Herlaaifoute/ Reloading mistakes

[Ds J]

Noem asb die herlaaifoute wat so maklik insluip?! Veral die klein, onbekende glipsies wat regtig skade kan maak.

Please name those reloading mistakes that sneak in, especially those small unknown ones that can cause serious trouble?

[Mohamed]

Not checking all cases - berdan = bent decapping pin.

[Tripodmvr]

1. Ensuring case lengths are within spec.
2. Checking for donuts (243, 270 and others)
3. For hunting ammo ensure that you COL is such that it fits the magazine and enters the chamber without obstruction.
4. Keep ammunition out of direct sunlight - I carry my hunting ammo in a shirt pocket (the extras that dont fit in the mag)
5. Don't leave propellant in the hopper when reloading. In dry climate moisture is lost and the density lowers. If you now load per weight as is normal, the charge will be more volatile and either you lose accuracy or you can get a spike in pressure that could be dangerous.
6. Use one make of cases for rifle reloading as case volumes can differ between makes.
7. Make sure the primers are seated below the level of the base of the case.
8. The only safe load is a starting load.
9. Consult different manuals, the internet and seasoned reloaders to ensure safe charges.
10. Pressure is a fickle thing. Rather err on the pessimistic side. Gaining 100fps , but shooting at max pressure may just wreck you cases.
11. Excessive barrel wear is directly related to too high pressures.
12. Inaccuracy is solved by elimination and can be an expensive exercise. Ensure that screws and bolts are torqued to specification and this solves many of those problems.

[Treeman]

Checking head stamps every time, nothing like having some PMP cases loaded to safe hot load , accurate except that one flyer every now and again.
?
Only to find out much later that there are 2 PMC cases in batch.

[janfred]

Emptying the powder hopper of S341 into a tin of S335.

Lesson learnt. Only one type of powder out of storage at any one time.

[Tripodmvr]

Emptying the powder hopper of S341 into a tin of S335.

Lesson learnt. Only one type of powder out of storage at any one time.

Did that once with ball into extruded. Used sieve to separate the two. Worked well.

[janfred]

Emptying the powder hopper of S341 into a tin of S335.

Lesson learnt. Only one type of powder out of storage at any one time.

Did that once with ball into extruded. Used sieve to separate the two. Worked well.

Imagine if I put S321 in my tin of S341...

[Treeman]

I did 321 and 335. I also did the sieve thing then put it on a motor to separate, then scooped the top layer off a few times. I would say I got it a least 80% fixed.
I then developed a load for each contaminated mix. I marked lid "MIX - Shake" and loaded up a few testers. I quickly got a load that worked well and marked the batch "target only". I must still have a 100 of the .223 left.

[Ds J]

Oil in revolver case caused a squib load.

Rifle cases: primer holes unified with a too large drill causes blowback and high pressure.

[jager]

When seating long boat tail rifle bullets, chamfer using a VLD tool.  If you use a normal one, you tend to get microscopic brass shavings when seating. Sometimes not even visible, but when using a magnifying glass you can see it.

[janfred]

I'm not too worried about microscopic brass shavings. Those usually get ironed out when the bullet is forced through an orifice at 55,000 psi and obturates due to 1000+ gravities of acceleration.

My concern is the major shaving that happens when not chamfering or uneven chamfering. The kind that changes the weight distribution of the bullet. The kind where you find  little half-moons of copper lying on the shell holder.

Lyman sure know how to market items.

[Treeman]

When seating long boat tail rifle bullets, chamfer using a VLD tool.  If you use a normal one, you tend to get microscopic brass shavings when seating. Sometimes not even visible, but when using a magnifying glass you can see it.
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What is a VLD tool ?

[Tripodmvr]

https://outdoorandallsales.co.za/product/rcbs-vld-deburring-tool-with-handle/

[Treeman]

https://outdoorandallsales.co.za/product/rcbs-vld-deburring-tool-with-handle/

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Ahhhhhhhhh! Very Low Drag tool.
interesting indeed.

[oafpatroll]

Not checking that the dies in my progressive were snugged down properly before cranking out an afternoon's worth of 9mm. Had to run the whole the lot through a single stage with correctly set bullet seating die. This went on well after I had planned to be stuck into a beer or three.