A short lesson in carelessness.

[Japle]

A short lesson on getting careless:
I wanted to load some ammo for my custom .280AI. I’ve been a competitive shooter for over 60 years and have loaded well over 200,000 rounds of ammo, so this should be no problem, right?
R-P brass, 162gr Hornady ELD-X over H4831SC powder, 20 rounds. Easy-peasy.
As I weighed each load, I noticed that I was having to re-set the powder measure often. A lot. After 9 rounds, I stopped and engaged my brain, something I had neglected to do up until then.
There was a can of N350 pistol powder on the bench that I’d been using last week to load .38 Special ammo.
Well, crap!
I hadn’t emptied the powder measure. I was having to re-set the measure, because the loading density was changing as the fast pistol powder mixed with the much slower rifle powder.
Much swearing ensued. Loss of powder resulted, including the powder in my trickler.
So, one more time for everyone who’s even dumber than me:
Only one can of powder on the bench at a time! And make sure it’s the right damn powder!!

 

[hooligan1]

Hey man be Safe!! Glad you caught it all before you caught shrapnel...

 

[MarkCO]

Glad you caught it. More caution is never a bad thing to have with reloading.

 

[Jim Watson]

An acquaintance failed to dump the Varget out of his powder measure and topped it up with H50BMG for loading .50 cal.
That Armalite AR50 is one strong gun.

 

[reynolds357]

A short lesson on getting careless:
I wanted to load some ammo for my custom .280AI. I’ve been a competitive shooter for over 60 years and have loaded well over 200,000 rounds of ammo, so this should be no problem, right?
R-P brass, 162gr Hornady ELD-X over H4831SC powder, 20 rounds. Easy-peasy.
As I weighed each load, I noticed that I was having to re-set the powder measure often. A lot. After 9 rounds, I stopped and engaged my brain, something I had neglected to do up until then.
There was a can of N350 pistol powder on the bench that I’d been using last week to load .38 Special ammo.
Well, crap!
I hadn’t emptied the powder measure. I was having to re-set the measure, because the loading density was changing as the fast pistol powder mixed with the much slower rifle powder.
Much swearing ensued. Loss of powder resulted, including the powder in my trickler.
So, one more time for everyone who’s even dumber than me:
Only one can of powder on the bench at a time! And make sure it’s the right damn powder!!

Been there. Done that, but had to pull down 20. I didn't figure it out until I saw the powder looked wrong throwing it back into the nearly new can.

 

[Shadow9mm]

Been there, done that, glad you caught it before you tried to shoot any. I ended up dumping powder from pulled bullets into the wrong jug once, had to toss 3/4 of a pound of benchmark. I was not a happy camper. only one powder on the bench at a time from there on out.

 

[bamaranger]

strong gun

I heard that story too! Way it was told to me, it knocked the mud dauber wasp nests off the ceiling when the .50 was fired.

 

[44 AMP]

Only one can of powder on the bench at a time! And make sure it’s the right damn powder!!

I would add to this, not only one can (kind) of powder on the bench at a time, but ALSO EMPTY ALL hoppers, tricklers and any and every container you have powder in, empty them back into the original container!

I don't mean if you have to stop and answer the phone or go pee, but whenever you are done loading that specific powder, for the day, empty everything back into its original can. Then, before you start again with anything, do a check of every hopper, trickler etc to make certain its empty before you put any powder back in it.

You were VERY, VERY fortunate to catch the mistake before you fired it. When I had my big reloading screwup, I didn't know it until I fired a rifle round was a case about half full of pistol powder. It's been over 50 years since that happened, and while I've made other (and fortunately much less serious mistakes -not counting my first marriage ) I've NEVER made THAT ONE again!

Doubt you will, either!

 

[reynolds357]

I would add to this, not only one can (kind) of powder on the bench at a time, but ALSO EMPTY ALL hoppers, tricklers and any and every container you have powder in, empty them back into the original container!

I don't mean if you have to stop and answer the phone or go pee, but whenever you are done loading that specific powder, for the day, empty everything back into its original can. Then, before you start again with anything, do a check of every hopper, trickler etc to make certain its empty before you put any powder back in it.

You were VERY, VERY fortunate to catch the mistake before you fired it. When I had my big reloading screwup, I didn't know it until I fired a rifle round was a case about half full of pistol powder. It's been over 50 years since that happened, and while I've made other (and fortunately much less serious mistakes -not counting my first marriage ) I've NEVER made THAT ONE again!

Doubt you will, either!

Bolt action rifles are pretty forgiving, but make those mistakes in a less strong platform and you are almost guaranteed catastrophe. Even a bolt action does NOT guarantee protection. Even though I do remember reading about Roy Weatherby giving up on blowing up a MKV action, and Remington claimed the 700 is even stronger.

 

[Nick_C_S]

Only one can of powder on the bench at a time!

Yep, can't say it ^ too many times.

Ours is a craft where the consequences of complacency can be catastrophic.

I always do a "full clean up" after loading a batch of ammo. That clean up includes making sure the hopper and trickler (as applicable) has been emptied back into the bottle, and the bottle put away, before moving on to the next project.

I have a time or two forgotten to do this. And when that second bottle of powder comes to the load bench and my mistake is discovered, that second bottle goes right back where I got it. I then return to the bench, finish the clean up, put the first bottle of powder back in its home, and then -and old then- does the second bottle come back out. It's a nuisance. But it's necessary.

 

[Nick_C_S]

. . . had to toss 3/4 of a pound of benchmark. I was not a happy camper. only one powder on the bench at a time from there on out.

Fortunately, for me, I intuitively figured this one out before I actually made the error. . .

When I first started loading I bought the whole "spectrum" of Hercules pistol powders - Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, Blue Dot, Herco. I had them all on my loading bench at the same time. Somewhere, about a week or two into my new endeavor, I looked at the powder containers and just kind of thought that it wasn't a good idea. I was right.

 

[44 AMP]

Even though I do remember reading about Roy Weatherby giving up on blowing up a MKV action, and Remington claimed the 700 is even stronger.

Once you get past a certain point, I think ultimate "blow up strength" is a moot point.

I can tell you that my Remington 600 survived an indicated pressure of 90-110,000 psi according to the pressure signs on the case.

In my accident, some gas did vent out the rear of the action. Bolt was frozen shut, opened by gunsmith, who also found extractor, pin, bolt stop pin, and safety pin broken. No other damage to the rifle was found, and it got repaired and is still with me, 50 years later. Still as serviceable as it ever was.

There is no such thing as too much QA/QC when handloading.

 

[cdoc42]

If anyone ever says, "I've never done that,".....you will. As we age we should feel comfortable with what we've learned and be less likely to make errors that we've avoided along the way. But age brings with it complacency, inattention, and forgetfulness, and we're even MORE likely to make an error.

Just yesterday, while I had 30 cases in the tumbler to clean off the lube, I decided to save time and drop 40gr of powder in 30 cases that had been already fired. I then primed the clean cases and proceeded in an orderly fashion to pour the powder from a filled fired case into the new empty cases, placed on the left side of the counter, and drop the fired case into a plastic bag on the right side of the counter. All was going well until I picked up a filled case and dumped it into the plastic bag instead of the new case that required it. Now everything came to an abrupt halt and I emptied the plastic bag, one case at a time, leaving the powder in the bag. I poured the powder into the pan and I had somewhat miraculously recovered all 40 grains. I finished loading all 30 cartridges without further incident, but it will remain in my memory banks; hopefully, it will also be available in the future to remind me not to repeat the stupid error.

 

[stagpanther]

I'll add "I did one even worse" to this list since people have mentioned "1 powder at a time on the bench" (sound advice)."

There was a time when reloder #7 and Accurate #7 both came in large kegs with a prominent "7" on the label and, to me, looked very similar. I had stored my powders in something of numerical order and inadvertently grabbed the wrong powder for my 25-45 sharps AR. The difference I calculated was around 140,000 psi. The rifle blew up but I was lucky and didn't get hurt.

 

[jetinteriorguy]

If anyone ever says, "I've never done that,".....you will. As we age we should feel comfortable with what we've learned and be less likely to make errors that we've avoided along the way. But age brings with it complacency, inattention, and forgetfulness, and we're even MORE likely to make an error.

Just yesterday, while I had 30 cases in the tumbler to clean off the lube, I decided to save time and drop 40gr of powder in 30 cases that had been already fired. I then primed the clean cases and proceeded in an orderly fashion to pour the powder from a filled fired case into the new empty cases, placed on the left side of the counter, and drop the fired case into a plastic bag on the right side of the counter. All was going well until I picked up a filled case and dumped it into the plastic bag instead of the new case that required it. Now everything came to an abrupt halt and I emptied the plastic bag, one case at a time, leaving the powder in the bag. I poured the powder into the pan and I had somewhat miraculously recovered all 40 grains. I finished loading all 30 cartridges without further incident, but it will remain in my memory banks; hopefully, it will also be available in the future to remind me not to repeat the stupid error.

This is so true.

 

[reynolds357]

I'll add "I did one even worse" to this list since people have mentioned "1 powder at a time on the bench" (sound advice)."

There was a time when reloder #7 and Accurate #7 both came in large kegs with a prominent "7" on the label and, to me, looked very similar. I had stored my powders in something of numerical order and inadvertently grabbed the wrong powder for my 25-45 sharps AR. The difference I calculated was around 140,000 psi. The rifle blew up but I was lucky and didn't get hurt.

I have 3 pounds of Reloader 7 because I ordered it instead of the AA7 I intended to order. Will use it for something eventually.

 

[stagpanther]

I have 3 pounds of Reloader 7 because I ordered it instead of the AA7 I intended to order. Will use it for something eventually.

IME, The majority of powders that have the same numbers but different manufacturers or powder types generally are in a fairly safe range of pressure differences as long as you're not going towards the upper end of charges should you choose the wrong one. That is definitely not the case with a mismatch of reloder 7 to accurate 7 as I dramatically found out.

 

[Dead-Nuts-Zero]

Glad you caught your mistake before it was too late.

I do the one can on bench & also label my powder measure with powder & charge weight etc. & weigh a bunch before I start.

My additional check...
Drop a charge of powder onto shallow tray, then a pinch of powder from a known reliable can of same powder and use a magnifying glass to compare them side by side.
Maybe not a perfect method but one I do often to confirm I'm using the powder I think I'm using.
So far it's kept me out of trouble.

 

[44 AMP]

Maybe not a perfect method but one I do often to confirm I'm using the powder I think I'm using.

Visual comparison of powders only verifies that they look the same, or don't. Other than that, its good for nothing.

There are different powders that look the same as others, and if you have both in your supply, just looking won't tell you which is which.

I cannot stress enough that powder should ONLY be stored in its ORIGINAL container with a label you can read. Powder in the hopper of the powder measure should be emptied back into the can it came out of, at the end of every reloading session. Right then, not when you get around to it sometime later.

 

[Dead-Nuts-Zero]

Thanks for your informative comment 44, I can totally agree with you.

However in my situation I only have a few powders I use & of those, in my experience you can see a distinct difference under a glass that maybe can't be detected with the naked eye. Some sparkle more, some have smaller or larger holes etc. (as I recall).

It's simply an additional step I use if life gets in the way & I don't get back to the loading bench directly after lunch as I planed.

Therefor based on your comment I would tell others NOT to rely on my additional method.