Measuring Powder Charges On A 550b

[Chills1994]

Hello! Hello!

Tried to do a search on this, but nothing good came up.

This is how I do it:

1. I remove the little brass shell keeper pin doo-hickey at station 2.

2. Put a spent, not deprimed yet case in (again at station 2)

3. Pull down on handle to run case up into belling/powder die.

4. Pause for a split second.

5. Raise the handle to lower case, and a little more like I'm seating a primer.

6. Pull case out of station 2.

7. Dump contents into scale's pan, which is setting on the bench next to the press.

8. Stick same case into station 2 and repeat steps 3 through 8 until I have 10 charges in the pan.

9. Move pan onto scale and weigh all 10 charges knowing full well that I'm kinda averaging each throw.

So for example if I'm looking for 5.3 grains of XXX powder, I set the scale to read 53 grains to weigh all ten charges.

After much tweaking and adjusting here and there with the powder measure on the Dillon, I go ahead and start cranking out some rounds. I also keep a careful eye on how the powder level looks in the case before I seat a bullet.

Also, I have check weights so I always check my scale before throwing any powder.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Chills

[Chills1994]

Oh yeah,

It would be nice if Dillon came up with something like RCBS's precision micrometer adjuster for their powder measure.

Chills

[Merlin Orr]

I try to throw a few charges - 8 or 10 - and just dump them - THEN I do as you have outlined in you post. I believe that the charge may change slightly when you actually have cases in all the stations. If you go through the search (more closely) in reloading you will find a lot of posts related to this.

[ChuckS]

Hi there,

What I like to do is put together a collection of objects that weigh about the same as the charge weight that I have set. Washer, buttons, etc. I leave the object on the scale during loading so I can see if the scale zero/cal has drifted since I last calibrated. I weigh the objects with a freshly calibrated electronic scale and verify on a balance beam scale that I have. If the reading has drifted some, I recalibrate. I used this technique a lot with a BBK2 but now I have a Dillon scale, so drift is not much of an issue. I also put the plastic knobs from Home Depot on the powder bar which helps in controlling changes in charge weight. I added some index marks on the know with a Sharpie so it is easier to make small changes.

Home Depot Knob Thread

Later,

Chuck

[Gun Geek]

Oh yeah,

It would be nice if Dillon came up with something like RCBS's precision micrometer adjuster for their powder measure.

Chills

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

http://www.mrdial.com/

I use e'm and I love e'm.

[LPatterson]

You will get more accurate powder drops if you put a shell in each station as it keeps everything aligned. Start low and work up. Only adjust the powder measure when the powder bar is in the open position (see manual). At 5.3 grains of most powder you can probably dump 2 changes in the same case except for 9MM then you only have to move the case 5 times instead of 10.

[Doggorloader]

I know that it sounds like a no brainer but with the electronic scale you can just hit zero after every 10 charge weight and start over (without emptying the pan) as Greywolf said throwing doubles to get the 10. It all saves time and effort.

I still recalibrate and rezero on the empty pan at the end to verify I'm throwing and exact charge.

[Chills1994]

Courtesy Post again everyone. I know it's not really standard practice on internet forums to post a "Thank You" note for other folks' responses

but I am.

Thanks for all your advice,

Chills

[Chris Keen]

Courtesy Post again everyone.  I know it's not really standard practice on internet forums to post a "Thank You" note for other folks' responses

but I am.

Thanks for all your advice,

Chills

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On the contrary ... I think it's great that you come back to say THANKS!

And I think your methods sound fine. I have done it like that, or just steps 1-7 and then weigh EACH charge (I think 5 or so is enough). And I aggree with Merlin, I like to drop 3-5 charges and put 'em right back in the hopper, THEN start weighing. I use a digital scale too, and I still like to weigh each charge, as opposed to averaging, or hitting zero at any point with powder still in the pan. It's just as easy to throw the powder back, isnt it? You dont get BONUS POINTS for RELOADING FASTER than the next guy! You DO however get to stay ALIVE one more day!

Also check out this link here: www.uniquetek.com

A little more expensive than Mr. Dial, but it looks pretty nice. Not that I have tried EITHER one, but you certainly get more STYLE POINTS ... and thats what this game is all about, right ?

[George]

Here is my 550B procedure:

Prime a sized case and move it into station 2. Pull the station 2 locator pin after charging the case (always do the primer stroke to properly reset the measure). Dump charge in scale pan, weigh and repeat "single charges" until charge weight is about where I want it (I hold the case in place with my finger instead of removing/replacing locator pin every time). Replace empty case and locator pin in station 2, add fresh case to station 1 and operate press until it is full and a couple rounds have been completed.

At this point, everytime you finish priming a case, take a pause and pull the charged case from station 2, dump charge in scale pan and weigh. After weighing, use powder funnel to replace charge in case and replace charged case/locator pin in station 2. If you make a powder measure adjustment, load 2 more rounds before checking again. After the charge is stable at the weight I want (5, or more single charges in a row giving me the range I want), I put the rounds loaded to that point in the practice only bin and start cranking out some serious match ammo.

I pause every time I refill the primer magazine and measure 3 in a row using the same weigh and replace method just to be sure things are holding. This method prevents changing the press dynamics while checking charges. I firmly believe in weighing single charges to see what the measure variances really are. I don't want to know what my average charge weight is, I want to know what my charge weight "range" is.

Been using this methodology for over 15 years now. It is accurate and prevents belling the heck out of cases while getting a charge range determined.

--

Regards,

Edited July 18, 2005 by George

[DogmaDog]

I use a non-primed case just like you do, but I throw single charges, and then pour them in the pan directly on the scale. I'll watch for deviations as I add charges (so if I want 4.6gr, then I should see 4.6, 9.2, 13.8...). Usually, I don't see anything go "off" by more than .1gr on a single throw, and I attribute that to rounding error (if the charge were actually 4.62, say, I should see an extra .1 grain show up after 3 or 4 charges).

Once I have 10 in the pan, I divide by 10 and call that the charge weight. My initial powder bar adjustments will use only 3 charges, and I'll only throw 10 when I think I have the right charge set.

Then I'll throw 10 more at the end of the loading session, and it might be .1 or .2 grains different than at the beginning...so I'll average those two averages.

DD

[ipscron2000]

Did everyone see the ad in Front Sight about the micrometer for the powder bar. Well I bought 2 the other day. Kick Ass invention. Real nice man on the other end of the phone. Lee is his name.

The device makes finding your old settings dead on easy.

look them up at uniquetek.com

I also bought the Redding Competion Seating Die that's also advertised in Front Sight. It's also worth the money.