Powder on Shell Plate, Lock n Load HELP

[tjd78z]

Ok, I finally got my lock n load up and running. Loaded 1000 rounds of 55gr fmj bt with accurate 2230. My problem is that about every 100 rounds or less I have to take off and clean the shell plate and primer ram off due to the amount of powder dropping from some where. :banghead: I find it hard to believe that it could be from the powder measure, but think that the powder is sticking to my hornady powder cop die stem. Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution for it?

 

[03fatboy]

L-N-L

I use a hornady l-n-l and the powder cop also and have never had that happen,
I always hesitate alittle bit on the top stroke to let the powder make it into the case
It could be static in the powder drop never had that problem, they say to wipe the inside of the hopper with a dryer sheet to get the static out.
I always have a" can of air" on the bench and blow the shell plate off and the primer slide every once in a while.
Hope this helps and im sure someone will have a better answer then me
Good luck
03 fatboy

 

[nojoke]

Check if it's coming from the powder measure.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Is accurate 2230 a stick powder or a fine ball powder? Stick powder can be a pain to clean out/off and can mess up your ability to prime on press. Ball powders don't generally cause much issue if a little spills, except for not looking too clean if it smears.

1. The powder very well could be sticking to the powder cop die. Cleaning it with the One Shot CLEANER AND DRY LUBE, letting it dry, then dipping it in powdered graphite can solve that issue.
2. Your problem could also be what 03fatboy hinted at, you aren't leaving the ram up long enough for the powder to all drop into the casing.
3. If that powder is a stick powder you could also be getting some bridging going on at the case mouth.
4. Your shellplate is indexing with more force than necessary and some powder is getting flung out of the cases.
5. Could be something I haven't experienced yet.

 

[Uncle Richard]

only time I find powder on the shell plate is when a primer fails to feed and get seated in the primer pocket.

Keep a can of compressed air to clean the press area.

 

[DCoke]

I've run into that problem with rifle loads on my LnL (.204 and .308). It happens when your press isn't bolted securely to your bench and you cycle through the lever overly fast. The start/stop of the brass in the shellplate is jerky and causes some power to spill out. This doesn't happen often and I've since alleviated most of the problem by bolting down my press more securely on my sturdier loading bench. Good Luck in your future reloading.

 

[hAkron]

The LnL has a pretty forceful index. When the detents click into the shell plate it can cause powder flakes to jump out of the charged cases.

 

[higgite]

After cleaning up any spilled powder, make one round of ammo at a time and look for spilled powder after each step. That's how I figured out that my powder cop was picking up powder from the case and dropping it on the press AND powder was sloshing out of the case when I indexed my press too vigorously (it's not an LnL).

 

[Walkalong]

Some powder measures leak sometimes with some powders. Check that.

As posted, the shell plate can "click" forcefully into place at times jolting powder out of the case. I stop this by dragging a finger on the shell plate or catching the plate with the new piece of brass before it "clicks" to stop it.

The powder funnel, and the expander if you are expanding and dropping powder together, both need to match the case mouth well. Powder can be escaping there. Check that.

I use home made "funnels" for different calibers. Here are a couple of them.

 

[dickttx]

I don't have the Hornady powder cop die but do use the RCBS Lock-out die. I originally had loose powder on the shell plate. I found that some powder was sticking to the plastic foot of the Lock-out die. I wiped it good with a dryer sheet then tamped it down several times on a small pile of graphite. This took care of the problem. When I change from the small foot to the large foot, or vice versa, I do the graphite again.