Warning : Major reloading Accident last night !

[pt4u2nv]

2 reasons for this post. 1st to hopefully help someone to not have this happen to them and second get some opinions on how to proceed. First a little background on the issue. I am ok but did spent a few hours in the emergency room last night getting 9 stiches in both hands and stomach.

I have been reloading for over 40 years and have been doing this process for almost all of those years .It started with having problems on my progressive press seating primers deep enough in 38 special cases to have consistent firing. Came to this conclusion when the second strike on the primer they would go off. Gun....S&W 686 357/38 Special Pro w/ 5" barrel. Primer are some off the wall PMC's I bought when primers were hard to find. A lot of them seat really hard hence the issue with some not being seated firmly enough. Anyway, in the past I would then feel the cases to check for high primers, or in the case of these I just started running all loaded cases back thru seating primers a second time with my Lee hand held just to feel the primers seating correctly. I know, even in my mind this was a little " walking on the edge" but again I have always done this on other occasions and do take extreme caution to insure the primers are reseated without too much force. I feel with the Lee hand primer this can be felt easily as you apply pressure. Well, as by know I am sure you know what happened.....the primer went off on the loaded case in my hand and the shell fragmented sending brass fragments and pcs of plastic from the hand primer in all directions. Blood everywhere and I still have not found all the pcs of brass to account for the entire 38 case.

Back to the immediate issues, I would like to know what you all are doing to reseat primers on loaded shells ( if doing it at all ) as I still have prob 20 cases loaded to reseat and am a little jumpy right now. I don't want to even think about using a kinetic bullet puller to disassemble them, being concerned this may ignite the problem primers . In my "cause and corrective action" plans I will prob not continue using this brand of primers...hopefully I do not have another box or more left, they were 1,000 count boxes. I also need to find another way to seat primers, maybe off the progressive and not use the Lee hand primer as I now have a fear of that also. My initial thought would be go with the RCBS table mounted primer but that means I will have to interrupt the sequencing on the progressive.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully this will help me and others in the future from having this happen to them.

Let the well deserved bashing begin

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

No bashing from me my friend. Very glad you are ok. I have done exactly as you have...maybe a handful of times...and was really nervous about it. After hearing this I will never do it again. So from that perspective, thanks for sharing this.

I would change my routine. Maybe resize and seat primers off the press? What press are you using? Is there adjustment on it to seat primers a bit deeper? Maybe a little more info on the press might lend more help.

Anyway, glad you are ok and thanks for sharing!

[farmerjim]

Shoot the 20 you have left no mater how many strikes it takes. use the lee hand primer to use up the rest of these primers. Wear a glove and safety glasses.

[Pb Burner]

No bashing from me either. Glad you are "ok". That could have been so much worse, thinking of eyes. The other rounds already loaded, if it were me, I'd disassemble them at the range. Shoot them, much safer.

[OS OK]

I don't have any bashing for you...ain't you in enough pain already?

What have I been 'getting away with' in the last 40 years to further seat a primer in a loaded cartridge? ....I Don't...

It's kinetic puller or Hornady Cam Lock time.

I bring clean brass, pre-primed by any method you desire to the LnL and it gives me even more leeway...in using those 5 holes.

I'm really glad it was not as bad as the Title of the Thread sounded...charlie

[DerekP Houston]

yikes, glad you are ok. I set the primed cases aside if they have a high primer or don't seat right. no sense putting powder and a bullet in them to save 2c on a bad primer. I'll use my turret press to seat the primers a little deeper but that hand priming tool always made me a bit nervous.

[jmort]

I would only reseat primers on unloaded rounds. Once the round is loaded, it either goes off in a gun, or not and if so, I would toss it or take it apart. I have not had this specific issue, i.e. not fully seated primers as I never prime on a press, especially a progressive. I use either the RCBS or Lee bench-mounted priming tools or a hand priming tool and check every single one. The problem is not the hand priming tool, it reseating a primer on a loaded round. Sorry to hear about this. You flew too close to the sun, as you know, reseating those primers.

[NyFirefighter357]

I did this the first time I used my turret press, I was crazy enough to reseat the primer with a loaded cartridge with an audience. I am sure no one will tell you it is safe to do. Your only safe option is pulling the bullets and then resetting the primers. I think I'm going to start to prime my cases before I load, this way if you they need a little extra it can be done safely. As you now know, you don't want one of those loaded cart. to go off while your giving it the second seating. You are lucky you that you didn't loose an eye or both as well. Get well soon. Let his be a lesson for everyone. It was for me!

[jmorris]

At first I couldn't understand how a case blew up hand priming, then I realized you were seating a loaded round!

I am glad you're OK and provided this caution for others. Even if you had 100 rounds to pull down and reload is sure would have been quicker than the ER trip, not to mention throwing the ammo away, if you don't own a bullet puller, would be many times cheaper.

Do you have any photos to share?

[Beagle333]

Glad the damage was minor. I always pull a round with a high primer. And this story even further guarantees that I will continue to do so. Thanks for sharing and a speedy recovery to you!

[OS OK]

This too...If you should decide to prime off-press, one simple swipe of the finger across the installed primer as you remove it from the priming tool will tell you if it is flush or deeper than flush...no exceptions...the longer you do it the better that finger senses...it's foolproof.

[Outpost75]

No bashing here either.

I learned the hard way that the only way to be sure is to NOT decap and prime on the same machine, at the same time.

I separately decap range brass for inspection before tumble cleaning.

Only decapped, cleaned, 100% visually inspected brass goes into the loading machine.

The decapping stem in the sizing die is retained to clear any tumbling media from the flash hole.

Primers are seated only into a clean pocket.

If using a brand of primers I have not tried before I HAND PRIME the first 1000 to check size before trying to prime on the machine.

I GROUND the loading machine, use an anti-static cleaner and vacuum the loading area after EVERY session to remove all traces of spilled powder, residue or primer dust.

Hope the above helps somebody.

I've had a few scares over the years, but still have both eyes and all ten fingers!

[pt4u2nv]

I am using the Piggyback progressive press on a Rockchucker. I do have a bullet puller but then again I am paranoid to use it as maybe the hit on the puller may set the primer off. I am still alittle confused as to what made the primer ignite as I was using very little pressure to seat it. Some have stated that you can put a primer in a vise and squeeze it and it will not go off. I have accidently seated primers sideways in my progressive already and they never went off. The only thing left of the 38 special case was about 1/4" that was still in the shell holder. Never found the rest of the brass, bullet was laying on the floor next to my feet.

Unfortunately it would be a major hassle to prime off the press as it is located in the second station which means I would have to remove each case after the depriming and place it back in the sequence to continue. I still feel it was the brand and quality of primers that was the culprit. Of course some of my stupidity contributed to it also.

[buckshotshoey]

First im wondering why the primers were high to begin with. Build up of primer residue? I check primer pockets every time i load.
Never tried to reseat primers on a loaded round myself. Thought about it a few times. Chickened out!

If you dont like the kinetic puller, RCBS makes a collet type bullet puller that goes in your press. It is supposed to grab the bullet and you use a down stroke of the press to pull bullet. They say it wont damage the bullet.

There is a saying that goes with expolsives.....

The only thing you can be sure of, is, there's nothing you can be sure of!

[rancher1913]

I'm with os-ok on this one, I use a hand primer then go to the press, just never have trusted to progressive loader primer systems.

[Paper Puncher]

The act of priming a case requires that the primer be pressed into the case. There is no way I can see that would guarantee that the primer can't be set off. When using a hand type primer always point the case away from your face. It is real convenient to hold the priming tool at waist level while sitting and look down at what your doing. Ideally we would be wearing face and eye protection but most of us aren't going to do that. I am partial to the hand held priming tools as I can prime in a comfortable chair while watching TV etc.

[pt4u2nv]

This too...If you should decide to prime off-press, one simple swipe of the finger across the installed primer as you remove it from the priming tool will tell you if it is flush or deeper than flush...no exceptions...the longer you do it the better that finger senses...it's foolproof.

I agree 100% as that is what I do when off press but on a progressive that is a little hard to do.

[OS OK]

pt4...come to the press with fully cleaned, primed and inspected brass...pull the de-prime pin out of your sizer die, then rock-n-roll as usual.

[ghh3rd]

Thanks for sharing so others can learn from your experience. I'm glad that you are still in one piece and can continue with the hobby.

[pt4u2nv]

pt4...come to the press with fully cleaned, primed and inspected brass...pull the de-prime pin out of your sizer die, then rock-n-roll as usual.

Great suggestion.....will prob go that route in the future. It will take changing some things for me because I always enjoyed the smooth and less handling of the rounds doing everything on the press without doing it one at a time.