Comments on: TEN Worst Reloading Mistakes — Do You Agree with This List?

By: Roger Payne

Roger Payne — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 23:26:21 +0000

All good points. My advice would be like others have pointed out. Pay attn. Keep bench clean except only one box of bullets and one open container of powder at one time. I was handloading for my pre 64 win 70 once and was in a hurry, i had been working with max loads of h 4831 and was using both the sierra match 150 grn hpbt and 168 grn hpbt. At a glance both bullets look the same except the oal. It was about dark and i loaded 5 brass with what i thought was the 150 grn. I grabbed the 168 by mistake. I stepped out to the bench and quickly reliazed my mistake. Long story short i blew the primer out, the head seperated, gas shot in my eye along with brass shavings. I finally got the bolt open three days later with a large rubber mallet. This is one very strong action, ill attest to that. After testing headspace and really checking things properly i shot the gun. This featherweight would actually shoot the first three bullets inside a 5/8″ size group very consistintly. Not after the accident it shot about 2″ . Never could figure this one out but am much more careful after this . It could have been disterous. Thanks to the good guy above no one was hurt. I keep that piece of brass in the middle of my bench at all times ( as a reminder) .RLP

By: David Lawson

David Lawson — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 19:24:37 +0000

I once shot during a club challenge match when the rain belted down.
It was the first time I have ever loaded wet cartridges in my rifle. So many of the primer pockets were too big afterwards when I tried to re-load. That was a big surprise.

By: Boyd Allen

Boyd Allen — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 15:34:35 +0000

I know of more than on rifle that was blown up because of loading the wrong powder. Only have one container of powder on your bench at a time, and take the time to take a good look at its label. When throwing charges you need to look at the thrown charge to see that it comes to the same level as the others. In some cases bridging inside of the measure can cause a short charge followed by an overcharge. When loading for a situation where a problem chambering a round could be expensive or dangerous, take the time to pull your striker assembly and function test all of your ammunition in your rifle, to make sure that it chambers smoothly.

By: Trent Boggess

Trent Boggess — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 15:29:20 +0000

11. Not using enough lube on the case before running it through a sizing die resulting in a stuck case. This is my most common mistake even after 50 years experience reloading.

Respectfully submitted,

Mousegunner

By: Viper65

Viper65 — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 10:29:05 +0000

Also: Loose primer pockets that are reloaded anyway. No savings here.
Disregarding incipient head separation signs and reloading the case one more time, a sophisticated version of Russian roulette.
Thinking that a correct max load for a Sierra 168 grs will be safe with any 168 grainer from any brand.

By: Chevytruck_83

Chevytruck_83 — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 23:54:31 +0000

I’m not to proud to admit when I started reloading I didn’t realize only one spot on my hornady progressive press was capable of depriming the case. Yes I bent the pin. Rcbs sent me a bag of pins free of charge and feel free to call with any questions.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 19:48:38 +0000

A case with no powder – seriously scary stuff! The primer theoretically has enough pressure to lodge the bullet beyond the throat (or so I read). Very unpleasant consequences if in the heat of it all at the range or in the field you don’t recognize what happened and fire another round.

By: Russ

Russ — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 05:47:30 +0000

One I see a lot is switching components with out working up from the bottom again. Another question I ask , have you ever read the front section of your reloading manual and the answer is usually NO .

By: Nino

Nino — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 10:49:50 +0000

IMHO one of the top reloading mistakes is not having a clear, defined, repeatable workflow that includes checkpoints for its crucial phases.

By: js

js — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 23:46:01 +0000

Number one absolutely has to be not paying very close attention to what you’re doing. Everything from getting powders confused to failing to use the right dies is a consequence. It’s pretty critical to ensure that you don’t try to save time by doing more than one thing at a time.
The time you save by skipping steps will be spent in the ER.