newbie reloader needs help

sunsurp08 · January 27, 2012, 09:04 AM

Hello, Im new to reloading and it looks like I made a fairly stupid mistake. Reloading 223 on a Hornady Projector press, somehow managed to load about 64 cartridges WITHOUT decapping and seating NEW primers! These cartridges have been powdered and Factory Crimped! Is there an easy way OR any way to save these ( bullets, brass, powder )??

steve4102 · January 27, 2012, 09:24 AM

Get a bullet puller, dump/save the powder, resize/deprime and start over.

mehavey · January 27, 2012, 09:26 AM

Get an inertial bullet puller and chalk it up to lesson-learned

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/215...-bullet-puller

.

Sevens · January 27, 2012, 10:11 AM

An inertia or kinetic (hammer type) bullet puller is a necessary tool at a handloader's bench and will be of much use to you as you go forth, so buy one and get started. It's a lot of work and when you finally finish breaking all those rounds down, you'll be tired and sick of pulling down rounds -- it will hopefully tattoo the mistake on your brain so that you don't repeat it.

More to the point, how did you make such an error? Sounds like you weren't f/l sizing your brass because most all full length size dies for bottle neck rifle rounds are going to automatically punch out that old primer for you and you can't stop it from doing so.

I'm wondering if you have a good handle on what you are doing if you are this new to the handloading game.

There is a process for reloading ammo and most load manuals go over it quite clearly. Have you got a load manual, and have you read it? It sounds like you may need to review the basics.

We are here to help!

larzb93 · January 27, 2012, 11:06 AM

if your not 100% concerned about saving the bullet you cant do it with just your press and some pliers

. remove the die from the press, insert the round into the ram and push the ram up all the way so that the round is seen sticking out of the top of the press. take the pliers and hold the bullet tight, then pull the ram down and it will take the bullet apart with ease. you can sometimes save the bullet to if you use a cloth or something between the bullet and the pliers. worked great for me. good luck!

Jim243 · January 27, 2012, 11:21 AM

Sevens, you are a little ruff on the poor guy, but I understand where you are coming from on this. I had to laugh when I read his post.

Quote:

it looks like I made a fairly stupid mistake

Yes, you did, but then again WE ALL do. I don't own a bullet puller for nothing and neather does everyone else here, so don't feel bad about it. It is part of the learning process.

Unlike large companies we have only ourselves for our quality control department, so that means going slow and checking everything 3 or 4 times BEFORE we do it. It is the only way to safely reload.

When in doubt, don't do it and seek advice.

But back to your question:

There are two ways to pull bullets and recover the bullet and powder.

1. First the impact hammer, which you should buy anyways it is a usefull tool for adjusting OAL on bullets that have been seated too deep.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/215...-bullet-puller

2. The second is for large batches that you need to pull (LOL) yes 64 is a large batch.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/680...-bullet-puller

With the scond option you will need to get the correct size collet for it.

As you can see, you are not the only person that has to correct mistakes.

Good Luck and Stay Safe.
Jim

Sevens · January 27, 2012, 11:31 AM

Naaa, I don't think I was too rough. We all make mistakes, I've made a zillion of them.

My worry here is HOW did he make loaded rounds when he never decapped a case? Do you see how it might look like he reloaded some un-sized brass?

What's likely to happen if that is the case...? If it's his brass and he's shooting a bolt action, it may be a little stiff in there and he may not know why.

Here in the year 2012, it's more likely (without knowing) to imagine he's got brass from who-knows-where and he's hoping to run this stuff in a AR of some sort. What's likely to happen if he runs unsized brass in to the chamber of an AR?

I don't know, but that's why I'm asking if he knows what he's doing. It's odd... with the common tools and dies we are pretty much all using that he was able to resize those cases without knocking the old primer out, so I'm wondering if they ever got sized.

Like I said at the end of my post... we aren't here to criticize, we are here to help.

sunsurp08 · January 27, 2012, 11:34 AM

Thanks all for the answers. To answer questions,(spec. SEVENS) - I feel I have a relatively decent handle on what im doing - though I am brand new.
Ipurchased many and have read FOUR reloading books - Hornady, Speer x2, and Nosler as well as much online and catalog content. Dont want to make excuses, but im fairly certain that there is a problem with my decap/sizing die. I stupidly got a round stuck in it and had to work on it to get it out. Might be pushing my luck but does anyone know how far out the decap rod should extend from the base of the holder? I think my rod has gotten pushed in. Nothing ever "jammed up" or felt odd wwhile loading these - which was strange. ALSO - some of the rounds decapped / loaded perfect - about 24 out of 80 - and in no particular order. I SHOULD HAVE realized and done something after the first one but never noticed until final inspection - again - never felt any problems.

sunsurp08 · January 27, 2012, 11:47 AM

For what its worth - my COL seems pretty much dead on @ 2.223 -- should I be measuring neck or other dimensions on each case?? Of course I visualy check neck length with initial inspection before cleaning. This is for an AR - and Im DEFINITLY not looking to destroy my rifle OR MY good looks.
Thanks again

Jim243 · January 27, 2012, 11:52 AM

No, you wen't too rough, more like stopping someone coming out of divorce court and offering marrage consoling (LOL).

Since it was his first posting here, at least he has come to the right place to get advice. And yes he needs to re-read his manuals or at least purchase a few. I was lucky in that my best friend (15 yrs as a reloader) let me observe for a month before I got started. And even then I had about 1,000,000 questions. (but had someone to ask).

Good shooting and hit the bullseye each time.
Jim

sunsurp08 · January 27, 2012, 11:57 AM

Jim - Please see previous post. Thanks. Ever have an equipment issue? -- YES, I should have spotted it. I came here BECAUSE I've done my reading and research.

Jim243 · January 27, 2012, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Might be pushing my luck but does anyone know how far out the decap rod should extend from the base of the holder?

It is easy to have the decaping rod pushed up if the locking nut is not tighted down enough.

Fast way to adjust the decaping rod - with a lubed case (no stuck cases please) set the die in your press down to case holder. Bring a lubed case up into the die with the decaping rod loose. Push the decaping rod down by hand till it stops at the flash hole in the case, then tighten down the locking nut with a cressent wrench fairly snug then snug again.

The tip should be about 1/4 inch below the base of the resizing die.

Jim

Sun, that does not excuse you from not noticing it when you SHOULD have primed the cases. QUALITY CONTROL check and check again.

Also crimped primers are harder to decap and need to be swedged, surplus brass is a pain to resize.

mehavey · January 27, 2012, 12:32 PM

What SunSurp said in is #8 post...
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...31&postcount=8
explained everything to me.

For all the reasons ever said before, I still recommend a single-stage press for someone just starting -- or a multi-stage/rotating-stage where it's operated as a single stage. It's very difficult to make the kind of oversight error (i.e., there's no step where lack of new primer installation wouldn't be so in-your-face as to un-missable) when each step is isolated/done as a group.

But SunSurp has now memorably matriculated in the School of Hard Knocks -- and will never forget the lesson.

January 27, 2012, 09:04 AM	#1
sunsurp08 Junior Member Join Date: January 26, 2012 Posts: 4	newbie reloader needs help Hello, Im new to reloading and it looks like I made a fairly stupid mistake. Reloading 223 on a Hornady Projector press, somehow managed to load about 64 cartridges WITHOUT decapping and seating NEW primers! These cartridges have been powdered and Factory Crimped! Is there an easy way OR any way to save these ( bullets, brass, powder )??

January 27, 2012, 10:11 AM	#4
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	An inertia or kinetic (hammer type) bullet puller is a necessary tool at a handloader's bench and will be of much use to you as you go forth, so buy one and get started. It's a lot of work and when you finally finish breaking all those rounds down, you'll be tired and sick of pulling down rounds -- it will hopefully tattoo the mistake on your brain so that you don't repeat it. More to the point, how did you make such an error? Sounds like you weren't f/l sizing your brass because most all full length size dies for bottle neck rifle rounds are going to automatically punch out that old primer for you and you can't stop it from doing so. I'm wondering if you have a good handle on what you are doing if you are this new to the handloading game. There is a process for reloading ammo and most load manuals go over it quite clearly. Have you got a load manual, and have you read it? It sounds like you may need to review the basics. We are here to help! __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

January 27, 2012, 11:06 AM	#5
larzb93 Member Join Date: December 20, 2011 Location: North Western PA Posts: 53	if your not 100% concerned about saving the bullet you cant do it with just your press and some pliers. remove the die from the press, insert the round into the ram and push the ram up all the way so that the round is seen sticking out of the top of the press. take the pliers and hold the bullet tight, then pull the ram down and it will take the bullet apart with ease. you can sometimes save the bullet to if you use a cloth or something between the bullet and the pliers. worked great for me. good luck!

January 27, 2012, 11:31 AM	#7
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Naaa, I don't think I was too rough. We all make mistakes, I've made a zillion of them. My worry here is HOW did he make loaded rounds when he never decapped a case? Do you see how it might look like he reloaded some un-sized brass? What's likely to happen if that is the case...? If it's his brass and he's shooting a bolt action, it may be a little stiff in there and he may not know why. Here in the year 2012, it's more likely (without knowing) to imagine he's got brass from who-knows-where and he's hoping to run this stuff in a AR of some sort. What's likely to happen if he runs unsized brass in to the chamber of an AR? I don't know, but that's why I'm asking if he knows what he's doing. It's odd... with the common tools and dies we are pretty much all using that he was able to resize those cases without knocking the old primer out, so I'm wondering if they ever got sized. Like I said at the end of my post... we aren't here to criticize, we are here to help. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

January 27, 2012, 11:52 AM	#10
Jim243 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Location: Just off Route 66 Posts: 5,067	No, you wen't too rough, more like stopping someone coming out of divorce court and offering marrage consoling (LOL). Since it was his first posting here, at least he has come to the right place to get advice. And yes he needs to re-read his manuals or at least purchase a few. I was lucky in that my best friend (15 yrs as a reloader) let me observe for a month before I got started. And even then I had about 1,000,000 questions. (but had someone to ask). Good shooting and hit the bullseye each time. Jim __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum

January 27, 2012, 09:24 AM	#2
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,952	Get a bullet puller, dump/save the powder, resize/deprime and start over.

January 27, 2012, 09:26 AM	#3
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,885	Get an inertial bullet puller and chalk it up to lesson-learned http://www.midwayusa.com/product/215...-bullet-puller .

January 27, 2012, 11:34 AM	#8
sunsurp08 Junior Member Join Date: January 26, 2012 Posts: 4	Thanks all for the answers. To answer questions,(spec. SEVENS) - I feel I have a relatively decent handle on what im doing - though I am brand new. Ipurchased many and have read FOUR reloading books - Hornady, Speer x2, and Nosler as well as much online and catalog content. Dont want to make excuses, but im fairly certain that there is a problem with my decap/sizing die. I stupidly got a round stuck in it and had to work on it to get it out. Might be pushing my luck but does anyone know how far out the decap rod should extend from the base of the holder? I think my rod has gotten pushed in. Nothing ever "jammed up" or felt odd wwhile loading these - which was strange. ALSO - some of the rounds decapped / loaded perfect - about 24 out of 80 - and in no particular order. I SHOULD HAVE realized and done something after the first one but never noticed until final inspection - again - never felt any problems.

January 27, 2012, 11:47 AM	#9
sunsurp08 Junior Member Join Date: January 26, 2012 Posts: 4	For what its worth - my COL seems pretty much dead on @ 2.223 -- should I be measuring neck or other dimensions on each case?? Of course I visualy check neck length with initial inspection before cleaning. This is for an AR - and Im DEFINITLY not looking to destroy my rifle OR MY good looks. Thanks again

January 27, 2012, 11:57 AM	#11
sunsurp08 Junior Member Join Date: January 26, 2012 Posts: 4	Jim - Please see previous post. Thanks. Ever have an equipment issue? -- YES, I should have spotted it. I came here BECAUSE I've done my reading and research.

January 27, 2012, 12:32 PM	#13
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,885	What SunSurp said in is #8 post... http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...31&postcount=8 explained everything to me. For all the reasons ever said before, I still recommend a single-stage press for someone just starting -- or a multi-stage/rotating-stage where it's operated as a single stage. It's very difficult to make the kind of oversight error (i.e., there's no step where lack of new primer installation wouldn't be so in-your-face as to un-missable) when each step is isolated/done as a group. But SunSurp has now memorably matriculated in the School of Hard Knocks -- and will never forget the lesson.