I was wondering what you Handloaders use to throw powder.

[JohnhenrySTL]

Hi all,

I started off with the scale technique. Ofcourse, I believe this to be the most safe and reliable,it however is time consuming. After now having two single stage press operating as I am developing my loads, I use a Lee Auto-Disc. I have had decent results with it, I have used only W-231 and bullsye. The problem I have had with it is a growing concern after having a squib load and two FTFs while shooting my sig P229 chambered in .40S&W the other day. Of the three or four thousand pistol loads I have worked up, all problems I have had with my reloads involved the 80 rds I made last week. I think the loads lacked powder.

The most obvious thing for me to do is slightly work up my charge. However, my Auto Disc thrower only gives me the option to way up it. Meaning, the next bigger whole is too much charge. I know this because I started off with that load. Using 175gr SWC lead loads gummed up my barrel so quickly it scared me. The auto disc gives me consistancy of plus or minus .1 grains in nine out of ten loads. In that one out of ten loads it can be a full half grain off. This keeps me up at night, and is likely the cause of last weeks problems. For what its worth I check every seventh charge with my scale. I clean my disc with soap and water, it does help. Any time effective set up that would work for me, I will consider. Thank you all.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Thanks for asking our advice.

Take a disk you don't use (with holes smaller than the one you are using) and ream out one of the cavities a little at a time until it drops the amount you want.

Mark OBVIOUSLY as modified.

Or, get an adjustable charge bar (about $10.00)

Lost Sheep

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

Thank you Lost Sheep, how would you ream it out? And where would I find a charge bar?

 

[raddiver]

I have to say, ive done the beam scale, ive done the cheapo electronic scale, ive done the dippers, etc.

about a year or two ago, I broke down and bought the RCBS chargemaster combo. While it did sting my wallet alot at the time, after the first 10 rounds, i was convinced i made the right decision.
Whether im loading pistol or rifle, it doesnt let me down. The only modification i made was to stick a snipped off portion of a mcdonalds straw into the discharge tube to help it flow a bit more reliably.
It consistantly throws within .1 when checked against the beam.
And the time savings alone has made it worth it. Ease of dispensing a charge, charge memory to recall my favorite loads, etc.
Again, cant say enough good things about it.

The only downside.. I called RCBS because it was displaying a load cell issue shortly after i got it. Their support on this unit was not the typical "Wow" response ive gotten from them on dies or other metallic parts. They told me that because this was produced overseas, and it was electronic, therefore they were limited it what the could do for me without charging me.

I cant see me going back to a powder throw unless im forced to (I.E. my progressive).

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

raddiver,

As you maybe know, the autodisc happens at the same time of the second stage. Therefore, virtually no time is added. How much time is added to each round while using the chargemaster? Thanks in advance.

 

[raddiver]

I was referring to the time saved VS hand measuring each charge.
The chargemaster, as much as i like it, cannot compete with a throw when it comes to speed. But i believe its a good compromise between the two (speed and accuracy).
On a typical handgun load, 9mm, 45 etc. It throws a charge in about 10-15 seconds.
For a rifle it's 15-20.
For me the time/convenience is just being able to press 1 button, and do other things while the load is being measured out. Whether its re-inspecting the case/primer, grabbing a bullet, fixing a case mouth that needs some more loving on the debur, etc.

Now, As far as actual throws, I use a hornady LNL and lyman #55. Between the 2 out of the box no additions, i prefer the Lyman. The hornady required that i buy the pistol rotor and micrometer insert to meet my OCD needs.

 

[ArtP]

Raddiver, I have a chargemaster too. I bought it primarily for rifle loading with stick powders which it processes very well.

When using ball or flake pistol powder it's very slow and seems to have trouble. It's so slow I went back to charging pistol rounds with a thrower. I wish it had a setting to change it's aggressiveness depending on the powder shape. I'd take a guess it takes a whole minute to throw a 6 grain pistol charge.

Are you really happy with how it meters pistol powder for you?

 

[Fire_Moose]

I love my auto disk. Never had a problem like you describe (minus the seemingly large steps in charge holes.)

You can ream out a smaller hole using a slightly larger drill bit...by hand I'd recommend...after I tried this, I took a pencil and rubbed the lead(graphite) inside the hole and rolled the wooded part, hard, all around it, then added more graphite. Got it nice and smooth.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I use a Pro Auto-Disk for all my handgun ammo. Along with the above suggestion of using a adjustable charge bar you can also buy a Double Disk kit. Wile most think the double disk is for throwing large charge weights it is actually more useful in throwing and infinite number of different lower weights too. I use a Lyman #55 for my charging rifle ammo cases.

I bought the Adjustable Charge Bar, the Double Disk Kit and the Lee Micro-Disk when it was still being made. I found them all to be a great addition to the Pro Auto-Disk.

BTW, you can still find the micro-disk online from a few different stores, just do a search if you want one.

 

[under_dawg]

I know how you feel. I have been using the LCT with the Auto-Disk-Pro for a few years now. After about 6 months or so, I bought the double disk system for more variation, all the time learning that rhythm and consistancy of operation are as important and disk size. I can have my set up metering what I want, and my son can operate the press and the weight thrown will be slightly different. I learned to kind of give an extra bump on the down stroke of the press when dispensing powder to jar any powder hanging on the ledge loose to fall in the case. I also learned anytime you you get out of sequence and your case doesn't go around the getting the same rythem and bumps as usual, the powder is probably not going to measure what you want, so dump the powder and start back at the resizing die and let the process begin from scratch. Also, make sure you keep about the same amount of powder in your hopper. I start out with a full hopper to set up the weight I want, I refill when I've used about 1/4th of the hopper. About 2 years ago I bought an adjustable charge bar and never looked back! I don't know why I waited so long but I love them and have since bought one for each set of dies that stay in turret for each caliber. I'm no expert, but I hope some of these things will help.

 

[raddiver]

art,

Are you really happy with how it meters pistol powder for you?

I am. But the only pistol powder i have used to date is flake. I haven't tried a ball powder with it yet.
I just bought some ball due to lack of availability of BE.

You have me curious about that now. So i will try some tonight when i get home.

It may aslo be of note that you can adjust the throw settings. I haven't had a need to however.
http://www.accurateshooter.com/gear-reviews/speed-up-your-rcbs-chargemaster/

 

[FROGO207]

I have tried a bunch of different methods myself over the last 30 years or so. I use scoops or my Ideal #55 mostly these days. I like the way you can adjust the 55 to take into account what type of propellant you have and then it become very consistent with a little experimentation. FWIW I relegated my expensive electronic scale to weighing bullets/brass when I sort them and nothing else.

 

[Rule3]

I use the Lee Pro Auto Disc for many calibers and many powders. There is absolutely no reason to "wash" them. They get a fine coating of graphite from the powder. The variance in powder drop is usually due to the type of powder. Flake or stick will of course vary more. Bullseye and HP 38 work very well. With HP38/W231 you have a wide range.

True you are limited to what each disc hole will throw but you can usually find one that is within the powder range. I never found the need to alter one of the holes and also have the powder bar which I do not use.

If you want 4.3 grains of powder and the disc throws 4.5 well then you need a dedicated powder measure. Even then you will probably have to trickle.

 

[Walkalong]

Take a disk you don't use (with holes smaller than the one you are using) and ream out one of the cavities a little at a time until it drops the amount you want.

Mark OBVIOUSLY as modified.

I used to use a Hornady pistol measure with brass inserts, and I would do just exactly this. I set it up to drop automatically on my old Projector. I wish I had pictures of it in action. It worked great, but I eventually replaced it with a Redding 10X, so I had an infinite adjustment at the turn of a dial.

 

[joecil]

I use the Lee Pro disk kits on my pistol rounds and the Lee Perfect Powder measure for my 45-70 loads mounted in the powder through die. The Lee Pro disk works great with most powders however it doesn't work well with stick powders hence the Lee PPM. When I want a precise load I get it close using the disk and use a Powder trickler to get it dead on. It is slow and only use for a few serious target loads. Some powders such as Bullseye just don't meter well as all but do find HP-38 is excellent. I gave up on light loads with Bullseye all together and found some cleaner powder that meter good to replace it.

I also have and use the Micro meter, Micro Disk as well as double or even triple disk setups depending on amount needed and how precise I need it.

 

[Rule3]

Buy a set of double discs (they are the same as the discs that come with the measure)

Find a disc that dispenses just over what you want. Now drill a small hole in the side of the dic and screw in a sheet metal screw. You can turn it in or out to vary how much area is displaced inside the disc hole.

No, I have not done it as I am happy with whatever they dump out, but I did read it somewhere on the internet so it must work and I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express

 

[jcwit]

Where to get extra disks? Here you go.

https://fsreloading.com/parts.php?product=90578

How would you ream it out?

They're plastic, drill bit, reamer, small thin knife, not really difficult.

 

[jstein650]

When I got into reloading I just couldn't bring myself to pay for the top dollar adjustable measures (RCBS, Hornady), so I got a Lee Perfect Powder Measure. It is plastic, but it's been really pretty decent over the many years I've used it. It seems to handle extruded powders fine, especially the smaller granule ones. Actually about the only powder I've had some trouble with is H110 (very fine spherical) which wants to bind in the drum, which is funny since something like AA2520 looks almost identical, but flows perfectly. Anyway, I can live with that. Midway has them for $20 at the moment.

 

[greyling22]

this is an excerpt from the lee book about the autodisk. 7% isn't much. But, whatever, large flakes can tend to bridge over the disk hole and not drop uniformly. a ball powder works better. (but not tiny ball powders like acc #5, they leak out all over the place) Also, you said you had to FTF's. that's a primer issue, not powder.

But regarding your question, you can wallow out a small hole with a drill or a dremel tool. I have also seen folks put a dab of epoxy in the next larger hole that they can sand down or chip out if they want to reverse the process. I've never cared much for the adjustable charge bar.

and moving on to a separate issue altogether, have you slugged your bore? Are you running the right size bullet? I ask because in my experience a small powder bump shouldn't be the difference between "fine" and "leads like crazy"

 

[zxcvbob]

I have several different powder measures, but I'm thinking of making dippers for my favorite loads so when I want to load just one box of them I don't have to adjust the powder measure (which may already be set up for something else.) Take a 9mm or .380 case, attach a wire handle, trim it to length to dip the amount of powder you want.

 

[Rule3]

Where to get extra disks? Here you go.

https://fsreloading.com/parts.php?product=90578

How would you ream it out?

They're plastic, drill bit, reamer, small thin knife, not really difficult.

Buy the double disc kit. It's cheaper then buying from Lees outlet and you can do more with it. The disc are the same.All it is. is the discs, longer screws and two spacers. You can make any combination you want. I do not think it is worth the trouble but some folks like it.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/870920/lee-auto-disk-powder-measure-double-disk-kit

 

[Welding Rod]

I use a Redding BR powder measure for rifle. I load pistol on a Dillon Square Deal.

 

[Fire_Moose]

A side note about reaming out the holes. Start from the bottom and go slow. Its kinda annoying trying it over and over but yous gots to.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat

 

[rcmodel]

I have two Lyman #55's and an old Herter rifle powder measure.

The Herters has been left set on my standard .223 load of 26.3 grains W-748 for going on 40 years.

One of the Lyman 55's is usually left set of 6.0 Unique I use in several calibers.

The other one is used for other pistol powder loads and set accordingly.

I have a RCBS beam scale, and a Pact digital.

I use the Pact and double check it with the beam scale.

I sometimes use homemade dippers (.22 & .25 ACP cases with copper wire handles soldered on) for light .38 Spl I charge in bulk on the kitchen table before retiring to the basement to seat bullets.

rc

 

[carbuncle]

I use the Lee Auto Disk, just ordered the adjustable charge bar for added versatility. I'm happy with it overall, I check it against beam and a Franklin Arsenal electronic scale interchangeably.