Anyone dump a powder measure into the wrong can?

[the_ursus]

Well I just did!! Makes me sick, I just put about 120grains of Bullseye into a half full can of Unique. Unless someone has another suggestion, it looks like we're gonna be having a pyrotechnics show in the back yard.:cry:

[badgeredd]

Well I just did!! Makes me sick, I just put about 120grains of Bullseye into a half full can of Unique. Unless someone has another suggestion, it looks like we're gonna be having a pyrotechnics show in the back yard.:cry:

:groner::groner::groner:

Sorry for you on that one...I ALMOST did the same thing yesterday when I emptied my trickler. TOO close for comfort!!!

Edd

[RayinNH]

Use loading data for the faster burning powder, in this case Bullseye, chronograph your loads and work up loads that are safe. Don't approach max loads...Ray

[Doble Troble]

If the Unique was an 8 pounder I'd think about mixing and working up.

If its a 1/2 pound I'd mix it with some grass seed in the spreader and enjoy a greener lawn next Spring.

[sliverpicker]

I looked into it with what I've got here, and my wife has an old kitchen sieve that catches the coarser Unique but not the Bullseye. I scattered some on white paper and couldn't find any Bullseye left in it. Just a thought, right after the thought I had about the price of powder...

[Papa smurf]

Feel for ya partner,done it myself about 20 years ago. Only difference,powder was cheaper then . Bullseye in a new can of 2400. Burn it to be on the safe side.
Good Shooting----------Papa Smurf

[Marlin Hunter]

Yep, ruined a full can of 700x. I poured it out on the ground outside like a Hollywood fuse and lit.

I learned never have 2 cans of powder out at the same time. If you are changing powder. empty the one and put it away, then grab the next can.

[Shiloh]

I looked into it with what I've got here, and my wife has an old kitchen sieve that catches the coarser Unique but not the Bullseye. I scattered some on white paper and couldn't find any Bullseye left in it. Just a thought, right after the thought I had about the price of powder...

This sounds like a great idea.

You put 120 grains on top of 3500 (approx) grains. If you haven't shaken it, you may be able to scoop out the top portion of the powder and separate it from there. If you don't want to chance sieving it, you could just pitch what you scoop off the top.

Is Unique a little darker than Bullseye?? I'm not at my reloading area right now.
Can you seperate it that way??

Otherwise it goes in the garden or a Viking type funeral pyre.

Shiloh

[ubetcha]

I Have not committed such a sin[smilie=1:But I restrict myself to only having the powder on the bench that i'm currently using,and try to empty the powder measure when done or if I'm still using it later,put it next to the measure as a REMINDER

[crabo]

Been there, done that! I always try to only have one powder on the bench also, but I take a post-it note and fold it in half so the sticky sticks to itself. I then write the powder on the note and drop it in the powder measure.

That way if I don't reload for a while I know exactly what is in the powder measure. I keep the pad of notes on the reloading bench.

[Uncle R.]

Anyone dump a powder measure into the wrong can?
<
Yep - but only once.
Consider it tuition - or having paid your dues. It's happened to a lot of us - but only once unless you're extra thick-headed...
:shock:
<
What Marlin Hunter said - only one can of powder on the bench. It's one of my personal rules - for several safety reasons as well as to prevent this form of waste.
<
And no, I didn't think of it myself! Kudos (Again!) to the old curmudgeon himself - Dean Grennell. (Now gone to that happy place where the brass never needs trimming, broken-in moulds never need to be oiled and boolits always go through the same hole.)
<
Uncle R.

[fastgun]

A long time ago I learned to have only one powder can on the reloading bench at a time. That can is for the powder that you have in the measure. When you fill the measure place the can on the bench next to the measure. Even if you forget to empty the measure when you are done loading that can will tell you what powder is in the measure even a week or two later. Practice this and it will save you problems in the future.

[the_ursus]

Looks like I need to adjust the shelf hight in my powder cabinet behind the bench cuz all of my powder EXCEPT for the Unique can is short enough to fit and because of that the Unique sits on top of the cabinet where I was able to grab it without thinking. I'll likely play it safe and burn it out back. A new can is gonna run about $30 so not the end of the world but for a tight-wad like me it still hurts.

[qajaq59]

One can comes out of the cabinet and everything gets emptied back in it if I am stopping for the day. Otherwise I would have done that long before you did.

[waksupi]

I've been known to mix it well, and load light pistol, at the faster load rate.

[Uncle R.]

Anyone dump a powder measure into the wrong can?
<
Yep - but only once.
Consider it tuition - or having paid your dues. It's happened to a lot of us - but only once unless you're extra thick-headed...
:shock:
<
What Marlin Hunter said - only one can of powder on the bench. It's one of my personal rules - for several safety reasons as well as to prevent this form of waste.
<
And no, I didn't think of it myself! Kudos (Again!) to the old curmudgeon himself - Dean Grennell. (Now gone to that happy place where the brass never needs trimming, broken-in moulds never need to be oiled and boolits always go through the same hole.)
<
Uncle R.

[Shiloh]

I Have not committed such a sin[smilie=1:But I restrict myself to only having the powder on the bench that i'm currently using,and try to empty the powder measure when done or if I'm still using it later,put it next to the measure as a REMINDER

That's what I do. I am fortunate enough to have acquired several RCBS powder measures over the years. They are labeled and emptied after use. No powder in measures, other than what I am using. Only one powder out of storage at a time.

SHiloh

[autofix4u]

I used to keep several cans of powder on a shelf right above the bench. but after I dumped a mesure half full of h335 into a can of h4831. I now keep all but what I am using in the powder safe under the bench. I was able to save thay batch as the h335 is ball powder that fell through a small screen and the 4831 didn't. lesson learned.

[Nora]

A long time ago I learned to have only one powder can on the reloading bench at a time. That can is for the powder that you have in the measure. When you fill the measure place the can on the bench next to the measure. Even if you forget to empty the measure when you are done loading that can will tell you what powder is in the measure even a week or two later. Practice this and it will save you problems in the future.

This is also the method that I use.

Nora

[BruceB]

Definitely some very wise advice here.

In my operation, I religiously adhere to the one-can-on-the-bench rule.

In addition, I place a sticker on the powder measure, and make a note on the sticker which identifies the powder used and the charge weight. This serves two purposes. If there's powder in the measure, it 's a double-check on its identity. In addition, even if I empty the measure, the sticker tells me what its current setting is. This can be very valuable, especially if I decide to resume the production run.

Naturally, if I alter the charge thrown by the measure, the new charge (and powder type, if it's been changed) is noted on a new sticker....ALWAYS a new sticker, NEVER an already-used one with markings which might confuse the issue.

So far, these methods have kept me from putting powder into the wrong container.

[XWrench3]

yes, i did the same thing about a month ago. fortunatly, i caught it right after i did it, instead of loading something and wondering why the #$%^&* gun blew apart !!! anyway, i salvaged roughly 1/2 of the powder in the can i dumped into. i VERY CAREFULLY walked the powder out to the garage, so as not to mix in any of the foreign powder. i have an automotive vacuum pump, i hooked a hose to it, and vacuumed off all the wrong powder i could see, and about another 1/2" off the top. then, i dumped all of what was left, into a glass cooking pan, and sifted through it several times. i could not find any of the forign powder in what was left. 1/2 a pound is better than an almost new can going into the burner barrel! still, what ever i load with the rest of this bottle, will be at the beginning load only. i dont remember what pistol powder it was, but i dumped it into an almost full bottle of imr sr-4759. which i use almost exclusively for reduced loads. the two powders looked way different, so it was pretty easy to see the difference. i am 99.9% sure that i got all of the pistol powder out. if yours got mixed in, you are out of luck, but, IF you can come up with a way like i did, of removing it off the top, without mixing any of it in. if you can not, think of it this way, a pound of powder is way cheaper than hospital bills.

[ScottJ]

Been there, done that.

Dumped some ball powder into about a half pound of AA 3100 (extruded). No unmixing that.

The flame from the pile was impressive.

[buck1]

its great fertilizer!

[Lloyd Smale]

if its a 8lb keg id mix it and ignore it. if its a one lb jug id mix it and use starting loads for unique as my max loads.

[UweJ]

been there,did that and I must say a can of N330 runs at 80€ thats abut 95 $. Like above mentioned , the pile of powder burnt down very nicely:groner:

[qajaq59]

I sure hope the new guys are reading all this. Having only one can of powder on the bench at a time will save you a lot of money. Especially at today's prices.

[Jaybird62]

I've still got a can of BL-C2 that got a measure of something else dumped in on top of it. I've had it for years. The can's top is wrapped in several layers of tape and marked to keep from using it, and it isn't stored anywhere near my powder shelf. I think I keep it around as my "thorn in the flesh" to keep me from doing it again.

[Shuz]

Definitely some very wise advice here.

In my operation, I religiously adhere to the one-can-on-the-bench rule.

In addition, I place a sticker on the powder measure, and make a note on the sticker which identifies the powder used and the charge weight. This serves two purposes. If there's powder in the measure, it 's a double-check on its identity. In addition, even if I empty the measure, the sticker tells me what its current setting is. This can be very valuable, especially if I decide to resume the production run.

Naturally, if I alter the charge thrown by the measure, the new charge (and powder type, if it's been changed) is noted on a new sticker....ALWAYS a new sticker, NEVER an already-used one with markings which might confuse the issue.

So far, these methods have kept me from putting powder into the wrong container.
I do the same as Bruce with the notes! Really works great as he states!

[lylejb]

I've been fortunate to never allow this to happen. I have done the reverse, ie topped off the powder measure with the wrong can.[smilie=b:

same oh crap, just on a smaller scale. A quick, fortunatly cheap, education. I burnt off that powder, fortunatly only about a cup full.

Now, i put the can that's in the measure directly behind the measure, and all the rest go on the shelf. Prevents mix ups of all kinds, and a positive reminder of what's in the measure.

[Marlinreloader]

This might be a little late.

What I did is go to Michelles or Joann's fabrics and get some of that bendable magnet and hot glued a black piece to the hopper. Then they also sell White board magnets that you can write on. Wrie the name of your powders on the white magnets and put the one you are using on the hopper. Now if you walk away or have your can moved you know what is in the hopper. Works great for me.

These can be erasable if you would like.You can use the same idea with load sizes you are using at the time.

You can also do the same with pieces of velcrow(sp). They have white pieces you can write on

Hope it helps.

Marlinreloader

[Echo]

Yes. It's a long story, but I now have a container of 1/2 Herco, 1/2 Red Dot - approximately. I call it Slow Red Dot/Fast Herco, and load popcorn and plinkers with it. Press on - really, 120 to 3500? Probably can't notice any difference...

[geargnasher]

One small addendum to leaving your powder in the measure for a few days/weeks:

I have done this for 20+ years (Postie note and all), with the SAME rcbs powder measure, and imagine my surprise when I tried Titegroup for the first time and it MELTED the green acrylic cylinder after being stored in the measure for just 2 days! Never had even an inkling that that could happen because I've been using IMR, Hercules, and Winchester powders all this time.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Hodgdon line, and won't stop using it, but Titegroup DOES EAT PLASTIC. Use appropriate caution. This little incident cost me the equivalent of 4 pounds of powder to fix.

Gear

[Freischütz]

I made that mistake once. I dumped pistol powder in with rifle powder. I threw the combination out and never had two different powders on the loading bench again.

[Heavy lead]

One small addendum to leaving your powder in the measure for a few days/weeks:

I have done this for 20+ years (Postie note and all), with the SAME rcbs powder measure, and imagine my surprise when I tried Titegroup for the first time and it MELTED the green acrylic cylinder after being stored in the measure for just 2 days! Never had even an inkling that that could happen because I've been using IMR, Hercules, and Winchester powders all this time.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Hodgdon line, and won't stop using it, but Titegroup DOES EAT PLASTIC. Use appropriate caution. This little incident cost me the equivalent of 4 pounds of powder to fix.

Gear

Don't leave Lil' Gun in either, it's tough on the plastic even in less than a day.

[RoyRogers]

I do the same as Bruce with the notes! Really works great as he states!

Me three!

I also hung a wall cabinet in my loading room. All powder EXCEPT the one in use stays there with the doors closed. Powder in use stays on the bench. I label my measure with a sticky note BEFORE I load the 1st round. I rarely leave powder in a measure but the measure is always labeled as to what powder was in it during my last session, along with the other recipie particulars. I label my primer tools as well.

After reading all that, one might suspect I maintain a neat and orderly loading bench - not so :? But I do have a general knowledge of where most of the really important things might be 'discovered' at various points in time [smilie=1:

[jkingrph]

Some years back I dumped some black powder into a can of Pyrodex. I called Hodgdon and they said to use it, just fill case full. I dumped it anyway.

[BruceB]

PAY ATTENTION to geargnasher's warning about the "eating-up" of the powder measure's hopper by powder left in it for a period of time.

Quite a few powders will do this to the plastic, and another really bad one is Bullseye...and probably any of the other double-based powders.

This phenomenon was a major contributor to the worst loading mistake of my forty-odd years of handloading. Partly due to the opaque condition of my RCBS measure's hopper, I loaded FIFTY-NINE grains of 2400 behind a 200-grain Partition for my .30-06! Can we say, "grenade"?

This error was due to being UNABLE to see the 2400 left in the hopper after the previous session because of the horrible condition of the plastic. I just poured the 4831 into the hopper, set the adjustment, and started loading.

Only my routine of checking charge weight saved me. After about 20 rounds, the weight began changing rapidly, and I couldn't see why. Pulling the bullet from the first round loaded, I immediately realized, "Oh s___, this is NOT 4831!"

Another contributing factor was very poor lighting, but the non-see-through hopper was a major cause too. If yours becomes even a bit discolored over time, CHANGE IT!!!!!

[Marlin Hunter]

its great fertilizer!


So is Miracle Grow, but it doesn't make flames and smoke like gun powder does. :twisted:

[warf73]

Glad you noticed now instead of later down the road. But like everyone else has stated one powder on the bench at a time. I also go one further and only have the primers that are being used on the bench also no others.

[Missoulaz28]

Dumped a lot of 2400 into half a can of R22 and managed to load up a batch without noticing it. 75g in the 300 mag of probably 65%-70% 2400 kicks like a mule and will stick a case in the chamber harder then you would think possible. Ruger sure makes a strong rifle though, shoots just as good now as it did before and didn't require any work besides removing the brass.

[nvbirdman]

Just to make you feel a little bit better about things, you said a new can of Unique would cost you about $30, but since the old can was only half full it was only a $15 mistake.

[Hawk]

I try to avoid mistakes in powder by using a yellow lid off of a rem oil spray can that fits on my powder measure and wont fall off and marking the powder name on the lid with a magic marker. It works for me.

[PatMarlin]

I use a cut strip of paper. Write the powder on it, and put it in the hopper.

[malpaismike]

Hello the camp! A 2 or 3-peat for Bruce. A retired inventory control doofus, I took a lot of inventories and appropriated a lot of colored 1-in dots, otherwise available at Staples. A sheet of same is near the press always; I write the powder--charge doesn't matter cuz I always check after a break--and stick it on the hopper. Because I'm a cas shooter in main, problems only occur when I load for autoloaders. For me, cas is HP38; autoloaders 231. I know these are close, but this ain't horseshoes. I load cas--mostly bp--fresh for a match; I load auto 500 min to 2k at a time. This minimizes opportunities for mistakes, but the colored dots keep me honest. My .02. See ya round the campfire. mm

[Rando]

If its a 1/2 pound I'd mix it with some grass seed in the spreader and enjoy a greener lawn next Spring.

Does that actually work? I've heard that before. I have a can of Pyrodex I could get rid of, how about that?

[SciFiJim]

The powder is nitrogen based, just like lawn fertilizer. It certainly won't hurt your lawn and would be spread out enough to render is harmless.

[lawboy]

Never done it ... yet. I have four measures hard mounted on a bench. I keep the four cans of powder in them on the bench right under the measures. I write on a piece of masking tape what powder is in the measure and stick it to the hopper. When I change powders, I change bottles and tape. I don't change powders that often either. For the Dillon 650, I keep the bottle on the bench next to the machine but don't write on the hopper.

[35remington]

"For me, cas is HP38; autoloaders 231. I know these are close, but this ain't horseshoes."

malpaismike, these powders ain't just close; they're the very same thing.

Hodgdon themselves admits as much.

So you're rather unnecessarily distinguishing between the two if you're doing any more than regarding the differently labeled HP 38 and W231 as, at most, two different lots of the same powder.

Had I dumped some HP-38 in a W231 container, I'd shake it to thoroughly mix the powders together (as they may be different lots, but very same powder) and have at it.

No harm will come of this.

Can't say I'd do that with anything else, but for HP 38 and W231 I sure would.

Finer distinctions between HP 38 and W231 are pointless, as is using one for a certain purpose and not the other. If you run out of HP 38, freely substitute W231 whether the application be CAS or autoloader. It just won't matter segregating the two by purpose any more, as that's a completely nonsensical rationale.

[mooman76]

I never have. I stick to the rule one powder on the bench at a time. I get ahead of myself sometimes so I have to take the steps to prevent it. Have I made other mistakes. Plenty!

[knappy]

Boys
I agree with you, just one can of powder on the bench at a time , saves a lot of heart break

[mustanggt]

Yep. It's in the garden now.

[casterofboolits]

I had a bad experience with Bullseye in 1970 and put a pound and half mixed with fireplace sparkles, ran a cannon fuse in the can and lit it off on the 4th. Made a heck of a display at dusk!

Bullseye has never been in my loading room again!

[ghh3rd]

I wonder how many times it happens and not detected... and then a month later "geez, why are these loads acting crazy?"

[Tazman1602]

Yep, ruined a full can of 700x. I poured it out on the ground outside like a Hollywood fuse and lit.

I learned never have 2 cans of powder out at the same time. If you are changing powder. empty the one and put it away, then grab the next can.

+1

Mine too was over 20 years ago. NEVER have more than one can of powder on the bench at a time!!!!

Hey at least the guy who did it is in good company.......<GRIN>

Art

[AZ-Stew]

Lots o' good info here. One addition: If you're going to burn your mistake and it consists of more than 200 grains of powder, use a fuse of some sort (powder trail, piece of paper, flamable liquid such as charcoal lighter) to allow you to light the smokeless from a distance. I lit off a couple of ounces once and had a pillar of fire that would have made Moses tremble.

That said, I'll tell you that you can't distinguish or separate H335 from H380 or BLC2. Bullseye and WW231 probably can't be visually of physically separated, either. I'm sure there are many other combos. Point is, if you can't tell what you've done after you make the mistake, destroy the error. It's too dry to use it for fertilizer here, but it does make for good fireworks. I've even flushed small quantities. Don't take the chance of causing a KABOOM. It's not worth the possible costs in property or personnel.

Regards,

Stew

[TonyM]

[smilie=b:


I don't even have multiple cans out of the cabinet at the same time (Then again, I'm only reloading for 4 calibers, 3 of which use the same powder...)

If this was the first time, it will probably be the last... and if it only cost you $15-$30... I'd say you got a steal on tuition...

I'm with one of the previous posters... into the garden with it....


Or... you now have an excuse to start building a bowling ball cannon? :?:

[finishman2000]

everybody seems to do this one time or another.
what i do now is cut the label off a empty can of the power i use. next time i use that power i place the cut label right on top of the powder i just poured into the measurer. haven't mixed up since.

[zdogk9]

This is very expensive fertilizer. The only way you could pay more would be to buy a horse.
Ease the sting by writing what you think of the ex in her lawn with the mixed powder. It'll be hosed off but the message will come in loud and green, for a long time.

[winelover]

NEVER in 30+ years of reloading! Strictly adhere to having only one can of powder on the bench at any one time. When I'm thru reloading, I ALWAYS empty the powder measure right away.

Winelover

[63 Shiloh]

Excellent information Fellers.

I do keep one can of powder on the bench at a time, however, I have made the powder mix up in the past.

I just finished off making paper labels with my powders listed on each strip, I am going to use the idea of putting the paper with the powder type in my hoppers.

Thanks again for a great idea[smilie=s:

Mike

[subsonic]

I have done it 2x. It's a sickening feeling.

The first time I put about 1/2 a measure full of Trailboss into a 2.2lb can of Rex II. After much research I used this powder up in wadcutter and other low pressure handgun loads that were way below max.

The one that really ticked me off was pouring Rex II into a brand new can of H110. Since I only use H110 when I want to go full throttle, it went into the compost pile.

The first time was due to having more than one can of powder on the bench. The second was due to putting the first powder can away after filling the measure and being in a hurry/getting ahead of myself when I grabbed out of the cabinet - thinking about the next load with H110 while cleaning up the last batch with the REX II....

I try really hard not to reload unless I have plenty of time and plenty of sleep!

[Leadmelter]

I have done it once.
I think I mixed Blue Dot and some 2400.
Being young and stupid during a boring winter day, I but a garbage can lid on a mound of snow and dumped the powder on it. I had some cannon fuse, so I lit it and ran back into the house. What happened next was impressive. The powder ignited and a seven foot fireball erupted in the backyard. It looked like the burning bush from the "Ten Commandments".
You could feel the heat through the window.
Now, in my older days, I only put out one powder at a time and label any powder dispenser with a masking tape label.
But it was fun to see back when powder was cheap.

Gerry
MI