Fed up with reloading right now

[thehouseproduct]

So angry with reloading right now. I was processing a batch of milsurp 556 brass, got several hundred into it when I realized the die had come loose and back out. Rounds wouldn't chamber. Now I have 200 or so rounds to tear down and fix. The brass I hadn't loaded got reworked. Once it was done, it went into the stainless tumbler for a cleaning. Forgot it was in there and the next time I walked into the shed, it had leached all of the zinc from the brass leaving it rose colored and ruined.

[FLHTC]

Its not a hobby that should get anything less that your undivided attention. Somehow i don't think that reloading was the problem. :)

[USMC87]

I sometimes have to put the press aside for a while and make custom knives until they wear me down.

[41 mag fan]

I sometimes have to put the reloading aside and pay attention to the evil eyed wife I'm married too,....yuck!!! [smilie=p::groner:

[Dan Cash]

If you throw the brass out, throw it my way.

[1hole]

Brass isn't poreous so you've leeched nothing. But you may be correct about reloading not being right for you.

[gunoil]

i like reloading. Tired of buying semi-pistols, seems like no body can make one anymore. Guess i'll just save more money. I really like micro pistols. Thats a good point he makes about the hobby, you have to pay close attention!

[thehouseproduct]

Its not a hobby that should get anything less that your undivided attention. Somehow i don't think that reloading was the problem. :)
Clearly. If you've never messed up a batch of ammo or brass, you are the minority. They sell bullet pullers for a reason.

[thehouseproduct]

Brass isn't poreous so you've leeched nothing. But you may be correct about reloading not being right for you.
If you want to test the zinc thoery at 55K psi, be my guest.

[thehouseproduct]

I also don't feel bad about one batch of brass being screwed up compared to the 10's of thousands of perfectly good ammo I've loaded and shot.

[Olevern]

Sometimes it's good to just step back from a process when there are too many things competing for our attention. We have all messed up and done 'dumb' things from time to time. And, as we all know, only our wives are perfect.

[41 mag fan]

Sometimes it's good to just step back from a process when there are too many things competing for our attention. We have all messed up and done 'dumb' things from time to time. And, as we all know, only our wives are perfect.

Shhhhhh...dont let that one out too loud...my evil eyed better half finds that out, I'll never hear the ends of it!!

[izzyjoe]

that's why i bought a Wilson chamber gage, i check all the 223 that is for the AR.

[1bluehorse]

I have never had either of those two things happen to me...my impact puller is beat to **** on the pounding end, but not from the above...:drinks:

[brassrat]

No use beating your self up. You will get over it.

[runfiverun]

my wife isn't so perfect but that boyfriend she had in high school sure was...:lol:
ahh,,, stuff happens.
i once couldn't locate a batch of 45 colt brass i had fired before going on vacation,then i opened the tumbler to shine some more brass and realized i had left it running untill the motor burned out while we were gone..
i guess 14 straight day's is too much.
some shiney stuff though.

[smokeywolf]

thehouseproduct, you need to step back and take a break. Frustration breeds resentment, and this is too nice a hobby for that. Design something new, build something new. Do that G-job that you've been putting off. Take a month or two off from the press.
Shoot, if I lived in the OC I think I'd be stressed too.

smokeywolf

[oldscool]

I know there are unconscientious objectors to this, but for the rounds that will not chamber, I would run them through a body die, or s type die with the bushing removed and set the shoulder back. After all, I put primed brass with powder in my loading press and force a bullet in the neck and then squeeze it together with no problems.

I used to have rose colored glasses, and could spray paint a gun to match your rose brass. Boy I hate leeches, but could use some cheep brass. I promise to only run it to 54,000psi, so no problemo.

I am serious about the brass, if you think it is ruined, and want to scrap it cheap. let me know. I would have absolutely no problem using it.

[EDG]

If you want to test the zinc thoery at 55K psi, be my guest.

I don't know where your theory came from but the pink has nothing to do with leaching the zinc out.
You can wash cruddy corroded brass with one of the acid based cleaners and get the same result.
Take a look at Remington brass some time. It is notorious for having a pink tint and it is even worse after acid washing.
Most of the guys here know that Norma brass has a higher copper content. It is not just pink it is red.
Even redder when acid washed.

[LabGuy]

I typically take a break for a while. How long depends on how mad at myself I am. Then I try to come up with a reasonable plan to prevent further occurrences. Kind of a corrective action plan.

I too have had minor issues with dies loosing up over the years. My current solution is to use Hornady Sure-Loc Die Locking Rings and snug them down with a wrench. These have never backed out on me. I also use small digital kitchen timer in my shirt pocket to remind me to do things, like deal with the Thumler’s Tumbler. And under the sad but true category, sometimes I have to stick a post-it note in the clip on the timer to tell what it’s a reminder for.

[ctious]

I always stop and check oal every 25 or so to make sure.

[thehouseproduct]

I don't know where your theory came from but the pink has nothing to do with leaching the zinc out.
You can wash cruddy corroded brass with one of the acid based cleaners and get the same result.
Take a look at Remington brass some time. It is notorious for having a pink tint and it is even worse after acid washing.
Most of the guys here know that Norma brass has a higher copper content. It is not just pink it is red.
Even redder when acid washed.
I've loaded some 38 special brass less pink than this. A high pressure rifle round isn't worth saving $25 worth of mil surplus 556 brass to me. A jammed gun is an annoyance. A blown up gun costs me a lot more than $25. I still have thousands and thousands left so no real harm.

[mold maker]

The color change is only molecular in depth. the integrity of the brass is still good. Different mfg brass has more variance than what you have. Just put them in a vibrator tumbler with walnut media, and the color will quickly correct it's self.

[dnotarianni]

I'll be a real pal and give you .10 on the dollar for all that defective loading equipment
Dave

[millsa2]

Sometimes you just have to back off and do something else for a while , then go back at it again.

[dilly]

I have had some frustrations too. You can't let it get to you; shooting is usually what gives me the motivation I need to go reload again.

[DCM]

Someone mentioned a countdown timer, I use one to remind myself also.
I also us e a timer on the tumbler itself.

As for the dies a bright witness mark on the side of the operator helps, I too have had them come loose.
Much easier to see the bright polish mark is not lined up with the one on the press and stop.

[s1120]

Sometimes you just have to back off and do something else for a while , then go back at it again.

Agreed.

Not with loading..Im a newbee at that... but with other projects ive been there. Working on my old cars, or tractors or some building projects, you will get into a rut, and just mess up everything you touch!! Some times you just need to step away from it. Do something else, or another diferent part of the project. If you want to keep loading, just move on... sort some of that brass thats been laying around in cans for years. Clean up the reloading room. maybe tumble, and decap all those cans of brass... Or just turn out the light, close the reloading room door, and go do something else. Take the wife out to dinner, do one of those long neglected home projects, heck... learn how to play guitar. :) It will be there when you come back.

[blikseme300]

that's why i bought a Wilson chamber gage, i check all the 223 that is for the AR.

Exactly! I also use a timer on my tumbler which includes a strobe light the turns on at the end of the cycle.

I have had to pull rounds before for the same reason the OP stated. I also ruined some brass because I forgot they were in the tumbler. Stuff happens, move along and chalk it up to life experience.

[Recluse]

I've loaded some 38 special brass less pink than this. A high pressure rifle round isn't worth saving $25 worth of mil surplus 556 brass to me. A jammed gun is an annoyance. A blown up gun costs me a lot more than $25. I still have thousands and thousands left so no real harm.

Exactly.

A bad pitfall many reloaders fall into is in being penny wise and pound foolish. I think it happens to EVERY reloader at some point. I know it has certainly happened to me and continues to. I'll try to salvage a couple of primers, or two or three 9mm loads of powder. . . when I've got tens of thousands of primers and over a hundred pounds of powder.

So I'm going to risk a firearm that cost hundreds of dollars by trying to save a handful of nickels on COMPONENTS?

Don't think so. :)

The other good thing is that we're always learning. The more I think I know, the more the process (reloading) teaches me something new or. . . REMINDS me of long lost things that I already know, but let slip from the front of my mind.

It's all good.

:coffee:

[felix]

I cannot begin to tell you folks how many rounds since the 50's, fully loaded, go into the nearest ditch along side a country road all because I detected an error in reloading. I do NOT de-mill any mistaken round. It's not worth my time or cash. I catch almost all errors in time to minimize these consequences to zilch. ... felix

[mold maker]

The next poor slob that walks down that road may think he found a gold mine. Please don't dispose of your errors in a way that the unsuspecting can find, use, and get hurt. At least crush the body of the brass so it won't chamber.

[felix]

Thanks, MM, I will from now on. ... felix

[leeggen]

A nice timer hooked up for the tumbler will take care of the brain strains. I was really hoping Felix was talking in fired those into the ditch, didn't think he would just throw them in there!!!
This upcoming generation gets enough dumb ideas without finding loads in the ditch. Load + rock = ooops!

[David2011]

I invested in 2 of the timers like you see at ball fields, basketball courts, restrooms and other public places. They're mounted in metal electrical boxes in the middle of short 14 gauge extension cords. One keeps my tumblers from running too long and the other is on the lead furnace just in case I forget to turn it off. So far I've never gone off and left the furnace on accidentally but the safety backup is comforting.

David