Cleaning Media In Load

[joelhilgy]

First loading session in a long time and was about 120 rounds into it. Using an xl 650 w/case feeder and being very anal about everything, just cleaned and lubed the 650, weighing 10 throws to see accuracy of charge, making sure powder is not compacted, watching for anything not normal.

Then a load looked to full so took the shell out and dumped it to weigh and found a good amount of cleaning media. I am not sure how this would have happened. Hopefully picture is veiwable. One of the loads next to it showed one granule of media. There was some cleaning media in the casefeed hopper, I have cleared that out

The load is .40 Cal, 180 Star enclosed base FP, 4.7 Grains of Titegroup, being loaded to ~1.203.

So has anyone had this happen? How dangerous would that load have been if it had been fired? Should I pull all the loads? How do I prevent it from happening?

Thanks for any advice, this kind of thing takes the fun out of loading for me.

[lynn jones]

check out the XL650 tips and tricks thread.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=584

many people suggest a bag on the back of the case feeder where there are 2 little holes.

getting too much media in the bullet case can cause all sorts of problems.

lynn

[Sean Gaines]

too many rocks or hard media could increase pressures dramatically if they are loaded.... now your decapper should almost let you know if there is a big rock, becuase you will snap it or you will not be able to pull the arm, or the handle will be hard to pull, which you would probably feel. But it is possible to break lets say a big dirt clod with your decapper and then proceed loading, and thus creating less airspace in the case, increasing the pressure. I think bob lodrigan had a article about this in the last front sight magazine. may want to read it.

hope this helps

PK

[joelhilgy]

Thanks for the replies, I'll check out the article.

What I think happened is media built up in the bottom of the hopper and rotated around with the cases enough to drop into the feed tube filling the case. I think I will make the holes larger in the hopper and fit a catch can.

Thanks again,

[mscott]

I've found clumps of media in cases when the polish doesn't get completely mixed up. Did you recently add any polish to your media? I also had a case that appeared too full and when I dumped it found a spider web in the bottom. Funny things can happen.

[joelhilgy]

It had been a long time since my last loading session so I believe that the cleaning media that had accumulated in the hopper had clumped and then it got rolled into the feed tube. I have now taken the brass out of the hopper, cleaned and inspected it. it shouldn't be problem now.

Thanks for the help.

[Punkin Chunker]

It had been a long time since my last loading session so I believe that the cleaning media that had accumulated in the hopper had clumped and then it got rolled into the feed tube. I have now taken the brass out of the hopper, cleaned and inspected it. it shouldn't be problem now.

Thanks for the help.

I've had cleaning media get stuck in the case as well, and not come out when I run it through the media separator.

Seems like there shouldn't be any media in your hopper; although it is possible to miss it when inspecting the brass.

Thanks to the 45 GAP, I added an inspection step -- I got a piece of one of those plastic egg crate covers that you sometimes see over flourescent lights. I cut it to fit in the bottom of an old cake pan, and I can dump about 4 boxes of brass into it and shake it. With just a few exceptions, the cases sort out base down. That gives me the chance to look straight into each of them (plus compare their lengths to get that occaisional pesky .45 GAP thing out of the mix). I sometimes find a case or two with media stuck in them.

Edited January 6, 2007 by Punkin Chunker