Reloading 38 spl for Marlin 1894

[Blue Steel Traveller]

A quick question for you reloaders.  I'm starting out reloading and have made up some dummies (no primer or powder). I'm using 158 gr bullets and 38 spl casings.  My reloads with a caliper are in spec for length and girth.  I can load one dummy round in the magazine but the second round will not go. It seems to jam about 3/4ths of the way in and refuses to go any further. I've got some store bought 38spl snap caps that work just fine. So here is what I've tried

1.  load one store bought snap cap and then one of my dummy rounds. No more will go in not even a snap cap.
2.  Load one of my dummies, then a snap cap, but the snap cap will not go.
3.  Put a dummie in the magazine, then chamber it, then I can load another dummie in the magazine.
4.  Six snap caps loaded no problem
5.  Store bought ammo - no problem
6. The one dummy I can load, I can chamber and then eject with no problem

When I look at the dummy bullets the noses look a litte chewed-up like they are catching on something.

So apparently there is some problem with my dummy loads.

Normal manufacturer rounds have no issue.

So any suggestions???

Thanks in advance.

[Camille Eonich]

Do you have anything in the primer pockets?  Are the rounds going in behind the dummies maybe getting caught up on the lip of the primer pocket?

[Blue Steel Traveller]

Interesting point. The primer pockets are empty. I would not have thought that the rounds would get caught on the primer pocket. That could explain the gouges in the bullett.   I was actually going to make some home made snap caps by putting a piece of eraser in the pocket anyway. So I'll try that with a few and see how it works out.

Thanks.

[Camille Eonich]

Let us know if that was the problem. 

[Major E A Sterner]

You say that you're using 158 grain bullets,But you didn't say what style, is it a round nosed flat point or a semiwadcutter? if it's a semi wadcutter the shoulder may be catching on a lip in the magazine tube.

[Blue Steel Traveller]

So I plugged the primer pocket and that fixed the problem.  I never would have thought that the tolerances were that close that the nose of the bullet would get caught in the pocket and prohibit me from loading.  Interesting!

I've made some nice cheap snap caps now.  All I did was buy some erasers for a mechanical pencil, cut them to length and expoxied them into the primer pocket.  They work really well and a whole lot cheaper than buying some.  We'll see how long they last.

Camille, thanks for the suggestion re: the empty primer pocket.

[Camille Eonich]

Thanks for letting us know and glad that you got it worked out.