joej
.30 Stingray
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Posts: 352
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Post by joej on Jun 28, 2016 13:04:31 GMT -5
Throwing a double charge from a powder measure with a block full of cases (25 to 40 cases) might be easier than throwing a double charge from a Dillon or Hornady progressive. I know I threw a couple back in the day on a Starr Universal when we ran out of primers - had to back the plate up and you needed to dump the charged case or else? The progressives today using a cylinder shouldn't have that opportunity unless there's a stoppage of some sort on the way up, but I suppose some people could manage the task of throwing a double. I haven't had a bad throw since about 1968 but when I did, the bark was noticed by everyone on the line but the Clark & Shockey 1911's just kept on truckin.
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Post by bigmuddy on Jun 28, 2016 16:59:33 GMT -5
I will mention another possibility.... A double charge but NOT powder. I tell of this because I have observed it happening with a progressive press.
Loading lead bullets tends to get seater dies pretty gummed up. When this happens, a bullet can stick in the die. The next round gets two bullets! I have seen it happen and suspect that a lot of revolvers would indeed let go if it does.
It happened to me loading 38-40's. I fired a round that felt and sounded more like a 44 mag. No damage to me or the gun. Only a very flattened primer and a bit sticky extraction. I was fortunate not to have fired this round in my '73 rifle. I weighed all of my remaining ammo on a digital scale and found a round that indeed was heavier...a LOT heavier. It had two bullets. I could hear the extra one rattling around inside. Wondering how it happened I slowly loaded several more rounds and watched it occur. A bullet stuck in the seater die and when I seated the next one, it got both bullets.
I'm sure when it originally happened I just thought I forgot to put a bullet on top of a round when the case full of powder spilled into the tray. I learned to watch each round making sure a bullet seats, and clean my seater dies more often. Just last week i saw a bullet stick in a crimp die loading 45 Colt.
I passed this story on to my fellow CAS shooters and a friend later thanked me as he found a 45 Colt round he had loaded had two bullets. I'm sure the pressure in the straight walled 45 would be higher than in my bottle necked 38-40 and doubt his Colt would have handled 500 grains of lead with very little air space.
This problem can also be avoided using Tyrone's practice of filling the case if possible.
Dan
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Post by magnumwheelman on Jun 29, 2016 7:45:58 GMT -5
The club I shoot CAS at, I regularly hear squib loads & double charges ( fortunately they were powder puff loads to start with )... I can understand wanting to load up cartridges as fast as possible, when engaging in a shooting sport... but, IMO there is no excuse for for no charge & double charge loads... Like CONTENDER, I prefer a powder that fills the case, & would be impossible to double charge... because I do understand, it can happen, even if one is in the habit of checking every load... reloading can be a mundane chore, & the brain may wander for a second at just the wrong time... I've personally never had a squib or double charge ( yet ) on my loads... but I did crack a cylinder on my Bisley 44 Special Flat top, the 1st time I had it out, with some reloads that I though were my FIL's... but after some investigation, they may have been some given to him by an old neighbor, & FIL may have been shooting them in a Dan Wesson 44 Magnum, which he had shot loose... when in doubt, pull those bullets
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Post by contender on Jun 29, 2016 8:58:58 GMT -5
Interesting to hear of double bullets in a case. Not as common as double powder charges, but still a bit scary. I learned long ago to occasionally take my dies apart & clean them especially if loading lubed, lead bullets.
On progressives,,, I know MANY folks sing the praises of the Dillon 550. I also have one. But I also have 3 other Dillons, a 650 & 2 SDB's. My first one was the 650. I studied all of them a LOT before that purchase. Two main things stood out for safety that the 650 has over the 550. Auto-indexing, and the separate powder check station. Those were two very strong reasons I went with the 650. I also really liked the auto case feed assy. Well, after many thousands of match ammo I've yet heard the buzzer of the powder check assy on my 650 go off. But it is nice to know it's there. About 3 years ago, a good friend & fellow USPSA competitor showed up at Area 6 with his hand in a bandage. I asked him about it, and he allowed that he'd just loaded 3000 rounds on his 550, and just that morning had chosen to test fire some before the match. His Glock blew up in his hand, due to a double charge. He admitted he likely got in a hurry or whatever & made the mistake. His injury was bad, but not permanent, or bad enough to keep him from shooting the match. His scores did suffer greatly though. He sold his 550, and purchased a 650.
We all understand the potential dangers of our hobby. Unfortunately, we also get the occasional new person (to reloading) who fails to heed the safety guidelines, or even the experienced loader who has a lapse in thought. Sometimes, disaster strikes, and sometimes,, nothing happens. Kinda like driving a car. Accidents happen most often due to negligence. But if we try HARD to practice good habits that don't allow us to exceed the safety aspects, we rarely have any issues. I've been loading for over 35 years now. I had one issue back when I started where I loaded some 38 spl brass to magnum levels, to use in a Blackhawk, thinking the brass was "getting old as I'd loaded it 10-12 times. It was safe & fine in my Blackhawk 357,,,, but when we were out plinking one day, a friend was shooting my Blackhawk & wanted ammo. I casually pointed to my stash. What I didn't see was how he switched to his S&W 38 spl revolver, and picked up the 38 spl brass w/o checking the data sheet in the box. He shot a cylinder full. I heard the louder booms,,,, and it wasn't until his 4th or 5th round that I realized he may have gotten the ammo from me. As I went to check, he finished off the cylinder. Only 2 cases extracted, the rest had the case heads separate, leaving the case walls welded to the inside of the cylinder. The frame stretched leaving a gap where two sections mated. The gun held together, but was ruined. That day, I swore to never do stupid stuff like that again & tried hard to follow all the safety stuff a lot closer. While that was in 1978,,, I can still see James shooting that 38 & studying that gun afterwards.
And I've been to SASS matches where powder puff loads are more common. To me, Trailboss has helped a LOT of shooters be safer than they might have been. Just like driving a car, reloading can be safe, or dangerous. We have to pay attention & follow safety rules to prevent ourselves from being the reason for an accident.
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Post by bulasteve on Jun 29, 2016 9:01:16 GMT -5
The tales of disasters and near disasters are useful, but I'd like to hear more about the shoot !
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Post by 2 Dogs on Jul 11, 2016 21:30:14 GMT -5
I'd like to lay hands on those frames to see how hard they would be to repair.
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