Thread: Handloading and Grandpa Brain

Greetings All,
Last weekend, at the range I had a shot go low. The Silver Mountain identified that the velocity was well below that of the other rounds fired. The reason? I had obviously short charged the case. Today I sat down with my scales and checked the weight of all of my loaded target rounds and all checked out as having a full charge. But this post is not about fixing problems but is about stopping things happening in the first place.
I have always had a system in place for checking my handloads which has improved over time. The most recent improvement is to check weigh the loaded rounds. Cartridge cases do not vary the much in weight if they are decent quality and kept in the batches they were purchased in and the projectiles and primers vary even less. Unfortunately the round in question was loaded in early 2023 before I started weighing the finished rounds.
The other variable is the old chap operating the press handle. Just because we older people can be a bit forgetful it does not mean that will be of to the home for the bewildered shortly. I have had regular visit to the Doctor since my mid 30's. Recently the regular tests showed that I was low in B12 and now get regular injections. Additionally a thyroid problem was corrected with medication which has helped my concentration no end.
So the message here is for us older handloaders keeping us in good condition and using good checking systems just as important as much of the kit we use.
Regards GPM.