inuswetrust
Bearcat
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2011
- Messages
- 41
WifEy's loads, not mine (yeah, most women make cupcakes, my wife makes ammo). Long story...skip this paragraph is you don't care how it happened. I came in while she was reloading, noticed that the powder was getting low, and so were the primers. When powder is low, it may not throw the correct charge. When primers are low, it may not feed them properly. She gave me a dirty look and said she knew, and since the cases were also low she was going to change them all at the same time.
Not wanting to piss her off...for many reasons...I went ahead and let it go.
Got to the range, first few rounds were fine, then something didn't sound right, and the slide wouldn't go completely forward. This is the LUCKIEST kind of squib to have. I don't think there was any powder at all...so the bullet only went a few cm into the barrel. That means it wouldn't chamber another round to blow-up the gun.
It's good to keep a rod (or even a pencil) that's can go the length of the barrel. That way you can quickly check if there's an obstruction to the barrel...without having to field strip the gun. Looking into the barrel of any gun while it's fully assembled, is never a good idea.
We had a talk that night. I explained what could've happened, and that she should eyeball each round before placing the bullet.
NOTE - it's really important to eyeball your round after you've fixed something on the press. It's easy to do a double charge by accident when you're trying to fix something...and depending on the powder and load, a double charge can be as disastrous as a squib.
Tips for reloaders and their wives....
Keep a rod and a brass hammer in your range bag for extracting squibs.
Listen carefully to each shot (not easy in action pistol).
Some shooters also carry a case extractor.
Don't get distracted when reloading.
Know what a short load, and a double load look like (make some for reference...eyeball it, then dump it).
After shooting a new load, examine the primer and case for signs of excessive pressure (primer will be flat, expanded, may fill entire pocket).
Be safe, have fun, shoot straight, shoot fast.
- chip
p.s. She likes reloading almost as much as she loves shooting. So it's not a chore to her.
Not wanting to piss her off...for many reasons...I went ahead and let it go.
Got to the range, first few rounds were fine, then something didn't sound right, and the slide wouldn't go completely forward. This is the LUCKIEST kind of squib to have. I don't think there was any powder at all...so the bullet only went a few cm into the barrel. That means it wouldn't chamber another round to blow-up the gun.
It's good to keep a rod (or even a pencil) that's can go the length of the barrel. That way you can quickly check if there's an obstruction to the barrel...without having to field strip the gun. Looking into the barrel of any gun while it's fully assembled, is never a good idea.
We had a talk that night. I explained what could've happened, and that she should eyeball each round before placing the bullet.
NOTE - it's really important to eyeball your round after you've fixed something on the press. It's easy to do a double charge by accident when you're trying to fix something...and depending on the powder and load, a double charge can be as disastrous as a squib.
Tips for reloaders and their wives....
Keep a rod and a brass hammer in your range bag for extracting squibs.
Listen carefully to each shot (not easy in action pistol).
Some shooters also carry a case extractor.
Don't get distracted when reloading.
Know what a short load, and a double load look like (make some for reference...eyeball it, then dump it).
After shooting a new load, examine the primer and case for signs of excessive pressure (primer will be flat, expanded, may fill entire pocket).
Be safe, have fun, shoot straight, shoot fast.
- chip
p.s. She likes reloading almost as much as she loves shooting. So it's not a chore to her.