dcmdon
NES Member
I recently finished a complete tear down and refurbishment of my 15 year old Dillon RL 650. I was very careful putting te press together and on my first batch of ammo confirmed powder, primer and COAL.
All was good.
But a couple of days later something minor came up and I needed to remove teh powder measure. So I did what I had to do and put it back together and started making ammo.
I had pulled the handle a few times and noticed that I had forgotten to install the failsafe. So I dumped the 2 cases on the tool shellplate that had just been filled but didn't have a bullet.
One was 0.3 gr, the other was 4.1 gr. Out of a desired 4.6 gr. Hmm.
I had just made some squibs. Not a good thing.
Double check your COAL and powder after any change to the machine. Even minor changes. Don't be me. Although I did catch myself.
Also interesting. I brought the 4 made rounds to the range to see how quiet a squib would sound. I've had primers go off in my loading room and its LOUD. Really loud.
At HSC the other morning I squeezed off the first round. With plugs and muffs it sounded like a misfire. Racking the slide confirmed the bullet had left the case. A couple of taps with a brass rod popped the bullet out the breach end. The other 3 rounds were clearly lower pressure, but sent the rounds downrange.
The real lesson here was that a primer only squib, when shot with hearing protection on is VERY quiet. It really seems like just a misfire.
Unless you are in a firefight, fighting for your life, if you get a "misfire" ALWAYS ALWAYS. Stop and check the bbl for obstructions.
This includes in the middle of an IDPA or similar match. Its just not worth it.
All was good.
But a couple of days later something minor came up and I needed to remove teh powder measure. So I did what I had to do and put it back together and started making ammo.
I had pulled the handle a few times and noticed that I had forgotten to install the failsafe. So I dumped the 2 cases on the tool shellplate that had just been filled but didn't have a bullet.
One was 0.3 gr, the other was 4.1 gr. Out of a desired 4.6 gr. Hmm.
I had just made some squibs. Not a good thing.
Double check your COAL and powder after any change to the machine. Even minor changes. Don't be me. Although I did catch myself.
Also interesting. I brought the 4 made rounds to the range to see how quiet a squib would sound. I've had primers go off in my loading room and its LOUD. Really loud.
At HSC the other morning I squeezed off the first round. With plugs and muffs it sounded like a misfire. Racking the slide confirmed the bullet had left the case. A couple of taps with a brass rod popped the bullet out the breach end. The other 3 rounds were clearly lower pressure, but sent the rounds downrange.
The real lesson here was that a primer only squib, when shot with hearing protection on is VERY quiet. It really seems like just a misfire.
Unless you are in a firefight, fighting for your life, if you get a "misfire" ALWAYS ALWAYS. Stop and check the bbl for obstructions.
This includes in the middle of an IDPA or similar match. Its just not worth it.
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