Pay attention!

[Guy Miner]

Caught myself today - only had to pull the bullets on 8 rifle cartridges. My powder charge was way too small!

Looks like the bullets came out just fine and I was able to salvage the powder as well.

I'd mis-set my scale... Sigh. At least I caught it BEFORE going to the rifle range.

Guy

 

[Rol_P]

We have to stay sharp Guy.. and no distractions.. Nice to see you are still loading. I am on a hiatus in loading.
Regrds, Rol

 

[ShadeTree]

Guy, set the wrong number on a digital scale, or on a balance beam?

It always worries me some as I can be absent minded about some things. So far the few times I flat out goofed up and caught it was not something that would've been catastrophic but just the fact that I loaded X number of cartridges wrong before I caught it like you, was a wake up call. Catastrophic or not, I was not loading what I was intending. My biggest goof was that I once loaded the wrong bullet weight, but I was using IMR 4350 and still would've been fine if I hadn't caught it. But being lucky is no excuse.

One thing I always do each and every time is shine a small LED light into each case in the block after I've charged them with powder. A: To make sure I didn't miss any, and B: If something is off on the charge weight I should see it by the powder level.

 

[Guy Miner]

On the beam. Dang.

Then I was looking at the powder charge in the pan... And thought "That sure doesn't look like enough..." oooops!

Guy

 

[JD338]

I did the same thing on a beam scale except it was too much and wouldn't all fit in the case.
Glad you caught yourself Guy.

JD338

 

[flyingagg]

Good thing you caught it in time.

 

[RL338]

Since getting the Chargemaster I seat as the next charge is dropping. The nice thing it shows the charge weight when done.
Depending on what you were loading an undercharged round could be as dangerous as an overcharged load. Good thing you caught it.

 

[DrMike]

We've all been there, Guy. Good that you caught it before wasting components, or creating a hazardous situation.

 

[sako2]

Glad you caught it Guy. Things happen pretty quick. Been there done that.

 

[TackDriver284]

I have been there Guy, thought I had H4350 and loaded half a loading block of 6.5 Creed, and realized its H4831SC. Good to hear you caught it in time.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Unfortunately, it is something that we have had to happen. Glad you were able to catch it in time. We learn from our mistakes and helps keep us sharp. Thanks for sharing this reminder. Dan.

 

[Guy Miner]

Apparently I needed to blow the dust off the ol' bullet puller anyway.

 

[TexasLife]

With not being totally antiquated using ql I was doing a load for 357sig. I did use the powder selected in ql (blue dot) for a near max pressure. Loaded 100 rounds and off to the range I went. I had a comp on it and shot a few clips (mags) then removed the comp and shot some more. After 2 shots from it breathing fire, I noticed that the slide was moving faster than normal. Checking other sources, it seamed to have a charge near 121% (?). Labeled the box with a "dangerous" sticker and notated "must be used with comp". With the comp installed it barely ejected the brass (landed near my feet). I had a VERY hot load of 50ae that was at book (Hornady) max with h110, but changed from cci300 to cci350's. Those I will dismantle and reduce!

 

[JD338]

Apparently I needed to blow the dust off the ol' bullet puller anyway.

That's a critical tool to have in the shop.

JD338

 

[hunter24605]

I guess we've all done it at some point. Those with 10 digits and 2 eyes remaining caught it early. What I started doing is throwing the charge from the charge master .1 grain shy and trickle up on the beam scale. Just a way to double check. Odds seem low of setting both scales wrong.

 

[Alderman]

I’ve pulled a few bullets over the years. Found out once it’s better to put primers in a case before adding powder and seating a bullet.

 

[hunter24605]

Not so long ago I was annealing brass and some how one with a live primer got mixed it. Quite exciting when it jumped out of the socket chucked in the drill.

 

[slickrem]

Caught myself today - only had to pull the bullets on 8 rifle cartridges. My powder charge was way too small!

Looks like the bullets came out just fine and I was able to salvage the powder as well.

I'd mis-set my scale... Sigh. At least I caught it BEFORE going to the rifle range.

Guy

When you say 8 rifle cartridges you mean 8 rounds out of a bunch of the same caliber or 8 different calibers?

 

[Guy Miner]

When you say 8 rifle cartridges you mean 8 rounds out of a bunch of the same caliber or 8 different calibers?

I was loading a batch of 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges. About 8 rounds into the project I figured out what I was doing wrong. Stopped. Pulled the bullets. Salvaged the powder and got back to business after re-setting things.

Guy

 

[slickrem]

I was loading a batch of 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges. About 8 rounds into the project I figured out what I was doing wrong. Stopped. Pulled the bullets. Salvaged the powder and got back to business after re-setting things.

Guy

Sorry about thinking that way Guy!