ES13Raven Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) I'm finding that regular Hodgdon Clays does not meter well in my 550b. TiteGroup meters very well for me, and will be +/- .1 grains on 10-drop measurements. With Clays, I get a variance of +/- .4 grains on 10-drop measurements. I want to get the most consistent powder drops possible with Clays and other flake powders. Before I buy a different powder measure, is there anything else I can try? Here is what I have done for consistent metering: Hopper is always at least 3/4 full Using the Prairie Dog Perfect Powder Baffle Using the Dillon Small Powder Bar with UniqueTek Micrometer installed Press is wired to electrical ground to eliminate static Polished inside of powder funnel and powder measure bowl with Dremel Always check blue wing-nut for half-compression of the spring with handle all the way forward Always check that the powder bar has full travel both ways Try to be as smooth as possible on up & down strokes Edited December 28, 2015 by ES13Raven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Using the Prairie Dog Perfect Powder Baffle I've founf this to make my powder measure very consistent with ETR-7, a flake powder, regardless of powder level. You forgot: Wipe down inside of powder measure with a dryer sheet Rubber band a blue vibrator to the powder measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ES13Raven Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 You forgot: Wipe down inside of powder measure with a dryer sheet Rubber band a blue vibrator to the powder measure. Don't see any static with the press grounded I will have to check with my Wife on that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 If it comes down to trying a different powder measure try the new Lee auto drum. I get very consistent throws with clays and other larger flake powders like e3. Usually the weight of a 10 throw average is less than .1 or .2gr once everything is all settled in. Besides its only about $35 plus the cost of a Lee powder through expanding die if you dont already have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Try the large (rifle) powder bar. Worked much better when I used Clays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
427Cobra Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Tape your wife's vibrator to the hopper, I'm serious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamboo Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I was getting inconsistent loads with small charges (3.0gr-ish) of clay dot until I tried the dillon extra-small charge bar. Now +/-0.1gr is the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I loaded a bazillion rounds of Clays in 40 S&W, with the standard pistol powder bar, with excellent consistency, velocity-wise, over the chrono. I'm wondering... Even if you are getting +/- .4 grain for 10 drops, what is the standard deviation for a 15 shot average? Or in other words, +/- .4 grain might not show up a sa "problem" on the chrono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 0.4 / 10 drops = 0.04 average variation per charge = probably undetectable on the Chrono. Good point. I'm not convinced flake powders (I use ETR-7) meter all that precisely charge-to-charge, but I think their average over many throws (I use 20) can be excellent. Pro Tip (I'm no shooting pro): Unhook the fail-safe rod, put a tall pill bottle under the powder funnel, and manually work the powder drop mechanism 10-20 times. Then weigh the contents of the pill bottle. I used to do it one case at a time like a neanderthal, then one day I saw the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 0.4 / 10 drops = 0.04 average variation per charge = probably undetectable on the Chrono. Good point. That isn't how the average is calculated as he said +- 0.4 grain (a potential range of 0.8 grains) and you don't have enough information from his post to calculate it. Regardless, average is irrelevant, standard deviation may be important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ES13Raven Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks guys. Hopefully this weekend I can chrono the rounds I have made and will update you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 If the charge variation is +/- .4 grain per drop, that is more than we've ever experienced with Clays. I would start by making sure cases are flared at least .010" larger than a sized, unflared case measures, and that the blue wing nut at the bottom of the failsafe return rod is tight enough to fully retract the powder bar. If the variation is actually +/- .4 grains on a total of ten charges together, that will never be noticed over a chronograph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 0.4 / 10 drops = 0.04 average variation per charge = probably undetectable on the Chrono. Good point. That isn't how the average is calculated as he said +- 0.4 grain (a potential range of 0.8 grains) and you don't have enough information from his post to calculate it. Regardless, average is irrelevant, standard deviation may be important. Good catch, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Would using a Dillon low powder sensor help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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