Powder Selection Help for RCBS Uniflow on Progressive Press for .38SP/.357Mag?

[JesterGrin_1]

Powder Selection Help for RCBS Uniflow on Progressive Press for .38SP/.357Mag?

The Powders I have on hand are HP-38,Unique,W-296,H-110,2400 and TiteGroup.

I wish to use a powder that will meter consistently ?

This is for the RCBS Piggyback II that I am setting up and this is also my first venture into the world of progressive. :)

[tazman]

HP38 and Titegroup for the 38 special.
The others for the 357mag. I haven't used 2400 so I cannot tell you how it runs through the meter but the others work fine.

[Litl Red 3991]

Powder Selection Help for RCBS Uniflow on Progressive Press for .38SP/.357Mag?

The Powders I have on hand are HP-38,Unique,W-296,H-110,2400 and TiteGroup.

I wish to use a powder that will meter consistently ?

This is for the RCBS Piggyback II that I am setting up and this is also my first venture into the world of progressive. :)

Are you worried about uniformity? Don't go under the start load from any reputable source. The measures for progressives are cool for any published loads. It's up to us to insure we don't interrupt the "progress" while loading and spot any failure to advance. The designs can't double load unless we cause a stutter or stumble.

The weakness comes from trying for very light loads using flake powders. Most manuals don't list any.

[bhn22]

HP38 (231) and 296 (H110) are both ball powders, originally developed by Winchester, and will meter through your measure without any issues at all. 2400 also measures well, but the flake powders you have listed often show some variations in weights when dropped from a rotary drum type measure. This variation is usually inconsequential, but annoy some people so you'll hear complaints about them.

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You all I just wished to make sure as the powder I am used to using for the .357 Magnum and the .44 Magnum is W-296 (H-110). But I did try W-296 with the Lee Pro Auto Disc and it leaked powder so bad that with the little variance it gave in powder charges my accuracy from my Marlin 1894 in .357 Magnum went out the window. So I had to break down a little over 100 rounds of which I do not wish to repeat as I use the Kinetic bullet puller (The Hammer lol)

Since I am now using the RCBS Uniflow II with the Hornady case activated powder drop it should work fine with W-296 (H-110) for the .357 Magnum.

For the .38 Special I will probably use HP-38.

I could be all wet but I believe that is not a half bad idea. :)

Thanks Everyone. :)

[rpludwig]

I've always used W231 (HP38), in a uniflow, loading progressive on a PBII on top of a rockchucker for many yrs for .38/.357, 9mm, & 45acp. All similar powders meter well thru a uniflow.

The micrometer (small) for the uniflow is worth the investment, simplifies adjustment to fine tune your charge drops.

Good move on the linkage kit, the original powder drop/floating rod mechanism supplied w/the PBII would give you fits, powder spills, dbl and no charges, throw it out!

Be sure to always full stroke the PBII so that it indexes correctly, once properly set up and tweaked, it will serve you well.

Highly recommend a powder cop (RCBS Lockout) die as well, wouldn't load progressive without one....fwiw...

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You for the information as well. The Lock Out die is a good idea but I will not have an open spot for it.



I've always used W231 (HP38), in a uniflow, loading progressive on a PBII on top of a rockchucker for many yrs for .38/.357, 9mm, & 45acp. All similar powders meter well thru a uniflow.

The micrometer (small) for the uniflow is worth the investment, simplifies adjustment to fine tune your charge drops.

Good move on the linkage kit, the original powder drop/floating rod mechanism supplied w/the PBII would give you fits, powder spills, dbl and no charges, throw it out!

Be sure to always full stroke the PBII so that it indexes correctly, once properly set up and tweaked, it will serve you well.

Highly recommend a powder cop (RCBS Lockout) die as well, wouldn't load progressive without one....fwiw...

[rpludwig]

Jester, if you seat & crimp in one station, you'll have room for the lockout die...I've done that forever with no issues, and well worth the trade-off for safety sake, imo. Certainly others differ as this has always been an ongoing debate. I've always used RCBS carbide dies with this arrangement:

#1 = resize/deprime
#2 = prime/expand-bell case mouth
#3 = powder drop
#4 = lockout die
#5 = seat & crimp

Another tip, if you're priming on the PBII, you may want to consider adding a piece of seamless hydraulic aircraft tubing over your primer tube as an added safety measure/blastshield...($10 bucks for some added safety/comfort when stairing at a stack of 100 primers).

Sorry to digress from your original question...just some added tips for your PBII useage/setup...

Ron