CRAP! What a waste!

[JesterGrin_1]

That is easy it is called brain fade lol. We all get it.

Glad to hear you have the Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I really like that press. I had the Lyman T Mag Turret press and after I got the Lee I sold the Lyman in a hurry lol.

[Mike Irwin]

I was using a Lyman T-Mag when I loaded the only double charge of my loading career. Blew the case sky high, but didn't harm my 1911.

[JesterGrin_1]

Mike you are one very lucky person since you were not hurt.

The only thing odd that has happened to me was also with a 1911 but it had a Wilson barrel in it that split and came apart between the chamber and the barrel. Come to find out after taking it back to the smith that did the work the barrel was one of the soldered type. I made sure he put a once piece solid back in it. But it sure did surprise me.

[Mike Irwin]

I'm really lucky considering that, had I not forgotten my moon clips, that cartridge would have been fired in my circa 1939 S&W Model of 1917 Brazilian Contract.

[JesterGrin_1]

Yeah better to have only one bad round go off than to have maybe 5 going off in your hand. You know on second thought you were not lucky someone was looking out for you with a lesson. .

You know kinda like many years ago when parents would keep telling there kids to stop playing with outlets until they decide heck we are not going to stop them let them get a jolt and they might learn something . BUZZZZZZZZZ ouch see I told you not to do that lol.

[Uncle Buck]

Mike, I am sure you did put the post it w/a rubber band around it. I am also sure you'll find it on the floor, right after you dump the powder.

Actually I am glad to see you decided not to use the powder. A lot of new reloaders come here reading (Lurking) and trying to learn. One look at your post count and they probably think to themselves, well, he must know what he is talking about.

And I'll agree with you on another aspect: The cost of powder verses the cost of a new gun. Why take a chance?

[JesterGrin_1]

Uncle Buck the cost of the Gun is nothing. But the cost of Life and Limb is another matter.

I have to agree that he did show no matter how long or short one may re load things do happen and people should err on the safe side. As he threw the powder out since there was a ? of what it was.

[TXGunNut]

Gee Mike, only once? I may have done it twice. Last time I poured another powder on top of it and had to pour it all into my "fertilizer" can. Even if I knew what was in it I don't think I'd use it because my powder measure doesn't seal well. Like you, I seem to catch mistakes when I clean up and I clean up before I load so I haven't had any powders make it into the wrong cartridges, even when I dump the powder into the wrong can. Yep, I use the most expensive fertilizer on my block!

[Kyo]

its only 20 bucks. learn a lesson right? worth it. just goes to show even if you do it for years its good to be OCD when it comes to reloading

[Mike Irwin]

"Uncle Buck the cost of the Gun is nothing. But the cost of Life and Limb is another matter."

Like hell!

I just paid over $800 for my S&W Model 25, 4" in .45 Long Colt. It took me nearly 15 years to find that gun, no way am I going to do anything to endanger it!

There was probably 4 to 6 ounces of powder in the hopper when I cleaned it out this evening, not as much as I thought there was.

I'm PRETTY sure that it was AA 7, as that's one of the powders that I use for my .41 Magnum, but again, I'm not taking any chances. It's heading for the lawn.

[wvshooter]

This is where having less stuff is an advantage. One powder thrower and only one powder canister allowed on the loading bench at a time. All I have to do is look at the powder sitting on the bench to know which powder is in the thrower. The rest of the powders are stored a couple feet away.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I never use post it notes on my powder measure. I use pharmacy labels. Large adress labels are good too. They are available at most office supply stores. When I put the powder back in the original container. I simply remove the old label.

[farmerboy]

They always say that memory is the second thing that we lose... Hey we all goof at times and if we never do, then we arent hardly doing anything.

[Dave R]

Mike, I am slowly adding Autodisks for my main calibers, and REALLY like being able to switch the turret, with dies and Autodisk already set for charge I'm gonna throw. Just add powder, and start pulling the handle.

Eventually I'll have autodisks for all my die sets. But I prolly don't have as many as you...

[StrawDog]

If you mark your finished loads with complete data including the date then you should be able to figure out what is in there. Other thing that is useful is a log book... Oh well time to load up the toy cannon...

[Don P]

Just goes to show us that anyone can have a brain fart at any given time. Thankfully those pesky farts don't hurt.

[lwknight]

Mike , if you can go 6 months without reloading , your just not shooting enough.
Good call on tossing the powder. It probably off gassed the solvents and took on humidity anyway.

[TXGunNut]

Dunno, Don. Message I'm getting here is that brain farts can hurt. As a result of this thread I'm working on a process to follow after a loading session so I won't start off the next loading session kicking myself. Wasting powder is bad enough at today's prices, safety is a constant concern as well.

[langenc]

""I currently have eleven powder measures, and when I pour powder into any I write the powder and charge weight on a notecard and place it directly into the measure"" copied from the first page..

Just a question- With eleven (11) powder measures, what is your preferred brand?? All 11 the same?? What brands do you have?


""This is where having less stuff is an advantage. One powder thrower and only one powder canister allowed on the loading bench at a time. All I have to do is look at the powder sitting on the bench to know which powder is in the thrower. The rest of the powders are stored a couple feet away. "" from last page..

My procedure.. one powder can on the bench at a time./ Clean it up before another can to the bench. Dispensing medications follows same rule.. or we'd have big problems.

[Nnobby45]

I didn't put a tag on it to remind me what powder it is, which I normally do, and I use several powders that are VERY similar looking, so I didn't even think about trying to guess what it was. I don't feel like guessing wrong and blowing up one of my guns.

When I have powder that's been sitting in a powder measure,( which happens frequently since I load 5 calibers on myDillon 550B), and I forgot to label it (which isn't frequent), I charge a case and weigh it. In my loading scenarios (but necessarily everyone's), there's only going to be one bullet weight and caliber associated with that powder and charge weight--- and I'll know what powder it is.

This is is easy if you have standard loads you use for different calibers and don't change charge weights.

Before I put my assumption to a brief two or three round test, I'd need to know what happens if powder A turns out to be B, instead. Would it be an under or over charge if I'm wrong? A chrono might be useful in verifying, especially if you've chron'd it before and have it on record.

[Malamute]

Yes, what Nobby said. Did you throw and weigh a few charges to see if it rang a bell as to what load/caliber you were doing at the time?

I've noticed that several different powders have very small colored grains in them, or other unique characteristics. It isnt just Red Dot that had red particles in it, or whatever. Viewed in good light, it may have some identifying characterisitics.

I agree it isnt worth taking chances, but it may be possible to ID the powder.

[zxcvbob]

So did you *really* dump it on the lawn, or did you pour it in a tuna-fish can and set it on fire on the driveway?

[medalguy]

I put a strip of orange painter's tape on the side of my measure and write the powder type and charge on it as well as the cartridge I'm currently loading for. Hope I never have to throw out good powder, too hard to find today.

[Mike Irwin]

It's on the lawn.