omgb
07-12-2006, 09:39 AM
This has got to be short as I don't have much time right now. Last night, while loading a couple of thousand rounds on my Hornady Progressive I ran into a problem that could have been nasty. The load was a 158 grain lead slug in 38SP cases over 3.0 grains of Clays. I use a powder Cop die and here is where the problem lay. I removed a case from the tool head to weigh the powder charge. I dumped out the powder and found it short by a full grain wt. Closer inspection revealed that the Powder Cop die had compacted the flake powder. When I dumped it out, some remained in the case. Had I put the case back on the shell head and run it through the cycle again, I would have been a full grain heavier. In a rifle, this would be no big deal. But, in a light weight revolver or in an automatic or if you were at the top of the load tables, this could spell disaster.
The moral of the story seems to be, look inside of each and every case you dump and visually check to see that it's empty. Also, watch those PC dies. The weight of the check stem is light but it is enough to cause flake powder to "bridge" in the bottom of the case and as a result, not come out even when tapped smartly on the bench top.
As a second reminder, when using a progressive press, keep your motions in sequence. Have a standard protocol of movement and procedure and do not alter it.
I've loaded thousands of rounds through my press and have yet to have a problem. Last night illustrates how easy it can be to get into trouble. Fortunately, I had a couple of failsafe steps built into the process and I caught the error before anything bad could happen.
The moral of the story seems to be, look inside of each and every case you dump and visually check to see that it's empty. Also, watch those PC dies. The weight of the check stem is light but it is enough to cause flake powder to "bridge" in the bottom of the case and as a result, not come out even when tapped smartly on the bench top.
As a second reminder, when using a progressive press, keep your motions in sequence. Have a standard protocol of movement and procedure and do not alter it.
I've loaded thousands of rounds through my press and have yet to have a problem. Last night illustrates how easy it can be to get into trouble. Fortunately, I had a couple of failsafe steps built into the process and I caught the error before anything bad could happen.