I was at the reloading bench, and learned a lesson. I'm a bit short on 45 Colt rounds, so I gathered my stuff, and started loading rounds. I was also thinking about the new goshawk that I'm trying to get in June. I've been putting in some hours hiking looking for nests, and can't find anything yet. The two I thought were active earlier are not, or at least aren't anymore, which brings me back to square one: locating an active nest. (Yes, still loading bullets while thinking about all this...) Where can I look next? Where could I get a tip on a nest? Do I need to travel closer to timberline? When I do get one, what will I name it? Wonder how big she will get? Wait a minute, this bullet doesn't look right....

I had just loaded 10 loads with a 300gr XTP MAG instead of the 250gr xtp that the load was intended for. I had been putting 26.1 grains of H110 under a 300gr XTP MAG!!! I checked the load data for the 300 grain bullet in my hornady manual, and it isn't listed! Checked the hodgdon website, and it shows a MAXIMUM of 22.2gr H110 with a 300gr bullet!!! HOLY CRAP!!! My eyes about popped out of my head!

WOW!!! Talk about getting my attention!!! The ONLY reason I noticed something was wrong was because of the shape of the bullet. The Mag doesn't have a "shoulder" to it. It is more of a smooth shape all the way down the side. The 250gr xtp has a prominent shoulder right above the canalure. That shoulder is what I was used to seeing in the 45 colt loads that I have been shooting. When I didn't see it, I got suspicious.

Thank you Lord for watching over idiots and darwin award candidates like me!!!

Lesson learned: When reloading, don't think of ANYTHING else!!!

Yep

Raptor,

No problem with the mind wandering when reloading, but there are certain points where I always make a focused double check. If you want help keeping your mind on exactly what you are doing, get a progressive ;^)

Craig

For sure. When I reload I don't listen to the radio,talk to friends, nothing. If someone or something comes up I stop completely and start again when I am alone. I am not much of a multi tasker so one thing at a time.

I watched a guy blow up a Linebaugh Custom 500 at the range one day, because he loaded a double charge. His mistake made me realize how easy it can be to make a mistake that can cost you a lot of money, not to mention a gun that is hard to replace.
I honestly thought the guy was gonna cry..

I thought about that progressive thing when I started reloading. But a progressive has to much room for inconsistency for my liking. I got the dillon 550, so it can be made into a progressive, but I like the "exactness" of weighing each load. Looking at each case. Looking at each primer. I want everything to be as close to the same as possible. I guess that is how I have gained my confidence to this point, and its working.

I just gotta stay focused. Sure glad I didn't touch one of those rounds off that was made wrong!!!

Probably would have killed my Colt... and me.

I will go back and weigh my a sampling of my finished loads to make sure everything is consistent but I also am very anal when it comes to which components are in front of me even though you could tell it right now with how my reloading bench and room look.

I learned a hard lesson when I first started reloading. I was loading for a Smith 38spcl Airweight. I was getting ready to go on a trip and new there would be an outing to a shooting range and I realized I was short on spcl ammo. I "used" to keep a written list of my loads on the wall behind my press which I don't do anymore. The problem was my 38 data was right under my 357 data so it was easy to mix up. The next problem was while the 357 data was with H110 the 38 data was with HS6 which. If you haven't guessed yet I used the 357 weight with HS6 because I was in such a hurry it didn't click that the weight didn't sound right.

The good news is no one was hurt, the bad news is the back strap went through the corrugated metal roof at the range and we were already looking at the gun when we heard it land back on the roof. I have been very focused and aware ever since that day. The thing that scared me the most is it was my wifes gun and the thought of a catastrophic failure while she was shooting scared me death. I went down the following day and bought her a new gun and Smith went above and beyond when I asked them about having the frame replaced. They sold me the gun of my choice at below distributor cost. I ended up with a 8 3/8 629 classic for 500.00 from the factory. I don't suggest blowing up guns as a way to get a good deal though. It was a minor miracle no one was injured as the top of the cylinder was gone only leaving the bottom two chambers in tact and the entire back strap was missing.

As far as killing you, probably not but not worth the risk. The thing about revolvers is they have an unintentional safety feature by design. Just like the new cars and pickups have "fold zones" and are designed for the drivetrains to go down and under the vehicle in a front end impact the back strap of the revolver comes loose rather than blowing the gun back in your face..

Glad I'm not the only one! Certainly glad you're ok after that blow up. I guess I never thought of the inherent failure design in a revolver.

I'm still very thankful I didn't get to the range with my hotter than hot loads. It certainly got my attention. I have now written on every box of bullets which gun they are for. Same thing on the lid of the powder cans. I only have H110 and IMR4350, but I still wrote on the lids what they are for.

As you can tell, it sure scared me.

The good thing about H110 is that max loads are usually 100% case capacity so you will normally have powder spilling over or not be able to seat the bullet on a major over charge and double charges equivelent to what I had with HS6 are impossible. I'm surprised you were even able to seat the bullet if you were that far over.

More guys have done it than will admit to it.

Yeah I see what your saying, but the H110 capacity wasn't the issue. It was the bullet being put in. It was a 300 instead of a 250. There is a little bit of length difference, but apparently not enough to make seating a problem. 26.1 grains of the H110 works just fine with 250gr bullet, but is WAY over the limit for a 300gr bullet. Must have been just enough wiggle room to allow the bullet to seat.

I have noticed how full the cases are with the H110 like you mentioned. It seems to burn pretty clean as well. When I'm cleaning the Colt after shooting sessions, it cleans up pretty quick. H110 works well and is consistent so far. I'm one of those kind of guys that if its working, I don't mess with it. That means I'll probably be shooting H110 till the day I day... if I can get enough of it from the store!

I see what your saying, the length below the crimp groove wasn't enough to keep it from seating. I'm the same way with powder, I know with H110 I'm going to always get good accuracy with near max or max loads and there is no reason to mess with it. I've had some weird issues with some of the cast I've played with but that's normally the gun or the nut behind it. I may be able to shave down group size in some instances if I wanted to play but reloading is a necessity for me and not a hobby. With the amount and type of rounds I shoot I'd have to take out a large loan just to buy ammo.

reloading 45/70 for the trapdoor with blackpowder, started to light my pipe! stopped everything i was doing and went fishing

I'm with Rod, I have a column in my log for finished overall wt, which also helps me to sort out "pocket change". And I also agree, it's the mistakes that we live thru that make us and everyone around us safer.

Yep, one of the reasons why I load about 25-50 rounds take a break and go back to loading. I try to do it without any distractions and taking an occasional break helps keep your concentration more focused when loading small batches at a time.