Singlestack Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Hmmm... lets see... Well, I think that sounds like about 3.7 grains Well...I think the point would be to determine if there is powder in the case at all. After that it's up to the measure to dispense properly. If you do not know how much is in it, which would be the reason for trying to hear the powder, pull it or throw it away. I have had the pivot arm bolt work loose on my powder measure before and it threw a charge that was about half what it should have been. I noticed it because I look at every powder charge. I had about 30 loaded rounds in the loaded round bin and I pulled every one of them because I was not sure. In an effort to reduce the number of pulled rounds in case of a F/U, I always empty the loaded bullet bin every 100 rounds. This is not really an unsual problem to have. I started putting 2 nuts on the pivot arm bolt to prevent it from working loose. I have also had the whole bracket that the pivot arm bolt goes through break. The bottom line for me is, if I'm not sure, I do not shoot it. I have not fired a squib load in 10 years. Early on in my reloading I loaded 2 squib loads and I swore it would never happen again. It's not a hard thing to prevent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 A valid point, John. I'm thinking more along the lines of someone looking up and realizing their powder hopper had run empty, and barring evidence of any other failures like you had, this might be the ticket just to separate the empty ones. **I just tried it with my Radians and a 9, a 40 and a 45 cartridge. As long as I wasn't standing under a ceiling fan I could definitely hear the powder shaking around in the case. It probably wouldn't be of much benefit to the guys running cases full of powder, but my loads, it did work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 A valid point, John. I'm thinking more along the lines of someone looking up and realizing their powder hopper had run empty, and barring evidence of any other failures like you had, this might be the ticket just to separate the empty ones. **I just tried it with my Radians and a 9, a 40 and a 45 cartridge. As long as I wasn't standing under a ceiling fan I could definitely hear the powder shaking around in the case. It probably wouldn't be of much benefit to the guys running cases full of powder, but my loads, it did work. So, how do you know that the last charge you dropped before it ran completely ran out was a full charge? You don't and you damn sure can't tell how much is in by listening to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerryinokc Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Sorry, but unless you're a commercial loader, establish a procedure of looking at every, single load. You're doing it everytime you place the bullet...why play games? "Save" a few minutes? How much is your time worth compared with safety? Answer that and enjoy bragging about 10 years of safe loading and, most important, safe shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So, how do you know that the last charge you dropped before it ran completely ran out was a full charge? You don't and you damn sure can't tell how much is in by listening to it. Also a valid point. They'd be relegated to practice use, or I'd just slip them into your range bag when you weren't looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thanks for all you posts. Yesterday I got the RCBS bullet puller and works just fine. I found 8 out of 50 without powder. Lesson learned, I have a dillon 550 and now is working great. Every single stroke I make sure the powder bar is activated all the way and that primer cup is filled correctly. Also check for powder on the case every 20 or 40 loads with a mirror. That is a fine thing, but check EVERY cartridge for powder. It takes nothing to look down into it when loading. If you start now, while you are new to reloading, it will become a habit. Watching the powder bar is not the thing to do...What if there is no powder in the measure. The powder bar is still moving, but dropping nothing. Get a mirror, a light, change the height of the press, whatever it takes, but verify every single case that goes through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hmmm... lets see... Well, I think that sounds like about 3.7 grains Well...I think the point would be to determine if there is powder in the case at all. After that it's up to the measure to dispense properly. If you do not know how much is in it, which would be the reason for trying to hear the powder, pull it or throw it away. I have had the pivot arm bolt work loose on my powder measure before and it threw a charge that was about half what it should have been. I noticed it because I look at every powder charge. I had about 30 loaded rounds in the loaded round bin and I pulled every one of them because I was not sure. In an effort to reduce the number of pulled rounds in case of a F/U, I always empty the loaded bullet bin every 100 rounds. This is not really an unsual problem to have. I started putting 2 nuts on the pivot arm bolt to prevent it from working loose. I have also had the whole bracket that the pivot arm bolt goes through break. The bottom line for me is, if I'm not sure, I do not shoot it. I have not fired a squib load in 10 years. Early on in my reloading I loaded 2 squib loads and I swore it would never happen again. It's not a hard thing to prevent. Exactly. Pay attention to what you are doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle O Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Looks like you are gonna have a "pulling session" I only laugh, because I've had a few myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So, how do you know that the last charge you dropped before it ran completely ran out was a full charge? You don't and you damn sure can't tell how much is in by listening to it. Also a valid point. They'd be relegated to practice use, or I'd just slip them into your range bag when you weren't looking. Hmmm... sounds like your still pissed about those "special" loads I brought to the match for you 2 years ago! Some folks just can't take a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S. Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So, how do you know that the last charge you dropped before it ran completely ran out was a full charge? You don't and you damn sure can't tell how much is in by listening to it. Also a valid point. They'd be relegated to practice use, or I'd just slip them into your range bag when you weren't looking. Hmmm... sounds like your still pissed about those "special" loads I brought to the match for you 2 years ago! Some folks just can't take a joke. HAHA! That is funny! And, Singlestack, my appologies for jabbing at you about the powder charge. You're right, it is a very serious step in the reloading process and shouldn't be taken lightly. I have a sensor on my measure to detect if I'm OUT of powder, but I'm going to do some searches on the low powder sensor and see if it will work with my miniscule 4.2-4.3gr Clays I use for .45. Flake is easily "compressed" in the case by any type of plunger and that has me worried about the readings it might give. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwnielsen Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I was able to find a 45acp without a charge with the weigh method. I was loading on my 650 and doing spot weight checks along the way when I noticed there was powder in my scale pan that I failed to dump back in a case. I sort brass by headstamp and they were fairly consistent with 5.6g of powder but...had I not found it I would have had to pull about 35 rounds that were in the tray. I was lucky. You did the right thing pulling them. I was looking for only one Enjoy yourself and be careful Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Ok, I did the same thing recently but with more than 50 rounds. I starting pulling which is a sure fire way to be perfectly assured of the consequences. However, I started weighing the rounds a few days later. (my arm got tired). I noticed on the average a fully loaded round weight >321grains. So anything below 221 I separated. All of the low weights were around <318gr. Every round <218 was pulled. All had no powder. A sample of the rounds >321 were pulled and all had powder. That said, the >321 were put in a baggy for practice shooting and were not co-mingled with my other reloaded rounds. There was a noticable difference between the rounds without powder and all the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman275 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 This isn't a sarcastic question, but on my 550 I look at every single load before placement of the bullet. Is that not part of your routine? I'm more than likely missing something. Just wondering. Whatever the process, I hope you get your answer. Edit: I guess you reload while seated? I load standing and I have both a small gooseneck lamp and a swivel-mounted mirror over the bullet seating station so I can more easily see the powder. +1 on the light. I've been reloading for such a short time but my initial fear of almost hiding from the machine because I thought something might blow up has changed to a healthy respect for the reloading process. I have pretty good lighting where I'm reloading but I have an extra lamp on the left side to brighten up the area. I do check the powder as I rotate stations. I don't want to go without powder and I definitely do not want a double shot! So far I've had a few primers that didn't seat because I didn't push up enough on the handle (which causes a small powder spill) but they are an easy fix. I kinda like the kinetic puller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I load seated on a stool but can see the powder in the case before placing the bullet also helps in case there's media, dirt etc in the case which might be an overcharge. Try and watch the primer slide bar to see if the primer in the right position also. I've had the small white nylon block that fits in the powder slide bar come out which caused inconsistent powder drops. I put lock tight on the bolt that holds the linkage together. Now I check to see if the block is there when I fill the primer tube. Took a few rounds to catch that one. I placed an old desk lamp on the bench and the extra light helps, it on a swivel so I can shine the light toward station two. I don't think there's anyone who has loaded for very long that hasn't used a bullet puller, everyone makes a mistake now and then just try and learn from them. Loading on a machine with a brass or bullet feeder the mirror above the hopper is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S. Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Update to this thread. I loaded up 20 .308 rounds the other day and had my bullet seating die set for another bullet that caused me to seat my 175 SMK's too deep. Another reason to have a bullet puller on hand. Just sucks bigtime with the .308 because I load all my rounds match grade, weigh every charge, trim cases, neck tension etc. Guess that will be my cold bore ammo once I pull the boolits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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