This is usually a good time of the year for me to pull on the bullets on all my handloads and dump the powder.

Doing this eliminates worries of the powder caking up and getting sporatic pressures and velocities.

Are you serious?

Well, annually may be a little compulsive, but I am a bit serious on compressed loads. It is quite surprising how fast compressed loads start caking up.

I use compressed loads routinely but many cake up, even in a year.

Why not just shoot them up? Thats more fun than reloading.

if mine sits for 2 months its a long time i love the smell of burning powder

I agree with Will here! I used to do this every spring on my 458 Win Mag ammo, because that was the round I had that used compressed loads. Back in the late 50s, and early 60s the powders we had required compression in the 458 Win Mag to get the advertized velocity. After a winter of being loaded, they began to have hang fires. I used this ammo in Alaska, and Canada where you experience wide swings in temperature, and humity, exerbating the cakeing!

I haven't found a problem with other ammo, and no longer load a 458 Win Mag! IT probably wouldn't be a problem even on that round today, with the powders avaliable today.

I'm on the "shoot it up for practice" side. I try not to load more hunting ammo than I'll need for the year. The practice is kind of expensive, considering the bullets used, but sure is practical.

Darn, Will, if you shot it in a rifle with 2 triggers it wouldn't be a problem!

I never load up more ammo than I am going to use plus practice, and I try not to use compressed loads. Evn so, pulling the bullets is quite a chore. id rather shoot em up.

Will

What are you shooting those in? i've had some lay around for years with no problems. Is this a .458 Win thing?

quote:

Originally posted by jstevens:
Will

What are you shooting those in? i've had some lay around for years with no problems. Is this a .458 Win thing?

This only applies to compressed loads, and early in the 458 Win Mag's history there was a problem with hangfires in that cartridge. This was because of the very small for caliber powder capacity it was necessary to compress the loads when useing the powders of the day. The cartridge should have been what the 458 LOTT is today, and there would have been no problem. The problem with this cartridge is pretty much solved today with the powders available today. The 458 Win Mag was the only cartridge I ever owned that required a compressed load, and the pulling of bullets after a time was a very prudant practice, considering what the 458 Win Mag was designed to hunt!

The rifle you use it in has nothing to do with it, a hangfire is a hang fire, and though a double gives you a 50% chance only one barrel will have a hangfire, but what happens if they are both either a hangfire or a dud.

Gordon Cundhall got three hangfires, and dud out of four shots, on a chargeing lion, from a double rifle. If PHC had not been standing at his side fireing on the lion as fast as he could, I fear, Gordon wouldn't have made another safari! I'm certain this was caused by compressed loads that had caked over time!

If you don't use compressed loads, then don't worry about it! I don't use them, and when I find the regulating load for a new, or new to me double rifle, I load 100 rounds in new brass and put it away for hunting, and keep 40 pieces of brass for reloading, to use for stump shooting, and practice.

I thought from the title of this thread that you were talking about shooting more. Apparently, you are talking about deloading your reloads...come on Bill.