Bonehead move

[Winger Ed.]

infection that was extremely evident even with no cuts or entry.

As a kid, when I did something like that, for lack of a better explanation,
my Mom would tell me I had made it angry.

[15meter]

I've got a bottle with about a half pound of 700X in it.

Problem is the bottle weighs about 4 pounds from the #9 shot I poured into the wrong side on the MEC.

Wouldn't be bad, but this ain't my first trip down this road.

And I don't remember how I separated powder from the shot the last time.

[j4570]

Would a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die in 357 Mag fix these rounds? It has a carbide ring to size the case for consistency.

If it’s only a few rounds, I agree use pliers and pull them.

[NEKVT]

Been reloading for 47 years and have never mixed up powder until a couple months ago when I broke the rule for one powder only on the bench and emptied the remaining Unique from a powder measure into a bottle of 2400. The 2400 bottle was a third full so ended up with about a 4 to 1 ratio of 2400 to Unique. Both are too fine grained to sift one out so have been using it up in low level plinking loads. I have another bottle of straight 2400 for any serious loading. The bonehead bottle is marked 2400 + Unique. Let this post serve as a friendly reminder!

[Winger Ed.]

4 pounds from the #9 shot I poured into the wrong side on the MEC.

:

A wire screen tea strainer might do it.
I had some mixed loose shot one time and made a sifter by drilling holes in the bottom of a green bean can
to let the smaller ones out, and hold the larger size.

Or maybe roll it all around in a shallow pan like a gold miner, and scrape the shot off the top.

[lightman]

I've forgotten to close the drain hole on my ChargeMaster and dumped powder in the hopper! Once!!!

I was changing dies on my 450 sizer and had the handle fall with my thumb under it. The top punch punched a neat 30 caliber hole in my thumbnail!

[Gibbs44]

I've forgotten to close the drain hole on my ChargeMaster and dumped powder in the hopper! Once!!!

I was changing dies on my 450 sizer and had the handle fall with my thumb under it. The top punch punched a neat 30 caliber hole in my thumbnail!

That sounds like it hurt.

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[kevin c]

Forgot to clamp the powder hopper to the tool head of my progressive after I emptied it. The next pull of the handle dropped the whole pound of powder I had refilled it with all over the bench and floor.

That’s second only to forgetting that the primer feed tube doesn’t have anything to hold in the primers once pulled out of the mechanism. Amazingly, I found all 100 primers (please don’t ask how long it took).

[georgerkahn]

For lack of a better place to post, what was the most bonehead thing you've done to date/recently while reloading.

I'll start, I've not reloaded in a very long time, of coursei remember the safety stuff. I was prepping cases for the .44 mag and the .357 mag, which means I was depriming the cases with a low universal depriming die. Afterwards I resized the 44s and reloaded them and put the 357 away for another day. Well I pulled them out and went ahead and primed them and expanded the case mouths, filled them with powder and started setting bullets. I do this in two stages, I know it takes longer, but it's just what I do. Anyway, I started crimping them and noticed that some were loose even after crimping. I guess I was about 15 deep and something just still wasn't right. So I pulled the Blackhawk out and tried to chamber one if the finished rounds, yeah it didn't fit. Then I tried a different one and different chambers. Yup none fit. I forgot to go back and resize them.

So anyone have a preferred bullet puller?

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I have the RCBS Collet pullers; a couple of Quinetic hammer-type; and a couple of the plier-type which grip the bullet in press as you raise the handle to remove bullet.
One note is with most military commercial loads, I generally "seat" the factory-loaded bullet a smidgeon deeper (technical term) to break the "varnish" seal. With all else, I generally put the cartridges in a Quinetic type puller, with the cavity filled with a piece of soft foam rubber. I then give three counted good raps to concrete basement floor. The foam prevents the bullet from leaving the case. I HATE it when the bullet PLUS the powder are dumped! As a btw, too, I use the respective shell holder to hold the case as opposed to the supplied "universal" rubber-banded thingamajig which came with the tool. I then -- dependent upon case (and collets I have at hand) -- I either use a collet puller or brass pliers to hold bullet in press as I lower case.
This may sound like a lot of work -- but -- as stated I don't care for the powder+bullet mess. And, I do not care for now-deformed/scratched/dented bullets using other methods. I get 99% reusable bullets and no mess.
What I do,
geo

[Walter Laich]

I was loading 10 extra rounds before rifle season and priming on the press due to the low count.
Attachment 295268
Took it to the garage and popped it out with a small punch at the vice. Definitely a bonehead move.

for backward primers I just run them through the depriming die again--just very SLOWLY and save both brass and primer

[Jaaymar]

For lack of a better place to post, what was the most bonehead thing you've done to date/recently while reloading.

I'll start, I've not reloaded in a very long time, of coursei remember the safety stuff. I was prepping cases for the .44 mag and the .357 mag, which means I was depriming the cases with a low universal depriming die. Afterwards I resized the 44s and reloaded them and put the 357 away for another day. Well I pulled them out and went ahead and primed them and expanded the case mouths, filled them with powder and started setting bullets. I do this in two stages, I know it takes longer, but it's just what I do. Anyway, I started crimping them and noticed that some were loose even after crimping. I guess I was about 15 deep and something just still wasn't right. So I pulled the Blackhawk out and tried to chamber one if the finished rounds, yeah it didn't fit. Then I tried a different one and different chambers. Yup none fit. I forgot to go back and resize them.

So anyone have a preferred bullet puller?

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I have always wondered if a lee factory crimp die (with the carbide ring) could resize a case, it could be used rather than taking the decapping pin out of the sizing die.
You could try running the unsized loaded cases through and see if they chamber.
Then see if the shoot worth a darn with the possibly inconsistent “sizing”.
I don’t see any danger as the die is meant to be run over loaded ammo.

I have done this as well however the case was expanded enough that the issue was unmistakable. I didn’t get to crimping.

I have used the inertia (Lyman) and collet puller (forester universal). Both work well but the collet die is tricky to set up. If you only have a couple to pull just get an inertia puller.

[gunluvver]

I grabbed some corn cob bedding from the feed store to put in my vibratory polisher. Tossed a hundred .223 brass in to pretty them up. All I did was pack those shells solid with corncob. It doesn't blow out. Spent a few hours digging them out as a lesson to myself. Corncob is only for straight cases.

[Gibbs44]

I grabbed some corn cob bedding from the feed store to put in my vibratory polisher. Tossed a hundred .223 brass in to pretty them up. All I did was pack those shells solid with corncob. It doesn't blow out. Spent a few hours digging them out as a lesson to myself. Corncob is only for straight cases.

Hmm, that's a good bit of info, I've not run up with that yet, but hopefully I'll remember that when I go to run some brass through the tumbler. I'm pretty sure I've got a big bag of corn cob somewhere in the shop.

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[Cosmic_Charlie]

I recently spoiled the last of my 2400 by accidentally pouring some HS 6 into it from my powder measure. Never did that before.

[Baltimoreed]

Started cranking out .45 cowboy special loads the other day only to realize that my Dillon powder hopper was the 5.2 gr Clays that I use for my .45colt rifle loads not the 3.5 gr Bullseye that I’m using in the smaller cowboy special brass for my revolvers. While they are too short to cycle from the magazine they shot fine out of my Marlin’94. Seemed to hit low though. Only had about 20. I’ve labeled the measures better. I have clever quick release gizmos on my measures that allow me to move them around.

[beagle]

Had a batch of .22 Hornet all sized and ready to load several weeks back. Had several boxes of bullets laid out to load for several calibers. Grabbed a box of 225438HPs (i thought), set the scales up and dropped a charge of powder. Place it in the case and took a bullet, set it on top of the case and eased it into the seating die. Bullet didn't start. Pulled it back out. Must have missed expanding neck on that one. Got another case. It was expanded by look. Repeated process. This time i crumbled the case. Time to re-expand. I set up expander and decided I'd try starting to see if the expansion was enough. Used my old "try" bullet out of the die box. Worked perfect. Pulled another bullet out of the box I was trying to load. Wouldn't start. Bullet looked right. By this time. I was getting pretty frustrated. Sat back and fired up my pipe and thought about it. Looked at the box I was loading out of. Labeled 257463HP! Then it hit me. I looked at the other box and it was labeled 225438HP. The bullets look exactly the same except for the diameter. The next project was some .25/20s. Got the right bullet and all went well from then on.
Lesson learned. When things go wrong, stop, light your pipe and look for the reason. Would probably never happen again in 100 years but I just happened to be loading the Hornet followed by the .25-20 that day. Never happen again as I no longer have the .25-20 mould but it sure threw me for a look that day./beagle

[AnthonyB]

I am about to learn how Unique and H1110 work together as a very low level plinking powder in 44 Special/Mag. New mistake for me there - first ever powder can open violation.