dpollard Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I just purchased a conversion kit to begin loading for .223 on my 650. I have not loaded rifle on it before and am running into an issue. When trying to set the powder charge to 24.5 grains I have maxed out the adjustment and am only getting to 21 grains. I'm using Ramshot Tac for my powder. I will also note that powder is spilling everywhere when charging a case. Something seems to be really off somewhere but I don't know where to begin to troubleshoot. At first I thought perhaps I have the wrong charge bar in the measure but if I'm getting 20 grains that shouldn't be the case. I read that the medium charge bar should throw from 10.0 grains to 40-45 grains. The amount of powder that spills does not constitute 19 grains so it's not a matter of losing a few grains, as mentioned, the charge bar is maxed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicocrawler Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I'll be interested in the fix because I am going to be loading using TAC soon as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 You are most likely using the wrong powder bar. Not sure what you mean by the medium bar. There is a x small,small, large and magnum bar.See the Dillon manual quote below. You should easily get 24 gr out of the large bar. Check that you don't see the spacer in the powder measure. There will be a little white piece sticking up. See pic 1.The large bar looks like pic2. Unless you were loading large caliber pistol, you were probably using the small bar. Also, hold the ram up for a few seconds to allow the charge to fully enter the case. The rifle powder takes longer to drop than pistol. If you release too quickly, the powder will spill. Dillon 650 manual page 13 Station 2: About Powder Bars Dillon Precision manufactures four types of powder bars for the XL 650: 1. Extra Small – use for dropping less than 3 grains of powder. 2. Small – use for dropping 3 to 20 grains of powder. 3. Large – use for dropping 20 to approx. 45-50 grains of powder. 4. Magnum – use for dropping more than approx. 45-50 grains of powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan550 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 (edited) Ramshot is a "fluffy" powder as I recall, and you need to slow down on your process to start with. You need to wait a bit longer for the powder to drop than you do with handguns. That's probably the reason for the spilling problem. And I do question which powder bar you're using. The so-called "medium" bar is a one-piece deal, the small one has 2 pieces....a "filler" that takes up the upper part of the slide space and the actual powder bar underneath. You can probably get 19-20 grains in the small one opened wide open. Check it out again. Alan~^~ Youngeyes is just too damn fast!! Edited December 21, 2014 by Alan550 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 be sure to keep handle down for a couple seconds when you pull handle to charge that much powder takes some time to fil the case its different than pistol loading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpollard Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 I was mistaken when I said the medium bar. I must be using the small one. I appreciate everyone's input. I will recheck the charge bar and also wait longer to let the powder drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixBarSpur Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 be sure to keep handle down for a couple seconds when you pull handle to charge that much powder takes some time to fil the case its different than pistol loading ^ This. I'll occasionally forget this nugget if I'm away from rifle loading for awhile but am immediately reminded; then I get to stop and clean up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdriv Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I load .223 with my 550. I have to use the large powder bar for 24.5 Grs of TAC. TAC is a ball powder that meters and flows very well. I don't make it a point to wait 2 seconds for the powder to drop. But I never hurry either. Getting the maximum output per hour is not one of my concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WZ4I Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I will also note that powder is spilling everywhere when charging a case. S L O W D O W N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpollard Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 (edited) The culprit ended up being that I had the wrong charge bar in the powder hopper. Changed it out, slowed down a bit and it ran flawlessly. I did also end up having to take down the press and give it a thorough cleaning as the powder had gunked up the priming system to where it wouldn't rotate. Once that was cleaned up, and after I found the locater tab spring that went flying across the room, all was well. Edited December 22, 2014 by dpollard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Man. I love happy endings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 There ya go! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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