I've tried to follow the basic rules to ensure no major catastrophic mishap but I am guilty of a mistake or two. I recall one occasion where I was reloading 7x57's working up a load for my deer rifle. I had two or three boxes of new brass most of which I'd prepped in advance. I was working on ladder tests and I decided to try one more load so I grabbed a half dozen pieces of brass from another box. Everything was going well until I decided to shoot the last test. I chambered a round squeezed the trigger and herd nothing but the click of the trigger. I unchambered the round, chambered another and the same thing happened. When I opened the bolt I noticed kernels of powder in the chamber. Upon inspecting the rounds I realized that I neglected to prime the last half dozen cartridges I'd loaded.
Reloading Mistakes, What's Your Worst?
- Thread starter onelastshot
- Start date
WOW...you guys need to be more careful...LOL
. Except I'm just as guilty
. I remember loading
up some ammo and then placed them without marking them in a box...had to pull all of the bullets and
start over....then I remember loading a few primers upside down ...not paying attention.
. I'm just
very glad to catch all these mistakes before hurt myself.
. Except I'm just as guilty. I remember loadingup some ammo and then placed them without marking them in a box...had to pull all of the bullets and
start over....then I remember loading a few primers upside down ...not paying attention.
. I'm just very glad to catch all these mistakes before hurt myself.
Before I entered the competition arena I shot just shoot for pure accuracy. Two of my fav rifles for that were a 7mm-08 and a .308. I was up on the rest with my .308 and grabbed a round and chambered it. BOOM and the bullet was WAY off the paper somewhere! WHAT! NO WAY! >>>Oh YES WAY! I grabbed a 7mm-08 round and shot it in my .308! Uneventful! However, what would have happened if the reverse were true and I shot a .308 in my 7mm-08?!! That mistake gave me a WAKE UP CALL!
I had one primer in a Lee hand primer upside down and I did not know it. After I fired it, I had to take it back to the smith because it disabled the Sako extractor in a Remington 700.
I witnessed an guy shoot a 7-08 in a 25-06 once. He couldn't get the bolt open afterwards, but the bullet actually exited the barrel.
When I was a kid, I was allowed to reload and was big into casting bullets for a .38 Super Colt and a .45 acp Colt. My grandfather had died and he had a bar of lead in his shop that was about 50 lbs. I used some to cast bullets and we were getting awesome penetration. Then we noticed you couldn't scratch the lead with your fingernail. It wasn't lead, it was babbit that my grandfather had for casing bearings. Not sure what the pressure ran on those!
I witnessed an guy shoot a 7-08 in a 25-06 once. He couldn't get the bolt open afterwards, but the bullet actually exited the barrel.
When I was a kid, I was allowed to reload and was big into casting bullets for a .38 Super Colt and a .45 acp Colt. My grandfather had died and he had a bar of lead in his shop that was about 50 lbs. I used some to cast bullets and we were getting awesome penetration. Then we noticed you couldn't scratch the lead with your fingernail. It wasn't lead, it was babbit that my grandfather had for casing bearings. Not sure what the pressure ran on those!
Two months ago I loaded a couple dozen cartridges and put them away, last week I pulled them out and realized that while I marked them 4350, I'd neglected to indicate whether it was H4350 or IMR4350. Long story short, I pulled the bullets, made fertilizer out of the powder and started over.
TheOtherZilla
Pull my finger
Just a few weeks ago.. Hate to admit it but I effed up and I must say I have 0ver 50 years experience. In reloading and messing up. Got a new 22-250. Worked up a load. Turned out to be max of CFE 223 and a 52 SMK.. Sweet.. So I load a way. Then mysteriously I blow a primer. WTF?? Bolt gets hard to open??? I load some more and back off a grain. Same same.. back off some more.. Still pressure signs .. WTF? Finally I notice that my scale beam is acting weird. Like not balancing correctly. I pull a bullet and weigh it on my digital scale. 42 grains!! Holy ****. I take a close look at my scale and find: Drum roll.... Some kernels of ball powder have gotten into the fulcrum of my scale.. Yes I cleaned and recal'd my scale and checked it against my digital scale.. In the meantime I ditched the CFE223 and found just as good a load using XBR8208..
R.Morehouse
Gold $$ Contributor
Putting powder in un-primed cases.......Done it more than once. Now primed cases go back with the primed end to the top........
Did a double charge on a .38spl using win231. Case is so big the charge only fills a quarter off the case... Found it when looking in each case with a flashlight before seating... Now I charge and seat the bullet before moving on... Scared the crap out of me it was for my wife's snubby... It's the only brass I reload that a double wouldn't be over flowing... Hate reloading them now because of it...
JayHHI6818
Silver $$ Contributor
This wasn't a reloading mistake but what happens when your in a hurry and not paying attention. Running out of daylight at the range and was sighting in two Contender pistols that look exactly the same. Both were stainless frames, stainless barrels, blued Burris 3x12 pistol scopes. One chambered in 309 JDJ necked down 444 Marlin and the other chamberd in 445 Super Mag. 3/8 in longer 44 Mag case.
Yep I dropped a 445 SM in the 309 JDJ chamber and shot a .429 bullet down a .308 bore. Contender stayed together. I dove to SSK and told JD Jones what I did. He held the barrel up to the light, looked in the chamber and said looked at the dimples where the scope screw holes are!
Yep I dropped a 445 SM in the 309 JDJ chamber and shot a .429 bullet down a .308 bore. Contender stayed together. I dove to SSK and told JD Jones what I did. He held the barrel up to the light, looked in the chamber and said looked at the dimples where the scope screw holes are!
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Years ago I double-charged a 45ACP somehow with AA#5.
Proceeded to ka-BOOM a new HK USP Expert I'd had for about three weeks while at an indoor range nearby.
No damage to my hand but sure bruised my ego big time. HK replaced the frame for ~ $120, sent me the case bits (frame & slide got sent to them married; nothing I could do would separate them!) in a plastic bag....
Don't shoot much pistol now. Glad it's nearly impossible to double-charge bottleneck rifle cases, but you need to be mindful which powder jug you grab... just sayin'.
Proceeded to ka-BOOM a new HK USP Expert I'd had for about three weeks while at an indoor range nearby.
No damage to my hand but sure bruised my ego big time. HK replaced the frame for ~ $120, sent me the case bits (frame & slide got sent to them married; nothing I could do would separate them!) in a plastic bag....
Don't shoot much pistol now. Glad it's nearly impossible to double-charge bottleneck rifle cases, but you need to be mindful which powder jug you grab... just sayin'.
Didn't happen to me but a good friend. He was loading on a progressive press when BANG! Fired off a whole tube of primers! After checking all his moving parts for damage and changing his underwear he decided to call the press manufactour. This occurred on a Sunday. He called and the company president answers. My friend explained what happened, the president asked "What kind of shot group you get in the ceiling?"
Now that's a sense of humor!
Now that's a sense of humor!
DirtySteve
Gold $$ Contributor
I forgot to put in primers! one day I was shooting with a friend that put 231 in his 308!!! Let me tell you I thought he shot off a muzzle loader. It was a terrific boom. We gathered up all the pieces to his magazine and told him it was probably not fixable. The mag well looked like a big old bell. He did get a big gash on the forearm but otherwise he was fine.
BTDT.Obviously, there are thousands of reloaders (including me) that aren't likely going to respond. If there was a significant prize for a poor reloading decision, I'm confident I could compete.
Ben
Ben
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jepp2
Gold $$ Contributor
I have done it once with stick powder. What got me was I always look at the port before pouring. But it was such a habit, that I looked but didn't take the time to see what I looked at. So far I haven't done it again. But I always enjoy folks that do it over and over, especially on carpet.
I had been struggling with donuts on my 6.5 x 47 AR-10.
I had also just started neck turning brass on the C21 neck turning lathe. So, it had the correct angled cutter on it.
I was shooting the AR from a full magazine and just happenend to see a case ejected with the neck missing, out of the corner of my eye. The next round had fed into the chamber already, so I immediately un-chambered it and saw the seperated neck had threaded onto the second round perfectly.
Bolt was not fully in battery on the second round, so I dont see how the round could have actually fired had I pulled the trigger.
I now have a ball mic and check the wall thickness down by the shoulder junction after turning.
I had also just started neck turning brass on the C21 neck turning lathe. So, it had the correct angled cutter on it.
I was shooting the AR from a full magazine and just happenend to see a case ejected with the neck missing, out of the corner of my eye. The next round had fed into the chamber already, so I immediately un-chambered it and saw the seperated neck had threaded onto the second round perfectly.
Bolt was not fully in battery on the second round, so I dont see how the round could have actually fired had I pulled the trigger.
I now have a ball mic and check the wall thickness down by the shoulder junction after turning.
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