Double charge of shotgun powder in rifle case

[303Guy]

Here's what happened to me (and I lived to tell the tail). I was developing shotgun powder loads for the 303 Brit. I chose the shotgun powder because although it is the fastest of powders it is also quite bulky. My case holds 22.4 gr of the stuff to the base of the neck. The load that seemed good was 10grs under a 206gr paper patched boolit. Well, I got distracted after weighing out the charge and weighed out another charge but when I came to seat the boolit I could see the powder in the case up to the neck! My principle of using a powder that 'overflows' with a double charge worked for me (even though it wasn't quite an overflow). And that was my reason for going for a high bulk powder in the first place. So I live another day to tell the tale. (And the gun survive too).

[Brasso]

303Guy.
Its great that you caught it. I'm paranoid about double charging so I check mine at least three times.

Sam

[3006guns]

I did that by violating the most basic reloading rule: Only ONE type of powder on the bench at any time.

I had just finished loading about 100 .38 S&W with what I thought was a moderate charge of Unique. I picked up the can, turned it around and realized it was Bullseye. To make matters worse, I'd been tossing the finished rounds in a container with another 100 correctly loaded rounds.

It was long afternoon with an inertia bullet puller..........

Glad you caught the mistake....that alone shows you are an "aware" reloader.

[Lizard333]

Fear of a double charge when I first started out led my uncle to have me use Unique as a powder, dirty as all hell, but very noticeable if you double charged. Later, after I got more comfortable, and failed to blow up my pistols, I switched to cleaner powders......

[PAT303]

Thats why I use Trail Boss. Pat

[Rocky Raab]

Good catch, 303guy.

The possibility of double charges is precisely why I threw away my loading blocks many decades ago. It is simply too easy to lose track of which case you charged last and either double one or skip one - or both. And "looking with a strong light" can't catch all such mistakes either, because your eyes can make the same mistake your hands did.

Funnel one charge into a case and immediately seat the bullet. That is the ONLY way to avoid even the chance of doubling or skipping a charge. If there is any interruption or distraction, empty that case and start fresh with a new charge.

[Jim]

Like Rocky, bench rules here are:
Only one can of powder on the bench.
All cases get charged and loaded, ONE AT A TIME.

I had that distraction thing happen to me years ago. I've forgotten what the caliber was or what the powder was, but I remember when I discovered it(fortunately, before I fired them), it scared the doo doo outa' me. Now, I can finish any one round I'm on, cap the powder and walk away.

[Larry Gibson]

That's the exact reason, when using such powders that won't over flow with a double charge, I don't fill up a loading tray with cases and then weigh or dispense charges of powder.

Rule is; if a case is in the loading block/tray it has powder in it....period

I keep the primed, ready to charge cases in a seperate box.....put the powder in....put in loading block........never put powder into case that is already in the loading block/tray. Since adhering to that rule I have never come close to making a double charge mistake in many years.

Larry Gibson

[zxcvbob]

You can put empty cases mouth-down in the loading block; that works too.

[Rocky Raab]

Larry's method is fine if you like to do batch work. I keep primed cases in a tray, too. But I pick up one, charge it and put it directly into the press to seat a bullet.

zxcvbob's method only guarantees that mouth-down cases are empty. It does NOT insure that a mouth up case has one and only one charge. It would be entirely possible to have a "brain fart" and pick up a charged case and add a second charge. Handling a charged case more than once introduces that possibility.

[Canuck Bob]

I just returned to handloading, 32-20 and 444 only at this time. All my charges are set as a double charge overflows the case. I like the phrase, bench rules, above. I've decided that is a bench rule for my reloading. Another is weigh all charges, not practical for the high production shooters but a firm rule for me. Lee dipper to pan and trickler to balance scale. It is in my nature during repetitive tasks to make errors in details when i let machines do all the work.

Years ago I once double loaded a 45 ACP round. The load was light and my hand, eyes, and gun survived. I remeber my knees shaked after because I knew I'd dodged another real disaster waiting to happen. Those lessons are best learned from others. Thanks 303Guy.

[plainsman456]

I turn all cases primer up in the loading blocks.When one is charged with powder it gets a boolit seated,repeat as necessary.
Some case shapes make it hard to see with a flashlight.

[mran1126]

Mine are upside down in one block before charging......after charge go into a second block. Seems to work this way. Been doing that 35 years and have never had a double charge. But I still visually check them too. Can't be too careful.

[hydraulic]

I use Rocky's method and add one other step. My funnel is placed upside down on the bench. I measure out a charge on the scale, pick up an empty case, place it upside down in the funnel, turn them over and dump the powder charge, and immediately seat the bullet.

[koehlerrk]

When I learned reloading from my Uncle Walt, he gave me some very good advice on bench setup.

Two trays on the bench, one on either side of the press. Primed cases go in the left side tray. Pick up primed case, add powder, check that there's powder in the case, put in press. Seat bullet. Put loaded round in the right side tray.

Been using his method for four years now, and no issues. Uncle Walt has been doing this for about 40 years... and no problems either.

Maybe it's overkill, but I like my face/eyes/ears/hands the way they were made.

[Centaur 1]

When my cases are ready for powder, they're in a storage container that's to the right of my powder measure. I pick up a case, charge it, then place it on the bench to my left. After I charge 10 cases I'll look into them using a flashlight to check for powder. My press is to the left of the charged cases so I just slide my chair over and seat the boolits then drop the finished cartridge into another box.

A lot of our techniques might differ quite a bit, but the trick is to find what works for you and stick to it. We're creatures of habit and when we change how we do something is when mistakes are made.

And I agree with Pat303, Trail boss is great.

[crabo]

I keep primed cases in a tray, too. But I pick up one, charge it and put it directly into the press to seat a bullet.

This works best for me also. If you get distracted, it's very easy to dump out the powder, and put the case back with the rest of the primed cases. Come back and it's easy to start over.

[Buddy]

I shot alot of trap in the early 70's. 4 of us shared the same MEC press and loaded cases of AA's every week. One Sunday afternoon at a shoot my buddy John called for his bird and when he fired it sounded like a bomb went off. I mean every shotgun on the range went quiet and everyone was looking to see what happened. I guess one of us double charged a case. John was not injured and finnished his round. We had a serious talk about this and changed the way we did things, No more than 1 person at the bench, NO exceptions! Johns gun was a Remington 1100TB and it survived. John went on to win the state title that year.

[303Guy]

Rule is; if a case is in the loading block/tray it has powder in it....period
I like Larry's rule. I will adopt it. Thanks for that Larry!:drinks:

[GP100man]

Good catch 303Guy !!!!

I do revolver rounds primer up on empty & mouth up on charged & move em to a different block , then look at em at least 3 times !!

Rifle ,I prep cases for powder then as it`s dropped I seat the boolit !!

[JeffinNZ]

Was that a SMLE proof load you were preparing? Good save.

[Rocky Raab]

Hydraulic, your upside-down funnel trick is brilliant. I only wish I had thought of it.

Now, if I can only form a new habit after 50+ years of reloading...