Get out the lead bullets

A

AzShooter

New member
Well, my friend just started reloading on a progressive press and is having problems keeping his mind on what he is doing, not advancing the shell plate after sizing a round so he doesn't end up loading the previous case.

It's a learning experience but shouldn't be if you pay attention to what you are doing, No disturbance in the loading room, no phone calls, no T.V. and just load.

So far he's blown up one gun with a double charge. Had three that I know of but one did blew out the cylinder and the top strap of his Ruger.

The best is left to last. On his Taurus he had 4 misloads with no powder and stuck all four in the barrel.

The question is "How do you dislodge 4 bullets. I gave him my squib rod but told him I didn't think he could do it and to send it back to Taurus. He's as stubborn as me and I know he's not going to send it back.

My only advice was to put it in a vice, hit the squib rod with a 3 pound sledge and pray.

Any other suggestions?
 
First piece of advice. Tell him he's not suited to reloading. He needs to get rid of his equipment and go back to factory ammo before he really hurts himself or someone else. If he got into reloading for savings, ask him how he's going to save money by blowing up and damaging guns and potentially having to pay to deal with injuries to himself or others. If he got into it for the fun of reloading, tell him to stop shooting the ammo and just have fun reloading.

Second piece of advice. If he's going to shoot his reloads with others present, he needs to put up a big sign that has pictures of his blown/damaged guns, and a big notice saying: "Careless Novice Reloader. Keep Clear!"

Advice for the Taurus. Replace the barrel.

If he's going to keep reloading, saw the old barrel in half lengthwise. Hang one half over the reloading bench. Take the other one to the range and set it on the shooting bench where it's visible to him and others during the entire shooting session.
 
How do you not advance the shell plate on a progressive press? All the progressives I've seen automatically advance the shell plate each time you pull the handle. Is he maybe using a turret press that doesn't offer auto-indexing?

I certainly agree that this is a person who should give up reloading, like yesterday.
 
How do you not advance the shell plate on a progressive press?
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use a Dillion RL 450 or 550 or some of the other older lower price point models.

I won't claim expertise on current models of progressive presses, I got out of them years ago, and went back to my single stage presses. But I do know that several models from different folks didn't always have an auto advance feature.

The guy who is blowing up his guns, and doing other things to ruin them shouldn't be reloading. But it is America, and you have the right to be an idiot until you hurt someone..

mostly...
 
44_AMP said:
I won't claim expertise on current models of progressive presses, I got out of them years ago, and went back to my single stage presses. But I do know that several models from different folks didn't always have an auto advance feature.
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Semantics, I guess. To me, if it doesn't automatically advance the shell plate it's not a "progressive" press.
 
When im loading the cell phone is not with me. Door is locked behind me. I tell everyone in the house im loading do not bother me. I had squibs in the past. Due to others around when im reloading. Lesson learned.
 
What kind of Taurus? What was the Ruger?

Maybe he should be limited to using Trail Boss powder or other powders that'll be overflowing if double charged.
 
When I first got started with my Dillon, I would sometimes forget to push the lever forward to seat a primer. This would leave flakes of powder here and there on the press and sometimes I'd get the impression of a flake of powder on a seated primer.

It didn't take me long to get into the swing of things...

Tony
 
When I started loading on my MEC 9000 progressive (stepped up from a Lee hand loader),
it came with a basic piece of advice that transferred over nicely to my 550b.

Paraphrased, it said; 'If you start with a wad in your left hand and an empty hull in your right before you touch the handle,
and have empty hands after having cycled the handle, you have correctly loaded a round.'

I took the same principle over to my 550b. If I start with a bullet in my left hand and an empty in my right, I need to have empty hands after having operating the handle.

Any deviation is checked out as to where I am in the sequence before operating the handle again.
This method does not yield the 600/hour Dillon claim, but it works for me.

There is enough of an inherent danger in both shooting and re-loading firearms to begin with, even for the conscientious shooter/re-loader.
If this guy was my friend, I would attempt an intervention until I felt I had helped him to learn a proper routine.

JT
 
Having taught reloading for the past 3 years, I also have come to the conclusion that some people just don't have the mindset for reloading and should not do so. Now you know why after a class, I break down all the ammo that students have loaded.

Don
 
See, I have a QC check for this. Before I seat a bullet, I must see the powder. Every single time, every single round. I too have had squib loads, 2 of them and maybe a third (can't remember exactly). They were years ago and I learned my lesson. A visual inspection of the powder should prevent squib rounds and double charges.
 
I've told him to put a light or a mirror over station 2 so he cold verify he has powder and then put the bullet on. I'm trying to talk him into going back to his one position RCBS. It would cost him a lot less in the long run.

He's a great friend but stubborn as can be.

I can't believe he shot 4 rounds without checking to see if they were hitting the target.
 
Semantics, I guess. To me, if it doesn't automatically advance the shell plate it's not a "progressive" press.
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Semantics or "time and space". I have two Dillon RL450s purchased in 1984 (I think). They were marketed as a progressive press. Ya gotta get your head around the times. Back then the Dillon 450 was a big deal. It was the only "progressive" available that didn't cost an arm, a leg (and promissory note on your first born). Everything else fell into the category of commercial ammo production.

Yes, considering automatic advance features on machines today, calling a RL450/BL550 a "progressive" seems almost inappropriate.

Since I was down memory lane, I just looked at my old RL450 manual and they have prices listed for carbide sizing dies for 9MM and 45ACP at $70!! While today's three die sets sell for $69.95.
 
My Grandpa use to tell me, "Everybody is good at something, but nobody is good at everything!". Some folks just ain't cut out for reloading, and it may not have anything to do with it being their own fault. While reloading is not brain surgery or rocket science, it does take some mechanical ability and common sense. Focus and attention span is not always related to whether or not you have a cell phone or T.V. in the room. Sometimes it's the way your brain is wired. I have two sons. One I trust to reload and never have a concern about shooting his reloads in my guns, the other I won't let near the reloading room unless he's going to get ammo either I or his brother have reloaded. Need something built, plumbing fixed or machinery run, it's the other way around. Nuttin' against either of them, just the way they are. Some folks just ain't born to reload, but until they realize it themselves, they are a danger to them and others around them at the range. The reason we advise others not to shoot other folks reloads is because of them.

Just sayin'.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
Semantics, I guess. To me, if it doesn't automatically advance the shell plate it's not a "progressive" press.
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Not semantics, just a wrong definition. Progressive doesn't mean automatic. If it did, you couldn't call a press progressive if it didn't have automatic case and bullet and primer feeders and automatic powder dispensing, but past progressive designs have lacked all those features. "Progressive" just describes a loading operation in which cartridges are loaded by progressing through a series of loading stations rather than the dies being moved to one station for each operation. You could actually set up a series of single-stage presses in a row and have an operator at each one that does his operation and hands the cartridge to the person at the next press and so-on and that would still be a progressive loading process. It just wouldn't be a progressive loading machine, as the latter is expected to make all the stations work for just one operator.


AzShooter,

Oddly, if your friend has all his problems related to advancing the shell holder on his 550, he might do OK with a press that has a fifth station for a powder check die, like a Dillon 650 or a Hornady LNL. The powder check die will tell him if he either double-charged or failed to charge a case or, in the case of a lockout die, it will actually stop the press from operating. You could put one of those on the 550, but it will mean using a die that seats and crimps at the same time back on station 4, and he will have to insert his bullets there, which is inconvenient.

A stack of stuck bullets in a barrel suggests there was either a very reduced quantity of powder in every case or there was powder in all but the first round, with the subsequent loads jamming the multiple bullets into the bore. A primer doesn't normally have the strength to push four bullets forward at once, and I've seen sectioned revolver barrels at gun shows with up to six rounds in them, all fired with powder, but with the gas escaping out of the barrel/cylinder gap. In every instance, the barrel was bulged and not salvageable. You can apply calipers to the outside of the barrel at several places to see if that has happened in your friend's case. If so, a replacement barrel is needed.
 
My first press was a Dillon 650. I did not enjoy reloading with it. The fact that there was too much going on for me made me feel un-easy. I sold it and all that went with it. Never had any problems with the ammo I loaded on it, but really did not enjoy everything going on at once.
I recently bought the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme single stage. I believe I will enjoy reloading a lot more on it. I will enjoy the much slower pace. Sounds like that is exactly what you're friend needs to do. Get back to the RCBS. I use to weigh every round after the reloading process on the 650. If it was to heavy I would pull the round apart and redo it.
 
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