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Old March 27, 2012, 02:17 PM   #1
Jim243
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Just for the Record

I know we all have equipment we think is the best, red, green or blue. But sometimes it's not the equipment's fault.

Just started reloading a batch of 357 Sig on a Lee Classic Turret with my Auto-Disk powder measure and Lee dies. Should be a snap, right?

Well the cases were prepared and cleaned, powder (Accurate #7) in the bin, dies set up in their holes and away we go. Not quite, seems every time I drop powder, there's none in the case when I went to measure the charge on the scale?????? Did this three times. What, the powder meaure is not working?? Things like this do not happen, at least to me with Lee equipment. So back in the can goes the powder and out comes the screw driver and appart comes the powder measure, must be something wrong??

Well, no, everything is the way it is suppost to be, so back in everything goes together and off I go trying to drop another charge, same results!!!

After sitting there for 5 min or so scratching my head, a light bulb finally goes on and I check the case. Seems in my concern about everything being just right, I forgot to put a primer in the case and since the powder is very fine grained it just went down the primer hole to the spent primer tube on the ram.

The moral of this story is "engauge brain before reloading" and all of us are NOT infailable. And it's not always the equipment's fault.

I know I am going to get ribbed on this, so shoot away, I deserve it.
Jim
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Old March 27, 2012, 02:22 PM   #2
m&p45acp10+1
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Jim I have had a couple of those not so bright moments. I have on a few occasions charged powder in cases that had no primer. Though I use a single stage. I looked down, and thought dang the measure is leaking, only to find out there was no primer in the case.
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Old March 27, 2012, 02:41 PM   #3
higgite
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I thought you were going to say that you forgot to turn the powder hopper on and I was going to make fun of you but since it turned that you forgot to prime the case, I'll be quiet. Don't ask me why.
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Old March 27, 2012, 02:47 PM   #4
TriumphGuy
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You can make fun of me. I did that last night and didn't figure it out until going through all of the troubleshooting that Jim did.
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Old March 27, 2012, 02:51 PM   #5
RobertInIowa
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That's a funny one, but at least no harm came because of it. I think anyone who handloads for awhile has a few of those uh-oh stories to tell, I know I do. Thanks for sharing yours with us Jim.

Robert
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Old March 27, 2012, 03:06 PM   #6
David Bachelder
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I have had many of those moments, many.
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Old March 27, 2012, 03:43 PM   #7
Ethan.G
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Quote:
I thought you were going to say that you forgot to turn the powder hopper on and I was going to make fun of you but since it turned that you forgot to prime the case, I'll be quiet. Don't ask me why.
yup, iv done both of these..
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Old March 28, 2012, 04:02 PM   #8
thedaddycat
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" so shoot away..."

Not with that ammo, it needs primers!!

I was reloading with a friend and his LCT press ratchet was hanging up and not rotating the turret. We both missed it the first time and I was wondering why and how there was no primer in one of the rounds. Well it turned out that after I sized and primed the case it didn't rotate to the expander die and I stroked the ram and decapped the freshly primed case and never thought to put another primer in... Needless to say, the powder did not want to stay inside that one either....

It turns out that the screw on the part that holds the ratchet square was a tad too tight. A quick tweak and all was good!
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