Friendly Reminder To Be Safe

[Lsgun1]

While reloading some 45 auto tonight I was using a technique I had read about in my reloading book. It states to kind of move a bunch of cases around in your hand and get used to the sound so when something isn't right you'll hear it. Well sure enough I heard something that didn't sound right and low and behold a cracked case. So just figured I'd post this up and say be careful because they can certainly slip by.

 

[Tyke]

Possibly dumb question from a non-reloader...why not 100% visual inspection? Or is it a secondary measure to catch any misses?

Edit: Glad you didn't find that one out at the range!

 

[Lsgun1]

I do visual as well but that one made it through initial pick up and cleaning.

 

[AHM]

Was it your old brass, or something random from the bucket at the range?

 

[thormx538]

Possibly dumb question from a non-reloader...why not 100% visual inspection? Or is it a secondary measure to catch any misses?

Edit: Glad you didn't find that one out at the range!

I generally look for issues every time I handle the brass -- when picking it up, when tumbling it, and while it's on the Dillon. I don't have a specific "brass inspection" stage.

Usually you'll feel something is off (too easy of a handle pull) when you get a cracked neck/case.

 

[Admin]

You'd have to have a frontal lobotomy to not notice that in your press.

 

[EddieCoyle]

You'd have to have a frontal lobotomy to not notice that in your press.

Yeah, if you missed that while sizing, and expanding, and seating, then you'd deserve to shoot it (which wouldn't be the end of the world either).

 

[Lsgun1]

Was it your old brass, or something random from the bucket at the range?

I have picked up some random range stuff and have done trades for brass so I'm not sure which it was.

 

[the_shootist]

Is it possible that the load was too hot and that crack just occurred?

 

[EddieCoyle]

Is it possible that the load was too hot and that crack just occurred?

Without cracking the gun? The crack is displaced.

 

[the_shootist]

Without cracking the gun? The crack is displaced.

Don't know, that's why I was asking. I've never had this happen to me

 

[BostonBullit]

I wouldn't load that one more than two more times...better safe than sorry I say

 

[xtry51]

Quit firing your 45s in the 46

Pistol is a lot harder to catch before it hits the press for loading since the only step prior to it hitting the progressive is tumbling. So if you're not tumbling mixed (caliber) batches of brass its likely you would never handle cases until at the press. I come across the occasional cracked case as I pick up pretty much everything. You can feel the difference even on a progressive when they get resized.

If I come across a shell that takes more or less than what I perceive as the "average" effort at the first stage I huck that pc of brass in the scrap bucket. I've got no shortage of brass.

 

[drgrant]

I've never had one that bad... then again I've discarded shit for lesser cracks. .45 lasts so long the incident rate on this is pretty low. Then again I handsort brass so the odds of this happening under the setup I ran were pretty much zero... these never made it to the press.

-Mike

 

[sfd10]

I check brass quickly at each stage. Resizing/neck expanding usually reveals weakened brass. It would be interesting to get a consensus of .45 brass service life.

I was standing 15 feet from a reloader when his rifle blew up. He was picking pieces of steel from his face for weeks after. (Old WW2 Veteran) I was about 12 Y/O then. A lesson learned early.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

A couple of turns of duct tape will fix that. Jack.

 

[Lsgun1]

A couple of turns of duct tape will fix that. Jack.

Tried that but it wouldn't chamber after

 

[allen-1]

Tried that but it wouldn't chamber after

Put some Wd-40 on it.

 

[ToddDubya]

Run it through the annealer, maybe?

 

[bigblue]

Super glue.

Seriously, if you can't tell the difference in resistance when you pull the lever on that case then perhaps you shouldn't be reloading.

 

[Lsgun1]

Super glue.

Seriously, if you can't tell the difference in resistance when you pull the lever on that case then perhaps you shouldn't be reloading.

Is that a general statement or towards me? I found it before it made it to the case feeder.

 

[bigblue]

Is that a general statement or towards me? I found it before it made it to the case feeder.

It was a general statement. There is a very defined amount of resistance when resizing and when that resistance starts also tells you a lot about the case. If (you) are just slamming the lever on each case then (you) won't necessarily notice.

 

[M1911]

I've seen a few cracked cases in 45 ACP over time. I just toss the cases. Done.

 

[45collector]

If there is any upside to using a very slow single stage press like I do, it's that I can pretty much say with 100% certainty that a case like that wouldn't get by me unnoticed.

 

[M1911]

If there is any upside to using a very slow single stage press like I do, it's that I can pretty much say with 100% certainty that a case like that wouldn't get by me unnoticed.

On a progressive press, you'll notice as well. It will take a lot less effort to resize, bell the case, set the bullet, etc.

 

[bigblue]

On a progressive press, you'll notice as well. It will take a lot less effort to resize, bell the case, set the bullet, etc.

Exactly. Even if you do manage to resize, bell, & fill with powder... That crack will be worse than the Liberty Bell when you go to place a bullet.

 

[DW357]

Thanks for the reminder. So far I've encountered 3 case splits (one 9mm, one 357 mag, and one 44 mag) in the thousands of rounds I've loaded so far. All of which I noticed during the sorting process and not while at the press.

 

[Almostelmo]

Last week I found half of a 9mm case while sorting through some tumbled brass. No idea where the rest of it went.

 

[fshalor]

Why are we bashing someone for using his ears? That "feel" while pulling the handle has an audio component as well as a tactile. And a smell.



Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[bigblue]

Why are we bashing someone for using his ears? That "feel" while pulling the handle has an audio component as well as a tactile. And a smell.



Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

I don't see any bashing but most of us don't seem to think it is a necessary or even valuable step.