Loading 38 issues maybe?

In .38? With many of the appropriate powders, it is quite possible to TRIPLE charge a case and still seat a bullet. There is enough room to do so.
 
Do you have access to other brands of primer? Have you ever had issues in other cartridges with the primer that gave you a squib? I MIGHT also be a bit of "tumbler-foo" that might have gotten into the pocket when the brass was being prettied up.

I didn't think that something laying in the flash hole would have such an effect, but it can and has. I actually reloaded a dozen .38 rounds with varying amounts of flash hole "occlusion", and there was more than 1 round that went off like what you describe. I tried reproducing the effect with .45 Colt and .45 ACP, but couldn't. Other than real poor groups, it was difficult to tell anything was wrong.
 
I was handling the primers by hand last night on the press. First 5 or 6 anyway. I may have contaminated them with my hands. Oil, gun scrubber Ect. I dumped the remainder untouched into a hand primer. I just loaded up 14 at 5 grains of hp38. Loaded 3 in the lever action and was shooting the lids off water bottles at 20 yards. All the room I have at home. Nothing came apart. Everything levered well. Ordered some 158 Noslers this evening. They had good reviews. Was trying to find some cheaper 357 brass but not much luck. Did find a firing range that had 250 pieces off cleaned range brass for $29.00 but they don't save 357. Go figure. I am just playing with the 38 brass but want to get it all right and get some hunting rounds for husband on his horse riding days. I don't want to pay a dollar a piece for 357 brass. I can almost buy cheap ammo and save the brass for reloading.
 
Loading manuals have said for years and years to never handle the primers with any solvent, grease or oil on your fingers - but extensive testing by hobbyists have shown (clearly!) that using solvents to kill primers is a losing venture. Primers are incredibly difficult to kill.

But for sure...
Leftover solvents, oil or anything of the sort will wreck powder, no doubt.
 
I could see you maybe contaminating one primer with your fingers, but several in a row, no way. the last six months I have been using my fingers without a single failure. only because I am to lazy to order a new arm for my safety prime.
 
That's good to know. I prime all my rifle cases off the press. Only had 2 Winchester duds. One just wouldn't fire and I didn't put powder in the other. I've had the best accuracy with BR-2 primers so I bought my first box of a thousand instead of a 100 at a time. Winchester small pistol is all I could find when I stopped for the pistol. What do you think of the Remington 1 1/2 small pistol primers. He was getting some in. Said everyone was asking for them. I think they say anything to get me to buy them.
 
I personally don't like the Remington 1 1/2, that is the only primer type that I had several misfires from, but I was in the beginning, probably less than 2000 rounds loaded, so it could very well have been my fault, but haven't since felt the need to try them again.

federal's primers are said to be the most sensitive, so assume they are the easiest to set off if you are having a "light-strike" issue. BR are obviously considered to be the most consistent. I have found my favorite to be Winchester's, the primer cups are soft and malleable and make for easy loading into random once-fired brass, i'd say it's pretty much all I have used in the last 10k primers and haven't ever had a mis-fire. but I haven't had a misfire with CCI, Federal or Tula either, just that one case of Remington's 1 1/2. Remington's are always pricier than others, so I just don't have a need since all the others work fine.
 
Last bullets have all been fine so far.
Click to expand...
That's good. :D :D

W231/HP38 is a good powder(4.8gr is the Hornady MIN, but 4.3 isn't going to stick a bullet. So it's "OK" for now.)
Rules of the road for straightwall/revolver cartridges:
- Fully resize (die body down to ram (minus 1/8 turn for some carbide dies)
- Expand/flare to where the bullet base will enter the mouth "just a schoch". (No matter what any manufacturer says/recommends as to die placement, this is a trial & error determination -- then lock the die)
- Put an empty case into the press/ram fully up. Screw the seating die down to contact the mouth, then 1/2 turn more to establish a starting crimp. Lock the die ring at this setting.
- Unscrew the seating die, place (either) a nickle or the spacer ring supplied w/ the dies under the lock ring and tighten the die back down (no crimp this way)
- By adjusting the Using the seater stem, seat the bullets at least 3/4 of the way up/into the crimp groove. THIS IS YOUR OAL SETTING... period.

FOR NOW....

- Seat all bullets to that OAL.
- Remove the spacer, and screw the die all the way down to the press where the lock ring was set.
- UNscrew the seater stem at least a half-dozen turns. (You aren't going to seat the bullets any further)
- Run all cartridges back up into the die and they will crimp properly into the groove.
 
That's all great information. This is the most helpful forum of the 3 I use. Or used to. When I asked questions on the first forums before I found this one I would have one person answer and a 100 posts with everyone arguing who was wrong and right.
 
Ditto the remark on solvents and powders. Primers are remarkably durable. I guess just keep on reloading and see if you have similar problems down the road.
 
Hoping to hit the range later next week. Going to wait until I get a few hundred loaded. Going to shoot in rifle and 2 handguns. Looking forward to it.
 
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