what's your biggest booboo.....be honest?
#11
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 549

I took some cases out to my dads to run through the case tumbler. On the way back I had to get some 90wt oil for the truck. Well never thinking the new can of oil could leak I laid it on top of a whole 5gallon bucket of cleaned brass. Well when I got home my cases we severly lubed. It took quite sometime to get all that oil out of the cases. It would take three pages to tell what I had to do to them. Absolutely horrible mistake.
#12
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 162

I usually take 3 or 4 different rifles to the range when working up loads so I can let the barrels completely cood down. Made the mistake of shooting 300 win loads in a 300 wby. Grouped about 3"--recoil was mild and poi was close! Sure felt stupid! Now, I won't take any ammo with me to the range that could be chambered in the wrong gun. I learned long ago that I can't reload with someone else in the room--talking is too much of a distraction, and two sets of eyes are not better than one. My oldest boy is now shooting with me regularly--I do need to figure out how to safely get him involved in reloading as he is interested.
#13
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location:
Posts: 188

ORIGINAL: elkaddict
I learned long ago that I can't reload with someone else in the room--talking is too much of a distraction, and two sets of eyes are not better than one. My oldest boy is now shooting with me regularly--I do need to figure out how to safely get him involved in reloading as he is interested.
I learned long ago that I can't reload with someone else in the room--talking is too much of a distraction, and two sets of eyes are not better than one. My oldest boy is now shooting with me regularly--I do need to figure out how to safely get him involved in reloading as he is interested.
Also when loading single stage I weigh out one charge at a time, double check it, then seat the bullet before doing another.
#14
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Fenton, MI
Posts: 88

I was loading for my 40S&W last year with my RCBS RockChucker using the priming feature add-on. Before I learned to check the primer to make sure it is right-side-up after coming out of the tube, I had a couple primers seat backwards. That was a pretty easy catch; had to throw the brass away.
#15
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: MI
Posts: 53

Put this in the distraction department. While talking with my dad & trying to reload, seated two bullets in empty cases, when I grabed the next case (which had a charge) I quickly noticed the weight difference. Now I know why they make bullet pullers!
#16
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 1,168

once didnt load powder into 20 38spl cases, got distracted and my loading block holds 20 so 20cases didnt get powder before bullets. First shot at the range I knew something was wrong, try to open cylinder and sure enough bullet halfway between cylinder and barrel jammed up tight, had to take it home to knock the bullet out. Dumb dumb dumb, one mistake does make you a lot more careful though
#17
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 127

Well I haven't been doing this all that long, just a little over a year now. But I did manage to take cases out of the tumbler(I deprime before tumbling) and prime them before I had sized them. Easy fix through, just fired the primers in the gun, and started over.
#18

Using someone else's reloads-
I bought some 9mm ammo from a store that was 'remanufactured' by a local reloader because it only cost $4 per box. I shot 2 boxes without a hiccup, then the first round out of the 3 box blew my pistol apart.[:@]
Another one I made, was I got an order of brass in - 200 pieces of 6.5x55. Eager to get started reloading the stuff, I primed the entire lot without resizing first. When I go around to charging powder to the cases, I noticed that a large number of case necks were out-of-round. Without knowing if the rest of the dimensions of hte cases were out of spec, I took them to the range and fired them all off. Loading cases without bullets into a mauser is an extreme pita.[
]
I bought some 9mm ammo from a store that was 'remanufactured' by a local reloader because it only cost $4 per box. I shot 2 boxes without a hiccup, then the first round out of the 3 box blew my pistol apart.[:@]
Another one I made, was I got an order of brass in - 200 pieces of 6.5x55. Eager to get started reloading the stuff, I primed the entire lot without resizing first. When I go around to charging powder to the cases, I noticed that a large number of case necks were out-of-round. Without knowing if the rest of the dimensions of hte cases were out of spec, I took them to the range and fired them all off. Loading cases without bullets into a mauser is an extreme pita.[

#19
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Interlochen, MI, USA
Posts: 73

I own a very large tumbler, it holds somewhere around 2000 38 cases. One day without thinking I put in about 500 45 ACP cases along with about 500 40 S&W, turned it on and let it run all night. The next morning I went to empty the tumbler and found that almost every 40 S&W case had found it's way into a 45 ACP case. I had to pull each and every one of those cases apart. After I was done doing all of them I was just a might upset about being so stupid. So I loaded the tumbler again, careful not to put 45's and 40 S&W together. This time I loaded it with 357 mag cases and 30 carbine brass. A couple of hours later when I checked the tumbler I just about soiled myself. Man oh man the language that came out of my reloading room that day would have made a sailor blush. Can you say stupid![:@]
#20
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Western up state NY in the USA
Posts: 259

ORIGINAL: handloader1
I emptied a half full powder measure in the wrong powder canister. Expensive fertilizer. Good luck.
I emptied a half full powder measure in the wrong powder canister. Expensive fertilizer. Good luck.
Been there did that!!!!!!!!
Read the scales wrong loaded the 12 guage with 10 gr. more than max.
just junked that 50 rounds.
The worst I ever did was I had a pet load for my 270.
It was a full case load of powder you had to push the powder down with the bullet.
Well I deceided to work up a new load for chucks when a friend came over and I got to talking and never reset set the powder measure or weighed a charge just started reloading.
It just so happened that the power I was using filled the cases.
The cases were coming out with what looked like the the correct amount
when I went to seat the bullet it would not seat right thats when I found out what I did. 11.5gr over load...........
I had a new rule right then and there somone comes & bothers me I quite till they leave and start over. I have and will dump all cases with powder in them out and start again.
Had I pulled the triger on one of these ?????????
Glad I didn't find out.