Pulling reloads - OH NO!

[NathanJefferson]

So, several months ago I purchased a 30-06 bolt action from a member here. Good deal, came with some factory ammo, primers, powder, bullets, dies and a few reloaded rounds.

Today I finally got the chance to 'pull' the reloaded bullets, it kinda pained me cause why waste his hard work? Well on the 6th round - I lock it into the bullet pulling hammer, rap it hard, again, again, again. Hmm. It took 2-3 hits to pull the first few so I slam it onto the concrete again, 3 more times... Hmm?

Then I notice its been pulled apart but there was NO powder in it at all. He missed loading one... Not trying to fault the guy but it was an eye opening lesson because I ALMOST went out to shoot them, almost... Luckily I don't have a story of how hard it is to get a squib load out of a 30-06...

Be careful who you trust to load your ammo!

 

[The Keymaster]

You NEVER shoot any one's reloads other than your own. Re-manufactured ammo produced by a licensed dealer is fine. You did the right thing by pulling them down, and you learned a valuable lesson.

 

[JetGirl]

You NEVER shoot any one's reloads other than your own.

Yeah, that ^.

 

[blamecharles]

Good info for people like me just starting to get into reloading.

Yes it is I am new still as well.

 

[billybob44]

Just another thought..

I use this:
Collet Bullet Puller

With this:
Collet Bullet Puller Collet 30 Cal (308 Diameter)

To pull most of my bullets now..

Long story short--

Awhile back a re-loader gave me almost 1400 rounds of .40 S&W rounds, that had been loaded on a progressive press--Somewhere along the line of that batch, he had a powder drop problem and did NOT know which ones were short charged.

I got the job done in 3 about 6 hour settings, and had a good stock of .40 S&W components to load back up...Bill.

 

[jworm1420]

ok just to clarify if i shoot a round that has a primer but no powder, it has enough pressure to get the bullet into the barrel but not all the way out, i.e, squib round?????

 

[Que]

ok just to clarify if i shoot a round that has a primer but no powder, it has enough pressure to get the bullet into the barrel but not all the way out, i.e, squib round?????

That's usuallly what happens.

 

[JetGirl]

ok just to clarify if i shoot a round that has a primer but no powder, it has enough pressure to get the bullet into the barrel but not all the way out, i.e, squib round?????

Correct. It can happen if there's powder too, if it's under-charged.
Makes you think twice about drilling with double-taps, eh?

 

[Broom_jm]

When you have a center-fire rifle cartridge with no powder, just a primer, what usually happens is the bullet just barely leaves the case. It gets caught in the throat of the barrel and (depending on what you're shooting) the next round won't even chamber. This is a very happy coincidence, but isn't as much of a worry as folks might think. With a bolt-action rifle, you know something went wrong and aren't going to be in a big hurry to chamber another round and see what this one does. With a semi-auto, the lack of powder in the case means there was not enough gas pressure to cycle the action; hopefully you're cautious enough to realize something is amiss and make sure the barrel is clear. And again, the next round probably won't feed, anyway.

 

[The Keymaster]

The key is to take your time, and make sure you do the process correctly. I have seen the youtube videos with the guys cranking out rounds as fast as they can pull the lever. That is not the way I do it. I go as fast as I SAFELY can while monitoring all facets of the operation. I added a Dillon primer alarm to both of My Hornady LNL's and that was a big help, but I an still very careful to watch the powder dispenser, and the powder cop die to be sure all cases are full. I stop every 50 rounds or so and check a finished product to be sure the specs are correct. This is not a race, it is a serious business.

 

[Shadow]

This might be a dumb question to some of you ,but I'm going to ask it anyways
Couldn't you weight the components --Bullet,primer,shell,powder ,all on a scale and get a good idea what each bullet should weight. Then weight each one and if its different then your main one --then pull it ,aka take it apart.
Wouldn't this be faster?

 

[JetGirl]

This might be a dumb question to some of you ,but I'm going to ask it anyways
Couldn't you weight the components --Bullet,primer,shell,powder ,all on a scale and get a good idea what each bullet should weight. Then weight each one and if its different then your main one --then pull it ,aka take it apart.
Wouldn't this be faster?

No, the case thickness from being trimmed a number of times would directly result in weight variances from one to the next.

 

[Grelber]

Bought a 1000 round box of 9mm reloads from 'cheaper than dirt'. Three weeks back or so I had one squib that made it about half way down the barrel. Luckily I was just slow bullseye practicing and felt/heard something was wrong.
Went to a shooting range and bought a box of their 45 reloads 4-5 years ago, noticed that a couple rounds had the lead pushed a very long way down into the casing and the box had a whole lot of variation of oal in general. Showed this to the person behind the counter and he shrugged and said it was no big deal.
So now if I don't do the loading myself, or if it wasn't done by someone who I know to be as concerned and careful as I am, I don't shoot reloads.

 

[Broom_jm]

This might be a dumb question to some of you ,but I'm going to ask it anyways
Couldn't you weight the components --Bullet,primer,shell,powder ,all on a scale and get a good idea what each bullet should weight. Then weight each one and if its different then your main one --then pull it ,aka take it apart.
Wouldn't this be faster?

Actually, with rifle loads, where the powder charge is a higher percentage of the overall total, you actually CAN do this. Some AR types (anal-retentive) do weigh each case, looking for various anomalies, including a missing powder charge. I once weighed 100 loaded 270 rounds and found them to be within +/- 3 grains. If one of them had been missing a powder charge (~50 grains) I am quite certain I would have noted it!

For pistol loads, I would definitely not rely on such a method to determine which ones might be shy of powder. Also, I do not load rounds for others, and I absolutely do not shoot others' reloads! The OP was correct to pull 'em all down.

 

[blamecharles]

Actually, with rifle loads, where the powder charge is a higher percentage of the overall total, you actually CAN do this. Some AR types (anal-retentive) do weight each case, looking for various anomalies, including a missing powder charge. I once weighed 100 loaded 270 rounds and found them to be within +/- 3 grains. If one of them had been missing a powder charge (~50 grains) I am quite certain I would have noted it!

For pistol loads, I would definitely not rely on such a method to determine which ones might be shy of powder. Also, I do not load rounds for others, and I absolutely do not shoot others' reloads! The OP was correct to pull 'em all down.

I was thinking this would be the case. With my loads being around 7 grains there would not really be enough to make that much difference, while the 50 grains would be noticeable.

 

[Fullmag]

Correct. It can happen if there's powder too, if it's under-charged.
Makes you think twice about drilling with double-taps, eh?

Never thought about that. Seen the Range officer telling some guys NO double taps. Now I know.

 

[XtremeVel]

Never thought about that. Seen the Range officer telling some guys NO double taps. Now I know.

The RO's where I often times shoot also say that. Actually, they say no more than (1) round a second. I'm not entirely convinced the possibility of a bullet not exiting the barrel is their sole reason for this rule though.

Being this thread is about reloads, it's important to remember store bought ammo isn't immune to this also.

 

[JetGirl]

it's important to remember store bought ammo isn't immune to this also.

An excellent point ^.

 

[j706]

ok just to clarify if i shoot a round that has a primer but no powder, it has enough pressure to get the bullet into the barrel but not all the way out, i.e, squib round?????

NO that is incorrect. Pistol? Maybe. A rifle with a primed cartridge and no powder fired off=you will NEVER even hear the primer fire. I know because I did a bunch of tests for a civil trial I got subpenaed for. The only way I was ever able to get a rifle bullet to leave the cartridge was with a magnum primer and a 110 grain .30 bullet with a VERY loose neck. Even then the round was just into the throat and fell out on its own. You would have never been able to have chambered another round. A squib load (Very little powder or way under charged)? Possibly.

 

[Broom_jm]

NO that is incorrect. Pistol? Maybe. A rifle with a primed cartridge and no powder fired off=you will NEVER even hear the primer fire. I know because I did a bunch of tests for a civil trial I got subpenaed for. The only way I was ever able to get a rifle bullet to leave the cartridge was with a magnum primer and a 110 grain .30 bullet with a VERY loose neck. Even then the round was just into the throat and fell out on its own. You would have never been able to have chambered another round. A squib load (Very little powder or way under charged)? Possibly.

That is very interesting! Did you happen to publish the results of those tests anywhere, or keep the documentation? I ask because this is in stark contrast to other comments I've read and I'm guessing it may have something to do with the total case volume of the empty round in question? Maybe you tested with a 30-'06 but with a 223 it would be a different story? I'm not saying it would, just speculating.