Five dollar lesson

[7br]

Picked up a pound of 4895 so I could continue load testing. filled the Uniflow about 2/3 full, adjusted it, and started dropping charges. got to about the 30th cartridge and noticed that the case was completely full. Dumped the charge back into the uniflow and noticed tumbling media on top of the powder. Dropped the remaining 20 loads then got a spoon out to try and get the media out. No good. Burnt about a 1/4 lb powder because of that screwup.

Lesson learned -- Don't drop directly into uniflow.

[geargnasher]

I don't follow. Do you tumble your brass after sizing and repriming?

Gear

[7br]

I sized brass. Tumbled it to get lube off. Thought I had dumped all of the media out, primed then charged.

[fryboy]

the lesson then being that we should always double check to make sure the cases are empty ( and clear ) before dropping powder , after tumbling i like to put them in a cheap old tray that comes with factory ammo , 45 ones work well for this if they have a open bottom , using two trays ( top and bottom ) i can turn the whole tray over and check for flash hole obstructions and from the top for media stuck in the case , from there they get primed then powdered , the tray deal doesnt always work with larger shells ( think rimmed and mags ) but where it does it works well

[Shiloh]

I have found the same thing. I test fit some sized and lubed boolits in sized and flared cartridges. Some of the lube remained causing retained media to stick. I found it when powdering. Checked some of the others and there was media. fortunately ther were only 4 or 5 cases in this condition.

In my case there wasn't enough media to make an issue. Picked out what I could and continued without a problem.

Shiloh

[montana_charlie]

I sized brass. Tumbled it to get lube off. Thought I had dumped all of the media out, primed then charged.
I tumble black powder rifle cases in ceramic media and liquid. I have been taking them from the ceramic and tumbling in walnut to dry them.
It leaves them spot-free and shiney...

Recently started up and had charged several cases when I remembered I wanted to use a smaller charge.
The plan was to dump the charge, remove some powder, and put it back in the case.
That's when some of the clumped walnut (from the drying cycle) showed up in the scale pan.

A possible clue to those unexplained flyers?
CM

[Larry Gibson]

I sized brass. Tumbled it to get lube off. Thought I had dumped all of the media out, primed then charged.

I do that to and then I clean the primer pocket and inspect the case which includes a look through the flash hole with the case mouth against a light back ground.

It's why I always size, delube and inspect bottlecked cases on a single stage press prior to loading them on a Dillon progressive press. With straight sided pistol cases I always visually inspect the inside prior to inserting into station 1 on the 550 or the SDB.

I don't know how many times I've found debri of some sort in the case or flash fole along with the occasional split neck.


Larry Gibson

[qajaq59]

One habit I developed, when I started loading a long time ago, was to keep all my cases neck down in the blocks unless they have powder in them. It has worked out well for me and it would help avoid the situation such as you just described.

[part_timer]

One habit I developed, when I started loading a long time ago, was to keep all my cases neck down in the blocks unless they have powder in them. It has worked out well for me and it would help avoid the situation such as you just described.

Ditto plus keeps from dropping a double charge in one.

[XWrench3]

i won't say ALWAYS, because once in a rare while, i do not follow my own advice. but USUALLY, i wash my brass in soap and water twice, and rinse three times to get them as clean as i can get them before priming or loading them. then into a wire tray, and i point a fan at them so they dry quickly. once in a great while, i am in to big of a hurry, and the cases go from the media to the loading tray. but one thing i do always do is knock the cases as they are coming out of the media seperating bucket, because i have had the happen lots of times. media stuck in the case that is. not only do i not want to load with media in the case, but i dont want it falling out all over everything else on the load bench either. while i am not the neatest person at the load bench, i am a stickler about clean.

[ghh3rd]

I use ground walnut shell and find that I have to pick out a piece of shell from the flash hole on about a third of my cases. The sharp end of a bamboo shishkabob skewer works great. At least this "problem" causes me to inspect every case after tumbling.

[jlchucker]

I sized brass. Tumbled it to get lube off. Thought I had dumped all of the media out, primed then charged.

My own loading technique is to tumble to get lube off as well. What I did long ago though is to make up a handy little tool to prevent tumbling media from blocking the priming hole. I took a small finishing nail and pounded it into a piece of wooden dowel (for a handle). Then I ground off the exposed nail head. I then check each piece of brass for pieces of media stuck in the priming hole, and if I find same, I poke it out from back to front with my tool, dropping the piece of media back into the tumbler. Works fine for me.

[Rocky Raab]

First, I NEVER use polishing additives, which tend to make media clump up and stick inside of cases. I know that wasn't the problem in this instance, but I mention it as a general principle.

When I remove brass from my tumbler, I hold each piece against the rim of the tub with the tumbler running. The vibration empties any trapped media pronto. I also use a tool much like jlchucker describes, except that I use a precut dowel joining peg and a piece of heavy paper clip wire. Walnut gives me many fewer flash hole blockages than corncob, but it may just be the specific grit sizes I have.

[7br]

The point I would like to get across is to never directly dump a charged case into the powder measure or into the powder can. Dump the case into you scale pan, inspect it, then into the measure. If I had done that, I would have lost 25grains of powder instead of 1500.

I THOUGHT I visually inspected everything. I THOUGHT I had cleaned out all of the flash holes.

[Rocky Raab]

I think we lost sight of that, 7BR.

Yuppers, a most wise tip.

[Hardcast416taylor]

My procedure is to tumble clean FIRST. Next I make sure the cases are empty before I start the sizeing steps. Next I lube and deprime as I resize. I hand wipe off each case to remove the Dillion size lube, not tumble off. Next I use an RCBS case prep machine to clean the primer pockets and de-burr inside as well new cases. After I have accomplished all these steps I then move on to other steps of loading the cases. Yes, I have made myself many extra steps. I am retired with the time to do them, and haven`t had a powder/media mistake yet.Robert

[onondaga]

Robert, your reloading steps sound so familiar to me because that is how I reload . They are also the steps recommended by reloading tool manufacturers. :killingpc So many resist, even when they continue to have the same problem for the same reason.
Gary

[shootingbuff]

Picked up a pound of 4895 so I could continue load testing. filled the Uniflow about 2/3 full, adjusted it, and started dropping charges. got to about the 30th cartridge and noticed that the case was completely full. Dumped the charge back into the uniflow and noticed tumbling media on top of the powder. Dropped the remaining 20 loads then got a spoon out to try and get the media out. No good. Burnt about a 1/4 lb powder because of that screwup.

Lesson learned -- Don't drop directly into uniflow.

As mentioned always check primer pockets and flash holes.

Only time I have had media stuck in cases was when I put case cleaner in with the brass and not tumble it in separately. I guess what happens is a glob gets in the case and pretty much stays there.

So I after the second time I stopped putting cleaner and brass in at the same time.

Regardless always check primer pockets and flash holes.

sb

[zomby woof]

I use this to separate my media. I have no problem.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=176956

[qajaq59]

If you're going put polish in with your media, you really do have to run the tumbler for a while so it mixes in. I generally toss a wrench in with mine to mix it better. (I'm talking about a tumbler, not a vibrator) You can't just dump in the polish and the cases at the same time. If you do that, you're going to get cases full of goo!!

[shootingbuff]

If you're going put polish in with your media, you really do have to run the tumbler for a while so it mixes in. I generally toss a wrench in with mine to mix it better. (I'm talking about a tumbler, not a vibrator) You can't just dump in the polish and the cases at the same time. If you do that, you're going to get cases full of goo!!

:shock:

Now you tell me... :killingpc:p

[Hardcast416taylor]

If I remember correctly, any polish maker suggest running the tumbler for 30 minutes to ensure it is thoroughly mixed throughout the tumbler media and no clumps are present.Robert

[shootingbuff]

:holysheep

Come on, when does anyone read the instructions

sb

[lwknight]

When adding polish to the media , its best to do it before putting the brass in.
Just let it run a little while till the clumps break up and disperse.

Also , agree as restated, never dump powder from the brass directly into the powder can.

[shootingbuff]

When adding polish to the media , its best to do it before putting the brass in.
Just let it run a little while till the clumps break up and disperse.

Also , agree as restated, never dump powder from the brass directly into the powder can.

Yep twice in a hurry and twice I had a packed case. Knew better just in a hurry.

Anyway always check primer pockets and flash holes and one wont have to worry about any of the rest.

sb

[Markbo]

You mean a primer won't blow that stuck stuff out of the hole on the way to the powder? [smilie=1:

[qajaq59]

You mean a primer won't blow that stuck stuff out of the hole on the way to the powder? Actually I don't ever recall reading that anyone had done a test to find out whether it would or not. I would think though, that even if it did blow it out of the way, the ignition might be lowered enough to give you some lousy accuracy? Does enyone know for sure?