Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire blue dot mis hap

Say it ain't so... using a pistol powder, 2400, in a rifle case... LOL.

Only ammo I've ever had problems with came from a factory.

Reloaders have their own factories! LOL.

2400 fps in the Hornet, hence it's nomenclature. I suppose Elmer Keith might be to blame for its categorization as a pistol powder. But Blue Dot owes its origin to shotgun applications it seems. Which makes me wonder…I accidentally purchased Titewad instead of Titegroup a few years ago. With the dearth of good pistol powders these days, I wonder where I should start with 'T-wad' in the 38 Spl? (Hodgdon only lists a single non-shotgun application for it that I can find: 124s in the 9mm.)

(I'd load Blue Dot in my revolvers if I hadn't already burned it up in my 30-30. )

You boys don't have to worry about any Blue Dot mishaps in the future... hasn't anyone told you? I have it all now...

Alliant is supplying to me exclusively...

Montanabadger: I am glad to hear you are safe!
Was that "blue dot" mishap (?) a result of a "book" (loading manual) recommended load or were you freelancing?
Again I am thankful YOU are intact.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy,

Do you remember when the Seahawks got their asses kicked in the Super Bowl?

That was awesome.



Travis

Two minutes and one second...... not bad. I knew I type too slow to be in contention.

Yeah, Varmint Tool, Idiots threw a pass down on the goal line. Can you believe it?

Got intercepted. Sherman cried. Okok disappeared.

VarmintGuy its been 15 pages, what took you so long?

You're not the first to ask.

The second sentence in the OP says "I WEIGHED EVERY LOAD"

You even quoted it

Doesn't anyone read these posts?

That does not mean much to most reloaders. Weighing every load involves actually putting each and every throw from the measure on the scale and balancing it until a reading is given.

If that was not done specifically for each loaded round, then he did not "weigh every load."

Yes I can read, as I am the one who asked him that earlier specifically, and he gave a rather vague answer. So I asked it again specifically. Maybe you should read the entire thread and try to keep up.

Blue Dot is easy to use and load with, but an overcharge is a time bomb. If someone cannot guarantee through their loading practices that an overcharge did not occur, then they should not bother using it.

Why the hell would I bother to put every load on the scale if I was not going to balance out the scale. Or do you have some other definition of weighing every load.

Over load Maybe?

But BD has some unexpected qualities to it. Simple as that.

Not internet talk. Pure experiences in different applications in various handgun loads in the past by me.

Pressure spikes in a normal linear progression. Not at max listed loads either. Out of dozens and dozens of different powders I have used in the last 46 years of hand loading only BD has done this.

Never used BD as a reduced load in rifle cartridges.
Have used it with good success in heavy 12 gauge loads.

I don't know. You're the one who blew the gun up with Blue Dot. My assumption is that you got an overcharge somehow.

Did you do a visual check on the powder level before seating each bullet?

I did not do a visual check, as I said before I am not ruling any thing out, including the possibility of me effing up or the possibility of a one in a million chance thing happening due to the properties of blue dot. No one will ever know for sure what happened because what triggered the event is burned up. There is only one reason for weighing every load is for quality controll, and to keep from blowing your effing head off. There is only one right way to weigh every load and that is the way you described. I said I weighed every one, and I shouldn't have to wright an effing novel to explain it to you. I will never be absolutely sure what happened, and will never be comfortable using it again in that application again.

All this just to make a reduced velocity load in a rifle cartridge? Turn the primed cases upside down, turn them up one by one to receive a WEIGHED not measured charge of powder, shine a light down the neck to make sure you somehow didn't go dirt brain and load 2 charges, then immediately seat a bullet to insure you won't go dirt brain again before moving the cartridge case 6" to the press to immediately seat a bullet. Then weigh each individual cartridge to quadruple check for a double charge. Tell me again how this is all worthwhile???

Reminds me of the joys of eating blowfish.

edit: speaking not to you montanabadger, just questioning the whole dang process.

There is one thing I haven't mentioned the one that blew things apart was out in the cold the others were not, don't know if that is a factor or not.

Overwhelming probability of a loading error.

I once missed putting powder in a reload, as careful as I thought I was. It sounded strange when I fired, luckily I looked down the barrel as the bullet was still in it. Scared the chit out of me. I almost just jacked another shell in and fired.

Couple times I put powder in the funnel and it wouldn't go down, I already had put powder in the case. Complacency or loss of concentration loading large numbers at one time was the cause.

With blue dot you have to have multiple checks before a bullet is seated, visual extremely so, can't be too careful.

Kent

As you can probably imagine, me sitting here with a rifle that's FUBAR, and lucky to have all my body parts am questioning it also.

Actually I do a similar thing with pistol loads. Say with .38 Special using Bullseye. Use two trays. One on the right with primed cases mouth down. Pull one, charge the case, look inside, put it in the tray on left mouth up. Then seat bullets when the tray is full.

But I look absolutely careless compared to the blue dot process. Different strokes I suppose........