reloading tips / advice

[oowee]

Ok, i bought a Lee turret press and have started to reload. I have already binned the electronic scales (except for back up and check weights) in favour of a redding beam scale and must admit to the first twinge of reloading addiction even though I am only reloading for hunting purposes.

I have attached an electric tooth brush to the side of the powder hopper to increase the uniformity of powder volume going to the measure but there are still occasional discrepancies of the powder measure being delivered to the pan. Can i do anything to make the dispensed load more consistent? Should I just be content with dispensing an under weight charge and topping up with a trickler?

Using Ramshot Tac (a small grain ball powder) I hold the scale pan under the powder dispenser and rotate the lever dropping the powder into the pan. At this point some of the powder jumps and misses the pan how do i stop it jumping?

When I pour the powder from the pan to the lee funnel some powder bridges the gap between the case and the funnel and even tapping it i might loose a few grains. Can I buy an extension tube for the lee funnel?

Your assistance would be appreciated.

 

[John_R]

I've never heard of the toothbrush idea, I think that would drive me nuts! I just trickle up, and when I get time, I will be setting up a Targetmaster.

Hold the pan closer to the dispenser to avoid powder bounce. As for the funnel, I have never experienced what you describe, it sounds a bit like quite a mismatch between funnel size and case size.

 

[finnbear270]

Some funnel materials can hold a static charge that can cause bridging of kernels.

 

[enfieldspares]

I have attached an electric tooth brush to the side of the powder hopper to increase the uniformity of powder volume going to the measure....there are still occasional discrepancies

I wouldn't recommend this. Powder is charged into your case by volume. The toothbrush won't be consistent (as youvé noted) and the vibration may possibly affect the powder coating or its shape. That can affect burn rate. If that happens you will have problems. It's why it is advised never to tumble loaded rounds. If you aren't dumping consistently there's a problem either with the measure or scale pan or with your technique. What powder hopper are you using?

 

[oowee]

Its all lee kit and it's the lee classic Powder loader.

 

[paul o']

I use a long drop tube on my funnels it stops clogging in the case mouth I would just hand trickle it buzzing it just sounds like a pain imo

 

[simonl]

Get a Satern funnel. Very nicely made.

 

[enfieldspares]

Lee Classic has the rubber type wipe ring? It's considered excellent for long stick powders but not as precise as the all metal drum type measures for ball powders. Or so internet chat would have it thus.

Why I'd be concerned with the toothbrush idea is that the powder that's in the measure at the end of your session (after a run of say twenty, thirty, a hundred rounds) will have compacted more than the powder at the start. As obviously it's been vibrated longer. So it's not consistent.

 

[oowee]

Good point. Will bin the brush and see how consistent the loads are. Does it make a difference to the charge how quickly i tip the dispenser tube. I have been trying to do it the same each time but wonder if doing it slowly and tapping the tube might be better. That way I can tip it slower into the pan.

 

[enfieldspares]

There's two schools of thought. The always empty and the always full.

That's to say some start with the drum in the down position, raise it to let it fill, counting, say "one, two" then lower it to dump the powder. Leaving it down as you then put the case back in the reloading tray and do whatever you do with it. However the other school of thought says start with the drum in the up position. As below.

So At the start of a cartridge charging session turn the drum up and let it fill. Leave it up. Pick up a case, lower the drum, let the powder go into the case, raise the lever so the drum is in the up position and the next powder charge enters it. Pick up another case and repeat. So the drum has maybe ten, twenty or so seconds to fill.

Both have their advocates but never mix the methods! Lyman 55 users like me often prefer the always empty method. But regardless I always at the start of a session dump ten charges in quick succession into a suitable receptacle and then pour them back into the hopper.

Actually I weigh the ten to work out my individual weight from that. It's another safety check that can be done quite easily as part of that ten charge process.

But the real reason for dumping is that it settles the powder. Others also advocate a powder baffle. You can see what they are on the internet.

 

[Tom D]

Las night I was using the RCBS thrower that I bought second hand on here recently, it was with n550 which is a stick powder. I have now reached a level of confidence with it that I just load straight from the dispenser into the case, no funnel required. I have tried throwing charge after charge and weighing each of them, 80% throw to the exact weight, 15% throw to within 0.05grains and 5% throw to 0.1 grain accuracy. Since I load develop in 0.2-0.3 grain intervals and the loads either side of my chosen load shoot to the same POI this doesn’t really matter.

What I have found is that the throws that are out are the ones where either the thrower has been jolted or where the return of the handle has not been consistent. If you are precise and consistent in your throwing technique then it is very accurate. I can’t comment on the lee thrower but my experience of lee kit is good. I would ditch the toothbrush idea and concentrate on returning the thrower handle as consistently as you can, I prefer a fast flick...

 

[enfieldspares]

Are you an always empty man Tom? Or an always full? From memory with an RCBS as it had no knocker like the Lyman 55 I was an always full. I loaded into the thousands of rounds with the RCBS. It is an excellent measure.

 

[Tom D]

Always full, pour and immediately flick back to fil again.

 

[nun_hunter]

Some funnel materials can hold a static charge that can cause bridging of kernels.

You should run about 1lb of powder through the thrower before you Starr weighing charges to get a powder coating on all the internal parts of the thrower and to stop the static charge. This is the advice from RCBS and works as well as with the powder funnel too. You can get a baffle plate to put in the thrower hopper from RCBS which keeps the charges very consistent but more importantly is that your actions are consistent even time you turn the handle. When I had my Lee thrower I would just pour the charge straight into the brass case when using ball powders as it was consistent enough to not affect accuracy enough vs the time spent weighing every charge.

 

[enfieldspares]

I found, although not the OP's powder, and not his powder thrower, lots of problems with H4831SC in an RCBS Uniflow whereas none with H4931. The SC would "bridge" and hang up in the drop tube. So I changed to the Lyman with the knocker. But once the SC was used up I never bought anymore. For me it was a very unfriendly to use powder.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I found . . . lots of problems with H4831SC whereas none with H4931.

I use H4831 for my .270 and have had no issues with it whatsoever using the Lee powder thrower. I trickle up to my exact required weight following the initial throw as I'm unnecessarily anal about powder weights being spot-on, though

 

[paulux]

When I pour the powder from the pan to the lee funnel some powder bridges the gap between the case and the funnel and even tapping it i might loose a few grains.

Had the same problem with the RCBS multicaliber plastic funnel, reloading .222 cases.

Get a Satern funnel. Very nicely made.

That's what I use now, no more problems, very well made indeed. Metallic, no static electricity, caliber specific.