After 12 years of reloading I still run into careless mistakes. I was pulling some 9mm rounds that didn’t make the cut. I had pulled a few rounds with CFE Pistol and one with Alliant Blue Dot. I poured each into desperate piles in a large Tupperware to separate the bullets from powder. I was picking up each powder by the pinch (finger and thumb) and putting them back into each powder container. I accidentally put just 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE pistol. I tried pouring out the CFE to see if I could separate a few blue dot flakes but that didn’t work out (needle in a hay stack). Here is my question- will a pinch of blue dot, diluted by a pound of CFE pistol be ok, or have I ruined a pound of pistol powder?
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Mixed powder advice
- Thread starter LukeB
- Start date
Shake it up and forget it.. . . 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE
How much is your "pinch"?? 5gr?? less??? probably less but lets say 5gr..
A pound is 7000 gr. so a 5gr "pinch" is what?? 1/1400 of the total, that's not very much to worry about.
Follow the rule of only ONE open powder on the bench at a time and you probably won't have this problem again. If you're pulling down ammo with more than one kind of powder in it, don't.
Meaning, do ONE kind, all the way through, including returning all powder to the proper storage can and putting the lid on it, before beginning work on ammo with a different powder in it.
A pound is 7000 gr. so a 5gr "pinch" is what?? 1/1400 of the total, that's not very much to worry about.
Follow the rule of only ONE open powder on the bench at a time and you probably won't have this problem again. If you're pulling down ammo with more than one kind of powder in it, don't.
Meaning, do ONE kind, all the way through, including returning all powder to the proper storage can and putting the lid on it, before beginning work on ammo with a different powder in it.
Geezerbiker
New member
Back when I was in college (in the dark ages,) I was given a very old can of Red Dot that someone had dumped in what looked like one cartridge full of extruded powder. I was so broke back then, I sifted out all the extruded powder and used up the Red Dot. I made a lot of .38 special loads with that can of powder...
Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not...
Tony
Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not...
Tony
It may have been possible to mechanically separate the Red Dot from the extruded stick powder by using the technique used to separate marijuana seeds from the buds and leaves. A one foot square of plywood with added raised sides. Pour out and spread the mixed powder (or bag of marijuana) on to the top of the plywood board. Gently shake and tilt the board. The flakes of the Red Dot (or marihuana) will will settle and not roll whereas the extruded stick powder (and/or marihuana seeds), will roll down to one corner (if you have an opening at that corner, you can pour the round things off into a container).Back when I was in college (in the dark ages,) I was given a very old can of Red Dot that someone had dumped in what looked like one cartridge full of extruded powder. I was so broke back then, I sifted out all the extruded powder and used up the Red Dot. I made a lot of .38 special loads with that can of powder...
Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not...
Tony
That method would not work for two mixed flake type or two extruded stick powders that were errantly mixed of course.
jetinteriorguy
New member
I wouldn’t sweat that amount, but definitely lesson learned.
Seedy Character
New member
I had 25-30 shotgun shells that had accumulated. I was breaking them down to save the shot, wad and primer. A rainy day, watching an old, John Wayne movie.
Since they were all mixed up, powders varied; Green Dot, Herco, Blue Dot, 800-X. So, I got an old ashtray and was dumping the powder.
I had gone to the garage to put up the wads and shot. Just as I was returning, I see a flash and hear screams.
I had told daughter several times about smoking in my house. Didn't have to tell her, again. Wife was not amused, though.
Since they were all mixed up, powders varied; Green Dot, Herco, Blue Dot, 800-X. So, I got an old ashtray and was dumping the powder.
I had gone to the garage to put up the wads and shot. Just as I was returning, I see a flash and hear screams.
I had told daughter several times about smoking in my house. Didn't have to tell her, again. Wife was not amused, though.
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No wife I am aware of seems much amused by that sort of thing. Neither are parents. Something similar happened to me when I was about nine and playing with trying to make my own black powder. I left some in a mortar and pestle on a table in the living room and one of my parent's friends was visiting one evening and put a cigarette into it. I won't say he "put it out" in it, as it obviously didn't go out. But that fellow had a goatee at the time that several other friends had remarked looked devilish, so when he was lighted from below by the flaring powder, they thought the tableau was appropriate. That didn't save me from a scolding about leaving my experiments lying around, though.
Ha, Ha, that brings back memories,Unclenick. Let me first say I wouldn't concern myself about the OP's concern, just from the perspective that the error is well diluted. As well, I don't think every granule/flake of Blue Dot is Blue, so it makes little sense to try to separate the Blue as described.
But to follow upon Unclenicks experience. I forget how old I was, but it had to be close to his, when I went to the drug store and bought sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, mixed them 1-1-1 because I had no recipe, then stuffed the end of an old fountain pen with mixture, incorporating broken match heads to assure continued ignition, and added a fuse made from a cotton-based string, saturated with alcohol, rolled into the potassium nirate, and placed it on a popsicle stick headed for the moon. I set it off and it only headed about 3 feet from the launch pad, simulating what would be expected from the fireworks display called a flowerpot. That ended the experiment because neighbors wondered where the sulfur smell came from.....
But to follow upon Unclenicks experience. I forget how old I was, but it had to be close to his, when I went to the drug store and bought sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, mixed them 1-1-1 because I had no recipe, then stuffed the end of an old fountain pen with mixture, incorporating broken match heads to assure continued ignition, and added a fuse made from a cotton-based string, saturated with alcohol, rolled into the potassium nirate, and placed it on a popsicle stick headed for the moon. I set it off and it only headed about 3 feet from the launch pad, simulating what would be expected from the fireworks display called a flowerpot. That ended the experiment because neighbors wondered where the sulfur smell came from.....
I don't think every granule/flake of Blue Dot is Blue, so it makes little sense to try to separate the Blue as described.
Although all the flakes of Blue Dot are actually Blue (are they still coloring some of the flakes Blue?), there is a visually obvious difference between a flake powder and extruded stick powders.
I agree with the "no big deal" position.
Not only is the Blue Dot portion small (a pinch to a pound), but they are not far apart on the burn rate charts and the Blue Dot is slower than the primary component, CFE Pistol. If you were to mix in say 10% Blue Dot in with 90% CFE Pistol (by weight) and load the mix using CFE Load data, you would get lower than expected pressures and velocities.
Not only is the Blue Dot portion small (a pinch to a pound), but they are not far apart on the burn rate charts and the Blue Dot is slower than the primary component, CFE Pistol. If you were to mix in say 10% Blue Dot in with 90% CFE Pistol (by weight) and load the mix using CFE Load data, you would get lower than expected pressures and velocities.
101combatvet
New member
As long as you do that without a lite cigarette, you should be okay.After 12 years of reloading I still run into careless mistakes. I was pulling some 9mm rounds that didn’t make the cut. I had pulled a few rounds with CFE Pistol and one with Alliant Blue Dot. I poured each into desperate piles in a large Tupperware to separate the bullets from powder. I was picking up each powder by the pinch (finger and thumb) and putting them back into each powder container. I accidentally put just 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE pistol. I tried pouring out the CFE to see if I could separate a few blue dot flakes but that didn’t work out (needle in a hay stack). Here is my question- will a pinch of blue dot, diluted by a pound of CFE pistol be ok, or have I ruined a pound of pistol powder?
Don Fischer
New member
I think it probably is no big deal but, I'm not the one using your powder, what do you think? I know I did about the same thing one time, putting some of the wrong powder back into a new can of different powder and I threw the new can of powder away. One of the very few case's where I believe the saying, "It's only money"!