Error Example — No Powder in Case, Primer Pushed Bullet, Locked Revolver

[cw308]

I guess which ever way works for you is fine , no right or wrong . I feel I'm a careful reloader , been reloading for 30 years , first time this happened to me. For my 308 benchrest I take my primed 30 cases and charge all 30 first . With these 200 cases that were all prepped and primed for over 5 years , just found them boxed in my cabinet , the cases inside were
clean but dark from firing . My cases now are wet tumbled and look brand new inside and out , easy to see if it wasn't charged . I'm shooting a mild load 2.7 of Bullseye , with a dark case inside , hard to see a empty case or even a double charge ( 38Spl.) That's the reason I charged and seated one at a time. Only have 50 of the old primed cases left , after that , I'll have new like cases with fresh primers . Hopefully will cut down on screw ups. I'm just happy I didn't force anything on my revolver to get it open. I would imagine it would have been harder with a jacketed bullet .Over the years my list of screw ups were .#1 Charged all 30 cases in the loading block without primers and as I was seating noticed IMR 4064 grains all offer my loading block , said a few choice ones on that one .
#2 Wanted to give the Redding S type Bushing die a try , as soon as it arrived I didn't take the time to give it a cleaning , just put it into my single stage RockChucker , lubed it raised the ram felt kind of rough , ripped the head right off the case and had to send it back to Redding to remove the stuck case. Said a few good ones on that one too. #3 Large pistol primer in a 308 case , primed about 5 before I saw that one . #4 was this one today. One good thing is I can still hit what I'm aiming at as long as the bullet come out of the barrel. Thanks Guys for all your input . Until the next time , hopefully there won't be . Stay Safe.
Chris

 

[Homerange]

Good safe practices are really simple, fired cases neck up in loading block or field case.
Unprimed (prepped) and primed cases rim up in loading block.
Charge cases one by one and immediately seat bullets one by one and then place into your bench shooting/field case.

Couldn't be simpler and eliminates errors from any distractions.
Unless you want to do these very simple things you will always have the risk of stuff ups.

 

[rr2030]

rockrat
Thought u guys would be on my side . Will carry a wooden dowel in my range bag.
Chris

Have had a wooden dowel in my range bag or competitors box for over 40 years. one for every caliber handgun I shoot.

I load quantities of pistol ammo on my Dillon 450 and 550. I purchased a LED light kit for each. From the way I position myself during the loading process there are two things I check every pull of the handle;
1) Is there a right side up primer in the priming cup.
2) Is their powder in the case I am about to set a bullet on.
Neither of these two checks causes any interruption in the rhythm of operating the machine.

 

[Hossdog]

Blame it on the wife . Was reloading HBWC 50 rounds . At the range fiered the first 4 rounds grouped great at 10 yards then click , a lock up , cylinder wouldn't move . At first I thought the ejection rod loosened up , I could only cock the hammer back to the point the locking cylinder pin at the base of the frame (. S&W 65 3") dropped down.
When the cylinder didn't release I thought , Oh No , my cleaning rod only went in the barrel 2.75" the bullet was between the barrel and the cylinder . Could the primer have been so weak I didn't hear it , it was enough to release the bullet . Anyway , at the range that had a wooden dowel that fit in the barrel , the lead bullet tapped back in the case pretty easily and the gun was fine . Seems like no powder in the case , I'll blame it on my wife instead of a senior moment. Felt like such a ass hole. Will only Happen Once.
Chris

Happened to me twice in 50 years so was Jr. And senior moment.. But this time stuck in barrell ...much harder to get out and dangerous if report is weak CHECK THAT BARREL

 

[nicholst55]

Wooden dowels are not always a wise thing to use for removing squib bullets. They have been known to break off and become lodged in the bore. A brass rod close to groove diameter is a better tool to use for this. Better yet is to make certain that it doesn't happen!

 

[milboltnut]

I had a guy at the range one time with a .50 S&W lodged jacketed bullet. Talked him into sending it back to S&W, but not the way it was. Putting it back together was a challange, that's why I said send it to S&W. Took it all apart so there was not question by whom sent it back. I was new to guns at the time, but would have handled it differently. Probably could have just pried the bullet with a screw driver between the bullet and the forcing cone just enough to open the cylinder. thought about that AFTER he left. Mistakes are gonna happen !

 

[rockrat]

I am on your side. Been there before. Glad it was just a bullet locking up the cylinder and not down the bore followed by a normal round.
As nicholst55 said, ditch the wooden dowel and get a brass rod (or aluminum I guess) to use. Heard too many stories about wooden dowel breaking off in the bore.
Friend stuck a round in his Ruger revolver. Had to end up making a few bushings to fit in the bore with a 1/4" hole thru the middle and had to drill the soft lead slug. He had tried to get it out by "tapping lightly" with a hammer and wooden dowel and just swaged the slug to fit the cylinder throat and start of the barrel. It wouldn't budge till we drilled it. Soaked it for a few hours with ATF/0w-20 oil mix after drilling and before we tried to remove it. Came right out.
He was trying to load really light loads and just went too light.
I keep a couple of brass rods in my truck and have had to loan them to people with a bullet stuck in the bore of their rifle

 

[divingin]

That’s why I abandoned the progressive presses and load them one at a time on a single stage press. I keep a bucket of prepped empties. They come out of the bucket, get a charge and get put in the shell holder for the bullet.

Different strokes. I actually trust the machine more than I trust myself. I've never had an auto-drop progressive fail to charge a case, but I've caught myself doing so when single loading a tray of cartridges by hand.

That said, if the hammer falls, and anything feels different, CHECK IT OUT before proceeding.

Hammer falls and no or weak recoil: look at the chambered round.

No bullet in the chambered case? Check the barrel. If there is a bullet, the barrel is likely clear (but it also doesn't hurt to check anyway.)

Check the primer: Good strike? Toss the round. Light strike, try it again (or diagnose why it was a light strike.)

I am not a big fan of the rapid disassembly routine.

And CW, I agree with nicholst55: Brass rods are much preferred to wood, especially when trying to remove bullets with other-than-wadcutter profiles. Lots have ended up jamming the bullet in tighter than it was by splintering a bunch of wood between the bullet nose and the barrel wall.

 

[cw308]

The scale I use is the ChargeMaster 1500 , it keeps a round count , that's what cought my eye . I did rezero the scale in the middle of loading so I wasn't sure if that's why my count was off , even weighted loaded cases , pulled the bullet on the lightest bullet , that bullet was charged .
I think I may have grabbed a case and placed it on the shellholder instead of charging , that's the only way I could think of how it happened. My excuse is I was talking to my wife at times , like the wind screwed up a great group. Not My Fault
Chris

 

[Gun Smith]

A gunshop I used to frequent had a Colt Python that some guy had shot a .38 squib in, and kept firing one after the other until it was empty. The barrel was swollen all along half it's length, and the frame was buckled. Amazing that it did not blow up. Must have been very mild target loads I guess.

I alway's carry a brass rod in my shootin' box. Good insurance.

 

[cw308]

Guys I was pretty lucky with the stuck lead DEWC , it was the 5th round shot , barrel wasn't fouled up , the bullets are or seem heavily lubed .
After trying to dope out what was going on with the lockup , I really thought the ejection arm backed out , when I put a thin spray lube down the barrel just in case , the tube stopped at about 2.75 , then I knew . Taping it with that dowel , it moved easily , maybe even hand pressure would have worked . I will get a brass rod instead of a wooden dowel..I value all the advice. Hopefully just like a stuck case remover tool for the press that I hope I'll never have to use , I will carry a brass rod . One of my shooting buddies loads his 308 hot past the load scale , I said why do that , he said he has the need for speed , I laughed but feel more comfortable shooting a few benches away from him . One day he said did you ever see this , the case was stuck in his chamber and the head was left in his bolt face . Looked on line and saw they make a stuck remover caliber specific , I ordered one for my range bag and one I gave him , we both shoot 308 , He was trying to remove it with a cleaning brush , I called him I ordered the tool , the next week at the range the tool worked great , just feeds in like a round , it grabs the case mouth and out it came , out that easy.. He stills loads over the scale so I don't know if I did him a favor , I still shoot benches down from him. I guess if there wasn't screw ups , no one would have invented the tools.. Sorry for being so long winded , just like talking gun stuff. Be Safe.
Chris
PS : Guess the Staff didn't like the way I posted my problem , they changed the wording for some reason . That's OK.

 

[Joe Maisto]

Think it is best to load one, then immediately seat the bullet. Glad you shared the experience as many will learn from it.

In short range BR, I have had several bad moments on the firing line because of "methods:" that many used , ( and unfortunately...) I adopted, especially, dropping powder into a loading block with perhaps...20 "ready to go empties." It's just really a bummer. Your relay comes up, you're on your bench , make all your adjustments and the clock starts ticking on the firing line. After watching our beloved Eunice Berger at the table across from me, I adapted her foolproof method, and have not had any "screw ups" since. Drop powder in one, insert bullet, seat it. Done ! No more mistakes.
Also of importance... If someone attempts to talk to you when you are dropping powder, give him a piece of your mind...

 

[Joe Maisto]

Sorry, but loading one at a time is bad Juju, as you have discovered.
Load ALL cases with powder, have empty cases in one block, charge, move to next block and inspect EVERY CASE prior to seating bullets. This is the ONLY way to make sure you have no missing powder.
I used to use a Dillon to load my 45ACP Major Power Factor loads for IPSC, cost me an expensive race gun 1911 cuz of a missing powder charge.
Why my lockout die didn’t work I don’t know, but anyway, that was $5,000 bucks of scrap metal.

Cheers.

That may be alright if you are loading in your basement at home . However... different venues call for different methods . Handgun shooting is a world apart from hand loading after each relay...at the range ...gentlemen !

 

[cw308]

Well Joe
That's when things go screwy . That one second when your distracted , bad things can happen. Your system is what I was doing . Only the person was my wife and it was just small talk . I've been loading for many years , heard all the horror stories . The day it happened I was with guys I wanted to get them into reloading . I could have tried to hide it but this happens in real life , even in an old time reloaders like me . Never said I was perfect.
Chris

 

[Joe Maisto]

Well Joe
That's when things go screwy . That one second when your distracted , bad things can happen. Your system is what I was doing . Only the person was my wife and it was just small talk . I've been loading for many years , heard all the horror stories . The day it happened I was with guys I wanted to get them into reloading . I could have tried to hide it but this happens in real life , even in an old time reloaders like me . Never said I was perfect.
Chris

Always a pleasure talking to "old timers" Chris ! ( from one to another).

 

[cw308]

Thanks Joe
Stay Well.
Chris

 

[JMayo]

Pistols ......I learned "if you pull the trigger and nothing happens STOP, wait ... CHECK FOR SQUIB"

Rifles .... Pull trigger, nothing happens, wait.... eject. If whole bullet is there ya missed the powder. (I had 10 one time, missed the whole darn row :/)

 

[ChesterS]

A gunshop I used to frequent had a Colt Python that some guy had shot a .38 squib in, and kept firing one after the other until it was empty. The barrel was swollen all along half it's length, and the frame was buckled. Amazing that it did not blow up. Must have been very mild target loads I guess.

I alway's carry a brass rod in my shootin' box. Good insurance.

The same thing happened to a guy at my club. Someone gave him 180 grain bullets and he light loaded them to keep the pressure down. All 6 packed into the barrel of an early Colt Trooper. I had the picture of the milled barrel, but can't find it right now. The frame was OK and he only had to rebarrel it.

 

[NorCalMikie]

I single stage load. Seen too many rounds run thru a progressive with issues.
I usually see my issues when I dump the powder in the case and see it running out the flash hole.
Light in front of me and one behind shining over my shoulder. A slight tip of the case shows me if there's powder in it or not.

 

[cw308]

I use a single stage press , I'm only loading 50 using my RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 auto scale , just set the load , the load goes into the pan , I take it from the pan to case , place the bullet set it into the shellholder and seat , pretty and thought FOOL proof . Sure , the scale even keeps a round as a DOUBLE check , Great. Stuff happens even when I thought I was careful. Never got into progressive presses , I had the time and wasn't loading volume . Like loading one at a time .
I double check my powder weight for 308 benchrest using the GemPro 250 accurate little scale. With this problem I don't think I heard the primer go off just the click of the hammer , thought bad primer which I never had. So this was a First for sure , first and only hopefully. Wouldn't turn me into a store bought guy. Thanks Guys.
Chris