Measuring light loads for 380

[Claus]

Hello -

My first post, thank you all for the huge amount I've learned reading this forum so far. I'm loading 100gr Berry's plated RN with Bullseye.

I have a Lee pro 1000 with the auto disk powder measure. Since it bottoms out at ~2.8 gr of Bullseye I'm looking for a way to load lighter (2.1-2.5...) loads. Should I :
1) get the new Lee auto drum? How effective is that for these loads? Kinda don't want to spend for this option.
2) modify my smallest disk with the brass-machine-screw method ? Looks straightforward, simple. I'd likely mess up something along the way.
3) buy the Titan reloading version (Micro charge) of the discontinued Lee mini disk? Given that it's almost half the cost of option 1, is it worth it?
4) Lee adjustable charge bar. I'm not certain this is able to load light enough. What about the 'pre fill part of the gap' mod? Anyone had success with that to throw lighter loads?

Thanks, I appreciate any and all input. (Sorry, don't need the 'dump the Lee' advice - not an option for my budget)

--Claus

 

[Schwing]

My #1 recommendation would be to go for the auto drum. It just works for smaller chargers.

My second recommendation would be to get the adjustable charge bar. It works very well for bullseye. It isn't as accurate as the auto drum but it does pretty well.

Another solution I found before going for the autodrum was to fill one of the disk holes with JB weld. Sand it down once it cures so it is flat and even and drill a small hole through the disk. Test a few loads with the hole and enlarge it a little bit at a time until you hit your desired charge. It isn't as much work as it sounds and does work.

 

[David4516]

I would try the Auto Drum. I'm thinking about getting one myself. Another option (which might not save much, if any, money vs the drum) is to get the basic Lee "perfect" powder measure, and get an adapter for it:

http://store.gun-guides.com/The-Perfect-Handgun-Adapter-for-LEE-Perfect-Powder-Measures_p_41.html

I have used this same setup (on Lee turret press) and it works pretty well. My only real complaint is that the PPM likes to "leak" powder. Also this is not "case activated" so you have to manually operate the measure.

Depending on what pistol you have, you might not want to go light with the .380 anyway. My wife's Glock 42 for example only like's full power loads. I've been using the 100gr berry's bullet (flat base version) with 3.2gr of Bullseye or 3.0gr of 700-X, both of these loads are pretty warm for a .380 though...

On the other hand my .380 Makarov eats anything I feed it, light loads, no problem...

 

[Sunray]

"...bottoms out at ~2.8 gr of Bullseye..." It made for .38 Special? Buy a scale.

 

[mdi]

While a bit slower, i "dip and trickle" wee loads...

 

[Rule3]

The charge bar will do what you want with Bullsye, not so good with other flake powders. So it is limited

For $35 buy the new Lee auto drum. I tested it down to 2.0 gr of BE.

It is worth it in the long run as it will dispense any powder you control how much and can do large amounts sat for rifle. Small price to pay for a powder measure,

http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-autodrum-powder-measure

 

[Mad Chemist]

Let me start by stating that I load quite a bit of .380acp and 9x19mm and I have owned different pieces of Lee equipment, including the PAD and chargebar, for a long time. Bullseye is one of my go-to powders for .380acp.

The charge bar is not reliable enough at low charge weights. How low you can go depends on the density of the powder. My charge bar displays significant variation when I get below 3.0gr of Bullseye. Anything below that and I start to get regular variation of +/- .15gr. This means that I can see variation between charges of up to .3gr when loading charges with Bullseye that are < 3gr.

For bulkier powders, the min charge that can be precisely measured is much higher. The only task I regularly use the charge bar for anymore is charging my .357 loads with LIl Gun or H110. It works fine for this.

For small loads in .380 (or any tiny loads for that matter) I use the drilled out disk method. I used a stainless screw because I didn't have a brass one laying around. I used a very fat screw with fine threads. The head of the screw is just slightly thinner than the width of the disk. This provides extra leverage when adjusting it. It works very well. Charge weights are repeatable and display very little fluctuation (+/-.03 or less).

I ordered an Autodrum measure but the mod still works great. The PAD will go over to my turret and the Autodrum will live on top of my Loadmaster. If you mod one of your disks, you may want to order a replacement set. They are very inexpensive.

 

[Hondo 60]

A modified charge bar would work.
It consistently drops 2.2 gr of Titegroup or 2.5 gr of Universal.

A member here modified one for me.

 

[Dudedog]

BDS
had a mod where he drilled a hole in the side of the disk and inserted a machine screw to adjust the charge. As I recall it seemed to work well for him.
The mod is here someplace. I will add a link when I find it.

 

[NainCain]

I set out to make my own discs. Here is the first prototype hot off the press. I drew it up with only two holes for simplicity. Can be drilled out to meet any need from .175" up to maybe .5".

 

[spencerhut]

I've done down to 1.6g of Titegroup with and RCBS Quickchange powder measure on my Pro2000. No issues with the light charge being difficult to maintain.

 

[Claus]

Thank you everyone for some very useful replies. It seems like there are several ways to skin this cat.

As for me, I went with adding a machine screw to the existing disk to shrink the cavity. It works ok, but I get a little variation in the charges (+/- .1gr) with a few off by about .2gr. Could be my scale. Or maybe some powder piling up on top of the screw and dropping intermittently. I'll probably try adding a taper/polish to the screw end to remove the threads.

Thanks again,
--Claus

 

[.452]

Hello -

My first post, thank you all for the huge amount I've learned reading this forum so far. I'm loading 100gr Berry's plated RN with Bullseye.

I have a Lee pro 1000 with the auto disk powder measure. Since it bottoms out at ~2.8 gr of Bullseye I'm looking for a way to load lighter (2.1-2.5...) loads. Should I :
1) get the new Lee auto drum? How effective is that for these loads? Kinda don't want to spend for this option.
2) modify my smallest disk with the brass-machine-screw method ? Looks straightforward, simple. I'd likely mess up something along the way.
3) buy the Titan reloading version (Micro charge) of the discontinued Lee mini disk? Given that it's almost half the cost of option 1, is it worth it?
4) Lee adjustable charge bar. I'm not certain this is able to load light enough. What about the 'pre fill part of the gap' mod? Anyone had success with that to throw lighter loads?

Thanks, I appreciate any and all input. (Sorry, don't need the 'dump the Lee' advice - not an option for my budget)

--Claus

Are you loading them in huge quantities? If not the old fashioned dippers will get the job done just fine.

Some folks might say "SLOW" but I say "THOUGHTFUL, DELIBERATE".

 

[LiveLife]

Measuring light loads for 380 ... Lee pro 1000 with the auto disk powder measure. Since it bottoms out at ~2.8 gr of Bullseye I'm looking for a way to load lighter (2.1-2.5) loads ...

I went with adding a machine screw to the existing disk to shrink the cavity. It works ok, but I get a little variation in the charges (+/- .1gr) with a few off by about .2gr. Could be my scale. Or maybe some powder piling up on top of the screw and dropping intermittently. I'll probably try adding a taper/polish to the screw end to remove the threads.

In the "Working DIY Micro Auto Disk" thread, brass screw tips were tested unmodified, domed and coned/polished (see above picture) but Bullseye metered/flowed well enough to slide off the threads to provide consistent powder drops (within .1 gr variance) down to 1.5 gr. There was some powder accumulation on top of the threads but it was consistent and didn't see powder bridging to affect powder drop consistency. This level of consistency below 2.0 gr powder charge is as good as you are likely to get from other powder measures - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9318360#post9318360

I think the variation you are seeing could be the scale or the stacking of variance of scale and the variance from powder drop. To verify accuracy/consistency of scale to .1 grain, check weights should be used but if you don't have check weights, cut a clean sheet of 20 lb copy paper into 1/4"x1/4" pieces and using tweezers (to prevent contamination) place the piece of paper on the scale to see if it is detected (you can place a glass bowl over the scale to block out the affects of air movement or close door/air vents). Two pieces of paper should weigh around .1 gr and if your scale cannot consistently detect and weigh .1 gr repeatedly, you may not have a scale that is accurate to .1 gr - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9596742#post9596742

With some powders like Titegroup, which has crinkled textured surface instead of smoother surface like W231/HP-38/WSF/AutoComp (see comparison picture above), granules locked together and inconsistently accumulated on top of the threads and/or bridged instead of flowing and using rounded/polished tip allowed Titegroup to meter consistently down to 2.5 gr.

As comparison pictures below show, rounding and polishing the tip did not significantly improve the performance of this mod as the tip needed to be screwed in more to make up the volume inside the disk hole and this increased the issue of powder accumulation on top of the tip and/or bridging. With small granule powders like Bullseye/BE-86/Power Pistol/W231/HP-38/WSF/AutoComp etc., I do not think modification of the tip is necessary to meter above 2.0 gr powder charges.