Avoiding a double charge in the 38 Special

[fiver]

i do the powder, look, seat the bullet thing.
[old habit,, i just took the pan off the scale and i still have to look... LOL]

i make the SIL do the same thing when he is here, when he is at home he is on his own.
but at 34 if he ain't learned 50-K to the eyeball is gonna hurt [shrug] he might not learn till he does.

 

[Jeff H]

Regardless of one's method, diligence in executing it deliberately is key.

I've done this long enough that it's too easy to get too comfortable and do anything out of habit. The longer I do it, the more I have to remind myself not to fall into a stupor while doing such a repetitive task. Ever get all the way to work and try to remember if you actually stopped at the last stop sign? You KNOW you did, but can you actually remember doing it THIS time, or are you remembering doing it yesterday or the day before instead? Familiarity breeds contempt, and it's just as easy for someone just getting started to fall into such a rut from over-confidence.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Fortunately, my worst reloading faux pas has been missing a primer, seating one backwards, and at least one event where I missed a powder charge entirely. In each case, the resounding "click" set off alarm bells louder than the report would have been - had there been one.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The world is not a safe place, and it never will be. Your best piece of safety equipment is located between your ears. Use your brain and you will fine.

I think Ben's approach of teaching good habits and technique is the right path. He’s teaching Trevor to use his brain.
I disagree with Ben’s search for a bulky powder that cannot fit in a case if double charged. By taking that route, you are eliminating the need to think about a critical step in the reloading operation.

I understand his desire to create a safer situation for his grandson. However, I think a better route would be to steer the present course. Continue to instill the need to pay attention to the task at hand.



Teach him to use that best piece of safety equipment his has between his ears. He will always have that gear with him.

 

[Charles Graff]

You are teaching him the right way, but I do agree with Outpost that a final check with a strong light before seating the bullets is way to go. I have done that for many years. I get the creeps when I think about not doing it.

Instill the right loading habits in the young fellow now, and don't worry about what happens after you are gone. Death pretty much ends our ability to control anything on this earth.

 

[Ben]

The boy will have many more years of using his reloading kit here under my supervision. He is still a long way from taking it home and loading on his own.

I may load 15 - 20 rounds with the 2400 load and take them to the range and test that load before we actually try to implement it. 2400 has a bad habit of leaving a lot of unburned granules. Often times 2400 can deliver great accuracy, but some prefer a cleaner burning powder.

 

[Bret4207]

The boy will have many more years of using his reloading kit here under my supervision. He is still a long way from taking it home and loading on his own.

I may load 15 - 20 rounds with the 2400 load and take them to the range and test that load before we actually try to implement it. 2400 has a bad habit of leaving a lot of unburned granules. Often times 2400 can deliver great accuracy, but some prefer a cleaner burning powder.

With 2400 a heavier crimp often helps a lot with the burning clean thing, or seating into the lands on a rifle where you can do that.

 

[Bret4207]

I was taught to charge a loading block of 50 primed cases at a time, checking powder fill with a penlight to ensure against skipped cases, double charges or spilled powder. I have survived for over 50 years using this method.

I used to do it that way. It was fast for sure. I mean holding the old Lyman in the left hand and going down the rows! Never double charged a case, but did spill enough powder that I didn't like it. Once I got a more dedicated reloading area and rigged up some mounts for the measures, along with more than 1 case block, that idea went down the road.

 

[Ben]

As I read all of this , I find that this is like traveling to another location for a vacation. It may not be critical exactly which road you take, but it is critical that you and your family are safe on your trip.

Safety 1st, all else follows after that.

Ben

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Bullseye is a great powder in 38 Special. Economical. accurate, clean, consistent.

The danger of a double charge just isn't enough of a concern to warrant selecting an inferior replacement powder, IMO.
The responsibility rests with the person, not the components.

Gasoline is a useful fuel for engines, but I don’t look for substitutes for gasoline simply because it’s highly flammable.

Electricity is a great energy to power lights in my house, but I don’t look for alternatives because of a potential fire hazard from poor wiring.

There is a lot of extremely dangerous machinery, you have to respect it despite the danger.

Danger is ever present; you cannot eliminate it. It is better to be aware of the danger and apply responsibility, than to attempt to subdue the danger.

Trevor is old enough to use a steak knife, walk across a street, plug a cord into an outlet, ride a bicycle, etc. The day will come when he is old enough to reload on his own. Shoot on his own. Drive a car on his own, and many other activities. It is FAR better that he fully understands the responsibility and accompanying danger than to try and engineer a safe world. The world is never a safe place.

I have more of a Mike Rowe mindset - Safety Third

Safety 3rd:

safety third mike rowe - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

From members here. I now always use a wooden dowel before the bullet seat die to verify the power height in all cases. It slows the loading process but its also alot safer.

 

[smokeywolf]

My introduction to reloading took place before most memories. Dad had me hanging (literally) off a press handle decapping and with small cases, sizing, when I was about 3 years old. By 5 or 6, I was seating bullets. I never did charge cases under his supervision. When I was about 9 years old he paused his reloading hobby. He never came back to it. When I was 17, I picked up where he left off. I've paused several times since, but always came back.

While I've had a couple of instances of powder bridging, I've never (not yet) double charged a case. I do weigh each completed cartridge and any that have the potential weight to have been double charged get broken down and redone. Those weight variations have never resulted in a double charged case. Always a combination of case and bullet weight anomalies.

 

[Dimner]

The thing that I have learned, through somewhat catastrophic error, is to make sure the cases where I pulled cast bullets doesnt have a GC still in it.

I think I posted it here and we discussed it. This was when my cast bullet AR build went kerplodey. I had thought I poured a double load of blue dot, but it was not the case. Like others, I also use loading blocks with rows of cases. Upside down, primers up on empty cases. Flip for adding powder. Flashlight for looking for double charges after the block is loaded.

A few weeks after I kerploded (upper was bowed, BCG cracked..) I think I stumbled on what happened. During that project I was always pulling bullets and dumping powder from test rounds that were not needed/nor successful. Often when pulling the .225 bullets the GC would stay in the neck of the case. When that occurred, I would punch that GC down in the the case body and then use tweezers and alot of cursing to remove the GC. Well, in this case, I think I missed one of them. When I went to resize cases (both fired and pulled cases), I believe that my sizing die smashed the GC down to the bottom of the case. Decapping pin going through the GC and the flash hole.

This occurred to me a few weeks later when I was sizing brass and I felt one that was much harder to run through the FL die. The die did it's job, just needed 50% more ooomph. Stuck a torch down the case and I saw the offending GC. Light bulb moment.

So now I'm super careful about pulling bullets with GCs. Live and learn (also shell out $$$ for replacement parts)

 

[Catshooter]

I have an old friend who is on the opposite end of things from Trevor, Ben. He'll be 89 this year and has been reloading for more than 75 years. Wonderful man.

But. A few weeks ago we were shooting and he touched off a .308 round in a 700 Remington. I had good ear pro on and DAMN, that was loud. He said it kicked HARD too. Couldn't open the bolt so he knew he had trouble. While I beat the bolt open (carefully, him and I are 'smiths) he pulled one of his rounds and discovered 16 grains of 2400. Mixed in with it was also 18 grains of 5744. He happened to shoot over the chronograph and he broke 2,800 fps with that 180 grain bullet.

He was very lucky. I think his reloading/shooting days are coming to a close, which is a shame, but there you go.

 

[Winelover]

For over fifty years, I've been using the drop powder then immediately seat bullet method. Never had a double charge. Had no mentor when I began reloading.

Unique is my favored powder for 38 Special............ the chance of a double charge of 5 grains is nil. The main reason I chose it when I started out.

Fast powders like Bullseye will most always allow room for a double charge. I use a lot of it now in 38 Special and 9mm. But wouldn't recommend it for novice reloaders. The spherical powders that are slower than Unique also increase the chances of double charges. True Blue and AA#5 come to mind.

I use a lot of 2400 but only in Magnums and 45 LC. Probably, be hard to even find new data for its use in 38 Special.

 

[Bret4207]

I have an old friend who is on the opposite end of things from Trevor, Ben. He'll be 89 this year and has been reloading for more than 75 years. Wonderful man.

But. A few weeks ago we were shooting and he touched off a .308 round in a 700 Remington. I had good ear pro on and DAMN, that was loud. He said it kicked HARD too. Couldn't open the bolt so he knew he had trouble. While I beat the bolt open (carefully, him and I are 'smiths) he pulled one of his rounds and discovered 16 grains of 2400. Mixed in with it was also 18 grains of 5744. He happened to shoot over the chronograph and he broke 2,800 fps with that 180 grain bullet.

He was very lucky. I think his reloading/shooting days are coming to a close, which is a shame, but there you go.

I have 3 powder measures. Only once did I commit the sin of having more than one powder on the bench or in a measure. Ended up pulling a few rounds down because I simply wasn't sure what was what! Now it's one can of powder and put it away. The measures have different settings, but a simple scrap of paper in the hopper reminds me of what the setting is for the powder I'm using. Why do it that way? Because I get called away in the middle of a session pretty regularly. Paper doesn't forget!

 

[Winelover]

I have 3 powder measures. Only once did I commit the sin of having more than one powder on the bench or in a measure. Ended up pulling a few rounds down because I simply wasn't sure what was what! Now it's one can of powder and put it away. The measures have different settings, but a simple scrap of paper in the hopper reminds me of what the setting is for the powder I'm using. Why do it that way? Because I get called away in the middle of a session pretty regularly. Paper doesn't forget!

I use a white grease pencil and mark the rotor of the three manual powder measures, I have set for different charges. I'm too lazy to fish out a piece of paper. Besides, I'm saving a tree.

 

[L Ross]

I use painter's tape with the powder name written on it with a Sharpie. I stick the tape on the jug. When I fill the measure I take the tape off the jug and put it on the hopper. When I dump back into the jug I move the tape. It lasts for a long time.

 

[Bret4207]

I use a white grease pencil and mark the rotor of the three manual powder measures, I have set for different charges. I'm too lazy to fish out a piece of paper. Besides, I'm saving a tree.

I haven't seen a grease pencil in years! That's a good idea.

 

[L Ross]

I use painter's tape with the powder name written on it with a Sharpie. I stick the tape on the jug. When I fill the measure I take the tape off the jug and put it on the hopper. When I dump back into the jug I move the tape. It lasts for a long time.

Just edited my post. I had inadvertently typed "in" the hopper where it should have said ON the hopper. In the hopper would make a mess with powder adhered to the adhesive. Apologies.

 

[fiver]

i use a grease pencil on the hopper too, it will wipe off with some effort, but you can't just brush it off by accident.
it was a pain finding a couple of them, it's also not like soap stone is on the shelf at K-Mart anymore either.