Your reloading mishap?

[mjrducky]

For all the new reloaders I thought learning from others mistakes might be useful.

Now of course you should follow all safety steps, such as no food, or distractions, safety glasses etc.

Anyone have anything happen that would be a good tip for others?

Examples : Loaded and forgot a primer and didnt notice till you got to the range, double charged a cartridge, had bullet it backwards LOL, and my favorite the dog took off with the powder and spread it over the yard.

So anything to share?

 

[BeeRian]

Two... Loaded a .38 a bit too light. Disposable Heart was shooting my S&W model 66 and the bullet (berry's plated) got stuck in the barrel...right at the very end of it. Had to drill it to break it down enough to pull out.

I also (Im ashamed to admit) didnt charge (powder drop) a .45 load. Hey, it was like 5am when I was loading, and I was checking powder loads on my scale...I must just have put the powder back in the hopper instead of the case. Anyway when shooting I hear "BANG, BANG, pop...?!?!" Luckily the bullet just barely pushed into the rifling of the barrel and we banged it out pretty easily.

No harm done...

 

[shooter521]

Overcharged (not quite a double - more like a charge and a half) a round of .45ACP about 10 years ago, when I was still getting used to my Dillon XL650. Blew up my Glock 30 during a carry match. Gun was flatlined, but I wasn't seriously hurt; I got my spare pistol and finished the match. The rest of the story is:

1) My brother and I were supposed to be taking a handgun class that weekend, but it was canceled (didn't find out until we got to the host range), so we stopped off at my home range on a whim and just happened to walk into the match.

2) I had to scrap more than 500 rounds of .45ACP from that batch, since I couldn't be sure if more than one round had been overcharged.

3) Glock Inc. fixed the gun and got it back to me, but I had developed such a flinch from that episode that I never did get totally comfortable shooting it again, and eventually traded out of it.

Since then, I've reloaded thousands of rounds in several calibers without incident (knocks wood), but that really made me pay closer attention to what I'm doing when I'm loading.

 

[jtmarine1911]

I did grab the wrong box of handloads one time. I was taking my AR-10 to the range and was in a hurry so I grabbed a 50rd box out of the cabinet. When I tried to chamber the first round the bolt wouldn't go in to battery. Right then I knew what I had done. I neck size for my Mod. 70, those loads won't work in my AR-10 or M1A. So now I have red and blue 50rd boxes to easily tell which is which.

Another good one was I forgot to prime a tray of 45s one day. I had 5 trays of 45 mouth up and had forgotten to prime one tray, after I realized I had forgot to prime those case I had only loaded 4, but still it sucked. Now I always turn my cases head up before I prime them and after. It also helps on inspecting primer pockets and flash holes for debris.

 

[2ridgebacks]

Always check to make sure the pin is in your Dillon primer tubes before you turn them right side up. Ask me how I know.

 

[Leadeye]

Got in too big of a hurry reloading 32ACP and squished my fingers. Ouch!

 

[VUPDblue]

I detonated an entire tray of primers in my PRO1000. The primer feed in that machine is a poor design at best and one got lodged in the shell plate carrier. Pulled the handle and BANG....BOOOOOOM! I had all my safety gear on (apron, glasses, hat, etc...) The primer system was a total loss. I replaced it, but have yet to load another round on that machine. Not because I'm scared of it, but because the design is so poor, that I find it dangerous. I keep threatening to buy a Dillon, but haven't pulled the trigger on that just yet...

 

[drgnrobo]

Had a taurus mod. 66 & blew the cylinder in half and peeled the topstrap forward like a banana.Not really sure what happened until I read an article in which the same thing happened to mike venturino & he surmised that he had undercharged the cartridge & put a heavy crimp that caused to much chamber pressure (he had the same result with colt saa 45 colt & thouroughly researched the phenomonom & came to this conclusion) Showed it to my local gunshop & they sent it back to the taurus co. and to my surprise replaced ti free of charge & had me sign a waiver stating that I wouldnt sue for personal damages(got a powder burn on face but nothing else) ,always wear shooting glasses & hearing protection kids)

 

[42769vette]

when i was young (under 10) i blew up a smith 357 due to a niebors reloads. the worst part was even though the gun blowing didn't hurt me dad gave me a whippin ill never forget. not that it was my fault the gun blew but i decided he would never know if i sneek out his gun and shoot a few. after it blew i debated on not telling him and just putting it back in the mit and mabye he wouldn't notice (i was young) the barrel half gone. but i decided to just fess up and take it now rather than later.

back then noone in my family reloaded so we didn't know what had happened. now i believe he under charged one and it got stuck. the second pushed out the first. the third just logged and the fourth was a black tallon and went boom. i guess its a real testiment to smith and wesson pistols. i think i still have pics on here somwhere ill try and find

 

[antsi]

Loaded a .38 a bit too light. Disposable Heart was shooting my S&W model 66 and the bullet (berry's plated) got stuck in the barrel...right at the very end of it. Had to drill it to break it down enough to pull out.

I did one of these. I usually aim for a "middle load" smack between min and max, but this one time I figured I would "do a favor" for my wife who is recoil sensitive by making an extra-light target load. Some favor - one of them got stuck in the barrel of her 6" 686. Fortunately she realized the bullet was stuck before pulling the trigger on another round. If her gun had blown up on one of my reloads, it would have been very bad news on the marriage front. As it is I don't think I will ever hear the end of it.

 

[Sinner Man]

I put a lee small pistol primer punch through my index finger nail on my left hand. perfect little hole. just moving too fast. got too much of a rhythm. forgot to pull out early enough.

Also I got a light charge or no charge in a subsonic 9mm once. That one went 7" down the barrel. The next one just made it into the chamber of the Colt upper. Luckily those are blowback!!!!

 

[42769vette]

when i was young (under 10) i blew up a smith 357 due to a niebors reloads. the worst part was even though the gun blowing didn't hurt me dad gave me a whippin ill never forget. not that it was my fault the gun blew but i decided he would never know if i sneek out his gun and shoot a few. after it blew i debated on not telling him and just putting it back in the mit and mabye he wouldn't notice (i was young) the barrel half gone. but i decided to just fess up and take it now rather than later.

back then noone in my family reloaded so we didn't know what had happened. now i believe he under charged one and it got stuck. the second pushed out the first. the third just logged and the fourth was a black tallon and went boom. i guess its a real testiment to smith and wesson pistols. i think i still have pics on here somwhere ill try and find

i keept the pistol as a keepsake. i couldn't find the other thread i posted these in.

 

[ARGarrison]

The only real mishap I had was when I was loading some 20 gauge shells on a LEE Load All II. Make fun all you want. It was given to me, I didn't buy it. I was only loading a box up quick one night. That little ring sizer has a line to either the top or bottom depending on how you turn it. Well I was having a time after I moved them over to the primer station getting the ring off the sized brass, even after priming which should have moved the ring up and onto the plastic part of the hull. Made a mistake putting the ring back on and found it can off much easier upside down. Load the box and next day at the range I couldn't get but have the shells to chamber. That ring had to be, I believe, line side up to size compleatly. My easier sizing shells didn't full length size the brass to spec and therefore would chamber.

 

[2cool9031]

Did the same thing

Two... Loaded a .38 a bit too light. Disposable Heart was shooting my S&W model 66 and the bullet (berry's plated) got stuck in the barrel...right at the very end of it. Had to drill it to break it down enough to pull out.

I also (Im ashamed to admit) didnt charge (powder drop) a .45 load. Hey, it was like 5am when I was loading, and I was checking powder loads on my scale...I must just have put the powder back in the hopper instead of the case. Anyway when shooting I hear "BANG, BANG, pop...?!?!" Luckily the bullet just barely pushed into the rifling of the barrel and we banged it out pretty easily.

No harm done...

My buddy and I were reloading .357's and he was in charge of putting in the powder.
We took the gun out to shoot it and everything was ok for awhile till I fired one round that didn't sound right...I cocked the gun again, and something told me to let the hammer down and check, sure enough the bullet was protruding halfway out the end of the barrel...a pair of pliers did the trick....problem....no powder charge.

 

[Farmritch]

Got set up loading & had all my test loads ( C.O.A.L. bullet seating etc. ) in a pile for disposal or tear down at a later time.
My 5 year old girl (at the time) since she loves her Daddy helped clean up and neat up the bench after I went upstairs aftwards ( daddy will be so proud ) by putting all the stray cartridges in one of those pretty MTM boxes and cleaning up. 6 months after this cleaning I went to our local club shoot Grabbed 2 boxes of 50 one box all went bang correctly but the next box was a different story, a lot of them were just primer strikes and had to dislodge the bullets on about 25+ shells from the barrel. ( yes I chose to shoot them instead of just bringing them home & pulling them Bad on me... now that I think of it ) but it bothered me so much I was focused on the issue.
I've never loaded/shot a bad round before that went into the final boxes/bags I had made and I've been reloading for 18 years.
It took me till later that afternoon to figure out what happened.
Just goes to show you relading is a one man game.
I still love my Daughter and she still wants to help but as of now the reloading bench is off limits

 

[12bee]

When I first started reloading with a Lee Pro1000 I was doing Ok with my reloads.After a few times reloading and gaining some confidence, I changed powder discs and put the powder hopper back on, but when I shot them there was some light loads and one lodged in the barrel, but some seemed fine.I ended up pulling over 200 bullets.
It took awhile to figure out I had put the hopper back on backwards and the powder disc was just passing under the hopper, instead of sitting under it and getting filled up.This caused some light loads and some just fine due to how quickly I was puling the lever.Now I always check random powder charges and the first 10 or so when I start or change anything.

 

[Beau]

Two... Loaded a .38 a bit too light. Disposable Heart was shooting my S&W model 66 and the bullet (berry's plated) got stuck in the barrel...right at the very end of it. Had to drill it to break it down enough to pull out.

I also (Im ashamed to admit) didnt charge (powder drop) a .45 load. Hey, it was like 5am when I was loading, and I was checking powder loads on my scale...I must just have put the powder back in the hopper instead of the case. Anyway when shooting I hear "BANG, BANG, pop...?!?!" Luckily the bullet just barely pushed into the rifling of the barrel and we banged it out pretty easily.

No harm done...

Same thing happened to me when I first started reloading and shooting competition. Must have dumped weighed charge back into hopper. Was shooting a steel match and all of a sudden my trigger wouldn't pull. Noticed the slide was just barely out of battery. Racked slide two more times trying to fire each time. Stepped off the line. Took gun apart. Found squib just inside the barrel. Just a lil further in and I would have had a very bad day.

Be very careful when your just starting to reload.

Don't load with distractions.

 

[m_deaner]

One time my son was shooting my reloads and he had a squib. So he just racked the slide and fired another round. That was the end of my glock barrel...

 

[Marc]

use case lube!!!!

 

[briand212]

I had been relaoding for a few months when one day i decided to give my bench and equipment a good cleaning. picked everything up .. so I thought .. pull out the shop vac and started vacuming off the bench and the shop Vac went BANG.. the bang was a primer exploding .. I didnt realize it at first but after looking around I realized I had ran the vaccum over a open box of primers and it had sucked all of them up ... luckly no real damage ..
remember KEEP YOU AREA CLEAN !!