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Thread: What's the most stupid thing you did casting/reloading that you won't do again!

  1. #41
    Boolit Man
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    dumped a container of rejected bullets into hot lead. problem is there was a hidden primer at the bottom of the cup. 2nd problem, i wasnt wearing eye protection, or shoes or pants. Primer popped in the hot lead and the primer went flying and hit my an inch under my eye. I got startled from the pop and stumbled backwards lol the little **** scared me good

  2. #42
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    Storing my reloading equipment at my ex wife’s house after our divorce.

  3. #43
    Boolit Master
    woodbutcher's Avatar
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    Well,among other things I have screwed up doing,I forgot to turn on the drip-o-matic.
    As far as paying attention to what you are doing reminds me of a bumper sticker my Dad and I saw one day.It said"Watch my rear end,NOT hers".
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe,
    Leo
    People never lie so much as after a hunt,during a war,or before an election.
    Otto von Bismarck

  4. #44
    Boolit Grand Master

    gwpercle's Avatar
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    A bunch of years ago when I cast my very first boolit , it dropped out the mould, was lying on the towel all nice and shiney , I wanted to look at it , I blew on it , it didn't look hot , so I picked it up ....
    You can't tell hot by looking at something ! Never did that again !
    Gary
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  5. #45
    Boolit Master Drew P's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    Storing my reloading equipment at my ex wife’s house after our divorce.
    You win!

  6. #46
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    A bunch of years ago when I cast my very first boolit , it dropped out the mould, was lying on the towel all nice and shiney , I wanted to look at it , I blew on it , it didn't look hot , so I picked it up ....
    You can't tell hot by looking at something ! Never did that again !
    Gary
    This reminds me of an old Woodwright’s Shop episode, think it was the first one that Roy did with a blacksmith. Roy kept reaching over to touch stuff, to feel the surface, etc as if he was working with wood, the blacksmith corrected him at least a half dozen times. He didn’t get burned, at least not on camera.

  7. #47
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    Dropping powder into a 308 case with no primer.
    Whatever!

  8. #48
    Boolit Grand Master
    rintinglen's Avatar
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    Just recently I "loaded" 200 rounds of 158 grain 38's. Too bad I forgot to turn the powder measure from close to dispense.
    _________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

  9. #49
    Boolit Master


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    I was smelting some lead shot that was given to me. It was in a 1 gallon jug. When I started the smelt I poured about 2 pounds over the rest of the lead. The lead shot was wet. When the lead below melted and the lead shot started falling into the melt,the tinsel fairy paid a visit.

  10. #50
    Boolit Master Kev18's Avatar
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    I was trying out dripping shot with a homemade shot dripper.

    I had a spoon I mixed the lead with.

    Turns out some coolant (clothes softener) got on the spoon. When I dipped it back in the lead... I gave myself some fine decorations, a minor stroke and a brown streak in the pantaloons.

    Atleast I have bad vision and was wearing my glasses. A thick string of lead got stuck to my glasses right over my left eye... Could of ended real bad.

  11. #51
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    My receipt book for lead and scrap would likewise at the very least get me kneecapped

    Never keep records of hobby/guy stuff.

    You give up all deniability, and there is no way to 'play dumb' when confronted with said records..
    In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
    In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.


    OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
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  12. #52
    Boolit Master

    leadhead's Avatar
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    I forgot to turn the gas off under my lead pot (150 lb pot). Turned the blower off
    and came upstairs for the night... Went to bed around 10:00 PM and drifted off
    to sleep. About 2:30 AM, my wife started screaming at me to get up... the carbon
    monoxide detector went off and never heard it. I'm hard of hearing and if she
    had not been there, her, me, and both dogs would have been dead by morning.
    I do remember having one bad headache when she woke me.. I'll never do that again.
    Denny

  13. #53
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    Stupidest thing I've done was using a loading book data for a 220gr jacketed bullet with a 214gr wadcutter 44 mag. Since the seat depth of the WC was all the way into the case I had extremely high pressure on that load. Fortunately I had a Ruger Redhawk so it was a very strong action. I disassembled the other 99 rounds that I had loaded...and started over with a greatly reduced load and worked up. There was no data available at the time for a 214gr wadcutter in a 44 mag. Learned my lesson early.

    redhawk

    The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
    Not all who wander....are lost.
    "Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

    If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan

  14. #54
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Winger Ed. View Post
    Never keep records of hobby/guy stuff.

    You give up all deniability, and there is no way to 'play dumb' when confronted with said records..
    What's that old line? When I die I hope my wife sells my guns for what I paid for them, not for what I TOLD her I paid for them

  15. #55
    Boolit Master
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    For sure ,putting a length of lead pipe into a melt.....thing must have had a lot of wet mud in it........Explosion put lead 20 ft away...Wont be doing that again........to melt lead pipe,put it in first and bring up the temp,and water will just boil away......I knew that,so just stoopid,I reckon.

  16. #56
    Boolit Buddy
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    A few days ago I managed to set off a couple magnum rifle primers in an RCBS hand priming tool all at once. I had been having problems with it double feeding since I got it (to replace an identical one I had borrowed and had to give back, that one worked 100%) but up to now I had been working through the issues instead of just calling RCBS.

    I was teaching a friend how to use it, and he managed to jam it up. There was a primer halfway in a case and since the pockets were a bit tight on the brass this wasn't unexpected, I tried to get the primer all the way in but I didn't realized that the he had actually triple fed it.

    Holy hell that was loud. Everyone always says a primer going off is louder than you'd expect but wow, the fact it was multiple primers and they were of the magnum rifle flavour definetly enhanced that. It took a few seconds of me stumbling around dumbly checking if I still had all my fingers and eyes before I could say anything coherent.

    I clearly should have taken the tool all the way apart when I had an issue, but when it had double fed before and gotten the case stuck on the shell holder with a primer halfway in, by slowly applying more pressure I was always able to get the primer on top into the case and the case off the shell holder. Not so with a triple feed it seems.

    I usually always wear safety glasses when priming but I wasn't wearing them this time, at least I had the sense to have the thing pointed away from my face. Lessons were learned.


    Still not quite sure what's going on with the tool, the old one behaved far better. RCBS is sending me some parts and if that doesn't do the trick they offered to replace it. But frankly I'm pretty unimpressed with their quality in general lately and have been buying less and less of their stuff. Not that I blame this cockup on them, that's on me. I did rather like the old hand prime tool I had but when I got this one in it very obviously didn't fit together the same way.

  17. #57
    Boolit Master 1bluehorse's Avatar
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    It would be hard to pick one. To many choices.

  18. #58
    Boolit Bub
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    I ordered some surplus powder, MP580, bottle says to use IMR4451 data and reduce 10%.

    Well, lets just say I should have reduced it about 20%. The rifle was undamaged, wish I had my chrono there that day to see how fast a 6.5 creedmoor way over pressure would push a 140gr bullet.

    Lessons learned.

  19. #59
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    I nearly had one the other day. I had about 2lbs and I put in about 12 lbs of alloy. I have a 20 lb lee melter but I know that it generally holds about 15lbs. Well I also used more Lino to my WW/Lino alloy. As the lead melted, the level rose and it ended up stopping about 1/4 to 1/8" from the top. I was making plans on how to try to maintain an alloy but also drain a little lead...
    WWG1WGA

  20. #60
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peregrine View Post
    A few days ago I managed to set off a couple magnum rifle primers in an RCBS hand priming tool all at once. I had been having problems with it double feeding since I got it (to replace an identical one I had borrowed and had to give back, that one worked 100%) but up to now I had been working through the issues instead of just calling RCBS.

    I was teaching a friend how to use it, and he managed to jam it up. There was a primer halfway in a case and since the pockets were a bit tight on the brass this wasn't unexpected, I tried to get the primer all the way in but I didn't realized that the he had actually triple fed it.

    Holy hell that was loud. Everyone always says a primer going off is louder than you'd expect but wow, the fact it was multiple primers and they were of the magnum rifle flavour definetly enhanced that. It took a few seconds of me stumbling around dumbly checking if I still had all my fingers and eyes before I could say anything coherent.

    I clearly should have taken the tool all the way apart when I had an issue, but when it had double fed before and gotten the case stuck on the shell holder with a primer halfway in, by slowly applying more pressure I was always able to get the primer on top into the case and the case off the shell holder. Not so with a triple feed it seems.

    I usually always wear safety glasses when priming but I wasn't wearing them this time, at least I had the sense to have the thing pointed away from my face. Lessons were learned.


    Still not quite sure what's going on with the tool, the old one behaved far better. RCBS is sending me some parts and if that doesn't do the trick they offered to replace it. But frankly I'm pretty unimpressed with their quality in general lately and have been buying less and less of their stuff. Not that I blame this cockup on them, that's on me. I did rather like the old hand prime tool I had but when I got this one in it very obviously didn't fit together the same way.
    I like just lighting a grain or so of new powder when I get it to see how it actually burns. One day I decided to "set off" a WLP primer with an extended length lighter and my wife was PISSED. *POW*
    WWG1WGA

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check