Reloading accident

[Howdy Doody]

Well, this looks like as good a place as any to get this one off my chest before I forget the details.
Yup, yesterday I had loaded up about a 100 or so cartridges on my Dillon 650. I had refilled my primer tube with another 100 and then after about 15 or so cycles. I let my hand slip off the handle at the point going up just before you would squeeze a primer into a pocket. The handle actually snapped upwards when my hand slipped off and BOOM. Yeah, I jumped. At first I thought it was just one primer. I found that the feed wheel was jammed upon inspection. I removed the cartridge plate and the primer wheel was still frozen. I took the two bolts out of the primer mount assembly and removed the whole works. I poured out the primers and inspected the wheel. It looked Ok, except for burn residue. On the press housing was 5 primers that were in the wheel and rotating around to the loading position. All 5 had gone off and anvils were all over the place. The gel had gone off in all the 5 primers exposed. The thing that was freezing the wheel was that the flat arm that holds the pin with the warpy washer into the primer wheel was bent. I staightened it out. The flat plate covers the hole that the primers come down the tube and enter the rotating wheel, so I figure that helped prevent the 90 or so primers I had in the tube from going off too. I am guessing the flashover from the first primer going off did the job. I am also figuring that the sudden snap towards the primer pocket of the shell under the primer caused it all.
Details such as I was using Federals small pistol primers, and I have for a long time, and many thousands of rounds, since switching from Winchesters due to miss fires in my guns might be a problem. Don't know. I might have to consider a switch back. I did reassemble the whole primer assembly and went on to load a bunch more with no problem. I did however sand the shiney black knob on the handle to help prevent a reoccurance of that slip off at the most inopportune time scenario.
Here is hoping that it won't happen to you or me again, but I feel better documenting the incident and hope this never happens to you all.

[Micheal Fortune]

Glad to hear that you are alright and thanks for sharing the story!

[Mason Stillwell]

Glad you still have all yer fingers and eyes.

Did it take long to remove the skid mark from the shorts ??


Mason

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[Foothills Drifter]

Howdy Rick......
Glad ta hear you are OK! Befor I did any investagating tho......I would have to change my pants 
Does the handle on your 650 have a ball or a 'roller handle' ? I got a roller handle for my 550 and I seem ta get a better grip then with the ball. If ya ain't got one,ya might give it a try.....

Might see ya in May......

Good shootin......
Vern... 

[Camille Eonich]

Glad to hear that you are ok and thanks for sharing with us and reminding us that you can never be too careful.

[Wymore Wrangler]

Glad your okay pardner....

[Doc Shapiro]

Glad you and your press are both ok!

You might consider the roller handle.  I got one with my press right from the start and it's been fantastic.  Wouldn't even consider buying another without one.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Glad you're okay, Howdy. Lucky it was only 5. I use Federals as well in my SDB and PRO 1000, large and small. I think the advice about the roller handle is pretty sound, if they had one for the SDB, I'd have one. Bet them drawers were a mess after you stopped shaking, that is.............Buck

[Silver Creek Slim]

Glad yer still in one piece.
I had one primer go off when I was reloading once. 5 musta been real loud. 

Slim

[Howdy Doody]

Thanks for the well wishes pards.
I did go into the house right after I saw what the cause was and took some pics with my P.O.S. camera. Not too good, but you can see that the primers went no where, but the anvils and gel was all gone. Did ya know that the inside of the Fed primers look like shiney copper? I found that out and was surprised. I forgot to mention that I had a full hopper of Goex mounted at position 3 where I hand crank the loads through an old Lyman measure. I never could get the Dillon to work with any BP or sub. I think that getting the upgrade handle would be a smart move. I am still trying to save up enough for a case feeder too. Yup, it could have been worse. The BANG didn't seem to be all that bad. I thought it was just one primer. I am still wondering what the primer hit on when it went off. I am guessing that it was the edges of the primer pocket and it obviously needs to be eased into the pocket, not fly up and hit it with a snap. I'll be more careful  in the future for sure. I'll post this pic and send the others on to my pard Trailrider. He documents mishaps and might be able to use the info. Anyway, be careful out there. Stuff happens. 

[Camille Eonich]

I third the roller handle.   

[Big John Denny]

Howdy Doody,

Federal primers are known to be real sensitive. I've always used CCI primers myself with no problems. In fact I think the Lee auto prime comes with instructions not to use Federal primers as well.

[Will Ketchum]

Glad your okay.

Over 30 years ago I had a primer tube detonation on the very first night I was learning to reload..  It turned me off priming on the press.  I bought a Lee Auto prime.  When I won my 550B in a drawing I primed on the press for a couple of years but never felt comfortable.  I went to decapping, sizing on a single stage press and then hand primed.  I now use the 550 for putting the powder in, belling, seating the bullet and putting a Lee Factory crimp on.

I realize it is somewhat slower but I have never regretted it.

Will Ketchum

[Bristow Kid]

Glad to hear your ok pard.

[Danny Bear Claw]

Well HD... it sounds like He was watching over both of us this week.   

[Big John Denny]

Will K, you and I think alike. I do the same thing with my old RCBS Rockchuker single stage and my Dillon 550.

After all safety is a lot more important then speed when it comes to messing with little grenades.

[Howdy Doody]

Well, since I posted this, I have made some changes. Number one is I have started to use Winchester primers again. Number two is I made my own roller handle from the lever that came with the press. Number three is I take my indexing plate out and clean under it and lube the bolt that goes through it.
I haven't had any more incidents at all, except the tendency to get a high  primer once in a while. If I remember back, that is why I went to federals back a couple years ago, that and I had some that didn't light off either. Probably a bad batch, but I have not had any issues lately. I suppose I have load a couple thousand rounds since I first posted. I shoot a lot, in fact I try to make 5 matches a month and that is why I got the Dillon if the first place. Hand priming would be the best, but it takes too long. Since I only shoot BP, I have to spend time and load shotgun too. Back in the old smokeless days I would buy AAs by the case and all I had to do was grab a couple boxes and go. Well, I enjoy the BP and they extra it takes at the bench is part of the equasion, that and the expense. 
Well, I always wear saftey lense glasses and I now like to wear ear muffs too. I sort of like the absence of noise. It is different and I seem to concentrate more with the muffs on too. I sure thank all you pards for the advice and all. Nothing is fool proof in the hands of a fool as they say and I am going to pay a lot more attention to loading and not be so complacent. Thanks.

[Will Ketchum]

I never liked the roller handle.  I never could get it tight enough that it didn't rote.  I finally sold it and went back to the orginal ball.

I guess I am kind of backwards.

Will Ketchum

[Howdy Doody]

Howdy Will,
I never had any problems with the ball either, until that day my hand slipped off of it and I let the handle fly upwards, causing the primer anvil to hit the case and go off and the surprising flash over of the rest of the primers in the disk that were exposed to ignite. I sanded the ball down to take the gloss of it, but I could still slide my hand pretty easy off of it. Since so many recommended the roller handle I decided to look into that. I didn't feel like just ordering a handle, so I took a peek at the existing one. I just took the knob off and extended and bent a handle and added a piece of 1/2 ID synflex tubing to it and by canting it more to the left, since I like to stand more to the left on my machine and gave it a try. It works fine, though not fancy. The other thing I did was compare the anvil on Feferal and Winchester primers. The anvil on the Federals looks more exposed for something like that to happen and I went back to Winchester primers. I don't have really light springs in my sixguns anyways and my rifle lights off about anything, so I will use the Wins for a while unless I have the failures like I had a couple years ago with them. So far they have been great. I like the packaging better on the Wins anyway. I don't know the reason for all that wasted space on the feds. The price is the same at my local store.
It is what is comfortable to folks between roller and ball. The main thing is don't let it fly up with a snap. I might be a tad more cautious after seeing that flash over anyway, since I load BP on my press and that day I had a near full powder measure. I would just feel rotten if I burned down my new house. 

[Will Ketchum]

Since I don't prime on the 550 letting the handle slip isn't an issue. I have tried every primer available in the past 40 years and I have settled on CCIs for everything.  It is what Lee recommends and that is good enough for me.  I have never had a CCI primer fail to ignite, but then I to don't have light springs in my revolvers.

Will Ketchum