I was going to ask you guys why my primers didn't work. Then I pulled the bullets and realized somehow I missed three cases out of about 100 on the powder drop. Single stage too

Anyway, no bang, no nothing; just a click as if dry-firing. One of the primers popped out of the pocket a little (I thought is was a loose pocket at first since it's 1x fired).  

Always thought primer-only rounds made squib rounds (as in bullet jumps out of case). Maybe my crimp kept that from happening?







I'm better than this

I've never had this happen with .223 but I've had several squibs over the years with pistol rounds.  I'm interested to know if this is the normal behavior for 0 powder changes in .223.  I've had a few like yours but i thought it was just a bad primer.

It wasn't your crimp it is however a nice tight seal around the neck. The primer ignition causes enough pressure inside the case that when you pull the bolt away it backs the primer out.

Another thing that is often overlooked is the fact that pressure from firing also expands the primer cup along with the case and helps it seal against the pocket.

Without the high pressure of ignition (with powder) the firing pin deforms the primer which actually could make it fit looser in the pocket.

Motor

My AR .223: I've had the same experience, no powder, primer ignites, bullet stays in case unmoving. Pull bullet and extract primer -  primer did ignite.

I know this is a tech forum so I want to keep it tech related, you need to SERIOUSLY pay attention and get a process or routine down pat  and follow it.

I always did the left/right loading block method, followed by a visual inspection, followed by randomly weighing a few charges (don't forget to put the powder back in the case after sampling) - I know this sounds dumb but there was a thread on that very issue a couple weeks back .

With rifle rounds I use the loading block method.  After charging .223 cases I do a visual inspection of each round in the loading block. When loading my .308 and .30-06 cast bullet rounds a visual inspection is

difficult as the powder sits so low in the case.  I check these with a .30 caliber unsharpened pencil with the appropriate marks on it.  Yes, I have caught some bad loads.

You know, I was thinking just that. This is the first mistake I've ever made in my entire life. Glad you haven't had that unfortunate experience.

Invest in a second loading block and keep them on opposite sides of the powder meter.

I also routinely keep any case that has not been charged open end DOWN in the block.

I use loading blocks too and load rifle cases on a rockchucker, single stage. Slow, but I have time.

I fill both blocks with cases and run them all under the powder measure, then using a mini flashlight I look in every case for powder and the right amount. You'll get used to what you should be seeing so about +/- 2/10ths shows up easily.

Then I pick up a case, look in it AGAIN and put a bullet on top and press it in. I do that till both blocks are empty and start over. I haven't had a squib yet in 9 years of doing it that way. Try it. It will work for you too.

Had the same exact thing happen to me.  Looked just like that.  You learned a valuable lesson with minimal consequences.

This is what I do too. Makes things a bit faster while still checking for proper powder level.

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I did same thing with one .223 round. It was my first "mis fire" from a reload. No powder. Same as you, it didn't produce a squib.

I use loading blocks.  Once the loading block is filled with charged cases, I do a small flashlight inspection from above, ensuring all cases are charged.

I then move the load block over to the press for bullet-seating.  Guess what I do next?

Pull out the same flashlight, and visually check that every, single case has a charge in it.

Then I start seating bullets.

For a lot of you that have kinda learned along the way, I would strongly advise taking an NRA Metallic Cartridge Reloading course, or getting with a mentor who has been doing this for many years and is a very detail-oriented person and well-organized.

As everyone else I use loading blocks.

Take primed brass out of box,

Fill with powder,
place into block with bullet

Seat

I think this is very good advice.  That said, it is a manual process done by a human, so even the most disciplined person with the best process, there is still the chance of a mistake.


My loads that didn't have powder came doing them on a progressive.  I had let the powder run out and didn't catch it in time.   I have since added a powder check in one of the stations to confirm I have powder.

I was not trying to go GD on you but you, or your wife, dad, kids, best friend, whoever you are shooting with good get seriously injured, due to carelessness. I have made lots of mistakes, some stupid, I have never had the misfortune of making a reloading mistake, loading since the 1970's.

ETA Happy safe shooting

A single change in method will fix the entire problem.  Lots of guys get into the entire "must run everything on the loading block, in order" in each stage, all primers, all powder, all bullets, all crimps.  That can lead to issues like what the OP had when you miss a step.  We are only human right?  

When I load 308 (only cartridge I load on SS) I prime all my brass, dropping each piece into the block, for counting purposes only.  Once all the brass is primed, I place things in this order, left to right.  Block, powder (Chargemaster or Hornady rotary), bullets, SS press, loading block.  I simply grab a prepped and primed case, add powder, put case in press, seat bullet, put in right hand loading block.  The benefit of doing it this way with a Chargemaster is that it gives it time to throw the next charge while Im seating a bullet.  Its pretty damn hard to miss a charge when you do it like this.  Then if you crimp, you go back and run them again.

I put up a little sign to remind myself to "LOOK IN THE CASE!".

I have an inspection light on a swing arm to move around for observing powder drop through the green plastic on my RCBS powder drop, swing the light around to when they're put in the blocks, look at each one in the block.

Before I seat each bullet I tilt the case as it's going in the case holder so I can see the powder.

That said, no powder in a rifle cartridge is better than a weak/light load which can lodge a bullet!

One of my squibs in 9mm popped the bullet  just past the chamber in my MP5, but I caught it before firing off another.

The squib there was on the LNL progressive which hung up on the drop step.

I have started using a lockout die on my LNL AP which has helped a lot.

Maybe some will think this is wrong but I just double check each as I go and place a bullet on case as I charge. Having a chargemaster count the rnds help too.

This is what I do during final inspection since I am nervous about leaving the powder out of a round.  

I'm glad it didn't cause a squib or any other problems!

I will admit I've done the same thing on pistol and rifle rounds.  Granted, I didn't do it to a whole batch, but I can see where it would happen.

I've said this in the past to check, check, check again, then recheck your rounds.  Before you seat the bullet, that's a good time to check again as well


While I've not used the flashlight method that others have suggested, it may be a good idea to start that, and/ or get the LED strips for your press.  I'm about to do it (and the sign!) myself because I want the reminder to look in.


I use two loading blocks.  
First one is filled with 100 rounds
Seat the primer
Move to empty block
Repeat 99 more times.

Once I get done with that
Check the case,
Weigh the charge,
And seat the bullet after I've looked in the case.  


Reloading is slow going with me, but hey, it only takes one big mistake to question yourself and change your habits.

Good points.  I've made the mistake myself seating bullets into uncharged cases.  Not sure what happened.  For some reason, a little voice told me to weigh my cartridges to check, and two stuck out as being way under weight.

Another lesson was then learned when I used an inertia puller to pull them.  One of the primers activated, which really got my attention.

I don't like inertia pullers as a result.  Maybe I hit it with too much vigor, but it sure surprised me.  Always wear eye pro when dealing with primers, especially if you're going to use an inertia puller.

My method of loading is using one loading block.


When I fill it for sizing I put the cartridges in mouth up and fill the block to capacity.

I pull a cartridge, resize and decap it. I return it to its original spot upside down. Continue until all are upside down. If I'm called away in the middle I can immediately tell where I left off.

Anymore I use an RCBS hand priming tool rather than priming on the press. But the bottom is always up! I can tell immediately if I'm called away during the priming process. When all are primed I run a finger over the primer looking for high ones.

With a block full of upside down and primed cases I now start charging them.

Take one out, flip it over and fill with the desired powder. Return it to its original spot in the loading block rightside up!

When all are charged I'll take a small flashlight and eyeball the charge levels.

The last step is add the bullet. This is the step I will not allow myself to be distracted from. I figure it's bad form to leave 50-, 100-, or 200 rounds laying about with the powder exposed to the open.

This is all done on a single stage press so your mileage may vary if you are using something else.

I am also a batch loader and confirm all cases have powder with a bright light before seating bullet. Same for rifle and pistol.
V

I also protect my hearing. These primers are loud in the garage...

This is what I do. I look in each powder charged block for even powder levels in every case. Then I look again when each case goes from the block to the press.

Wow I would've expected the bullet to at least unseat. It looks like they didn't move at all. Thanks for sharing!

After I drop powder in all cases on a loading block, I then visually inspect the cases with a bright led light to make sure the cases appear to have the same amount of powder. I then pull a few random cases and measure the charge. Then I do a second visual inspection to make sure I put powder back in all the case I pulled to weigh. Then I seat the projectiles for all cases in that loading block.

Thank you very much for sharing this RINO_Hunter.  When it comes to posting information, the failures tend to be the most informative and interesting - but of course set you up for all kinds of judgement.  Thanks for posting it.  

After all my years of reloading, I was unaware this is what happened.  It is extremely rare for me to have a dud (I can't remember if I've ever had a rifle dud), but if I ever do, I'll remember this.

You have been given lots of advise - all of it good.  My only addition is that when I finish a block, if I ever have any nagging doubt, it's quite easy to do a bulk check.  Put 4 loaded rounds on the scale all at once, note the weight.  Then do that again, 4 rounds at a time.   If there's an empty, that's around 25 gr of mass, and you'll see it, even if doing 4 at a time.  In this way, you can QC check 100 rounds in about 3 minutes.  

I'm not too proud to admit, but I got that nagging doubt once, and ended up QC checking close to 500 rounds one night.  I did that while watching TV and was done long before the 30 minute sitcom was.  All rounds passed.  Just, sometimes you have that 99.5% sure confidence ... and well.... damnit, let me get the scale...

I once had that 99.5% confidence about getting all my steel pins out once.  And well... damnit.  Downloaded a magnatometer app for my phone, and swept every live round in that 400 round batch for magnetically detectable components.  That test is not very sensitive, so it took a bit to come up with a reliable usage procedure, but I came up with a good method for sweeping loaded rounds for pins.  They all passed.   Sometimes shooting ammo that you are 99.5% confident in, isn't good enough!