Are “pencil powders" a no-no in Dillon Machines?

[salemsm]

Whilst I’m waiting for my Dillon 550B press to arrive, I downloaded the Instruction Manual and started reading. On the troubleshooting page, I came across this quote concerning “Erratic powder bar operation”:

Extruded pencil type powders will not flow smoothly through smaller sized powder funnels because of their length.

My first powder choice was Winchester 231 for 38 sp/357 mag loads which is (according to Lyman) a Double base, ball powder.

What are everyone’s experiences with ball/pencil/flake type powders in regards to Dillon machines. What’s good and what should be avoided?

[Koppi]

That is for the longer rifle powders, you may have some problem with VV pistol but, its unlikely.

[ZombieHunter]

I've used all kinds/sizes of extruded powder without an issue in my 650. I use Varget and 8208XBR exclusively in 223/556.

[mlmiller1]

I think ball powders drop more consistently than flake or stick powders.

[Poppa Bear]

Small units do not work with stick powders. So pistol size units will not meter well. Rifle at 20+ grains give the powder room to organize itself into rows. Flake works to smaller units down to maybe 10 grains. Ball and flattened work the best in units below 5 grains.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Poppa Bear

[Toolguy]

I like to tumble my pistol rounds after reloading to get the case lube off and smooth up any burrs around the case mouth.

I have read that this is a bad idea for rifle rounds with stick powder because it breaks the powder down into smaller pieces which then burns faster and creates a much higher pressure which can blow up the rifle.

Just a note of caution for anyone using stick powder.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Toolguy

[Koppi]

I don't know that I would agree with that Warren. The US ships ammo all around the world to fight it's wars. I have never heard of that as a problem. What would you say about VV being shipped hear and used?

[prebancolt]

I like to tumble my pistol rounds after reloading to get the case lube off and smooth up any burrs around the case mouth.

I have read that this is a bad idea for rifle rounds with stick powder because it breaks the powder down into smaller pieces which then burns faster and creates a much higher pressure which can blow up the rifle.

Just a note of caution for anyone using stick powder.

I Heard The Same Thing And On The Surface, It Would Seem To Have Some Merit. BUT, And I Can't Remember Where, Someone On Another Site Decided To See If This Was True, So He Tumbled Some Rifle Rounds Loaded With Stick Powder For A Rediculously Long Time To Simulate Breaking Up The Powder. He Then Shot Tumbled Vs. Nontumbled Loads Over A Chrony And Couldn't Tell A Difference In Velocity Or Pressure Signs. YMMV.

J

[twodownzero]

I do not use any stick powders with my Dillon. I love me some Varget and 4895, but I use my Lyman 1300 for them.

I have tried it in .223 and it bridges a lot. In .308 and 30-06, it works better, but still not consistently enough for me to trust loading progressive on it.

[tunaman]

Stick powders do pose issues, mostly with the bottleneck cases. You have to be sure to be slow and methodical if you do so. Pistol cases don't seem to be affected much and I've had decent results.

[TonyT]

The long grain extruded powders for use in rifles do not meter very uniformly in Dillon measure - for that matter they are not the most uniform metering powders in any measure.

Stick with the ball and flake powders and you will not have any powder measure uniformity issues. The ball powders have a reputation for uniform metering.

In pistol ammo I have used the following powders with my Dillon 550 and obtained excellent uniformity - W-231, WST, WSF, VV N-310, VV N-320, Bullseye, Red Dot, HS-700X, Trail Boss, PB, Power Pistol, SR-7625.

[kevin c]

I get very consistent powder drops using N320 in my Dillon measure. This is for 9mm and 40 S&W pistol cartridges, though.

I tried the powder breakdown experiment in 40 S&W, again using N320. The main effect I saw with overnight tumbling was a bigger SD and a very slight but not consistent increase in velocity. Again, this is with pistol cartridges with charges in the 3 to 5 grain range, so what happens in a rifle cartridge with other stick powders is unknown to me.