Reloading BOO BOOs and incidents

[urcayuse]

hi cat, I'm pretty new to re-loading,I've come up with a load i think works good in my rifle 46gn vrgt 165gn hdy sst case trim 2.005 coal 2.827 AV 2806 fps.....yell if any of this screams stupid....using nosler brass, probably on third firing,they extract fine no signs of over pressure that i can tell, but on my last batch the bolt was a little stiff to close could it be i've used too much lube and pushed in the shoulder? how do you tell? is it obvious? if i put one in the chamber then take it out even with out firing you can see marks on the case head wich i suspect may be from the extracter pin. any info or feed back would be very much appreciated

[urcayuse]

oh yeah its a 308 by the way and would be happy if anyone would reply

[chain2]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

oh yeah its a 308 by the way and would be happy if anyone would reply

Have you trimmed your brass the 3 previous firings?
Maybe start a new thread on this and get a few other regulars to respond.
GL chain

[urcayuse]

i did trim after 2nd firing to 2.005 not sure how to start new thread

[urcayuse]

i did notice that when the brass was new it was 1.9 some thing so maybe it is getting too long

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

hi cat, I'm pretty new to re-loading,I've come up with a load i think works good in my rifle 46gn vrgt 165gn hdy sst case trim 2.005 coal 2.827 AV 2806 fps.....yell if any of this screams stupid....using nosler brass, probably on third firing,they extract fine no signs of over pressure that i can tell, but on my last batch the bolt was a little stiff to close could it be i've used too much lube and pushed in the shoulder? how do you tell? is it obvious? if i put one in the chamber then take it out even with out firing you can see marks on the case head wich i suspect may be from the extracter pin. any info or feed back would be very much appreciated

Are you full length sizing? Could need to set your die up a bit differently. Extracor marks on the case head are an indicator of pressure.

LC

[chain2]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

i did trim after 2nd firing to 2.005 not sure how to start new thread

JUst Click "new thread"... some people possibly wont check this sticky that can help you. Try to post a close pic of the case head damage also type of action/gun.
Could be flow back from previous load which is why its a tough closer. HTH chain

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

hi cat, I'm pretty new to re-loading,I've come up with a load i think works good in my rifle 46gn vrgt 165gn hdy sst case trim 2.005 coal 2.827 AV 2806 fps.....yell if any of this screams stupid....using nosler brass, probably on third firing,they extract fine no signs of over pressure that i can tell, but on my last batch the bolt was a little stiff to close could it be i've used too much lube and pushed in the shoulder? how do you tell? is it obvious? if i put one in the chamber then take it out even with out firing you can see marks on the case head wich i suspect may be from the extracter pin. any info or feed back would be very much appreciated

46 grains is on the upper end 9in most manuals, especially with eh 165 grain bullets.
I would check your cases with your Venrier calipers, becuase you stated that the first few were okay , now you are getting a sticky bolt lift.
Check the base dimensions , the over all length, and you may also need to full length size them if you are neck sizing only, pretty much what everyone else has already suggested!


Cat

[urcayuse]

thanks i'll check it out.

[220 Swift]

backwards primer in the case.
it was scary but i did pop it back out with the press. there was a little circle where the firing pin should hit.



i always used to worry about the no powder in the case. did the shake the powder thing as mentioned above.

I now have 2 presses. one at each side of the bench with the scale in between. So i do my prep work, inspect debur, lube etc all together, be it 20 or 40 or whatever. they all go from the nothing done lineup to the other one where they are done, waiting to be resized.

Once the shell has been resized, and primed (with the 1st press), i check the primers location, it is then filled with powder, and over to the other press and a bullet is slammed in it. THis way if the phone rings, kid comes by or whatever, i know where i am, when i come back.

i then compare to my "go to gauge dummy round without a primer" and check the OL

[6tmile]

Originally Posted by Pudelpointer

Perfect example of why reloading components should NOT be out on the floor in your local big-box store. Do you really think this happened at the Nosler factory?

The box was sealed from nosler. It came from them that way

[Rocky7]

7mm Mag brass looks like a .264 Win Mag round when you seat a .264 bullet in it and don't read the stamp on each brass. Don't ask me how I know.

Luckily, I don't know how a .264 Win Mag round looks with a 7mm bullet seated in it but - I think - it might be noticeably harder to seat and a bell would ding.

Be very careful keeping your brass separate and watch out for little gremlins.

[catnthehat]

I seem to recall an incident quite a while ago where a 25/284 was fired in a 6/284 by mistake.
There was no damage done to the shooter or the rifle , but man, that would have been an eye opener , for sure!

I am very leery of wildcats that are very close in dimension for this very reason!!
Cat

[1100winger]

mine was loading for a savage 340 in 30-30; had worked up a nice load for a 150 gr BT. Grabbed 180's off the shelf - one shot one stuck bolt. Pulled the remainder loaded cartridges. Severe muzzle flash - even in the daylight!
But on the idea of wrong shell in the wrong rifle; for the belted mags most fit all the chambers - 7mm into a 300 wm for instance. 264 wm into the 300 wm - watched this once on the range. The shooter noticed immediately! ODD sound - nothing on paper.
I think most manuals deal with safety - and its the chapter most of us fail to read - me too.

[Loki610]

One of my first times reloading I was loading some varmint loads for my .270win using Varget and v-max when I made the mistake of having 2 powders on the bench at the same time! I switched to loading some Noslers and grabbed the Varget instead of the H414. Luckily I caught it just after seating the first bullet because I was over maximum load by a couple grains.

Also had a few primers seated sideways on their edge when using my Dillon Square Deal press with .38 special loads. Never tried to pull those I just soaked in oil and threw away.

And 1 squib load from the Dillon press that jammed in the forcing cone of my revolver.

[Loki610]

Another one.

I was trying to make a light plinking for the .38 special using a .36cal ball mold the balls dropped at a perfect for my bore .359! However when loading I crimped too hard right in the center of the ball reducing it below bore size. The result is every shot is a pop and hiss as the ball hangs up just after the forcing cone!
The fix is seating the ball a little deeper so it remains full size.

[fletcher]

i tried to chamber a 270 shell in my 30 06. thinking my neck sized 30 06 was a bit long at the shoulder i gave the bolt a push with the heel of my hand to close it and jambed the shell in there big time i beat the bolt back with a piece of wood the remington extractor came off the rim undamaged and left the shell stuck in my gun. since i also own a 308 this got me to thinking about mix and match combos that wouldnt work out so well

[Masterchief]

Another one for a load with no powder... I loaded 150 rounds and thought it would be interesting to check for any variances in weights of loaded ammo... wellllll I found 2 with no powder. So from that point forward I reweigh them all after I load them to make sure they have powder. BTW... good thread

[Pault_bear]

When I was shooting competition pistol I would load 4 to 5 thousand rounds in a season. All 38special, for that quantity I used a Dillon press and had my share of backwards primers and backwards bullets. Primers were easy to spot and with 148gr wadcutters backwards didn't seem to make much difference. Never had a problem with double charges, but I did shoot on a line with one fellow who managed to TRIPLE charge the regular 3gr of W231. The first time he scared the hell out of everyone on the line.

And he did it more than once... thus getting the nickname 9grain Joe - for some reason no one was interested in his guns when he decided to stop shooting

Less scary was the no charge round... since almost everyone used revolvers, a no powder charge would usually bridge the cylinder and forcing cone.. preventing the gun from cocking for another shot, that was common enough that one enterprising machinist made pocket money by selling caliber sized brass bullet pushers to force the bullet out of the barrel and back into the cylinder to allow it to be removed.

One of the stranger incidents stemmed from trying to conserve money, I found out that one of the local construction company used 38 cal ramset cartridges, these were identical in size to 38special brass and during one of the Oil Booms, I could get 5 gallon pails of these from the cleanup crews on site. I never did find out what the charge in these were from the factory.. but whatever it was it caused the brass to be so brittle that the cases would split after 2 or 3 loadings, and while a split case was not serious at the load levels used in competition, it was annoying since a regular case could be loaded anywhere from 15 to 20 times. So I learned to leave the ramset brass alone.

At any rate, even when making lots of rounds, being careful when reloading is a habit that pays off.

I have to admit the experience was fun and far more enjoyable than working with High hazard fireworks, which could do serious damage with a misfire.


Paying attention is always a great idea, no matter what you do.

[wolf308]

while away from the house at work the ole lady decided to clean up my reloading room. i came back and i usually leave the can of pwder hats in my electrnic dispenser and trickle charger beside it. voila its been moved and i had to think real hard and compare what was in there last.

told her the reloading room is off limits.LOL.had no problems,but i know the two types of powder it could have been were also very similiar.

[chain2]

Originally Posted by wolf308

while away from the house at work the ole lady decided to clean up my reloading room. i came back and i usually leave the can of pwder hats in my electrnic dispenser and trickle charger beside it. voila its been moved and i had to think real hard and compare what was in there last.

told her the reloading room is off limits.LOL.had no problems,but i know the two types of powder it could have been were also very similiar.

Its really true...off limits is a good way to put it. Kids naturally monkey around with interesting looking pieces like scales , bullets ect. So too is bench clutter and hold all calls or distractions. Its serious fun...chain

[Cowtown guy]

Originally Posted by Pault_bear

At any rate, even when making lots of rounds, being careful when reloading is a habit that pays off.

Paying attention is always a great idea, no matter what you do.

Best part of this thread that a newbie could read. The things I have heard on the guncounter with some reloaders is truly terrifying!

Patience is a virtue. Take your time and do it right. Don't try to reload a box of bullets at midnight before a hunting trip.

By the way that was the only time I have made a major boo boo. Worked late and couldn't find my ammo for the trip in the morning. Sat down and started to reload just after midnight. Well I made a bloody mess. I remembered to check the charges before I seated the bullets. I found 4 that were empty. I reached for the powder again and knocked my data page off the tack board. Luckily I noticed when I tacked it back up that I looked at the wrong load. I was loading for a 168 grain bullet with the data for a 140 grain bullet.

Had to start over. Could have been a real eyeopener.

[Comstar]

I do not reload but I was at my uncles house getting him to load some .308 bullets. It was all going good but when he put the bullet into the casing with powder in it the middle of the case between the neck and the rim started to buldge out. My uncle who has reloaded his whole life and collects many different calibers ect had never seen this.

He is a little crazy when it comes to guns so I can see him starting off with one of the highest loads or something like that.

Has anyone else had this happen?

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by wolf308

while away from the house at work the ole lady decided to clean up my reloading room. i came back and i usually leave the can of pwder hats in my electrnic dispenser and trickle charger beside it. voila its been moved and i had to think real hard and compare what was in there last.

told her the reloading room is off limits.LOL.had no problems,but i know the two types of powder it could have been were also very similiar.

That's an easy fix. I usually have 2 dispensers plus my Chargemaster on the go. So I cut a little piece of paper about stamp size and write the powder name on it and drop it into the powder tube.

Wanna hear a stupid one I did not that long ago? Why not, since this is all about helpin each other, I didn't get hurt but my ego sure took a beating. I was annealing brass when I realized that I had annealed one with a live primer. It didn't go off, but I surely wouldn't want to try that again. Sort your brass before annealing.

[H380]

Over using brass... went bear hunting with my 270 and after shooting a good blackie [ hit him just a little back ] he runs for the trees . I go to chamber another round and all that comes out of my gun is the back half of the brass !! Now I have a wounded bear and a club with a scope on it .. Luckily got a small piece of barb wire , bend a hook in it and pop out the rest of brass . Waited an hour and went and found ny bear . Luckily already expired but I was still spooked . I don't over use brass and inspect it real close now ..

[bat119]

I started loading in the 70’s I bought a PO Ackley’s book at a church rummage sale, read up on how it was done “I can do that! cheap shooting for my .270”. At that time I never knew anybody that loaded, there was no internet so I was on my own. I bought a LEE loader kit from SIR mail order 1LB of 4831 and some primers. I’m all set, I followed the instructions “hammered” together 20 rounds went to the range. All my shots were a foot low at 100 yards; a fellow at the range told me using a Lee loader scoop with 4831 isn’t very accurate I really should be using a scale. I bought a scale; this is really when the problems started. If anyone has ever read the PO Ackley manual the max loads in the book are extreme max loads like 62 grains of 4831 for a .270 Win. 130 gr. Bullets, Ackley must have had a 24” long drop funnel! I was 16 at the time faster is always better I hammered together a “near” max load went to range I pulled the trigger I saw smoke, fire felt a warm rush, the bolt wouldn’t open I really didn’t know what happened. Again one of the other people at the range helped me by showing me how to open the bolt with a hammer, the primer pocket was now part of the casing looked like it fused together, the case head was cracked and the over pressure was directed into the magazine, I was very lucky I didn’t injure myself or anybody else. After that I met a few bench rest shooters at the club that mentored me through the correct process. I bought all the correct equipment and started loading safely. I would recommend if you start loading to find some help and instruction before you start.

[Backwoods Runner]

GREAT THREAD!! Had a very similiar experience to Rocky 7's I would like to share.

While out hunting Coyotes last winter with a 22-250 Tikka. I called one in and proceeded to take a shot, but he disappeared. I unloaded the gun and another Coyote came in, In the heat of the moment I jack another shell in and coyote disappears over the hill. I think CRAP! I proceed to unload my gun and notice gunpowder all over the inside chamber. Looking down the barrel it's dark, so I proceeded back to the truck to get the cleaning rod and punch out a 50gr V Max. Upon investigation I was using new brass and seating bullets to the lands of rifleing. The bullets were not tight enough in the neck of the new brass therefore when seated to the lands the lands held the bullet when the case was ejected.

On that note I began resizing all new brass and crimping all loads. It could have been a major and this incident still gives me shivers to think of what could have been.

[Gonehuntin']

Originally Posted by Pudelpointer

Well now, that is very interesting. Had a bunch of 140gr 6.5x55 loaded with 37.0gr of 4320 (powder lot was old, but properly stored and in good condition) that were insanely hot!!

I was reloading 140 Nosler custom competition bullets (loaded over RL22) and they were tumbling out of an old '96 Mauser. I had a bunch of the 4320 loads my uncle had loaded years before, so thought I would run a couple through the rifle to make sure it was the bullets. I fired four rounds with the 4th sticking the bolt. In theory the load should have been pretty mellow, likely around 2350 fps; but the recoil was unreal. I run 130s out of a similar weight 270 at 3050 fps, and the recoil from the 6.5 was noticeably worse.

In conversation with my uncle, he stated he had only ever shot one deer with the load, and the results were horrific. "Bloodshot from ear to a-hole" was his words.

I pulled all the bullets and weighed all the charges, all 37.0 gr. In hindsight, I wish I had kept one round to run through the chronograph, but frankly I would be too nervous to pull the trigger again.

I reloaded the same bullets in the same cases with 4831 and they performed reliably.

We have scratched our head about this for a while now, and your post may provide an answer. Do you still have the lot numbers? Do you remember what year it was?

I had a drilled and tapped, semi customized mauser 96 6.5x55 blow up with 140 gr. X bullet and H4350 reloads......I had a seating issue the batch before and while working up loads with X's, stuck the bolt shut. C.O.A.L. issue I thought as the loads were well within the book data.So fast forward a year and I am working at it again, I used a load 1 gr under minimum with H4350, trying to be cautious.My reloading mentor was literally watching me load these and double checking my work as these rounds were loaded.I loaded three rounds.

I go to the shootin' spot, set up and fire a couple of 120 gr. ballistic tips, no problem, on paper.Fire the first of my three rounds, fires extracts, on paper, no problem.Adjust scope a bit, load the second.

Aim, squeeze.........BOOOOOM! Rifle comes apart, fortunate that it was as strong as it was.Bolt bent, head of case blown off, part of receiver gone, broken along holestapped for bases.20 feet away was the furthest out piece.Floor plate blown out at my feet. Bolt bent in receiver, saving it from going through my face.I got lucky, just a brown stain in my underoos, a ringing in my ears, and some brass bits in my face.One of the action screws was sheared, the casing was annealed in the chamber. The bullet hit dead center on the target, incidentally.



So the remaining round weighed in as it should.The moral of the story...
1. Be careful always, because that was close.
2. No going under min or over max in published data.Not even 1 grain either way.

I think it well may have been stress cracks from sticking the bolt shut the year before that got progressively worse over the 4 or so rounds between that moment and the detonation.




Or it could have been the phenomenon that has been rarely reported from just this type of situaton.Underloading slow powder has been said to cause detonation (rarely), but it is not an unheard of thing, just no solid empirical/ repeatable data on it that I know of.

[Hillbillywild]

hello folks im new to the this fourum and this topic caught my eye so thought i should share this one for the newbies (or anyone with unresolved pressure issues!!)

i have only been reloading for a little over 2 years and in the first year i had to replace the stock on my 7mm rem mag ! I read the instructions for my new reloading kit quite thoughrly but missed one thing. I jumped straight to the charge whieght without zeroing my scale and i was using max loads because i have reloaded with buddies for this same rifle same load but i was ued to there electric powder mesure and i had to use old school blance scale do to finacial constraints (aka the wife) the consistant over loads eventually split my stock behind the reciever !!! I caught it as a crack so there was no catastaufic failure i now have a coil book with a list of learned to do's i follow everytime i reload .Some simple stuff that seems trivial so one tends to forget like the book missreads some of u mention i put a piece of paper with calibre,bullet wieht, and powder charge on page i am using so if i close the book for more space i simply have to go to bookmark flip open everything is there and i can cross check max loads etc. to the book ata glance !!

[bigshell]

I was going to my first compitition a local club match with a new rifle to boot.I wanted fresh ammo LOL.Got up at 5;00am set up my press and reloaded my ammo.Drank my coffee and ate headed out the door.During my first go on the third round the gun went click,thought it was a hang fire waited the 20 seconds ejected and chambered a fresh round again click WTH!!! Upon looking at the cases to see if my new rifle had a buggerd firing pin I realized I had loaded these two cases with out primers!!! Nuthin was damaged other than my pride.The result of this mistake has made me double check every step in the process which is a good thing