I had two firsts this weekend, with one followed by a second...

I was testing a load with IMR 4955 in my 6.5x55 on Saturday with different primers since I was getting too large of velocity swings with the Federal 210. I decided to try the hotter Winchester WLR and a magnum Federal 215 to see if it could help tame the velocity spreads (and perhaps tighten the group up). Shot #3 of the Federal 215 load gave nothing but an audible "click!". Checked the primer and it wasn't due to a light strike. Tried it a second time with the same result. Dud primer. I don't know how many thousands of rounds I've loaded, but that was my first dud.

Didn't think much of it, as it happens, but it was a little surprising that it hadn't happened before now.

Fast forward to last night, where I was loading up some more of the same with the Winchester WLR, just before seating the bullets I eyeballed to check the powder levels. Looked good. I don't normally shine a flashlight down inside the cases as I can usually see the powder just enough to tell that it's there. For some reason, I went and grabbed a flashlight to double check. No idea why, as like I said, I've never bothered with it before and can usually tell. Lo and behold, case #2 had no powder. I thought to myself how lucky I was that I'd decided to check this time, thinking that was the first time in 11 years I'd failed to add powder to a case...

This morning, I dusted off the Hornady collet bullet puller to pull the dud from Saturday and reclaim the case, bullet, and powder. I pop the bullet off and I check inside the case and I see... nothing! I try to dump it in the powder scale pan and get a tiny bit of ash. I pop out the dud primer and check it and it looks like it did flame up but I'm certain it didn't fire like normal, but at most fizzled.

My first dud primer on my first squib load. What are the chances? And then followed a couple days later by a near second squib load...

And before anybody asks neither reloading session was rushed, interrupted by children, or had any sort of distraction. I simply screwed up. Twice.

I now have a small flashlight sitting right there on the loading bench, and it will get used regularly. I guess I can't trust my bare eyes anymore.

If you reload long enough you are going to make some mistakes, I know I have. Those who say they never do are lying or are due to have something happen in the near future It's nice it happened at the range and not out in the field.

I check mine real close. Had one go click some years ago.

I check mine real close. Had one go click some years ago.

Load long enough and stuff happens. That's why they make bullet pullers.

It probably fired. No propellant and a tight enough bullet to not move from the primer force

That's what I'd say. Forget the powder and nothing happens except the base of the bullet getting black.

Had to use the truck radio antenna a couple times to clear an unfired round where bullet jammed into the lands. Wouldn't extract , dumping powder inside the rifle. Be safe and try to be a bit a-retentive, if you can stand it. It comes naturally to me...

Odd thing Saturday for me also...

Testing a load, I loaded up 4 rounds of 223, using S & B primers...

Three of the four rounds were duds!

Came home and disassembled them and sure enough... the charge I wanted was in each of them.

Just glad I wasn't in the field with a big buck in my sights and experienced that...

oh well....

other things have happened to me too, a few miss fed primers on a progressive press noticed when empting the bin powder spilled , a progressive powder measure stuck every few rounds not sure why but decided to weigh a few and guess what NO powder at all caught at home all my own fault for getting complacent, No longer use that press ! at the range one day shooting my contender a 350 GNR pretty big stuff, shot 5 or 6 boom just fine then it happened pooff and wisps of smoke around the breech could not open the frame lots of the oh S___ word, finally got it a part at home pulled out a big chunk of semi burned IMR 4895 it stayed a solid tube????? decided to pull the rest and check the powder weight no problem, then starred in each case no problem, started depriming just in case of bad primers and heard a crunch on one ????? I had deprimed and then tumbled in Lyman Tuff Nut and did not have a decap pin in the neck die, plugged flash holes..... I always check for that except that time

You know, I wondered about that but I honestly don't think it did. Primers without powder still have an audible pop, but I heard nothing but a sold click. It's still possible as I was at a public range and wearing ear protection, but I couldn't discern anything other than the hammer hitting the primer. Who knows?

I still am having a hard time fathoming how I missed charging the case on Saturday. I'm normally a very meticulous handloader. The one on Sunday is completely understandable to me as I was still trying to get my powder measure to throw the proper charge weight. I took the second charged case and dumped it into the scale pan to weigh it. I must have then charged case #3 with the powder instead of re-adding it to #2 and continued on my merry way...

But the case on Saturday? Who knows.

I've done the same thing. Somehow forgot to add powder to the case. All I heard at the range was a click as well. The primer fired normally. The bullet stayed in the case. This was in a .270. I don't think your primer was a dud.

You could be right.

As long as I can remember, I've heard people proclaim that "The loudest and worst sound in the world is a pump shotgun cycling".

The guy that taught me to shoot told me (and I have repeated it many times) "No, it's a click when you are expecting a bang".

This right here!

I flip the cases every step in the loading tray to separate what has been done and what hasn't..

My cases are always upside down in the tray until they get powder..

Good luck,

Todd

It can happen to the best of us. It happens a lot more to the those who think they're the best and they're usually not around for long.

Been loading for 30+ yrs, and it was a standard load in the 220 Swift of 37.2 gr of IMR 4064 and a 55 gr VMAX and 39.2 gr of H380 and a 53 gr "XFB" that got me. Twice with the VMAXs and once with the Barnes, each blew the primer out of the case. Required a block of wood to get the bolt open with the Barnes.

The loads have worked cleanly and superbly from two different rifles in the past of various barrel lengths and are supremely accurate. Needless to say I have set the Swift aside for the time being (or at least until the temperature drops) and have recommissioned the 22-250 for this season's coyotes, where it will undoubtedly end up laying on the back seat of the truck while the 222 Rem takes the stand.

Same here. Each case must be handled in order to be charged. Less risk of double charges and skipped charges.

I loaded 50 rounds once before I realized I hadn't primed any of them. I've seated primers backwards too.

Done both of those things too.

ditto

I have failed to charge cases a couple of times over the years. One instance that still sends chills up my spine was when I took a kid to the range with me to burn up some old 38 Specials. Like a kid he was more interested in how fast he could fire them than accuracy. After a couple of cylinders full, I told him to try for the bulleye. 2nd shot I heard a "puff" instead of bang. I looked up and he had recocked it and was aiming. I hollered STOP and he did. Sure enough, the primer had pushed a bullet through the forcing cone just enough to allow the cylinder to rotate.
My normal procedure is to charge the cases in my tray, then hold them under a desk lamp so I can see the powder charge and compare the volume in each case with the two on either side. You can detect even pretty small variations in powder level that way.