Had an humbling experience at the range yesterday. I was shooting my Ruger 77/22 Hornet when I experienced a misfire. After waiting the appropriate time, I opened the bolt, ejected an empty, and chambered another round. At this point, it occurred to me that the empty case and cocked bolt don't rhyme. Sure enough the primer-propelled bullet was lodged into the leade. The case got no powder. Luckily, I was able to knock it back through from the muzzle.
Contrary to the way I process handgun rounds (by charging 50 in a loading block), I drop charges into primed Hornet cases singly and seat the bullet. So, a little inattention caused the above results.
The angel that sits on my shoulder (sadly shaking his head sometimes) saw me through another possible mishap.
Lesson is, it's a good thing to rethink the way we do things occasionally.
I, of all people!
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TX Rancher
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I had a kind of similar experience when I first started reloading pistol. I had a Dillon Square Deal and for some reason the powder measure stuck on one case, ending in no powder dropped, and double charging the next case!
Well when I got to the range, I ran into the no charged round first. It firmly seated the bullet in the barrel. Another guy on the range had a wooden dowl rod in his kit he used for just that sort of thing. We drove the bullet out and I went back to shooting. Sure enough, a few rounds later I touched off the double charge. Talk about waking me up! I thought the gun had come apart.
At the time I was bullseye shooting, and was using very light loads that barely cycled the slide (many times the slide wouldn't lock back after the last round). It's probably the only reason the weapon survived.
I went home and took apart the rest of the rounds and found ~8 more rounds that were bad (over-charged/no charge)
I contacted Dillon and they sent me a new measure with some modification that solved the problem.
But when I bought my 650, I paid the extra bucks for the Powder Check system.
Well when I got to the range, I ran into the no charged round first. It firmly seated the bullet in the barrel. Another guy on the range had a wooden dowl rod in his kit he used for just that sort of thing. We drove the bullet out and I went back to shooting. Sure enough, a few rounds later I touched off the double charge. Talk about waking me up! I thought the gun had come apart.
At the time I was bullseye shooting, and was using very light loads that barely cycled the slide (many times the slide wouldn't lock back after the last round). It's probably the only reason the weapon survived.
I went home and took apart the rest of the rounds and found ~8 more rounds that were bad (over-charged/no charge)
I contacted Dillon and they sent me a new measure with some modification that solved the problem.
But when I bought my 650, I paid the extra bucks for the Powder Check system.