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holmes168
08-22-2017, 08:07 PM
When you shoot your reloads and there is an issue- do typically blame yourself or the pistol. Last weekend I shoot 190 rounds from my G19 and had 2 FTE. I put the blame on myself as the 19 pretty much eats up everything else.

Jamie
08-23-2017, 03:59 AM
As for myself, I put the blame squarely on my own shoulders!
I know my Glocks with OEM barrels are ridiculously reliable, and they are the primary guns I load for, and work up loads in.

My most challenging development handloads were using some Lone Wolf barrels and store bought lead 147 gr bullets from Falcon. The bullets were quality made, but the tolerances in the LW barrels were much tighter vs the OEM and I had to tweak the OAL while reducing charges incrementally (monitoring pressure and velocity) to build some loads that worked reliably. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed I would invaribly get an FTE (read as stuck in the friggin' barrel) during an IDPA match. At least I developed a robust clearing technique! :rolleyes:

As we cast & PC now I stick with my OEM barrels and experience boring reliability. I like that.

Jamie

mtnbkr
08-23-2017, 07:57 AM
Most (virtually all) of my handloads get fired from revolvers, single-shot rifles, and bolt-action rifles, so "duds" are entirely my fault. Except for one gun: My Ruger Redhawk. Redhawks are known to have an issue where the firing pin doesn't protrude quite enough, so as the mainspring ages, you can get light strikes. The "fix" expensive*, so I just replace the mainspring periodically. I don't blame those "duds" when fired from my Redhawk on my reloads. especially when the same ammo is 100% reliable in my 629.

*The pin that holds the frame-mounted FP in place is flush with the frame and in a curved surface, requiring not only refinishing, but careful removal in the first place. What a PITA.

Chris

ER_STL
08-23-2017, 09:02 AM
I don't know that I'd blindly blame one or the other just because I'm running reloads. I've long since standardized on a single powder, throw, OAL and crimp and have run enough of my own loads through various guns (>15k) to know that they function consistently. In all of my time loading I've had exactly one failure and that was an FTE through my most well-run G19. Where does the blame lie? Who knows...could have been a unique brand of brass that the gun didn't like but I assumed it was the gun's fault and moved on. :)

On the other hand I have a G26 that was a BTF gun and that was clearly the gun's fault and not mine nor the loads I ran through it. A few trips back to Glock solved the problem and it functions as expected now.

Rich@CCC
08-23-2017, 09:53 AM
Depends on the actual issue.

I did up a batch of .45acp with locally cast bullets(before I started casting my own)that it turned out were slightly oversized. They ran just fine in my M&P45c but would not run reliably in any of my 1911s. Sure the ammo was probably slightly out of spec. but the malf was more gun related than ammo.

I also found that a target load I worked up for my M&P45c with Barry's plated bullets did not reliably cycle my S&W 1911 but did OK in my Llama and Colt. It was just under powered enough to FTF about 10% of the time in one gun but worked in all my other .45s. Would that be considered ammo or gun related?

Then I had a batch of .223 that I had to tear down due to a malfunction of my powder dispenser. Definitely my fault and completely due to complacency on my part. Had I been more rigorous in my spot checks, I'd have caught it before I loaded 500 rounds. Fortunately I noticed an over powered shot followed by an under powered shot in slow fire and investigated before I got a squib load.

I now run a powder check die on any cartridge I cannot see into clearly while loading.

Peally
08-23-2017, 10:14 AM
I don't have that problem.

Malamute
08-23-2017, 11:32 AM
Is FTE extract or eject?

I always thought dud was a failure to fire, like a dead primer. I think ive had about 5 or 6 dead primers since I started loading in the early/mid 70s. I dont recall ever taking them apart to see, but I believe I could hear powder in them, that being the only check I did.

When I shot 1911s in the past, it was nearly all lead bullets. The RN 230s fed better in the GI and National Match/Gold Cup guns I had, the 200 gr H&G bullets would fail to feed about 1-2 per thousand rounds, so i stopped using them. I used 18.5 lb springs to help get the NM to close, it was very tight.

LittleLebowski
08-25-2017, 09:15 AM
You can't automatically blame yourself for malfunctions from reloads. Newer Glocks are finicky about lower powered ammo. This is analogous to blaming yourself for say, a shitty group out of some rifle ammo you loaded up for testing, but the next powder increment you test groups well (ladder test).

mtnbkr
08-25-2017, 09:27 AM
You can't automatically blame yourself for malfunctions from reloads. Newer Glocks are finicky about lower powered ammo. This is analogous to blaming yourself for say, a shitty group out of some rifle ammo you loaded up for testing, but the next powder increment you test groups well (ladder test).

I guess it depends on if the gun or load is otherwise proven. In terms of functionality, if my gun is normally reliable and it's a new load that fails in some way, I'm going to blame the load.

Then again, I mainly shoot non-semi-auto firearms, where suspected ammo malfunctions are pretty straightforward to troubleshoot. It's a different ballgame with semi-autos and fire/feed/extract/eject/load issues.

Chris

LittleLebowski
08-25-2017, 09:36 AM
I guess it depends on if the gun or load is otherwise proven. In terms of functionality, if my gun is normally reliable and it's a new load that fails in some way, I'm going to blame the load.

Then again, I mainly shoot non-semi-auto firearms, where suspected ammo malfunctions are pretty straightforward to troubleshoot. It's a different ballgame with semi-autos and fire/feed/extract/eject/load issues.

Chris

Yeah, of course, if the load is proven. I speak of tailoring a load to the weapon.

SecondsCount
08-25-2017, 12:04 PM
If you are having 1 or 2 duds out of a couple hundred rounds, then you need to go back and check that you are feeding your press good components (garbage in=garbage out), that the press is adjusted properly, and most importantly, you as the operator are being smooth and consistent when operating the press.

Usually I can feel or hear when I make a bad round. If, during a reloading cycle, the press just doesn't seem like it should, I pause and take a look at what is going on...is it a high primer, a bad piece of brass, or a bullet issue? Try to fix the ammo before it makes it to the gun.

Greg
08-27-2017, 03:56 PM
Sounds like you're going too fast on the reloading bench.

Inspect the finished product so bad rounds don't make it into the range bag.

olstyn
08-27-2017, 05:21 PM
Case gauging every round that comes off of the press can save you a lot of headaches, whether you use a dedicated gauge or just the tightest barrel of any of the guns you intend to shoot the ammo in. In addition to saving the hassle and malfunctions caused by out of spec cases, it also makes sure you get a good view of the back end of each completed round, which ensures that you notice any that either didn't get primers or didn't get the primer fully seated. Sure, doing thorough QC takes time, but I'd rather spend extra time doing that than have to deal with malfunctions in competition or practice.

Pistol Pete 10
08-27-2017, 06:01 PM
Last malfunction I had was-----------I don't remember............But I did see a friend's Glock malfunction twice last match, he blamed a bad magazine. Was using factory loads so he didn't blame ammo. Malfunctions are usually bad magazines or bad ammo, doesn't matter what gun your using. It's usually ammo or mags unless the gun has been modified in some way to make it "better". I did have a Taurus that would jam once out of 100 rounds just cause it wanted to. Could have been a bad magazine, I guess, I chalked it up to being a Taurus.

BehindBlueI's
08-27-2017, 06:43 PM
When you shoot your reloads and there is an issue- do typically blame yourself or the pistol.

Depends. You have to evaluate and see what's the issue.

The last issue I had was a k-frame not firing consistently. My LCR fired them fine. Upon inspection, the cartridges that weren't firing were all "Geco" brass. So, the issue wasn't me or the gun. The issue was brass with a slightly deeper primer pocket, just enough to get light strikes with the k-frame but not enough to bother my LCR.