Ist reload jitters

[BAT1]

How do I check them to prevent a double charge? I'm making a list of shells by maker and weight, the bullets also have a weight variance, I know the primer weight by maker. Most of my reloads turned up from 277.2 to 280.gr. But some are as high as 287.6. Do you pull them to check? I've got them lined up as to maker and weight and most of them are weighting almost the same as to that group. Just got a new gun, and don't want to mess it and me up.

 

[presspuller]

I was taught by an old Navy man that did not allow for screw ups that while working on the brass thru the steps to ALWAYS have them mouth down in the blocks UNTIL it was picked up to put the powder in. Then and ONLY then could it be placed mouth up into the block. If a case was setting mouth up then it was ready for a bullet.
This way there is never the chance of a double charge as long as one can keep their head out of their anal cavity.

 

[cdrt]

You didn't say what kind of cartridges you were loading. It's extremely difficult to sort out pistol rounds by weight to see if you've double charged since the powder charges are relatively small.

What exactly did you load?

 

[Matt Dillon]

The best way that I know of to prevent a double charge is to first, load your cases by dropping powder, then holding up the loading tray to a strong light, looking down the rows of cartridges, checking them for height variations. I have been able to discern as little as .1 grain by seeing the lower/higher levels in the cartridge.
It is VERY difficult to determine a powder weight AFTER you have seated the bullets, as cases, primers and especially bullets may be very INCONSISTENT in weight.
If you have doubts, I would use a bullet puller or (kinetic hammer), pull the bullets, then weigh the charges individually. Very time consuming, but SAFETY has to be a priority.

 

[RexDart]

The gentleman who taught me seats the bullet immediately the powder charge is in the case. Also reccommeded was the practice of using loads of a density that would fill more than half the case, thus making a double-charge obvious.

 

[Wedge]

When I reload I always turn the case upside down before powder charge and then immediately place and seat a bullet after visually checking the powder charge. This is on a single stage setup.

 

[lee n. field]

The best way that I know of to prevent a double charge is to first, load your cases by dropping powder, then holding up the loading tray to a strong light, looking down the rows of cartridges, checking them for height variations.

Ditto. After you've measured powder visually inspect the full tray of charged cases. Pick a couple at random and weigh the powder charge. All this is before you seat and crimp.

 

[baz]

As a N00b, I feel the pain. I'm pretty sure that I goofed a couple of loads here recently. While I know that all the components can vary enough to make it hard to tell for sure when weighing completed loads, I still do it, and if I have any doubt, I cull the load. You don't say what caliber you are loading, or what the charge weight is. If the 287.6 gr charge is higher than the average "normal load" -- say 279 gr, by an order of magnitude similar to the charge weight, I'd be worried that I doubled the charge, and wouldn't use the round. E.g., if the charge weight is anything close to 7-8 gr, I'd worry that I doubled the charge.

All the advice given about how not to double the charge in the first place is good advice, but if you are new at this, I think it is wise to be weighing your completed loads, and discarding anything you are not certain is right.

 

[Steve C]

The proceedures mentioned by others regarding leaving the cases upside down in the loading block till charged is a good one.

You should do 2 basic quality control checks when loading.

The first is to check the charge weight on every 10th round during charging to make sure your powder measure is throwing the charges within an allowable variation, generally +/- .1 grain.

Then with all the cases charged you should do a visual check of powder levels as Matt Dillon described. Any powder level that looks off should be checked on the scale. Of course any charges that are less or greater than desired should be dumped back into the powder hopper and the case re-charged and checked.

Once you have decided to seat the bullet you should be confident the loads are correctly charged.

 

[taliv]

if you suffer from 1st reload jitters, just wait til you start loading for the 50bmg. talk about demanding respect. fortunately, with 230 grains of powder, a double-charge is out of the question

 

[Shoney]

Weighing the cartridge to see if there is a double charge is an exercise in futility.

WHY????????

Weigh your brass and bullets seperately. Depending on the caliber of bullet and weight, you can get a variance of as many as 5-7 grains plus and minus; and case weights can vary almost as much, again depending on the chambering.

 

[Walkalong]

Shoney is right about the weights. Just SEE each and every charge you put a bullet over. I have an LED light on my press that shines into the case for this purpose.

 

[BAT1]

Thanks

I loaded for .45acp using Tite Group from 4.6 to 5 gr. I used my Lee Classic turrent in manual mode with the funnel to fill each one by hand. I used a Italian scale that is called a Smart Reloader. Replaced batteries first thing and checked it with the Lee perfect powder scale every 20 or so rounds. Took a shell, stuck it in the loader, weighed the load ,dumped it, looked at it in the shell and pressed the bullet. I Pulled [RCBS] the heaviest ones and all were good. I had a lot of different brass from star,wcc,win, win nickel, aguilla nickel, ww86 match,s&b,federal,cci,rp, and speer. They all weighed differently, I'll pull one of each to make a dummy round out of it and weigh the brass. I'll make a list of each maker and the weight. But I'll do a double glance at the powder in the shell in the future. A light is a good idea. They are pulling with two slaps of the RCBS puller. I'll be looking at a real high quality powder scale.

 

[rdhood]

???? If you are using the Lee classic turret, there should be no worries about double charges , as it immediately rotates away from the powder and is ready for the bullet.
For me, I use the auto disc powder measure. I decap and prime ahead of time, but when it comes to assembly, I do the powder/bullet/factory crimp in three pulls. This essentially prevents the possibility of a double charge because a bullet always goes on the directly after the powder is placed in the case.

As for the jittters, I know what you mean. Even when you do things right, you are never sure till you get them to the range and blow off a hundred that you did, in fact, do things right!

 

[Matt Dillon]

I'll be looking at a real high quality powder scale.

I would advise purchasing an Ohaus or RCBS 1010 scale over any of the electronics. This is a very accurate, consistent, and quick scale, which will out last you if you give it just a little care. When you purchase it, also purchase a set of check weights with which to calibrate your scale.

 

[jeepmor]

+1 on using powders that overfill your case on a double charge. I've loaded 45, 9mm, 40 and 10mm thus far in pistol, and 223 in rifle. I've used blue dot, unique and bullseye in the pistols and all charges have spilled over if I doublecharged. I didn't BTW, but I do a double charge once in a while for safety/sanity check to insure I don't have one, and, as stated, they have overfilled the case and resulted in spilled powder.

I have loaded 223 with Varget with the same results. Actually, I cannot even get a max load per Varget specs in a case without it spilling. Which is nice and safe that way.

jeepmor