Messed up loading tonight

[tomme boy]

Well I finally decided I need to get loading the 45 acp for summer shoots. Last week I tried a couple loads and they worked great. So tonight I geared up to load at least 500 rounds. Set the powder drop to drop 4.6gr of tightgroup and a 225 gr Mihec 452374. Loaded about 50 then rechecked the drop of powder. Right on 4.6 grs. So off I go.

I am loading on a Lee Pro-1000 that actually works. So I thought. Somewhere, somehow, the return spring to pull back the powder disc went missing. I can not find it anywhere. I don't remember hearing seeing or feeling it go missing. I stop every 100 or so and recheck to make sure the powder is still dropping right. Every time I checked it till the 450 round mark had the right amount in it. This one had NONE! I watch the powder disc go back and forth for each round. But it was not going all the way back to let the powder drop into the hole to put it in the case. I was wondering why I did not have to fill the powder hopper. It is a dense powder so 4.6 goes a really long ways. But not this long.

Anyway, I think tomorrow I'm going to the range with the 1911 and a hammer and brass rod. At least this will be a good training tool to see how and if I'm flinching. On the way back I'm going to have to stop at the hardware store to pick up a spring.

[Bullshop Junior]

That does suck... Although if it worked to drop a charge to measure, it should be fine before hand. Is start with the last rounds loaded and work back.

[Mk42gunner]

Unless you have the rounds separated into 50 or 100 round lots that is potentially lot of wasted primers. I think I would figure out a semi easy way to break the rounds down; better to pull a few hundred boolits and recast them than to get frustrated and make another mistake.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go,

Robert

[2wheelDuke]

Ouch. I had a similar issue loading .38spl on my Lee Pro 1000. I had to go thru the ammo with a brass rod to get rid of the squibs as well.

I understand that the Pro Auto Disc uses the chain to return it to eliminate that possibility of a mistake. I haven't tried switching one over to the chain return yet.

I have to check, I think I have a spare return spring.

[tomme boy]

My 9mm press uses the chain. This one does not. I added the pro disc later so it is a spring return like the older powder drop. No they are not sorted into lots. I have a plastic bin they drop into. It holds roughly 500 45 rounds.

I usually go thru 300 rds when I go to the range anyway. Supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow anyway. I really need the practice for my weak hand anyway.

[Themoose]

Not sure if it will help, but you could scale your loaded rounds to see if you can pick out suspected squib loads... I know that the powder charge is smaller than rifle rounds, but you may still be able to guage... try weigh sorting empty brass and see how much difference you have.. if you weigh sorted your bullets prior to loading they should be good... it may be worth a shot

[freebullet]

Oooo dang that sucks. I feel blessed mine was only about 25 rounds. Worked out though cause the wife hadn't ever experienced a squib. At least you caught it and didn't go shooting thinking all was well. Stay safe.

[2wheelDuke]

Not sure if it will help, but you could scale your loaded rounds to see if you can pick out suspected squib loads... I know that the powder charge is smaller than rifle rounds, but you may still be able to guage... try weigh sorting empty brass and see how much difference you have.. if you weigh sorted your bullets prior to loading they should be good... it may be worth a shot

Good idea. I had that idea when I had the issue with my measure jamming up. I found that my brass varied in weight as much as my powder charge weighed for those loads.

[DLCTEX]

I had the same problem once. When running mixed brass you can't tell by weight.

[Ed1]

see if you can shake them and hear the powder in the shell

[CastingFool]

I thought that weighing them may help you identify the squib loads, when I first read the post.

[tomme boy]

Not with this little of powder. Tightgroup is a very dense powder. 4.6grs is about the same as 2grs of bullseye. By volume. It is all mixed brass and I don't weigh any of my boolits. I used to but it is not worth it. For the 20 yds I shoot at anyway.

[garym1a2]

I had a similar problem once on my lee classic turrent with the spring loaded powder measure. My spring did not break, just sometimes it stuck and did not drop powder. This sometimes happened with WST. In a batch of 200 rounds I had 5 that did not work. So for than on when loading its a bright lamp to inspect every round.
For me I don't like using metal rods, I just use a fat wooden dowl.

[southpaw]

I like to sit so that I can see into all the cases as they go by. That way if any look off I can double check. When loading on the progressive I look at the charge bar when I lower the handle to make sure that it moved. When the shell moves on I watch to see if I can see powder. I don't stop to do any of this unless something looks wrong. Of course I haven't had any issues now that I upgraded to a 650. I had the same issues with my 1000. It go to the point with all the checking that I might as well have been loading on a single stage press.

Jerry Jr.

[labradigger1]

I had a similar problem last year with 44 mag on a dillon 550, i usually dont visually check the powder level but weigh about every 20 rnds or so. After about 300 or so i noticed no powder in the case before bullet seating. This 550 uses the case actuated pm and the slide wasnt returning to zero. I polished all moving parts and applied graphite and problem solved. I was able to weigh finished rounds due to same case lots and a good batch of boolits. 3 would have been squibs. Now i check visually the powder level. Usually i get into a rythm and if something is wrong i can hear a difference. Lesson learned.
lab

[TheDoctor]

Had an incident with a PRO-1000 using an autodisc pro with the pull chain. Was not priming on the press, so no extra push forward on the handle. Wound up loading one round with no powder. Through a series of unfortunate events and my inattention, wound up having to replace a barrel. Counted myself lucky that was all that happened. Even though I know exactly what happened, never trusted that setup again. I now charge everything in a block. Slower, but I am sure.

[Mik]

Be careful. I have seen a pretty serious jam caused by ignition of a primer and primer only. The primer caused the case to expand but there was no ignition of the powder to aid extraction. That glock was locked up so tight it had to be put in a vice and hammered. Now the scenario was slightly different. Winchester forgot to drill a flash hole in the case so there was nowhere for the primer gas to go. In your case, the bullet might move into the barrel reliving the pressure and cause you no problems aside from a squib.

[375supermag]

Hi...
Exactly the same reason (or at least one of the reasons) I put my Lee 1000 in a box in the bottom of a cabinet years ago.
The powder drop and primer seating system is just not reliable.
I went back to single-stage reloading on a RockChucker and have never had another squib load because of a mis-dumped powder charge or a primer that somehow got seated upside down or backwards like happened much too often on the Lee.

Maybe some day when I am retired and have time to deal with poorly designed non-functional equipment, I will pull the Lee 1000 out of storage and attempt to make it work properly. Should take several years of trial and error, along with a large number of modifications if my experience with other Lee products is any benchmark as regards their utility and performance.

I do not have high expectations in this endeavor. I also do not buy Lee products any longer. I don't even buy their stuff at give away prices at yard sales...I would feel guilty buying something to re-sell that I knew was junk from the get-go.

I had bought other Lee products back in the day when I first started reloading and quickly learned why their presses, die sets and other "tools" were so inexpensive.
The old missive "Cheap isn't good and good isn't cheap" comes to mind when evaluating Lee products.

Having said all that...I am intrigued by their new case trimming tool. I may well risk a few dollars to see if it actually might work if I ever see one in a store. I have done foolish things before, but it has been quite awhile...so I am about due to do another. And I do hate trimming rifle cases...with a deep and abiding passion. Who knows this may well be the one Lee product that actually does what it says it will do...

[remy3424]

That blows Tommyboy....you do have a nice day today to light some up....hope to get out myself today.

Supermag..If you hate trimming rifle cases you might try a LEE collet neck sizing dies, they work well for me (I guess bushing neck sizer dies will do a similar job for a few more bucks) ...they seem to really eliminate or greatly slow the stretch you get.

I don't get too down on companys' products, I do use Lee's collet dies, hand press, hand priming tools, lead melting pots and a few of their molds. Lots of companies to pick from and they all make the products we need and use, different pricing, different warranties and get the tasks done in slightly different ways. They all have a nitch which they are filling if they are still in business. Some users need price point, some want a no BS warranty and some demand the most accurate performance available...Lee isn't for everyone, but neither is Wilson, Redding, Lyman, RCBS or whoever.

[375supermag]

That blows Tommyboy....you do have a nice day today to light some up....hope to get out myself today.

Supermag..If you hate trimming rifle cases you might try a LEE collet neck sizing dies, they work well for me (I guess bushing neck sizer dies will do a similar job for a few more bucks) ...they seem to really eliminate or greatly slow the stretch you get.

I don't get too down on companys' products, I do use Lee's collet dies, hand press, hand priming tools, lead melting pots and a few of their molds. Lots of companies to pick from and they all make the products we need and use, different pricing, different warranties and get the tasks done in slightly different ways. They all have a nitch which they are filling if they are still in business. Some users need price point, some want a no BS warranty and some demand the most accurate performance available...Lee isn't for everyone, but neither is Wilson, Redding, Lyman, RCBS or whoever.

Hi...

I may look into that Lee die you mentioned.
I may have been a bit harsh in my statements about Lee products, but it is based on my use of their products and is not what somebody copied and pasted from some Internet site.
And is why I use RCBS, Hornady and Redding reloading equipment.
Having said that if I find a Lee product that works as advertised and is reliable and durable I will be happy to report that as well.
The Lee price point makes their products attractive, but I do not like buying things twice because of poor design or substandard workmanship or cheap materials, so I am very dubious having been burnt more than once.

[Bad Water Bill]

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[762 shooter]

I got all this good advice for you but it won't help you with the loaded/almost loaded rounds.

I would set those aside and use for plinking or practice. You could weigh them all and set aside the heaviest. Chances are the heaviest have powder. Shaking might work. No way to tell for sure.

762

[TXGunNut]

Progressives do indeed have a way of multiplying a small malfunction or mistake, it's the nature of the beast. I've spent many hours with my early 550 and learned to tell when something wasn't going exactly right....but that didn't prevent every squib. I kept match ammo separate from practice ammo. Match ammo was from sessions where everything went right, practice ammo was generated on other days. On days when things weren't going well I learned to shut it down and walk away to prevent component waste and squibs. My 550 recently came out of retirement, promptly broke a small part but went on to load 2000 trouble-free rounds.
The early 550 went thru many mods to the powder dispensing system so I'd be hesitant to slam the Lee, haven't they upgraded the powder dispenser since then? OTOH I don't own any Lee presses or dies but really enjoy using many of their other projects.

[shooter93]

I never load a single round on any press including a 650 without making sure there is a way I can see into every round before I set the bullet.

[CGT80]

I check every pistol case for powder level, visually, on both my 550 and 1050 (with bullet feeder). For rifle brass, I shake the loaded cartridges. I can feel and hear when they are about right (at least good enough to get the bullet/boolit out of the barrel). I can usually see the powder in my 223 loads as I use full power loads with jwords.

The worst mistake I made was not having enough crimp on my 40 S&W ammo when I set it up on my 550. I had to readjust dies as I moved from my single stage press.

A part started to fail on my 550 powder thrower as I was finishing up a batch of ammo. I visually checked all my rounds as they got bullets. My brother then loaded the same caliber for his gun but didn't visually check. He had a bunch of squibs. He loaded a batch of 500 rounds. He also didn't bring his gun to check loaded overall length of the round for his barrel. He used my barrel from the same model gun. My gun is at least 5 years older. It has a deeper or more tapered chamber/barrel leade. If he ejects a loaded round, the bullet sticks in the barrel. Needless to say, he learned a few lessons and fortunately didn't fire more than one squib at a time. We kept the squib rod handy on that range visit. He still has about 400 of those rounds to work through.

[snuffy]

Place the boolit in the bottom of your powder funnel. Hold it there while you shake the round, point the top of the funnel at your ear. The funnel acts like a megaphone to amplify the sound of the powder shaking around inside.