Trouble with ammo that was recently reloaded...

Hi shooters,

I just tried to shoot about 30 rounds of ammo I reloaded a few weeks back. I had about 10 "no fires", about 6 light loads (barely cycled the gun), 2 super light loads where the bullet came out of the barrel and fell on the floor short of 50', and the rest seemed normal.

I am loading with a Dillon 550 press, probably loaded about 20,000 ~ 30,000 rounds in the last 2 years with it and never ran into this before. I use Federal primers, bullseye powder, and check the drop every 100 rounds or so.

Being that I had a number of "no fires", even after trying 2 or 3 times, I was thinking I had a problem with bad primers. However, the more I thought about it, the more that didn't make sense. Some of the loads were light or very light which means the primers went off. After I got through those 30 rounds, I switched to a box of ammo that was loaded in the previous batch and they all shot great (291 scores three times in a row). I reloaded some rounds today and checked each one for the drop and all were within .1 grains so I think the press is fine.

Thinking this through, I don't think the primers are the cause nor the powder (the powder is from a 5 pound box which is what is in the previous batch). Here is what I think happened and am looking for some comments if this makes sense or if it is even possible...

I wet tumble my brass (trying to reduce exposure to lead to reduce my lead levels which are around 40). I normally let the brass dry for about a week or more before reloading. For this batch, I may have reloaded the next day after cleaning the brass. Unfortunately, my gray hair has led to me having more of those "senior moments" and I can't remember for sure. Anyway, I am wondering if perhaps the inside of the cases could have still been a bit wet when I reloaded. To me this makes sense that some primers worked, some didn't. It also makes sense that some loads were full power and some were very light.

I am all open for comments and ideas

Chris

Wet brass would make sense.

Take apart any leftover bad rounds and verify?

Chris: At least you are checking your lead level. Only about 1/3 of the pistol shooters bother to have an annual lead check. 40 micrograms/deciliter is way too high. "o" is best but shoot for 10 micrograms. Without knowing your shooting conditions I can only guess as to the cause. Most likely caused by shooting in an indoor range that has inadequate ventilation. This is the cause of high lead levels in probably 90% of the target shooters. Easy to solve the problem (and cheap) Shoot with a 3M Respirator mask. #8511 N95 or #8293 P 100. About $7 and lasts many shooting sessions. A little disconcerting for the first time or two but pretty soon you don't even know you are wearing it. Regards, John

re: lead. Trying taking 1000mg of vitamin c daily (500mg twice ideally). Some old studies on miners had it decreasing blood lead levels.

Respirator mask is a good idea.

jakuda wrote:re: lead. Trying taking 1000mg of vitamin c daily (500mg twice ideally). Some old studies on miners had it decreasing blood lead levels.

Respirator mask is a good idea.

The object is to keep lead out of your system/blood. The human body will naturally loose lead through urination. John

John wrote:

jakuda wrote:re: lead. Trying taking 1000mg of vitamin c daily (500mg twice ideally). Some old studies on miners had it decreasing blood lead levels.

Respirator mask is a good idea.

The object is to keep lead out of your system/blood. The human body will naturally loose lead through urination. John

Half life of lead deposited on bone can be years. That being said, it's generally thought to be harmless...until it leeches back into the bloodstream