powder measure that just dont seem to work

[reloader89]

reacently i just bought this RCBS power measure and i cant get it to make consistant loads. how do i fix this problem.

[oneokie]

Need more information. Which powder are you using? Stick, Ball, or flake? Do you have a baffle in the resivoir?

[Dale53]

ANY powder measure requires consistent movement to give consistent results. You must operate it EXACTLY the same each time if you expect consistent results.

Further, as mentioned above, ball powders are the easiest to use but some small grained powders measure well. Long grained powders, such as 4831, do NOT measure well. That is just the nature of the beast.

If you are new to reloading, you'll find it quite helpful to practice by weighing every drop. In short order you'll pick up on what it takes to get good results. Bang the lever hard one time and easy the next will give you variable results. After a good deal of practice it'll start becoming natural and you will get proper results. Ball powder should measure +or- .1 of a grain. Small grain powders like RL-7 will measure almost as well. I aldo get good results with small flake powders like Bullseye. I get less satisfactory results with large stick powders like 4831 and 4350. Fortunately, the large stick powders are normally slow burning and the variance is a small part of the overall charge so it doesn't seem to cause as much of a problem as you would think.

Keep the powder hopper at least 1/3 full and use a powder baffle. This gives you a more consistant head weight which will help you to maintain low variables.

FWIW
Dale53

[Char-Gar]

The RCBS measure has a good reputation. There is no powder measure that will throw EXACT identical charges. The difference varies with the quality of the measure, the type of powder and the skill of the user.

The good news is that most times it doesn't make a difference. With most powders accuracy doesnt suffer much , if any at all, due to these normal variations.

I use a pair of 50's vintage Hollywood measure and they do must fine for me.

[lee n. field]

A Uniflow? Check and make sure the measuring cylinder bushing (part 7 in the instruction manual) isn't coming unscrewed. Mine used to do that if I wasn't mindful of it. I've since put a dab of light loctite on the threads to keep that part in place.

[Swagerman]

Which metering chamber are you having the most trouble with, the pistol 1 to 10 grains or the rifle 10 to 90 + grains.

I've still got one RCBS Uniflow measure, and it doing OK as I'm mindful of keeping it clean after each use.

However, the Redding No. 3 powder measure is doing very well and is easier to use with the calibrated knob metering chamberings. The Redding PM are sometimes forsale here on our classifieds, or the other forum auctions.

Jim

[montana_charlie]

It is also quite common for a reloader to set his measure to throw a charge that is several tenths lighter than desired weight. Then, with the charge on the scale, he uses a trickler to add enough powder to bring the charge up to exact weight.

This cancels out any variance in the thrown charges, and assures that every charge loaded is on the money.

By the way...
There is an Ohaus 10-10 scale for sale on eBay right now. It looks like a good one, and still has the plastic cover intact. Currently, it's around $20...with two days to go.

CM

[DLCTEX]

With powders that don't meter well I do as described above, throw the powder onto the scale pan a few tenths light, then bring it to par with an electric trickler(Midway $16). Its about as fast as saying it. Dale

[Marshal Kane]

Good advice from everyone that responded. Would suggest, after using a Uniflow for 40+ years, that you be consistent and very gentle with the operating handle. When the handle is operated roughly, it tends to compact the powder in the reservior particularly at the bottom end which contributes to varying charges. With large flake or stick powders, when the drum gets stuck, rocking the handle slightly back and forth and left to right will often free the drum. It's usually a few powder grains that are begging to be sheared that sticks the drum. When too many grains get sheared, the powder becomes compacted which leads to varying charges. When the load calls for large flake or stick powders, I prefer to drop a slightly lighter charge onto the powder pan and finish it off with a powder trickler while the pan is on the scale.

[Char-Gar]

The best way to set a powder measure is to throw multiple charges and use the average weight. This is how it works... Let's say you want a charge of 10 grains of powder. Throw five charges into the scale pan and weigh them. When the weight read 50 grains, you know your measure will throw and "average" charge of 10 grains.

[reloader89]

thanks for your help ill try the stuff you mentioned

[standles]

Also be careful that only powder gets into the hopper.

A pc of brass (don't ask) or a pc of the paper from the powder can seal..

Worth a look..

Steven

[spurrit]

Also be careful that only powder gets into the hopper.

A pc of brass (don't ask) or a pc of the paper from the powder can seal..

Worth a look..

Steven

How the hell.................?

[JoeBrotch]

I wipe down the inside and outside of my powder measures with anti static fabric softener wipes that you put into clothes dryers to stop static cling. Seems to stop clogging and lumping of powder granules and more consistant drops by weight.

Try it and weight your charges to see if it helps.

[pa_guns]

Hi

Sometimes it's really simple stuff. Is the measure mounted rigidly to the table? Are you seeing variation from one charge to the next, from a full tube to an almost empty one.

Bob

[TNsailorman]

Some great suggestions to your question. I have found that any powder measure will throw a slightly light or heavy charge from time to time. That is why I never depend entirely on the powder meaure itself. I use a scale(both electronic or manual) to check weigh each and every charge. The usually amount of error seldom amounts to more than .1 to .2 of a grain depending on whether you are using ball, stick or flake powder. Ball usuallly weighs the most consistant. Also, when loading on a high humidity day you may have more problems depending on the powder also. The best advice I can give you is to practice load several charges on the scale to get a feel going before you get serious about the actual loads. I like to very lightly bump the handle against the stop on each end of the swing as a way of settling the powder uniformly in the measure cavity. My experience anyway.

[felix]

There appears to be too much emphasis on powder weight consistency on our board. Bullet/boolit initial resistance is the primary cause of erratic ignition, assuming everything else is Kosher. Get that area of consistency down first and foremost. The Houston Warehouse has proven that even circa (plus/minus) 0.25 grains from nominal is within BR accuracy standards. We are talking maintenance of groups in the zeros. Naturally and obviously, this means to us using normal guns, is to select a powder speed that allows this kind of variation. ... felix

[pa_guns]

Hi

I have seen a number of people do a fairly simple experiment with coarse grain powder:

1) Use a normal RCBS powder measure and load up 10 rounds.
2) Throw another 10 charges, weight each, correct to < 0.1 grains

At that point you have 20 rounds of nearly identical composition. Same brass, same bullets same primer.

Fire the 20 bullets at two targets. Alternate targets and bullet batches. Batch 1's all go to the target on the right. Batch 2's all go to the target on the left. Allow adequate time for things to cool. The experiment takes a *while*.

Each time I have seen it done, the groups were quite small (< 0.25" at 100 yards). In each case either batch 1 was best or you could not tell the difference.

You could claim that anybody can make it come out in a desired fashion. I agree with that. After seeing it done the first time, I made sure that the "batch number" was not known to the shooter.

The rounds involved were all > 40 grains. 0.1 grain is a pretty small amount at that level.

Would the outcome be different at 1000 yards? I can't say.

Bob

[TNsailorman]

felix, I couldn't agree more with you about most of us worrying too much about small groups. We don't really need loads that will shoot under 1" consistantly but we try and try. After all, any load that will shoot inside of a 4" circle at 100 yards is plenty good enough to hunt deer and elk. Cutting down on the different variables and getting the absolute smallest group that I can out of a rifle, bullet, powder combination is what make reloading so interesting to me though. I guess I'm just one of those who are still looking for the "perfect" load, full well knowing I'm never going to find it.

[spurrit]

After all, any load that will shoot inside of a 4" circle at 100 yards is plenty good enough to hunt deer and elk.

Only in a survival situation would this be true, if you have any ethics at all.