Don't do this

[hounddawg]

The only reason I am making this post is I hope this will serve as a reminder for everyone. Never have your mind somewhere else when reloading. The other night my mind was not in the game 100% and I am lucky to be sitting here typing this and still have both eyes, hands etc. I made a stupid stupid mistake and it could have easily cost me my life.

Two powder jugs were sitting side by side and I had picked up the wrong jug. End result was case separation and a 800 dollar upper that is now junk. Double checking charge weight, examining cases under a magnifier, checking COL on every load all came to naught because of a foolish mistake. Never think it could never happen to you, I thought I was a very careful person, all it took was 1 seconds distraction. I reloaded at least 5K pistol bullets last year with zero issues, not as many as some here for sure but still I thought I was beyond rookie mistake territory.

No matter how many times you have loaded a bullet, always and I mean always double check every step.

[primetime]

whew!! Glad you're ok!

[jeep02tj]

My first post.

Glad you're ok. Just curious, but what was $800?

[farmerboy]

It Happens, and it happens to us all in one way or another sooner or later. (we're Human) First off, Glad to hear the "upper" is the only thing that was damaged. Also thanks for admitting that you did "screw up" and how quick and easy it really could happen and remind "US" to check and re-check and do everything possible to keep things like this from happening and help us from getting "laxed" in a hobby that we love to do. Much less worry our family and friends about being concerned for our safety and well being. Again, hate it did happen but nice it was only a near miss and an eye opener and now hopefully a practice will be made to keep that from happening again. I'm sure the #1 mistakes are from distractions as you stated.

[wingman]

One can on bench at a time, reloaders golden rule.... Learned at a very young age.

[Lavid2002]

The reloaders manuals say to read off the name of the powder, primers, bullets, etc... when you put them on the bench.

I.E. When I grab a can of powder I bring it up and say "AA2230". Same thing with primers and anything else included in that load...

[farmerboy]

All these are great tips but if you reload year after year, Sooner or later will happen. We all strive for never though... Learn from mistakes, try to help others from making same and keep on keeping on. I also want to thank the OP for sharing his near miss and I'm sure It's gonna help other's.

[ZeSpectre]

First, really glad the OP is okay.

Second, I'm always amazed at how firearms really are designed to handle overpressure by blowing out AWAY from the shooter.

Finally, In my shop I've created a series of 3x5 laminated tags, one for each type of powder I use.

I have also made the tags each very visually distinct from each other.

The tags get tied to the powder jug and when that powder gets put in the measure the tag comes off the jug and gets tied to the measure so that I have a very obvious reminder of what powder is in the measure.

Some powders jugs are just too damned similar!

[hounddawg]

$800 and change was the cost of the new upper, although it might not be that bad. Just got off the phone with a friend who does builds guns and he says the barrel "probably" can be salvaged, he will extract the case, re ream if necessary and inspect it. Right now I am looking at definitely a magazine release, probably a upper receiver and possibly a barrel.

Like other have said never have more than a single jug of powder sitting on the bench and turn the cell phone off when you enter the loading area

luckily the bipod was on the rifle and my left hand was no where near the forend. I was working up a load and was surprised when this happened at the bottom end of the charge. I pulled bullets and reweighed four charges before it hit me I was looking at flake powder not ball. This was also the first time I had ever loaded for a rifle and used that powder so all the way home I could not figure out where I had messed up.

When I was loading it I had thought that those cases were awfully full for a minimum charge. I even pulled a few bullets yesterday morning and checked to ensure the weight was correct but even then did not notice it was the wrong shape powder. I kept reading about full cases and even compressed charges being normal for a .223 and thought I was being paranoid.

By the way Zespectre, I love that idea and will implement it as soon as I finish the post.

[Unclenick]

Glad you're OK. Speaks well of the design.

Computer labels can be your friend here. Use big ones with the powder name in big, bold letters on top, and the main chambering you use it in right below. You can also list favorite loads using that powder underneath. Leave room to pencil new ones in as you find them. Put that sticker on the canister. Then all you have to look for is the chambering name and glance at the load list to verify it's what you want.

Efficacy hints:

Be sure the label is on the right canister.
Be sure to label the canister and not just the lid.


Jeep02tj,

Welcome to the forum.

He was shooting an AR. These have both and upper receiver and a lower receiver. The upper receiver is usually just called an "upper" and has the barrel, sights, and gas system and front hand guard, and holds the bolt and bolt carrier. The lower receiver has the magazine well, and attaches to the butt stock and recoil spring assembly and to the pistol grip, and houses the trigger group and safety. The pair of receivers are held together by two pins that make the uppers easy to remove for cleaning or for swapping with another one to change barrel length or weight or sight preference.

Legally, only the lower receiver is counted as the receiver that you have to get through a licensed firearms dealer. The design predates all those GCA 68 related regulations, or the parts would be differently named, I expect.

[margiesex]

Foolish me - I went to an "upper" set of teeth.....it's been a long week!

Glad you're OK - the gun is the LEAST expensive thing you could have lost!

God bless.

Margiesex

And remember - hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and sooner than we think!

[briandg]

I'm a nervous wreck anymore about reloading. I even at times think I should just stop. Not that I've ever made mistakes, I just find myself being more and more worried that I might have.

[hounddawg]

I'm a nervous wreck anymore about reloading. I even at times think I should just stop. Not that I've ever made mistakes, I just find myself being more and more worried that I might have.

This was my first, and hopefully my last serious mistake at least pertaining to reloading. I had some guy pull out in front of my car last week on the way to the store, luckily I had just enough room to swerve into the righthand lane. A couple of years back or so back I was on my motorcycle and a dumpster came off the back of the truck in front of me. Wouldn't have that made a heck of a headline, Man killed by runaway trash dumpster on I26. . 27 years active duty military, don't care to think of the number of times I had close calls and lost a lot of friends who were not as lucky.

You just always have to keep focus and your head in the game. A lot of people woke up this morning that will be laying on a morticians table tonight because of foolish mistakes, either theirs or someone elses. Life comes with a expiration date, we just can't see the date is all.

The other night I was talking on the phone as I was setting up, this was Gods way of saying "pay attention fool"

[olddav]

Reloading is about precision. It dosent matter if I'm trying to find the most accurate round for hunting or target, precision is the key. While training for my pilot licence I discovered that if I was in a hurry to either get started or return, my flight suffered. The same applies to my reloading efforts. Both hobbies offer great rewards with the promise that we may pay dearly for our mistakes. For me "slow down, think about every aspect of what I am doing", and I will be rewarded for my efforts. But that just me.

[oneoldsap]

Education always comes at a price , yours actually turned out to be a bargain !

[Slamfire]

Glad you are not hurt.

Assume you are going to be distracted and set up your bench accordingly. Keep only the one powder you are using on the bench.

That will fix the problem you had, and it will fix the problem I had.

When I poured Unique into a 2400 container while emptying the powder measure.