Tumbler experience..who'd a thunk it!

[Shuz]

This is one for the record books! Yesterday I was loading .44mag cases on a Dillon Square Deal B as I've done for over 30 years now. When I went to check the powder charge, I noticed that the level of Trail Boss was much higher in the case than usual. When I dumped the powder onto my scale to measure the charge, and perhaps adjust my measure, I noticed a .380ACP case was lodged inside the .44 mag case, thus giving the higher than normal powder level! What is real weird is that the .44 Dillon decapping die went straight thru the .380 case,piercing the primer, and then knocking out the spent primer in the .44 mag case. I could have easily continued loading this case, seated a boolit and then perhaps experienced a disaster had I not been using a bulky powder like Trail Boss.
I don't normally tumble .380ACP brass with .44 mag brass, because I noticed early on, that the little cases would fit inside the .44 cases and not get polished. How that .380 case snuck into that .44 case, I'll never know, perhaps it escaped the last time I tumbled .380 cases and was lurking in the media? Anyways the moral of the story, at least for me, is to always look inside a straight walled case like the .44 mag or .444 Marlin, before putting it in the press!

[OS OK]

Too bad that we don't have a running post on this forum just for 'testaments' like yours of "Near Misses" or some such for all the fellas to read.
It seems like so many now days are so pressed for time that they are in too big of a hurry to get the loading done with adequate care. If you hadn't been so meticulous in your work, it could have slipped by without notice. It makes the wise loader stop to think about their methods…and think for a moment…"How can I prevent this from ever happening to me?"

Thanks for your post…I hope that it hits home with some of our community here…OS OK

[Bent Ramrod]

Eternal Vigilance--even with a loading machine. Good on you for being aware of the anomaly and catching it.

I have the same trouble when I tumble .38-55 and .45-70 cases together. It helps to put all cases, mouth up, in the bottom of the tumbler and carefully fill them to the top with the tumbling media. Then pour the rest of the media in around the cases. Generally this keeps the case-inside-case phenomenon to a minimum.

But you always gotta watch out. As Tony Hillerman kept quoting in his Indian stories, "Coyote Waits." Trouble is always out there, waiting to strike. We call it "Entropy" now, of course.

[OS OK]

Eternal Vigilance--even with a loading machine. Good on you for being aware of the anomaly and catching it.

I have the same trouble when I tumble .38-55 and .45-70 cases together. It helps to put all cases, mouth up, in the bottom of the tumbler and carefully fill them to the top with the tumbling media. Then pour the rest of the media in around the cases. Generally this keeps the case-inside-case phenomenon to a minimum.

But you always gotta watch out. As Tony Hillerman kept quoting in his Indian stories, "Coyote Waits." Trouble is always out there, waiting to strike. We call it "Entropy" now, of course.

"That Coyote's name is Murphy!"

OS OK

[Guesser]

I had that happen a couple times with a 40 S&W case in a 44 Magnum case and loading on a progressive; I never got to the powder charging stage before I noticed the anomaly in sensing the feel. Had to start paying closer attention; I did so by eliminating the progressive and dropping back and just using 4 single stage presses.

[Echo]

"That Coyote's name is Murphy!"

OS OK
I'll bet that folks don't know that 'Morphy's Law' wasn't originally proposed by Murphy, but by another guy with the same name...

[GRid.1569]

Too bad that we don't have a running post on this forum just for 'testaments' like yours of "Near Misses" or some such for all the fellas to read.
It seems like so many now days are so pressed for time that they are in too big of a hurry to get the loading done with adequate care. If you hadn't been so meticulous in your work, it could have slipped by without notice. It makes the wise loader stop to think about their methods…and think for a moment…"How can I prevent this from ever happening to me?"

Thanks for your post…I hope that it hits home with some of our community here…OS OK


You know that is a good idea... "Near Misses - Learn from my mistake". A good forum topic...

[OS OK]

You know that is a good idea... "Near Misses - Learn from my mistake". A good forum topic...

Well…why don't you think about it and head it up? Only problem is that where I've seen a specific thread start and want only specific info. about half the time fellas either get into a running argument over a detail or others chime in reading only the last couple of post and skew the OP's thread off into left field talking about Model T's or some such. I'm too much of an old 'stick in the mud' to try that again and remain 'sorta-semi-sane'. Some people will not come in reading from the front of the thread all the time…you get 'drive by posters'…I get hot and want to 'ring a few necks', good thing I live away from most and have a fence around the property…to keep me in!

OS OK

You probably are aware of this but a couple of weapons have been blown up to some extent in as many weeks lately.

[murf205]

I'll bet that folks don't know that 'Morphy's Law' wasn't originally proposed by Murphy, but by another guy with the same name...

Man, I wish they hadda' named that law after somebody else!!
Murf

[paul edward]

As Tony Hillerman kept quoting in his Indian stories, "Coyote Waits." Trouble is always out there, waiting to strike. We call it "Entropy" now, of course.

Goes by the name of Murphy.

[6bg6ga]

Somebody must have been praying:kidding:

[myg30]

Shuz, great catch. Glad you caught it before stuffing a boolit on it.
A while back I found something stuck in the bottom of range pick up brass after being tumbled.
I now take the time to tap all my brass upside down on the table before loading them.
I'm NEVER in a hurry to reload and it curls my skin when I read posts about " Fastest way" to reload.
Good brass inspection is part of the reloading process is it not ? Split cases ?

Mike

[fg-machine]

I'll bet that folks don't know that 'Morphy's Law' wasn't originally proposed by Murphy, but by another guy with the same name...

it took me a a few seconnds to realize how funny that is

[JohnH]

There are two kinds of reloaders, those who haven't made mistakes (or had things go wrong) and those who are going to. Inspect, inspect, inspect. If it seems wrong, it prolly is until proven it's ok.

[Smk SHoe]

More like, There are two types of reloaders, One's that have made mistakes and One's that haven't YET. As soon as something feels a little off, Stop and check everything.

[reddog81]

Didn't the press short stroke when the decapping pin only knocked out the .380 primer? There's no way the decapping pin went onto knock out the the 44 Mag primer also.

i wonder if the case in front of this one got a powder charge...

[Shuz]

Didn't the press short stroke when the decapping pin only knocked out the .380 primer? There's no way the decapping pin went onto knock out the the 44 Mag primer also.

i wonder if the case in front of this one got a powder charge...
Believe me....the decapping pin went clear thru the .380 ACP case,piercing that primer, and then on thru to knock out the spent .44 mag cases's primer!