Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Dillion 650 powder drop not consistent?


nutzach

Recommended Posts

Looking for any comments or suggestions regarding the powder drop on the Dillion 650.  I was just recently able to chrono my .40 reloads and not only noticed I was only making an average of 161 PF, but that my deviations were around 40-50 ft/sec.  I had a few rounds make major and several more that did not.  My concern is the deviations.  My powder drop seems to drop a fairly consistent charge, however I have noticed a fluctuation in the powder safety measure thats only there to show an under/over charge situation.  That little notch seems to occasionally move on some charges ever so slightly.  By that I mean, not all powder charges seem to be consistent with that safety bar that goes into the filled case.  If i weigh every one the deviation in gr seems to be only by .1gr occasionally.  

 

I've polished the powder bar and cleaned the funnel a few times which hasn't made any noticeable difference.  

 

I won't post my load data (per the rules), however it is the most common load for 180gr .40 using N320.  I'm struggling to make major and consistent deviations right now.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

0.1 grain deviation in N320 is normal due to its larger granules. I load in 550 and deviate +/-0.1 gr. Powders with finer grains are most consisten eg. 3n37 for open guns. If you want to be sure you are always in maj. pf load it to have an allowance of +5 pf above minimum. W/ or w/o such deviation such allowance is normal to me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do your test again shooting the same headstamp brass. Also, what was the standard deviation of the measured velocities? Single digit is good...

 

I have always found N320 to be very consistent in .40 at major PFs. My Dillon holds 0.1 gr. What bullet are you using?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The powder check is not a reliable indicator of exact charge weights. The indicator will vary based on the position of the powder in the case. It's just for indicating a severe over, or under charged case.

As far as velocity deviation, I've found that most has to due with using mixed brands of brass. I did an experiment once, seperating all the brands of brass, and running each brand over the chrono. There was a major difference in recorded velocities between various brands. Falling within the range of about 40 fps difference. And of course, within each individual brand of brass used, the velocities were much more consistent.

Edited by Postal Bob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Postal bob hit the nail on the head.  Different brands of brass have different internal volumes.  This will make your powder check move some.  Some brass has thicker web.  Some have an internal step.  Some has more springback some less.  You cant do any real comparisons with mixed brass.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I appreciate all the responses!  I have some starline brass I’ll load up and test for consistency.  

 

Didnt realize each individual case with different head stamps could vary so much.  Thought for sure it had to be something a bit more complicated.  I recently started depriming, resizing, and wet tumbling hoping for more consistency in deviations.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ChuckS said:

Do your test again shooting the same headstamp brass. Also, what was the standard deviation of the measured velocities? Single digit is good...

 

I have always found N320 to be very consistent in .40 at major PFs. My Dillon holds 0.1 gr. What bullet are you using?

 

Currently using Berry’s 180gr FPRS.  That’s what I chrono’d with.  

 

My limited gun is a CZ CTS .40 from CZ Custom.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW, I'm new to reloading with the 650 as well.  I had the same issue initially.  Based on some forum advice here and elsewhere, I started doing  this process every time before loading, even if I didn't make a powder charge change.  10-15 powder drops, then another 5 drops for weight verification, then I start the reloading process.  My SD went from 40-50 down to single digits consistently.  I think it's a combination of developing  a smooth stroke and having the powder settle in.  

 

I typically load 100, gauge all, check OAL,  then load another 100.  I'll check 2-3 rounds per 100 for powder charge weight consistency.  It's helped dramatically.  Also, as noted before brass consistency can make a big difference.  I look for 170 PF chrono to make sure I'm good

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Mike.  I've done my best job with making the stroke as smooth and consistent as possible.  Recently, I started weighing 10 charges into one pan and dividing by 10 to get good average for the load.  I'm going to load up 100 with starline brass and 100 from mixed once fired brass.  Hopefully that will give me a good indication of how much the brass plays a role in deviations.  

 

I'm also going to give a pound Prima V a shot here soon.  I've been using nothing but N320 for the last 8lbs.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my testing of the various brands of brass in m 40 s&w loads, I found Winchester brass to give significantly higher velocities than other brass. Can't remember which gave the lowest. But whenever I go to a big match with a chrono stage, I always make sure the Winchester brass makes it to the chrono stage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites




 
I'm also going to give a pound Prima V a shot here soon.  I've been using nothing but N320 for the last 8lbs.  


I get very consistent powder drops with prima v on my 650 loading 9mm. Every time I've chrono'd my ammo it's always single digit sd and low teens es.

I would imagine that it should work similarly well in 40.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

0.1 gr. variation out of the Dillon Powder Drop seems pretty common to me as well. Some powders are better than others at metering obviously, and with powders like Titegroup, I can see SDs of 30-40 quite frequently (drives me nuts). With WST, I see single-digit SDs. I have not used N320 in quite some time (hard to find around here, and I hate to pay Hazmat), but I just ordered some from my local shop to try out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:09 AM, SGC said:


 

 

 


I get very consistent powder drops with prima v on my 650 loading 9mm. Every time I've chrono'd my ammo it's always single digit sd and low teens es.

I would imagine that it should work similarly well in 40.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 

 

I've been happy with my 650 powder drops also. Both in general and Prima V has been very good as well.

 

In fact I just did a Prima V drop test where I weighed about every 10th round out of about a 100 rounds for a total of 10 weights.

 

The last time I chrono'd this Prima V load (Blue Bullets 147 RN) I had an extreme spread of 21 with an SD of 5. (16 shots)

 

Note: I do sort headstamps. This run used CBC brass.

 

1. 3.26

2. 3.30

3. 3.24

4 3.24

5 3.24

6 3.26

7 3.30

8 3.28

9 3.26

10 3.24

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...