What the heck?

[davevabch]

Well, I finally called Berry's since it was obvious they were not going to call me back about the issue of sending me 124 gr bullets when I ordered 115. Not that it was a major problem except that the 124 gr were in a boxes labeled 115 gr. As a newbie in reloading, I thought it was a fairly significant issue.Especially since I loaded up rounds based on a charge for 115. They still had no answers for me, why this happened and it was obvious that they were not going to respond back to me. At first they just apologized and said to send them back and they would send out the correct order. I told them I was not pleased with the service and the mistake and after more conversation they agreed to give me a Small credit off the bullets.
What bothers me is the fact that they do not seem to take this as a serious matter. It really confuses me as I do not want to make a mistake when reloading ammo, especially for the first time. Is reloading a charge for 124 with 115 data not a big deal?? I would imagine most reloading rookies like myself have a lot of initial concern about their first reload batch. I do not want to destroy my pistol, hurt myself or others by a stupid careless mistake. I gave them the lot numbers of the mistake and just wonder if others have received ammo and orders marked incorrectly.
Regardless, I learned my first lesson as a newbie and that is to weigh the bullet from the manufacturer when receiving them. If Berry's has loaded 124 gr ammo in other boxes labeled 115, I hope they do a diligent recall.

 

[Denny4kids]

Dave what a piss off! Well if we are talking 9mm and if you loaded light for the 115g, then you might be OK for the 124g's. But only you can do the research. Den

 

[Pops]

Dave, how is your experience going so far with reloading? I am really getting interested in starting when I retire next year. I sure wished I lived next to SkipD or Rich, my wife would be saying "I thought you retired to spend time at home!"

 

[davevabch]

Pops, really enjoying the experience so far. I loaded my first batch and went to the range today. The very first shot was a dead bulls eye out of my Ruger SR9C. However, I used a really light charge and boy was the noise and recoil low. And they did not cycle the pistol. Actually that was good news. It seems I did everything right, and the charge was just low which I thought might happen. I will creep it up slowly and use different powders to find out what the Ruger loves. Then I will work on the Lc9. Next month I will order a set of 380 dies and start to work on the LCP. Their most definately is a learning curve, but it is a fun one. I say go for it. Start small and KISS! (keep it simple)

Dave

 

[SkipD]

Dave, it may not seem so, but a very light charge CAN be quite dangerous. If the charge is way too light (and I cannot give you any numbers), it is possible for the charge to detonate (burn instantly) instead of burning over a predictable amount of time.

To avoid any chance of detonation, never load a cartridge below the published minimum for a case/primer/powder/bullet combination. It's just as important to stay at or above the minimum as it is to stay at or below the maximum.

 

[davevabch]

Thank you skip, I took the load data from Hornady's handbook of reloading which I picked up at the local library. The charge listed was a starting charge.

dave

 

[millsriver]

I rarely use the minimum powder load for any reload data or caliber. I also rarely use the maximum. I have found that backing off of the maximum load by about 10% will give you bullet performance close to max with better accuracy and less casing problems. Good luck.

 

[jackjr]

Jack, thanks for the info. Where do you get your bullets and what kind?
Thanks
Dave

Dave, I have used several different brands of .45 FMJ that I got from different sources. I like buying large amounts from Graf to take advantage of the cheap shipping. I've used Winchester, Hornady, and a couple of others. I picked up 500 Moly coated round nose lead bullets from a friend who buys them in bulk but I have yet to load them as it is hot in my garage in the AZ. summertime. I find the Hornady to be great quality and the cheaper ones to be equal amongst themselves for the price. I figure I don't need the Hornady to just punch holes in paper so I mostly just use the cheap stuff.