Reloading "newbie" lessons learned tonight

Cardiac Nurse · #1 05-18-09, 21:57

1. primers are live
2. a mis-seated primer is still live and has to be removed (yikes)
3. practice makes perfect but this stuff is too expensive to waste by making mistakes very often...
4. I am still learning

Thomas M-4 · #2 05-18-09, 22:09

Go slow take your time try not to get distracted.
Have you read any books on reloading?

Cardiac Nurse · #3 05-18-09, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas M-4

Go slow take your time try not to get distracted.
Have you read any books on reloading?

Have been supporting my husband's habit for years with equipment and supplies etc. Realized recently that if I am going to be going through 50 rounds at a pop I need to be doing some reloading too. He has been re-loading for over 10 years..I just haven't been going through as much ammo until now. I have had a lot exposure to re-loading but tonight was the first time I was re-loading my own with supervision (it'll be awhile before I can be supervision free and be comfortable)

Thanks for the "take it slow" comment. It is easy to want to match his speed at re-loading but dangerous for me.

iabowhunter · #4 05-18-09, 22:24

I'll agree with Thomas....Take you time. Relax and enjoy it.

mm2-3385 · #5 05-19-09, 19:16

You can use my press anytime.

Molon · #6 05-19-09, 21:06

Another way-cool Wife Unit! (and I say that with the utmost respect) My wife has contributed numerous Christmas and birthday gifts to my reloading endeavors.

Safety First should be the motto of every reloader. Don't ever hesitate to ask a question. If you should ever feel too embarrassed to ask your husband a question about reloading, feel absolutely free to ask here without worrying that you will be told it was a stupid question.

Lack of knowledge, inattention to detail and complacency with safety precautions are the most common causes of reloading accidents. Don’t even worry about the price of components when safety is on the line. It’s far cheaper to pull-down questionable rounds, than to risk firing them and damage a firearm or yourself. (You do have a bullet-puller, right?)

Cardiac Nurse · #7 05-19-09, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molon

Another way-cool Wife Unit! (and I say that with the utmost respect) My wife has contributed numerous Christmas and birthday gifts to my reloading endeavors.

Safety First should be the motto of every reloader. Don't ever hesitate to ask a question. If you should ever feel too embarrassed to ask your husband a question about reloading, feel absolutely free to ask here without worrying that you will be told it was a stupid question.

Lack of knowledge, inattention to detail and complacency with safety precautions are the most common causes of reloading accidents. Don’t even worry about the price of components when safety is on the line. It’s far cheaper to pull-down questionable rounds, than to risk firing them and damage a firearm or yourself. (You do have a bullet-puller, right?)

bullet puller is on order already due to some questionably stored ammo (reloaded by someone else) I was shooting a couple weeks ago....thanks for the encouragement

m4fun · #8 05-19-09, 23:56

Primers are definately surprising. I was using a dental instrument once to clear a crushed/mal-fed primer from a press and I just poked it right - BANG.

Safety glasses rock! Felt the blast on my face, all around my glasses.

After that experience, even took my cleanup/repair game a notch.

markm · #9 05-20-09, 09:42

Interesting...

I've never had a primer ignite when I didn't want it to. And as a Dillon owner, I've smashed and had to punch a butt load of primers over the years.

My suggestion is to get a visual check of the powder charge in each and every case before you put a bullet on top of it. I do this myself.

Quality over speed... always.

Zhurdan · #10 05-20-09, 10:46

Safety glasses aren't just for shooting anymore! hehehe I wear my safety glasses while reloading. Luckily, I've never had a primer go off (knocks on wood).

I'd suggest buying a $30 "Lock-out" die. It basically stops your press (assuming you have a progressive press) by doing a powder level check for you in one of the stations. That's saved me a couple of times when the powder throw didn't throw a load. No need to have a squib during a rapid fire session.

Cardiac Nurse · #11 05-20-09, 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4fun

Primers are definately surprising. I was using a dental instrument once to clear a crushed/mal-fed primer from a press and I just poked it right - BANG.

Safety glasses rock! Felt the blast on my face, all around my glasses.

After that experience, even took my cleanup/repair game a notch.

I see the two replies after yours and am wondering...what you are saying is a live but damaged primer was stuck in your press? Right?

I had two mal-fed primers in two separate casings and had to de-prime the empty casings and re-prime (before loading powder and bullet). The two damaged primers were then disposed of in a very loud manner. (the de-priming of the live but damaged primers was accomplished by my husband with me as observer)

markm · #12 05-20-09, 11:48

I just throw mashed primers in the trash.

chadbag · #13 05-21-09, 02:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

I just throw mashed primers in the trash.

me to

after carefully pushing them out in the decapping station -- never had one go off btw

m4fun · #14 05-21-09, 03:33

The whole story is this was done on a Dillon 1050 - loading 5.56 en mass.

I NEVER re-use mashed primers. They just get that way. Sometimes they dont leave the primer bar and you have several loaded rounds, minus primers depending depending how tight your QA process is.

Standard mashed primer approx 300 rounds down - very fast on a 1050. Didnt drop to the rear so the nasty process of just bogging things down and your are out of he "reloading zone."

Primer was upside down - normally a have to do some voodoo with the primer bar to get it exposed(remove the plastic cover thingy w/allen wrench) and just evacuate the problem. This is exasperated as its crushed so start working a little more with my dental pick. Sucker is flipped upside down/contorted, etc. start trying to flick out/jam the pick in - this went bang on the second or thing time.

That got the primer out

Honestly scared me pretty good. Had to look in the mirror to make sure face was cool. As I mentioned, the blast was felt all around, but not within my glasses.

Cardiac Nurse · #15 05-21-09, 08:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4fun

The whole story is this was done on a Dillon 1050 - loading 5.56 en mass.

I NEVER re-use mashed primers. They just get that way. Sometimes they dont leave the primer bar and you have several loaded rounds, minus primers depending depending how tight your QA process is.

Standard mashed primer approx 300 rounds down - very fast on a 1050. Didnt drop to the rear so the nasty process of just bogging things down and your are out of he "reloading zone."

Primer was upside down - normally a have to do some voodoo with the primer bar to get it exposed(remove the plastic cover thingy w/allen wrench) and just evacuate the problem. This is exasperated as its crushed so start working a little more with my dental pick. Sucker is flipped upside down/contorted, etc. start trying to flick out/jam the pick in - this went bang on the second or thing time.

That got the primer out

Honestly scared me pretty good. Had to look in the mirror to make sure face was cool. As I mentioned, the blast was felt all around, but not within my glasses.

having felt the concussion wave from 750 primers going off at once 15 yards from where I was I can sympathize... and I was inside a building...can't imagine having a primer go off that close to my face...another lesson learned- primers are meant to explode and they do explode sometimes when you least expect it....do you wear any particular kind of safety glasses?

m4fun · #16 05-21-09, 09:15

Just clear lense shooting glasses - this was a blast. Not geeky enough for hearing protection unless I am trimming a bunch - cant honestly say the sound was that bad, but hearing isnt what it used to be.

750! Wow - thats pretty much an explosive. Dont want to think of that, plus, I would be crying at what is now a pretty tight commodity.

mm2-3385 · #17 05-21-09, 17:32

Quote:

having felt the concussion wave from 750 primers going off at once 15 yards from where I was I can sympathize...

I feel I should clarify some. This was in 2002 or so and primers were a little more available. A friend of mine gave me some reloading stuff in a cardboard box. In the bottom were about 700 or so primers rolling around. There was no way to know what they were so I was not about to load them in anything that I was going to shoot. My next idea was not well thought out. I put two of the mystery primers in a burn barrel and after a few seconds "pop" "pop", three primers "pop" "pop" "pop", and so on. So here I am with a box of loose primers and I just throw the rest in the barrel and expect to hear what should sound like a string of firecrackers. Wrong. BOOM! They all detonated at once, sending burning embers all over my back yard, and scaring Cardiac Nurse to death.

Zhurdan · #18 05-21-09, 18:13

Well, as Frank used to say... "Thanksgiving good, Fire bad"

(you're old if you get that reference)

I've punched out primers that get all cock-eyed in the primer pocket using the decapper, but I remove the powder throw (way over there!!!!!) and punch it S L O W L Y ! I wear gloves when doing it though, it just kinda scares me.

kalikraven · #19 05-21-09, 19:06

A quick shot of WD40 or some other type of penetrating oil should render a primer inert.

daveaz53 · #20 05-21-09, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalikraven

A quick shot of WD40 or some other type of penetrating oil should render a primer inert.

+1 on that. One case isn't worth it. I shoot some WD40 on the primer guts and toss it out still in the case.