Such thing as a low powder die?

[hunter64]

I had a near miss last week, first one ever in 30 years of reloading. I was at the range shooting my .45acp and about 20 minutes into it I opened a new box of ammo that I had reloaded. About the 4th shot in the shell fired but with such a low recoil it didn't work the slide. I dropped the mag. and raked the slide and the empty came out. With the slide held back I looked down the barrel and no obstruction was seen. I thought what the heck was that? I loaded the mag back in and the next shot was also the same result. Well that did it, I put the .45 away and headed home. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened. I broke down the remaining 200 rounds or so that I did in that batch and about 20% had little or no powder in them. I am running a Lee 1000 and have been for years and this is the first time anything like this happened. I took the powder measure apart and everything was ok. So the next day I loaded up the hopper with 231 and proceeded to load. When the case came around to be crimped I was so paranoid that I looked into each case to make sure the powder was the correct height. Well about the 20th round a case was missing the powder. I cleaned all the stations out and took the powder hopper off and dumped it into a empty can. I worked the hopper several times and everything was ok. As I was putting the powder back into the hopper something caught my eye and I dumped the powder back out into the can again. I slowly poured the powder back into the hopper and sure enough a used primer was in there. How the heck it got into the can of 231 I will never know. So the primer would partially block the powder flow on and off. Well now I am paranoid and I don't trust the machine anymore because I can not physically see the powder level unless I stop and get up and careen my head around to see every round. So hence my question, does somebody make a low powder die that you set up to alarm when there is to much powder or not enough? I know this reloader only has 3 positions so either I would need to upgrade to the Load Master or switch to something else. Any suggestions?

[45nut]

RCBS made a manual powder check die, I had one back in the day I used a piggyback,,and needed it frequently as the PB was notorious for malfunction and inciting foul thoughts.
It was a simple die with a rod that sat on top of the powder charge that you set once and watched with a small white o-ring that you verified the powder level against.

Now using a Dillon and since it drops powder right up front and quite reliably I am no longer in the grip of a low powder fear. Except the level in my cabinets that is.

[RogerWatsonfromIdaho]

hunter65,
It is easy to look down into the cartridge case in station 2 on the Dillon 550B to see the powder level, but only 4 stations so not enough stations to have a powder check die.
The Dillon 650 can have a powder check die installed because it has 5 stations.
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23805/catid/3/Dillon_Powder_Check

[creekwalker]

Excellent post Hunter with a good clear presentation of the event as well as your problem solving. As I understand matters the RCBS lock out die is less expensive then some of the powder check dies, but still does a great job. I also have a RCBS PiggyBack, mine is a PB 1 upgraded to PB2 w/the current model case activated PM system, as well as a Dillon 550B. So the powder cop on one is a positive addition while on the other it is unrealistic. Yes a five station 650 looks good but my needs rule one out for now. For you, yes you could consider a Lee LM or a Hornady LnL or even a Dillon 650 to incorporaprate a powder check die. It depends on what you like as well as your views on equipment.

Best

creekwalker

[hunter64]

Thanks for the info guys. Well for the time being I am going to dump the powder into a 8x12 tupperware bowl a little at a time to make sure there is no objects in there and then as I am filling the hopper I have made up a small strainer to go over the top so there is no way in heck this will ever happen again. Next spring when the income tax refund comes in then I will decide on a Dillon or a Hornady LNL with the extra die positions and get a lock out die and not have to worry about it again. I am extremely cautious when it comes to reloading, no distractions, no music/tv only quiet, never leave powder on the table and for this to happen to me it could happen to anyone. The only explanation I can possibly come up with is one of my kids or there friends found a used primer on the floor and picked it up and put it in the hopper thinking that is where it should go.

[Morgan Astorbilt]

I use the Hornady "Powder Cop" die(the one with the white O-ring) on my Hornady ProJector progressive press, in a spare staion between the powder measure and the bullet seating die. Checks the powder level in the case when the ram is at the top. Alerts you if the powder bridges the drop tube, causing a light load in one case, and a heavy one in the next. Probably the same type of die as the RCBS powder checker.
Morgan

[KYCaster]

I loaded .45ACP on Lee 1000 presses for many years and while not as user friendly as some other presses, I had no problem visually checking the powder charge before seating the bullet.

I've loaded on a couple of presses with powder check dies and just couldn't get comfortable trusting them. I think a visual check is a very good habit to get into.

Jerry

[Winger Ed.]

I think a visual check is a very good habit to get into.

Jerry

Me too, I just gotta look down in there.
On my Pro-Jector, I have my press mounted a little lower than most,
and my chair a little higher to easily see down into a case as it comes around.

Even on rifle cases, I weigh the powder out, charge the case, then put it in a block that's on a different table, 90degrees away from the scale and the empty cases.
Even then, I have to look down into all the cases before I start seating bullets.

.

[MakeMineA10mm]

I agree with these guys. I've loaded 10s of thousands of rounds commercially as well as for personal use, all on Dillon XL650s and RCBS Rock Chuckers. I always look into ever case for powder. When we first got the 650s we got the powder check dies. Well, they didn't work as well as advertised, and I don't think any of them will, when put through the use-level we did. It was just easier to look into each case. We built our reloading table's height so that it was comfortable to stand at or sit on a bar-stool at. Due to the long hours of loading, we frequently would switch between standing and sitting to reduce fatigue. We always watched the powder level by eye. It was relatively easy to do, since we were looking in the case anyway to put the bullet on it... It's not the same as having a loading block of cases where you can check the level one to another, but once you've loaded a hundred or two rounds, you get used to what the "normal" level of powder for your load is. I can still tell if I've got close to 5.6grs of 231 in a 45ACP case, just by looking! :)

[enfield]

quality not quantity[smilie=1: