Confused about weighing powder

**** said:

Got it. Im just gonna go 12 to be safe. You're right also about not being able to trust this scale right now, if I move it 1/4 inch, its off.

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Guys, I think when he said I will go 12 to be safe he was talking about checking every 12th charge, not 12 grains.

Could be... but that's not how I read it.

Well so much for that one! lol

OP, be sure to record the number on your Lee PPM. It can be reset to that spot quite accurately. Beats the heck out of going through all that everytime you want to go back to the same load.

Throw a charge and weigh it every 10th load. That should be sufficient for load reliability. When you get further ahead and get comfortable with reloading you may want to go to an electronic powder scale. I'm using a RCBS Chargemaster 1500. Cost quite a few bucks but it gets the job done much quicker and it's very accurate, within 1/10 of a grain.

Good Shooting!

If you watch the MidwayUSA flyers they occasionally sell their Frankfort Arsenal electronic scale for $19.97 or thereabouts. It's nice to have an inexpensive back up and digital is fairly quick with a readout.

My Pact scale is more than 25 years old at present. With a son in Scouts, we used the scale to weigh his derby car and it was 12 grains and change shy of the maximum limit (wrote it down but don't recall exactly). The Mettler Toledo used for the official weigh in, which was both newer and far more expensive, provided the exact same weight.

I am using the Lee PPM, and I have seen that when I am using powders like Unique, as the hopper empties, it starts to throw lighter charges. Just something to watch.

GLOOB said:

OP, be sure to record the number on your Lee PPM. It can be reset to that spot quite accurately. Beats the heck out of going through all that everytime you want to go back to the same load.

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Oh, I agree 100%. I have a separate sheet of paper for every powder I use in my load binder and I record the setting for every charge weight I have ever used. It sure does save time when you can go right to the proven setting and most times when you weigh the powder to verify the charge it's right on the mark!

dickttx said:

Don't know if it is only terminology or not, but I NEVER try to WEIGH anything on a beam scale. After you zero it on a solid surface (not your loading bench, or it will move and lose zero everytime you run a round through your loader) you should set your target weight on the beam. When you dump your powder set it on the scale and it will be light, heavy, or, hopefully, right on zero. Keep adjusting your powder measure until you pretty much get zero everytime. When you develop confidence that the measure is throwing consistently, then weigh about every tenth round to see that nothing is changing. With a new scale or measure it may take quite a few rounds for me to develop confidence.

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C'mon, Every time you put something in the pan of any scale, you are weighing whatever you put there. You may be setting your specific target weight, but each powder charge you put in the pan is weighed. If that charge is under, the powder measure is adjusted and the next charge thrown is weighed again...

Exactly what I was saying mdi. But it seemed like the OP was putting powder on his scale then trying to adjust the scale to find the weight.
I grew up in a cotton patch and we weighed cotton. You didn't know what the sack of cotton weighed so you hooked it to the beam scale and moved the pea out until the scale leveled. Deduct three pounds for your sack, and that was what you got paid for. We later got real modern with a spring scale that just showed you the weight.

Harbor Freight has digital scales on sale at the moment. Several read grains. I still haven't unpackaged me Lee scale and may not since I bought a digital scale on the outset. Didn't want the error possibility with the Lee.

Your Lee scale will weigh as accurately as anyother beam type if you make sure it is level and don't move it during sessions. It just doesn't look expensive - because it isn't. I have two 505's and an old Lyman Ohaus M5 and the Lee is as accurate as the others.

It surely is a matter of terminology but it's nice to teach everyone the correct terms to keep us on the same page, same with procedure as dickttx points out.

Reminds me of a girl I met in college who decided to make Rice Crispy Treats (she was a math major). What she told me she read: "Grease bottom of pan". What she did: flipped that pan over and covered it in margarine. Yes, they still stuck to the pan!

A couple pointers. Most have been covered. Make sure all sources of air currents (fans, open windows etc) are shut down while using your scale.

When working up a load, only load up a dozen or so rounds to start with. Shoot those and see if you're happy with them. If not, go try another load. I personally load about 10 rds with 1 powder charge, step up about 3 or 4 tenths of a grain and load 10 more, etc. When testing I usually have at least half a dozen different loads to try before I settle on something. Once I've decided I like a particular load, THEN I'll start loading in volume.
Unless you like to pull 90 rds of ammo apart and start over.......just sayin'.

Personally I don't weigh every Nth charge. After I determine a throw's spread, I take it for granted that it's going to stay in that range. The only thing I'm looking for is bridging. Visual inspection on a loading block is good enough for that, IMO. It takes a minimum amount of powder to bridge. If you can't see that difference on a loading block, then you're not spending enough time on that phase. That's the most important step, IMO.

He bhas the exact reloading manuel as me. All of his questions are answered in the first 3 chapters

I use powder baffles in my powder measures. It keeps the weight off the powder consistent.

In my last session, I reloaded 7.62x54R until I ran out of H4895. After the hopper of my Lee PPM got below about 1/3rd, I weighed every charge. I was surprised to find no trend toward lighter charges all the way to the last full throw. I did keep tapping the hopper along the way to keep max powder height over the outflow hole. But I even got a couple of full-weight charges after the outflow hole was uncovered. That was a real surprise.

I bought Prvi Partizan ammo in 7.62x54R and .30-30 Win, shot them, and then reloaded the cases. They worked fine, but I found many instances of the primer standing slightly proud of the case head with the .30-30. I got a Redding primer pocket tool and fixed them up.

Since we are talking about the Lee Powder Pro I have a question with the powder listed below.

New to reloading and just bought the Lee P-Pro and waiting on my press etc.

Question, will the Green Dot and the HS-6 (It's all they had in town) work ok in this Powder Pro system?

I bought two, one for each caliber so I won't have to keep measuring/tuning.

Going to load .45acp/38spl Lead SWC.

Thanks,
Jim

P.S. Does Lee make a baffle for these powder dispensers ?