james bay area Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Not like I was expecting to fail, I was just nervous to shoot my bullets because I have never reloaded ammo before. I loaded 32 shells, 8 each of 3.5gr, 4gr, 4.5gr and 5gr powder charge behind a 158gr bullet I read that build up in power should be in smaller steps, but i figured if i was working within max and min pressures, then it would not matter too much.. I used 158 grain lead round nose coated bullets, seated to recommended OAL, crimped and propelled them with unique powder. The results were great! The 3.5 almost having no recoils was rather surprising at how soft it shot.. 4 was meh, 5 seemed strong but not as strong as my 158 grain fmj perfecta ammo... the 4.5 grain load was my favorite, because they were the most accurate. So until next weeks range session, I am going to reload as much ammo as my kids and wife will allow me to.. lol I love shooting, so now that my ammo got cheaper, I cant think of what could be better? don't answer that... Next I will get a chronograph so i can begin plugging in stats to my bullet recipes.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 (edited) Very nice! Keep in mind that a low powder charge can cause a squib. If you don't realize that the bullet never left the barrel, and you shoot another round, you will grenade your barrel and most likely hurt your hand. I'll include a photo below to make clear what danger this can cause. 0.5gr steps are too much in almost all pistol calibers. Just because one source provides for example 9.0gr as a maximum, that does not have to apply for your situation. There are deviations in powder lots and bullet consistency. Each firearm also reacts differently to the load, and hence to the chamber pressure. Not all load data sources are reliable or up to date either. In a worst case situation you could be dealing with a combination of factors leading to a KaBoom. While a chrono is a very important instrument for testing and verifying your uploads, you have to learn to read pressure signs on the case and the primer. All proper reloading books have a section regarding this topic. If you are not sure, you can always take a photo of your brass and upload it to our reloading forum. We will be able to tell you if your are pushing the envelope. Here a first helper: the 2 cases to the left are on the safe side (primer cup is still rounded), the 2 to the right show clear signs of over pressure (primer cup is flattened): Glock barrels for example tend to be very loose around the feeding ramp and the first 1/3rd of the chamber, for reliable feeding of many different ammo brands / bullet shapes. This causes with any slightly hooter load so called smileys. A clear sign of over-pressure in most pistol barrels: Consequences of shooting a squib... Edited September 7, 2018 by crockett 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james bay area Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 Thanks for the words of advice. I checked each individual case after i had fired them for those signs of being over pressurized..they all seemed fine. For the most part I have been taking my time, reading as much as i can and having fun with it. It cant hurt to be more safe, so for my next batches i will pay closer attention to my powder measurements. All my brass seemed kind of dirty after firing, is that typical of unique powder? are some powders cleaner burning than others? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 39 minutes ago, james bay area said: Thanks for the words of advice. I checked each individual case after i had fired them for those signs of being over pressurized..they all seemed fine. For the most part I have been taking my time, reading as much as i can and having fun with it. It cant hurt to be more safe, so for my next batches i will pay closer attention to my powder measurements. All my brass seemed kind of dirty after firing, is that typical of unique powder? are some powders cleaner burning than others? Good thing. Unique is a very old powder and while not as messy as Bullseye, it is on the dirty side. There are plenty of cleaner powders, with Vihtavuori all the way at the top. Accurate powders are also generally cleaner. If you want 'like new' brass after cleaning, look into wet tumbling with stainless steel pins, a little lime shine and car wash wax. This is a perfect kit, but you will also need the magnet collector and a separator. Some have build their own sets with tumblers from Harbor Freight. https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/00122909544/frankford-arsenal-platinum-series-rotary-tumbler-(stainless-steel-media-tumbler) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUBSY Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 16 hours ago, crockett said: Very nice! Keep in mind that a low powder charge can cause a squib. If you don't realize that the bullet never left the barrel, and you shoot another round, you will grenade your barrel and most likely hurt your hand. I'll include a photo below to make clear what danger this can cause. 0.5gr steps are too much in almost all pistol calibers. Just because one source provides for example 9.0gr as a maximum, that does not have to apply for your situation. There are deviations in powder lots and bullet consistency. Each firearm also reacts differently to the load, and hence to the chamber pressure. Not all load data sources are reliable or up to date either. In a worst case situation you could be dealing with a combination of factors leading to a KaBoom. While a chrono is a very important instrument for testing and verifying your uploads, you have to learn to read pressure signs on the case and the primer. All proper reloading books have a section regarding this topic. If you are not sure, you can always take a photo of your brass and upload it to our reloading forum. We will be able to tell you if your are pushing the envelope. Here a first helper: the 2 cases to the left are on the safe side (primer cup is still rounded), the 2 to the right show clear signs of over pressure (primer cup is flattened): Glock barrels for example tend to be very loose around the feeding ramp and the first 1/3rd of the chamber, for reliable feeding of many different ammo brands / bullet shapes. This causes with any slightly hooter load so called smileys. A clear sign of over-pressure in most pistol barrels: Consequences of shooting a squib... Great info. Sorry about gun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 4 hours ago, DUBSY said: Great info. Sorry about gun. Thanks, that's not my revolver. Even though I'm known to upload ladders well past the "+p+" category for some firearms, I couldn't look in the mirror again if I KaBoom'ed an Colt Anaconda.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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