How do you guys check powder measures?

[owenbright]

I'd like to know the different methods people use to check if everything's been going ok with the powder measure.
Thanks.

EDIT: I'm also using Lee Pro Auto Disk Measure, and was thinking about dumping a cartridge after it's charged
and measuring how much was put in it, once every 10 or something.

 

[RobW]

For pistol calibers I use the LEE Pro Autodisk Measure and I throw 5 times a charge through the expander die. Then I measure the first throw in earnest with a beam scale, then the 5th, then the 10th, then the 25th.

This measure is so accurate (for ball powder only) that I just measure the 1st, 25th and 50th for the next batches.

Same for rifle with ball powders.

Stick and flake are different. I throw UNDER the desired weight into the scale, and trickle it up 'till done.

 

[WayneConrad]

I only weigh before and after, not during

I have the micrometer for my meter, so if I'm throwing a weight and powder I've thrown before, I look in my load book for the setting and dial it in. Then I throw three or more charges (three if it's an easy-to-meter ball powder, more if it's a flake or stick powder that causes the measure to throw high and low charges) to check that it's still correct, as variations in humidity/temperature/lot sometimes require small changes in the micrometer setting to get the same weight as last time.

If I don't have a setting recorded, then I pick a micrometer setting, throw five or ten charges into the pan and weigh it; pick a different micrometer setting, throw five or ten charges in the pane and weight it; then interpolate to come up with the micrometer setting, which I check as above. This almost always results in a good setting, as the micrometer is fairly linear over small spans.

I no longer check the weights while throwing: The micrometer stays put while I'm throwing charges, so checking weights it both unnecessary and an interruption in the routine that makes for more opportunities to skip charges or throw double charges. Instead, when the session is done I check that the micrometer is on the same setting it was when I started, and I throw and weigh some charges just as I did when I started the session. If the micrometer starts and ends on the same setting, and the weights are the same before and after the session, I trust that the charges thrown during the session must be correct as well.

I would not dare go through an entire session (200 cases, usually) without checking weights if I did not have a powder baffle in my measure, or if the height of powder in the measure was below the level of the baffle. Without a baffle, the weights thrown do change during a session and I must check them frequently to be safe.

Another exception: If I'm throwing max charges, and the powder is the least big persnickety, I weigh and, if needed, trickle every charge. Most of the ball powders I've settled on don't need that kind of hand holding (which is why I like them); stick and flake powders often do.

 

[rodinal220]

When dialing in your powder measure,once its throwing your desired charge.I throw 10 charges and take an average and see where im at.BALL powder is very forgiving and meters extremely well though my Dillon measure.Other powders,especially IMR type may need more attention/frequent checks.With my RL450 I never let the powder level go below the baffel,and I check every 100 rounds with BALL powder,between primer fill ups,to verify the measure is still on the money.With lincoln log IMR powder I check more often,depending on what loads im using.With MAX loads or the .50 BMG I check every charge since I normally load 100 or less .

 

[DragonFire]

I load pistol calibers on a Dillon Square Deal-B.

Once I'm satisifed that the press is throwing consistent charges at the level I want, I only weigh one or two samples ever 50 to 100 rounds. For calibers that I can see into the cases while loading, I also keep an eye on the level of powder in the cases as I run the press. I've had (very few) instances where tumbling media or some other dirt stuck in a case, or other problems.

I have had problems with humidity (at least I think that's the cause). I load in my basement, and there's a dehumidifier running in cycles constantly.

Recently I was loading up some 10mm and had finished loading somewhere around 500-700 rounds over a couple of days and everything was going well. A storm came through and the humidity went up as I was reloading. I had already weighed a few charges and they all came in exactly on setting or 1/10th grain less (which is what it normally does). But as the storm hit, I weighed one and it was 4/10th grain under the setting. I weighed several more and they all were 3/10th to 4/10th light. I finished the batch of primers I had loaded (I weighed and corrected each round) and stopped. A day later, after the storm and air conditioning brought humidity under control again, and without adjusting anything, the charges were back at my desired weight. I've had this same scenario happen at three or four times to me.

So, I don't think you have to weigh every 10th round or so, but I'm not sure going hundred and hundreds of rounds without checking is the best thing to do either.

 

[Ares45]

Before I start reloading I throw 10 charges in the scale and devide by ten. Example: I'm shooting for 5.8gr of powder and after 10 charges I have a total of 58.9gr, or 5.89gr/ea. This allows me to see that in reality I'm closer to 5.9gr than 5.8. It gives greater average accuracy and allows the powder dispenser to get rid of any oddball charges. After that I check a couple charges whenever I stop to add primers. I used to check my 550 every 10-20 rounds when I first started reloading. Since then I've come to trust the machine a little more and check less often as a result.

 

[owenbright]

Ares45, are you saying that you are dumping powder out of 10 charged shells in your example?

 

[WayneConrad]

Ares45 is using a cool trick for figuring the average weight. He's dumping 10 charges into the pan (not into cases) all at once, and then weighing the pan and dividing by 10. Instant average.

 

[1911user]

Once a powder measure is carefully set to throw the correct weight, I might check once after 50 rounds or so. After that, I'd check once at the beginning of each reloading session just to verify nothing has changed. I'd buy a different powder measure if it truly needed to be checked every 20-25 rounds. I've used both Dillon and Hornady adjustable measures with no problems.