DukeConnor
Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2016
- Messages
- 1,126
if i want accurate powder charges, i throw a charge (usually .5 less than desired charge) and use a trickler to "trickle" up to my final charge.
Good tip! You will also find as the drum wears in, you will need to tighten it up a bit. My drums are pretty well tightened up all the way now, but were definitely not that way when I started each one.D.B. Cooper, when I switched to the Auto Drum I had a few issues on trading out drums.
Before you buy another one, and with no powder in the unit, make sure that the drum cavity is returning to the same place every time it's activated. You don't want to over tighten the drum screw. With the powder reservoir removed, look down from the top and activate the drum with a case in the shell holder, just like if you were dropping powder. Keep doing it and watching to make sure that the cavity returns to the same spot every time. Sometimes the drum screw is tightened too much and the cavity doesn't' return consistently. I've seen that happen when people tighten the screw too much to avoid powder leaks.
Dave
Good tip! You will also find as the drum wears in, you will need to tighten it up a bit. My drums are pretty well tightened up all the way now, but were definitely not that way when I started each one.
No wear at all on any of my drums near the cavity. They seem just like new.I've spent most of my time reloading 9 mm. Around 10K rounds thru that drum, and very little thru .380 Auto and .45 ACP drums, 1K each. On your well used drums have you seen any wear around the cavity of the drum? I haven't on my 9 mm.
No wear at all on any of my drums near the cavity. They seem just like new.
Probably 15-20K through my 9mm drum, 8-10k through my .45acp drum. Others somewhat less.
The baffle you posted sure won't hurt, but the powders I use in the AutoDrum just don't need it. I did always use a homemade baffle with my AutoDisk measures... seemed to help them.
Yup this^Shooting is mostly mental, if you don’t trust your ammunition it can be a major distraction and have a definite impact on your scores.
What powder do you use? Is there a powder that you could use that meters better with your equipment?
What powder do you use? Is there a powder that you could use that meters better with your equipment?
You can just use a dryer sheet instead of a spray
The battery operated marital Aid works great I posted a picture I believe here showing it taped to the side of my hopper on my auto drum but apparently it was too risque and was deleted and I was told this isn't a porn site or something along those lines. Anyway, it does work well. Keeping it above half full as often as possible helps some hard to measure powders get more consistent although some just not going to throw the same every time no matter what with some powders although I can usually get to .1gr variation. I notice if something happens where for some reason I don't use the charge I just dropped, say for instance if it wasn't the charge I wanted and I'm going to dump it back in the hopper, just dropping another charge will definitely be smaller with some powders. Since you didn't go through the cycle of spinning the turret as well as pushing a case up into the different dies before returning back to the autodrum spot on the turret,which all creates vibration and makes more powder able to pack into the autodrum. It's to the point now where if I don't use a charge for some reason I will cycle the handle and go through the hole turret just not pushing case up into the dies and then drop another load of powder. But not too often do I pull a charge out and check it and it be so far off that I have to dump it back in the hopper and drop again so its not a big deal.I get erratic powder throws with the lee auto drum when the hopper gets less than 1/3 full, but usually not as big of a swing as you're getting...maybe 2/10ths either way. That's with Titegroup. Also I have to drop about 5-10 throws when I start to get it settled in. Seems to help giving the hopper a tap or two before dropping. I'm considering purchasing a small, ahem..., battery operated marital aid, to tape to the hopper to provide some settling action...not sure if that's a good idea though
What do I have to do to be a successful reloader?
What do I have to buy?
How much do I have to spend?
What is the answer to this problem?
^^^^This^^^^For something meters great try AA#2, slower than Clays but faster than Unique
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=184
It meters about as well as any powder I have used.
I see what you mean by "smalll logs." That stuff is fat. Not like 4895 at all.Clays is a large disk, so probably does not meter well.
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=84
For something meters great try AA#2, slower than Clays but faster than Unique (data is available for .44 Special)
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=184
It meters about as well as any powder I have used.
Alliant Sport Pistol is a little slower than Clays but close and also meters very well for me.
W244 or HP38/W231 might be an option as well, maybe Titegroup.
Pictures are not a sure way to tell how something will meter, but the odds are the closer it is to cornflakes or small logs the worse it will meter.
Cornflakes
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=103
Logs
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=74