What are the easiest mistakes you learned the most from when reloading?

[19 Badger]

Was priming several hundred pieces of brass one day prepping for a squirrel shoot with a RCBS hand primer. Well, one of them didn't flip over I guess and I primed it in backwards and never caught it. Needless to say, it didn't exactly ignite like planned. No injury or damage occured. I now measure every primer seating depth after that day.

 

[wwalker]

My #1 tip: 50 years ago I was taught to rotate the case half-a-turn after seating the primer, and then gently applying the same amount of pressure again. (In essence seatings it again.). (This can be especially helpful with new brass.)
I can't say I've never had a miss-fire, but only a 3 or 4 out of literally thousands of rounds loaded. You'll likely learn to rub your finger tip over the seated primer and "feel" the depth, but with the "half-turn" method you'll very seldom run across one that's not seated properly. BTW: When a primer is not seated properly, it's totally possible for the firing pin to strike the primer without detonating. It may drive the primer deeper into the primer pocket, but the firm resistance it needs to properly crush and detonate the primer may not be be there. (A friend came to me once with a new rifle and his new brass reloads, out of which during his first range session, only 50% of them had fired. A quick review of his loading procedures proved his primer seating process was not consistent. From then on he started using my "half-turn/2nd seatings" tip and NEVER had another misfire with that rifle.) Have fun with your new hobby. There's nothing like standing over a trophy buck, knowing it was taken with a round you build yourself![/QUOTE

This is one of the best posts I have read here so far and all have been good.
I know this for a fact!
This is especially important with reloading for a revolver as a primer that is not seated can lock up your action tighter than a drum! I learned this the hard way when I was about ten years old and had been loading for about a year with my father. He always would seat primers as a single process with a separate primer seater.
I though I knew everything after loading for about a year and was loading for a S&W 357. I was loading.38sp for it and was using the the auto primer after unpriming and resizing the brass. This proved to be a mistake as the primers were not fully seated and after firing a couple of rounds the cylinder locked up and would not turn or release. Was a pain to fix and my dad gave me a ton of crap and would not let me load for a month or two. This was a eternity for me at that age as I could not afford to buy ammo to shoot at a LGS.
Lesson learned. He will still bring it up if I have a misfire when shooting with him 40 years latter.
He always would turn 1/4 to a 1/3 of a turn and pull the handle again and so do I from that point on.

 

[wwalker]

Got a rock chucker

i always bring beer over and you know it lol

Drink after reloading.
Drinking while reloading is a recipe for disaster like driving while drinking.
Sorry just my opinion.

 

[wwalker]

I don't want to be a downer, but everywhere I have hunted and every range where I have shot have always had strict no alcohol policies before or during shooting. I think that should apply to the reloading bench. You don't need anything to help you make a mistake, at least I don't. After the loading, shooting, hunting, etc is done, put the toys away and drink responsibly.

AMEN!!!

 

[wwalker]

Keep your brass separated by rifle and mark the boxes for the particular rifle that it was fired from if you are not fully resizing the brass when you want the utmost accuracy.
Fire formed brass will be the most accurate.
If you mix up rounds loaded for one rifle with another it just might leave you scratching your head wondering what the hell just happened to that pinpoint accuracy you where expecting.
Been there done that and wondered what the hell happened to the accuracy of a half MOA rifle as it would not group during a tournament. Needless to say I did not even come close to the top contenders let alone my own expectations.
The hardest part about the lesson learned was finding out what the hell had happened. Thought about it all the way home and could not figure it out.
It was not until I got home and a few days was back at the bench and found out that I was putting the fired brass into the wrong boxes for the rifle. I had 3 different .308's two of which were almost twins but had different twist rates and liked different loads. I had grabbed the wrong empty boxes and brass was only trimmed to length and did not have a full length sizing.
Lesson learned.
Now I only put the fired brass back into the box that it came out of instead of having different boxes to put fired brass into. That way I do not get my loaded ammo mixed up between rifles.
Yes it can make that big of a difference.

 

[Doug Herold]

Do not change brass without checking for differances.I went from Remington to Federal Brass and locked up a 243 .

Grizz,
Gotta question for you. Because George Gardner will not release any of his Hornady Gap4s brass which Whorenady is making for him, I will soon switch to the Norma SAUM brass which Copper Creek is making for that rifle. Do I need to take the bolt apart and measure (again) the Case Head to ogive in order to get the exact distance to the lands?
Everyone plz reply....

 

[Oxobrianne 272]

View attachment 117197 New to the sport and reloading. Currently working on building up my reloading bench with all the goodies needed to work. What are some do's and dont's y'all have learned over the years that you like to pass on? Currently reloading for my Bergara B14 HMR chambered in 6.5CM.

 

[Oxobrianne 272]

Concentrate with no distractions. I won't even listen to the radio when reloading.
We can still make stupid mistakes after years of experience.
10 days ago while assembling 45/90 rounds I put in the expander die instead of the seating die - I wondered where the bullet went!!!
In my defence the Lyman expander and seating dies are very similar externally. Won't make that mistake again!!
On the subject of 45/90 reloading has anyone had issue with case wall thickness in Starline cases?

 

[SilverbulletMAG]

Tumble/clean your brass BEFORE removing the old primers.

I'm guessing you suggest doing this BEFORE to keep the dies cleaner? My preference is the opposite. Either decap by hand (Frankford Arsenal) or universal decapping die (depending on how many I'm doing at a time) and then clean the brass. Primer pockets get cleaned and my brass just seems to be cleaner overall this way. As with most things in this game however, there are several ways to skin the cat...

 

[Orange Dust]

1 - no distractions at the bench people or otherwise
2 - one powder, one primer and one caliber on a time on the bench at any given time.
3 - Write up you reloading procedure accounting for every single task you make to load a round and print it post it next to bench as a ongoing reminder especially if you have periods of time between loading. Build consistent reloading process.
4 - check your scale constantly with calibration weights to insure good consistent weights.
5 - Manuals are there to prevent you from harming yourself. The loads are MAX and are not lawyer loads. Use a manual for load data and not something you took off the internet unless you have the confidence and knowledge to work a load up on your own.
6 - NEVER start a any MAX load under any conditions whatsoever. ALWAYS work your loads up for your rifle gradually. Different powders, brass, primers and bullets (even different lots) can cause instant pressure problems.
7 - Stay off the lands with your loads until you have the equipment to measure accurately and the knowledge to understand pressure.
8 - A stiff bolt is not the only pressure sign to be aware of and stop shooting immediately until you have resolved the pressure signs.
9 - Temperature has a huge impact on load pressure so a load that is fine in January may be serious pressure problem in July.
10 - record every single load you make. Use a marking system to differentiate the loads in each lot that you are testing. I've used different color Sharpies on the primers or bullets to color code each load step. One of the positive aspects of tracking loads is you know the barrel count as well.
11 - get a really good bullet puller. You will make mistakes and will want to save the load as much as possible. I have saved a lot of components with RCBS puller.
12 - 2x on the floor mat. It also traps dropped primers etc and keeps them from rolling around.
13 - I was over sizing my brass for quite a while until I bought the tools to show me how to properly headspace my brass. I wasted a lot of brass!
14 - I switched from measuring the COAL to the tip of the bullet to measuring the ogive OAL when I bought the headspace tools years ago and they really teach a lot more about consistent reloading.

Reloading is like a really good pie recipe. You have to use good components, measure accurately, and have a reloading recipe that has repeatable accuracy. You really have to track and record your data so when you look back at a load, you can legitimately decipher what you did and can repeat it. Just like the pie, why did it taste so good?

I have more mistakes that I've made over 40+ years of reloading to share but I've done enough scare even myself.
Muddy

A very good list. May I add: Watch the length of brass and trim as necessary. Brass just a little too long can wreck a rifle with even a light load. Don't ask how I know. Never mix or change components in a load. Even brands of brass. Watch out for static electricity, especially in the Winter, when it is worse. Keep any spilled powder cleaned up, never vacuum the area.

 

[NeedForSpeed]

No real revelations here and seems obvious but....don't forget to add primers before filling with powder.lol That one has bit me a couple times.
If you can swing it, buy better equipment at the start vs. dipping your toe in the water with cheap gear and then inevitably getting better quality stuff down the road and spending much more than you otherwise would have.
Something I wish I would have told myself when starting out - pick a bullet you want to shoot and stick with that one bullet and build loads around that vs. getting several boxes of different bullets, weights, powders, primers and then drive yourself crazy trying to work up a million different loads. Pick one or two and limit the variables.

Best advice you can give. Wish someone had told me that!

 

[NeedForSpeed]

Tumble/clean your brass BEFORE removing the old primers.

why? Ive always read the opposite

 

[2nd amend]

View attachment 117197 New to the sport and reloading. Currently working on building up my reloading bench with all the goodies needed to work. What are some do's and dont's y'all have learned over the years that you like to pass on? Currently reloading for my Bergara B14 HMR chambered in 6.5CM.

 

[2nd amend]

View attachment 117197 New to the sport and reloading. Currently working on building up my reloading bench with all the goodies needed to work. What are some do's and dont's y'all have learned over the years that you like to pass on? Currently reloading for my Bergara B14 HMR chambered in 6.5CM.