Inconsitant Measuring ie, powder, bullets ect.

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Delta608

Delta608

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As I am a new reloader and may be taking this to extremes by being anal....I tinkered and tinkered with my Dillon to get 4.7 grains of powder....Test it about five times then start reloading...Pull out a cartride (9mm) off the shell plate dump the powder on a (Dillon Digital Terminator) scale and it reads 4.6 or 4.8...Fiddle some more get it to 4.7...OK then I get the bright idea to weigh the finished product...MISTAKE...practically no two rounds are the same 181.1 or 183 or 180.4....Then for sh*ts and giggles I weigh the bullets (115 Grain FMJ RN) hell they are not even constastant, either is the brass...No wonder the finished products are not the same as the one before..Hell, should I have gone for a single press if I am going to worry about these wieghts or is the amounts to minute as not to worry about it...:confused: :confused:
 
Are the high powder variations still below the maximum recommended for that bullet weight? If they are ,no problem. If you were loading .44 magnum right on the edge of the limit recommended for that bullet weight, then you should be measuring each individual powder load. The 9mm is not a real serious bullseye cartridge but you will get acceptably accurate loads with .1 or .2 grain differences in bullet weight or powder weight. Full metal jacket commercial bullets are usually quite close in weight, lead bullets vary but they still make accurate cartridges. I don't think your being anal , you have the right attitude,( it didn't seem right ,I'll ask someone), but you also have a very accurate powder scale which makes things look way out of line.. Now a hint about the INTERNET, don't just take one persons opinion , it may be wrong. Check out the other posts that will appear and then make your decision as who to believe. My rational is , if it is between the starting load and the maximum load it will be safe, but very large differences can make accuracy go all to hell, small differences are usually not that noticeable.
 
Most of the time I weigh powder charges individually because I don't like the inconsistency of powder measures. I never bother weighing bullets or loaded cartridges.
 
I'm no wizard or anything, I've been reloading for about 3-4 years.

But my impression of digital powder scales is... hit or miss. I have an RCBS one, and I check its accuracy against a balance scale every now and then just to soothe me. It is occasionally off by .1 or .2.

The zero can vary greatly, and I think it has to do with how the weight of the platform sets on the sensor, before you put a real load on the scale.

Don't get me wrong, I still use mine a lot. But if I'm being anal, I double check it against my beam balance.

Also: Bullets can and will vary. Mil Surp .308 caliber bullets can vary from 135-ish grains up to 155grains... and be advertised as either 150gr or 147gr. Cases will also vary. Not a lot of variation at 9mm weights, but probably 1-2 grains there. I've seen .308 cases vary 4-5gr between lots from the same manufacturer.

As long as your powder charge is safely below max, you should be fine. A +/- 1.5 gr variation on the finished product of a 9mm round isn't anything to worry about... unless it's the powder.:evil:
 
You should expect some variation in bullet, case, powder weight. The only way you can solve this problem is to shave all the bullets to the lightest one and trim all the cases to the lightest one. The powder diference is easy. Weigh every powder charge and correct any differences. After all this. May I recommend a psychoanalyst friend of mine. He's not cheap, but he can help you.:D

Unless you are striving for compition acuracy. It will not be a problem. Load-em Shoot-em...
 
Air flow can cause erratic readings with a balance scale and it can humidify or dehumidify the powder causing fluctuations that effect consistency. Digital scales can be twitchy at the low end. These are some examples of higher end scales http://www.scalesgalore.com/plab.htm
Good ones start from $463

I don't think it matters that much unless you're at max load.

No, I'm not as ...precice as the previous information would lead you to believe. That comes from a friend who is that ...precise. :what:

But his ammo's consistency was far better than even match factory. He wanted a humidity, temperature and airflow controlled room so he could get near identical rounds. :eek:

The fellow from the movie tremors would be him if you added in a large dose of computer geek as that was his day job. :cool:
 
+/- 0.1 grain in a powder charge from a volumetric measure on a progressive loader is darn good. Probably better than factory loads and better than actually needed for most any use except maybe benchrest rifle.

Bulk FMJs are the cheapest and sorriest jacketed bullets available. If you want more precision in bullet weight (and in bullet balance) get some name brand JHPs.

Hey, cases are punched out by the million. They vary. Match rifle shooters weigh them into close groups and shoot each batch together. Match pistol shooters use the same production lot and don't worry about it otherwise.

9mm hardball is not precision ammunition. You are as the old saying goes, measuring with a micrometer, marking with chalk, and cutting with a chain saw.
 
Most powder measures will throw a charge +/- .1 of a grain and what someone said in an earlier thread as long as you're not at a max load there's nothing to worry about.
As far as bullets there is going to be some variation because of the differences in the materials used to make them. Its almost impossible to manufacture two of the same item exactly alike.
Consider that the different bullet Co. manufacture millions and millions of bullets it would be hard to make a bullet of a specific caliber exactly the same everytime. variation of .1 or.2 gr is no big deal
 
Sounds Good to me...I'm gonna do some cranking tonight !!! Thanks guys !!:D
 
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ok u guys r scaring me

Holey Canoly. You guys are going way way too too deep for Pistol data are you not????

Throw a consistant charge with a OAL Over All Accepted Length and you should be ok right???

Help a young reloading brother out : )
 
I'm no wizard or anything, I've been reloading for about 3-4 years.

But my impression of digital powder scales is... hit or miss. I have an RCBS one, and I check its accuracy against a balance scale every now and then just to soothe me. It is occasionally off by .1 or .2.

The zero can vary greatly, and I think it has to do with how the weight of the platform sets on the sensor, before you put a real load on the scale.

Don't get me wrong, I still use mine a lot. But if I'm being anal, I double check it against my beam balance.

Uh huh, so just how accurate is the beam ballance? Unless you have some way to precisely calibrate that beam ballance, you are not checking anything. Get and use some check weights,(no not the calibration weights that come with the digital scale), like these;http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=612694
Use of the check weights THAT ARE KEPT CLEAN will tell you more than checking against another scale.

As for the minute powder variations you are seeing, don't worry about it! That ammo will shoot just fine, probably better than factory fosser.
 
As already said, component weights vary in all directions. The manufactures have a +/- tolerance they stay within, but how much is allowed also varies by maker. The stick & flake type powders also can be a pain with powder measures. They don`t drop uniformly like ball and charge weights will show this. I would check my scale for calibration, make sure there are no drafts, cell phones, ect near the scale and accept the fact you are going to see a little variation in charge. (most should stay within 0.2 gr +/-) Weigh every few charges to insure the scale is still working properly and forget the total weight of your ammo, it will drive you nuts trying to compare.
 
lights

What about incadandecent (SP) lights? could those also mess with an electronic scale? Just curious
 
My chrono taught me about powder measures

I use Lyman measures (two on my bench). I trickle all rifle loads, throw all revolver loads. I wondered how much powder weight variations made in velocity. I used Blue Dot (notorious for varying weights in my measures) in .357 158 SWC. I trickled to exact, then used as thrown +- 0.3 gr on 10 gr loads. I could not find a difference with my chrono -- except that powder placement in the case made a huge difference -- totaly swamping in error in charge weight. I typically see a 100 fps difference between muzzle up before firing and muzzle down using 10 gr Blue Dot. With 6 gr Bullseye about 10 to 15 fps difference. Therefore, I use as thrown weights, and use Bullseye unless there's a real good reason to use something different. I also found Lil'Gun, W296, H4227, 2400, HP-38, HS6, AA#7 loads to vary by about 100 fps. Unique, PB, Titegroup around 50 fps. Bullseye and 700X less than 20 fps difference muzzle up/down. Pretty much same story in .45 Colt. I currently don't have any autos. Those small cases may make less difference, but I'll have to prove it before I bank on it.

I find filling the case with Cream of Wheat to fill the volume between powder and bullet to be a big help in consistentcy and absolutly eliminates leading. I even load some just to scrub lead out if I'm shooting loads that do lead.
 
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I agree weighing pistol rounds at least can drive you nuts, it was either Lee or Lyman manual that suggested weighing finished rounds to determine if one was missing powder. That may work for rifle but for 9mm sometimes Winchester brass weight varies by half or more of the powder charge.
 
Highlander - My PACT AC electric scale goes nuts when the powered case feeder on the Dillon kicks in. So they are not immune to all electrical interference. Would it if it were battery powered or if I had another 110 circuit in reach? I dunno, but I can't weigh stuff while that casefeeder is running.
 
My pact/RCBS can get scrambled when I'm using a drill motor to trim/chamfer cases with the lee system. It must be the spark signal generated by the ac/dc type of comutator motor they use. I suspect the dillon case feeder has the same type of motor.
 
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