So I went to work, came home and decided to load some 9mm. I filled the powder hopper on the LNL and got the scale ready to take some measurements. The setting I left the powder measure at was 3.8 grains. I filled a case and measured... 1.2 grains. Hmm weird! Loaded another 1.8 grain. What gives? Dialed out and filled another case 1.5 grain. About this time I started getting frustrated. I emptied the powder hopper and looked in there to see if something was jamming it up. Sure enough something was. It was a dead fly stuck down there. A big ass black fly. I guess they give you that rubber cover for the hopper for a reason. So flies dont land in there and decide to die.
Learners advice: leave the rubber cover on the hopper when at all possible.

Be sure to use magnum primers. Flies are very slow burning and hard to ignite.

Soak your flies in nitric acid first; they will burn better. Maybe add a pinch of nitro glycerin for added punch. Instead of gun cotton, you have gun flies. It will work; it is still nitrated organic material.

ewe need this:

quote:

Originally posted by 4-5-0:
Be sure to use magnum primers. Flies are very slow burning and hard to ignite.

For fruit flies standard primers will just work fine.

The nightmare I had last night must have come as a result of reading this post:

I dreamed that my reloads wouldn't fire, so I checked my powder supply and it was full of worms, kinda like finding weevils in an old sack of flour.

Maybe my subconscious was telling me that I should go ahead and use up the last of that WW-II surplus 4831 before it finally goes bad.

On one occasion, I had sized and primed a block of 22-250 cases. I got busy doing other things and the block set on my bench for a few weeks. I went and charged the cases and when I did my hold-under-a-light and check that the powder level is uniform, one was considerably higher. So I dumped it out and re-charged it. It was still high. Long story short, some little varmint had crawled in and built a nest. Lucky I make a habit of checking the powder level. By the simple expedient of putting the cases mouth down in the block after priming them, I've never had it happen again.
I've often wondered what would have happened if I had just seated a bullet and fired the cartridge.

Like Wasbeeman, I had prepped and primed a bunch of Hornet cases and left them sit on the bench for a few weeks. When I added powder to one case, the powder overflowed, and upon dumping the powder, a dead bug came out.

Now, I will place a shoprag over any prepped cases

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
The nightmare I had last night must have come as a result of reading this post:

I dreamed that my reloads wouldn't fire, so I checked my powder supply and it was full of worms, kinda like finding weevils in an old sack of flour.

Maybe my subconscious was telling me that I should go ahead and use up the last of that WW-II surplus 4831 before it finally goes bad.

NOT TO WORRY roger

Keep a pet frog on your reloading bench. You know what frogs say? Time sure is fun when you are having flies.

quote:

Originally posted by 4-5-0:
Be sure to use magnum primers. Flies are very slow burning and hard to ignite.

Ken....

Like some of the others, i had prepped some .223 cases a couple of days before. Went to fill one up and it overflowed. Dumped it out and this creepy crawly flips over and goes scurrying off. Ive always wondered what would happen if you sealed him up in there and fired the round.

Easy answer--You would have had roasted creepy crawler.