Help me, internet Gods of reloading.

[SSN Vet]

Being somewhat of a "hack" engineer, I'm fully convinced that every measurement made by man (at least on this side of eternity) needs a +/- attached to the tail end of it.

The trick is to know how much +/- is too little (your paying more accuracy than you can really benefit from) ... and how much +/- is too much (risk going kaboom).

Favorite expressions along these lines....

"Don't measure with a micrometer what you cut with a chain saw."

"Foam is forgiving and it ain't machined steel."

"+/- a pube" followed by "a red one or a black one"

"Wood moves"

"put it out in the cold/hot (as appropriate) warehouse for an hour and then measure it again".


Being new to re-loading, I'm trying to figure out how much +/- I need.

My Lee scale boasts +/- 0.1 gr. But any two times I set a charge weight, I'm likely to introduce something around .05 gr in error just in setting the vernier. Then there's paralax (and heavy breathing ).

I'm thinking that +/- .2 gr is good enough for most re-loaders (i.e. those who don't seriously compete) and I should stay shy of max loads by at least this amount. Does this sound reasonable?

Does any one know if the various publishers of re-loading data incorporate a "factor of safety"?

 

[Khornet]

I'm with walkalong

I'm convinced that consistent VOLUME is far more important than consistent weight. Benchrest shooters load at the range with powder measures, not scales. Very good measures, mind you, but by volume nonetheless.

Maybe this is because powder density can vary from day to day. I dunno. But good, consistent volume technique depends as much-or more-on operator technique as does weight measurement. Just get a system which works and go with it.

 

[Picknlittle]

I am using the RCBS Uniflow. It is near dead on every time with BL-C(2), IMR4064 and IMR4320. I still weigh every fifth charge but it's largely a waste of time, but a waste of time I'll continue to indulge in.

When I say near dead on, I'm talking less than a .5mm pencil lead width from dead center. I didn't know that "could" be true.