Thread: Other Sports Off Season Lets Talk Guns
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Old 03-01-2013, 03:39 PM   #4089
verbaljitsu verbaljitsu is offline
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Frazod - Don't be discouraged, I've seen people get squib loads out of Progressives, Turrets, and Single Stage presses. The problem isn't the press.

It is tough, but not impossible, to learn how to reload on a progressive machine. It is like learning how to drive a car while you are also learning how to drive a stick shift. You are thinking about so many things that you forget to use your blinkers because you are just happy that you didn't kill the car.

It is hard to say exactly what went wrong without standing over your shoulder, but it is usually a process and not the equipment.

Potential causes:
1. Not enough powder in the case. Sometimes a squib is caused by there being NO powder, but sometimes it is just because there isn't enough. Pull a round and measure the powder charge again. Check against reloading manual.

2. Related to the above, a lot of people forget to zero their scale (balance) or to let their electronic scale warm up. Other scales are junk and you shouldn't trust them unless you are verifying them with a known weight. This results in the scale saying "5.5 grains" while there is only 4.3 or whatever actually there.

3. Powder ran out in the hopper. Pretty obvious, but I would be lying if I said it has never happened to me.

4. The powder measure is not connected to the return bar/spring. Or the spring isn't providing enough tension (i.e. tighten the wingnut). This means that the first case was getting powder, but subsequent or some of the subsequent cases were not.

5. Short Stroking the ram. Must go all the way up and all the way down, for every case. The dies do the adjusting, never the stroke.

6. The powder "bridged" in the powder measure. Some powders flow out of a powder measure better than others. Sometimes "stick" powders have a tendency to get bound up and then powder flow is restricted. This can happen for one or two rounds, or for 20. If this is the cause, then switch to a spherical powder.


Solutions:
1. Go slow
2. You should always be visually inspecting the case before you place a bullet on it.
3. You can use a powder cop die. I don't use one, but some people find them comforting, visual inspection should suffice.
4. Develop a comprehensive process...almost like a checklist. Every time I reload I do x,y,z in that order.
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