenly using the wrong rotor would have been caught.....but....I wasn't watching you load, so I don't know what it was.
The good part is that no one got hurt and no damage was done.
The harsh reality of the situation is that we can all make a mistake.
Fact is, I'm perty-good at making them too. One of my more recent one's was failing to double-check the leveling of my old RCBS scale before putting it to use. Luckily, I noticed that it's zero was way-off before I seated bullets into the 50 cases that I'd just dumped the WRONG powder charge into. What went wrong with it being level?....heck who knows; coulda been that I bumped it, coulda been a bit of dust or a piece of lint inside the little "V" that the pivot rides on....dunno. What I do know is that it was just dumb-luck that I noticed my mistake when I did.

DGW

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Good reminder, Fred!

Every time I sit down at the bench, I try to remind myself that being one day further from the last mistake also means I'm one day closer to the NEXT time I'm gonna make one, and I find myself checking far more things than I might have years ago. Can't be TOO safe w/ stuff that goes "Boom!" right in your face...

Glad there were no injuries or damages in your case, too.

Rick C

 

[The Blackhawk Kid]

Good Reminder! Thanks! All it takes is a small distraction or the very item you thought you checked will reach up and bite you in the B***. I have pages of notes for each "load session". Maybe I'm too careful, but I'm here to shoot to load, or load to shoot. BHK

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I try to make it a point to stop and review what I am doing before I start to make rounds. A re-check of powder, weight, bullet etc. is always a good idea.

 

[Kanook]

were they accurate?

 

[Tellico]

were they accurate?

No! Neither one hit the paper! 18"X24" with six 3" aiming dots at 25yds. with a 2.5x scope. The backer board was all shot up so I don't know where they hit it. The 7gr load shoots 1" at 25yds.

 

[dougader]

You were definitely running HOT there.

Glad you and the gun are ok!

 

[volshooter]

Glad you were not hurt! Been reloading less time than you have and knock on wood I have never over charged one.
I use a lot of Bullseye and take extreme measures to prevent problems. It could very well happen to to any of us.

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[contender]

I too enjoyed this posting. And, like all above, I'm glad nobody & nothing was hurt.
Safety is paramount in everything. Simple lapses in our thoughts can be deadly! Not just reloading either!

 

[don44]

Thanks for the good post.

 

[federali]

Good that you're honest with yourself and with us. I too am a 50+ year reloader and you simply can't be too careful.
As I too have occasional bouts of male mental pause, I now write the powder and charge I'm using on a piece of masking tape and attach it to the powder throw cover on my Dillon 550. I try to load when there are no distractions and I'm absolutely religious about observing or peering into each and every shell as it leaves the charging station on its way to the bullet seating station. I also never have more than one powder canister on my reloading bench: just the one I'm using.

Sure glad you didn't blow the gun and injure yourself.