GrumpyOne Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 The press did not cause the squib, you did, by pulling and checking every 10-20 rounds for charge weight. Let the press do what it is supposed to do, and you do what you're supposed to do. I'll check the powder charge every 20 rounds or so...but I just don't pull, check, and resume...I'll start over at station one after checking the charge. May I ask you exactly how many times the powder charge has been "off" enough to make a difference in all the checks that you've done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelindsey Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I don't do a large amount of reloading. I use .223 .40. .45 .762 and bought about 10k of each just before the big run a couple years ago. I thought I need to get ready incase I have to reload due to cost and demand. Things have pretty much gone back to normal. I know one thing. I really don't like reloading. I have a 650. What is the biggest differences between the 650 and the 1050 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currently Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) Cost of changing calibers is expensive on 1050. Get a second 650 for that kind of money. One for large primer, one for small primer. You already have all the dies and tool heads. Edited September 27, 2014 by Currently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwxmas Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) I don't see it mentioned much, but this is what I do with pistol cases. I try to weigh all my cases and sort them into lots within 2 grains After I load all my ammo, I reweigh every completed round on the scale, if my load is 4 grains of powder, I look for anything that is over or under 3 grains difference If I know what weight I am looking for, it is obvious when something is off by 3-4 grains..They get pulled, and checked. If they are good, I put the powder back in, and run it through the machine again I can go through a hundred rounds in about 5 minutes. You get a feel for it after you do it a few times. Some brass is off by over 7 grains, and when you get them together, it is hard to tell. It can be done though. When I reweigh the loaded rounds, I also put them into groups. Usually the ones that are off by a bunch, will have the same headstamp. I still pull one to doublecheck. Edited September 27, 2014 by bwxmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeyephil Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 RCBS lockout and seat & crimp together will do what you want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I check the powder weight about every 15 rounds or so. I pull the case from station 3, dump the charge into my scale pan, weigh it and put it back into the case if its right, put it back in station 3 and Insert a bullet and continue on. Its hardly ever off more than a tenth either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmt Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I check the powder weight about every 15 rounds or so. I pull the case from station 3, dump the charge into my scale pan, weigh it and put it back into the case if its right, put it back in station 3 and Insert a bullet and continue on. Its hardly ever off more than a tenth either way. Every 15 rounds? I check mine every (7000gr x 8lbs = 56,000gr divided by 4.1gr per round = 13,585) ...every 13000 rounds, give or take a few hundred. But seriously.......I check mine every October, because June through September is way too hot to work in the garage. I shoot about 6K per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I check the powder weight about every 15 rounds or so. I pull the case from station 3, dump the charge into my scale pan, weigh it and put it back into the case if its right, put it back in station 3 and Insert a bullet and continue on. Its hardly ever off more than a tenth either way. That is a squib waiting to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Grumpyone, What is your procedure for checking your powder weight during a run? I haven't had a squib doing it this way and don't see a problem but I'm always learning on this forum thanks to people like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I don't check it at all. I trust my press. 40k -50k rounds loaded, no squibs. Let the press do the work, don't you have enough to worry about with primers, putting brass in the machine, setting bullet heads? Again, I ask the question, if you are checking every 15-20 rounds, and you never have an issue with the weight, then why? If you are having issues with the charge weight so much so that you have to check it that often (or check more than once every thousand rounds),you have an issue with your press/powder measure/powder...correct that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 GrumpyOne, I am nowhere near 50,000 rounds loaded. It sounds like your method works for you and that's what is important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Seriously, everyone who pulls and checks the powder drops every 10-20-50-100 rounds, please chime in, let us know how many times you've had to adjust the drop because something was amiss... I will admit, when I first started reloading, I did the same thing...for about the first 200 rounds...after I saw no difference in charge weight over that amount, I would check every thousand. Now, I check one the first drop if the press has sat for any appreciable length of time, if I even check that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I check every round.............................. of my chrono ammo. Beyond that I'm pretty much with Grump. Weigh the first round and make sure my seating and crimp dies aren't loose at every loading session. I eyeball every case to be sure powder level is around where it should be. Now I'm loading SC with a 115 so it is pretty clear if the case didn't charge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I guess I'm being to picky on checking. What loaders are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Loaders? 550b. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gdub Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 If you don't want to give up on the 550 the RCBS lock out die coupled with a seating and crimp die is the way to go. I have a friend that has 3 550's set up like this and has never had a squib. It's a very simple set up but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sig2009 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 The power check feature is a gimmick to sell you the 650. It works like crap. It's a waste of money. When I reload .223 the center rod gets pushed right out of the assembly by catching on the case mouth.. Spoke with Dillon. They had no answer. Reloading .308 today. With the one I have in the .308 powder check also works like crap. One or 2 cases get checked. Then the next the buzzer goes off. I weigh the powder and it is the correct charge. No matter how I set the rod half the time it works and half the time it doesn't! A waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had my 550 back. Never had so many issues with the 650. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 The power check feature is a gimmick to sell you the 650. It works like crap. It's a waste of money. When I reload .223 the center rod gets pushed right out of the assembly by catching on the case mouth.. Spoke with Dillon. They had no answer. Reloading .308 today. With the one I have in the .308 powder check also works like crap. One or 2 cases get checked. Then the next the buzzer goes off. I weigh the powder and it is the correct charge. No matter how I set the rod half the time it works and half the time it doesn't! A waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had my 550 back. Never had so many issues with the 650. Gimmick? Don't think so, I'll take the fifth station, auto advancing and case feeder options of a 650 every day of the week and twice on Sunday over a 550. I use the powder check, not religiously, but specifically with 223 as it allows me to monitor the powder charge with tremendous accuracy. I can't see in the case, despite extra light, and I set-up my powder check so I can easily see how much powder is in the case by seeing where the point contacts/stops on the rod. I can easily see a 0.1 - 0.2 difference in powder using brass with the same headstamp. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Steele Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 The power check feature is a gimmick to sell you the 650. It works like crap. It's a waste of money. When I reload .223 the center rod gets pushed right out of the assembly by catching on the case mouth.. Spoke with Dillon. They had no answer. Reloading .308 today. With the one I have in the .308 powder check also works like crap. One or 2 cases get checked. Then the next the buzzer goes off. I weigh the powder and it is the correct charge. No matter how I set the rod half the time it works and half the time it doesn't! A waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had my 550 back. Never had so many issues with the 650. Gimmick? Don't think so, I'll take the fifth station, auto advancing and case feeder options of a 650 every day of the week and twice on Sunday over a 550. I use the powder check, not religiously, but specifically with 223 as it allows me to monitor the powder charge with tremendous accuracy. I can't see in the case, despite extra light, and I set-up my powder check so I can easily see how much powder is in the case by seeing where the point contacts/stops on the rod. I can easily see a 0.1 - 0.2 difference in powder using brass with the same headstamp. YMMV ^^^, agree. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I weigh the first three powder charges when I start to load because I don't empty the powder measure. (Yes, I know, boo, hiss.) I make very sure to get the powder back in the case, return it to the machine, and carry on. I am trying to get out of the nervous tic of checking charges otherwise, they never are out of spec, EXCEPT if I skip a space on the shellplate. Frex a .380 in my allegedly "once fired" 9mm P. Depending on the powder, the vibration of the press on a blank space will settle it and give a somewhat heavy charge. I fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I load on a LnL AP vs a Dillon, but similar process applies. At the start of each session, I'll throw 10 charges to ensure any powder settling/compaction is settled out, and return it immediately to the powder hopper, then throw 10 and weigh, divide by 10. I'll occasionally spot check the first case's charge, but that's about it - then go off and load 500 or so. If for some reason, I'm stopping to load primer tubes a few hundred in (I've got 5-6 tubes, so usually just load 'em all up at the start of the session), I may sanity check a single case, at which point the case gets put to the side to finish as the last round of the session starting at station 2. Any time I stop for some reason with cases on the shell plate, the ram goes to the fully up position, and if I've removed brass from the shell plate for some reason, it goes aside for 'load last.' Aside from when I was first starting to reload and had an 'almost, but not quite clean' PM, and a cheap (drifting) electric scale, the drops are off...pretty much never. The pair of teething issues were fixed easily enough - degrease, then soak the disassembled PM and parts in Dawn and water, dry, throw some graphite in and cycle, cycle a few #s of powder through it manually back into the powder keg, and - never touch it again....and lose the cheapie scale in favor of an RCBS 505 mechanical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingdarb Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I have a 550. I check a few drops at the beginning of a session with a spend case before I start loading to make sure it is good. Then I usually just check every couple hundred rounds. Never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves_not_here Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) 100% powder check with my eyes. 550 with 38 spl IDPA SSR powder puff 105 power factor load. 158gr bullets going less than 700 fps... You gotta look deep! I load standing up with a light shining into the powder drop station. I look until I see grains of powder making note of the angle I see the charge to monitor over or under charges. If something looks funny I pull it and weigh what I'm dropping. I put the powder back into the hopper and the case it back in stage one right before the next index. I check powder then immediately put the bullet on top. NO POWDER = NO BULLET is my rule. If I seat the bullet and doubt that I actually checked powder the round goes into the bullet puller bin. I don't want any doubts when I'm shooting on the clock. I can do a relaxed 300 rounds an hour including loading primers, lubing cases and powder. I use the strong mount and bullet tray. I try to get my hands moving as efficiently as possible. This light should work for you http://inlinefabrication.com/products/skylighttm-led-lighting-kit-for-the-dillon-550 DNH Edited October 18, 2014 by daves_not_here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Once I get it set to my satisfaction I never check it. If I haven't loaded for awhile I'll take one case and run 4 or 5 charges thru it - without weighing - and then on to loading. I use one press for each caliber so once I settle on a load I rarely ever change it. I second the comment about getting rid of an inexpensive electronic scale and only using a quality balance beam scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelindsey Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I re read this thread and could not find the comment about getting rid of an electronic scale for a balance beam scale. What's the problem? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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