big reloading problem

[pahermit]

I've been reloading 11gr unique 245lead bullet in starline brass as my plinking 38-55 load.shoot this load in a ruger #3 and a marlin JEB rebore.Yesterday after loading about 150 rounds my powder measure started acting up.The point is I dont know if I have 11 gr unique or up to 15 gr.Before I start disassembling them .what is the limit for a unique load in my ruger #3 375 win?

[swamp]

To find the heavy loaded rounds weigh them all and separate the heavy ones. Pull a couple of them and check charge. I checked my Lyman manuals and nothing for the #3. Just the Stevens.

Sorry not more helpful.
swamp

[725]

With the combined possible variations and resulting compounded error, I would think a 4 grain difference is a mighty slim margin to hang your hat on. I have no idea about the upper limits of Unique under that boolit and in that cartridge. Good luck.

[bendad97]

Start pulling. It's happened to us all at least once.

[Hickory]

If you think there is a 4 gr difference you can weigh the cartridge to find any offenders without pulling any boolits.

[PaulG67]

Just brass and boolits can make a 4 grain difference, pull them all.

[garandsrus]

If you are sure that 15gr is the max you loaded, you should be fine. You may want to shoot them in the Ruger to add an extra safety margin. Here is a thread with some load data for Unique: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?87166-Unique-45-70-Load-Data. This shows heavier bullets and charges than what you loaded.

[gandydancer]

I've been reloading 11gr unique 245lead bullet in starline brass as my plinking 38-55 load.shoot this load in a ruger #3 and a marlin JEB rebore.Yesterday after loading about 150 rounds my powder measure started acting up.The point is I dont know if I have 11 gr unique or up to 15 gr.Before I start disassembling them .what is the limit for a unique load in my ruger #3 375 win?

my Lyman book from 1973 shows a model 70 winchester a 249 grain lead bullet 18 grains of unique at 1525 FPS 43 years ago. so i would say your in good shape with your # 3 ruger & your marlin both. [smilie=l: GD

[NC_JEFF]

I would pull them. I too agree that brass and bullets alone can make a 4gr difference.

[marlinman93]

I wont put any questionable rounds through my guns. My time isn't worth losing a gun, or hurting myself or others. I'd pull anything I was uncertain of.

[enfield]

If the measure was 'acting up" what are the chances it could have "acted up" more than you thought and put even more than 15 gr in some cases. Not worth the chance, worst case scenario pulling them is that you ruin the boolits, but hey, they melt and reform into new ones :)

[Tatume]

This is why I charge on a loading block, and then visually check powder levels with a flashlight.

[Motard]

I would pull them too. Brass can have huge diference and boolits too so I have never been able to ceck an over filled round only by wheight. I have always ended pulling the rounds apart. An RCBS style bullet puller die and a collet die would make redoing the rounds way fast.

[nicholst55]

What you decide to do is ultimately up to you. When I'm working with things that can seriously injure me, I tend to err on the side of caution. I would pull them all and throw new powder charges.

[Tatume]

What you decide to do is ultimately up to you. When I'm working with things that can seriously injure me, I tend to err on the side of caution. I would pull them all and throw new powder charges,

and fix the powder measure and check the charge levels before loading bullets.

[Toymaker]

Pull them, then switch to Trail Boss for your mouse fart loads - 7 to 9 grains and you may test up to about 11. Just do not compress the powder.
Unique isn't listed for the 38-55 anywhere. It is a fairly fast powder. Low volumes of fast powders have a tendency toward secondary detonation. Bad ju-ju

[rollmyown]

Even if they aren't dangerous break them down anyway. With such a big variation in charge weight they'll likely shoot all over the place making them not even good for plinking or practice.

[ascast]

pull them, why risk it what kind of powder measure did you use?

[str8wal]

With such a big variation in charge weight they'll likely shoot all over the place making them not even good for plinking or practice.

I agree. Even if they aren't dangerous, they wouldn't be of any practical use other than to just make noise.

[marlinman93]

A few things I've done as habit in my reloading over numerous decades. I charge all my cases, before seating any bullets. I check weight at the beginning, and every ten charges, I dump another on the scale to check that nothing has changed. Before seating bullets, I visually examine all powder levels with a flashlight. After all the various checks, then I'm comfortable to proceed with seating my bullets.

[Chev. William]

IF All Your Brass is one Manufacturer and one Manufacturing Lot it might be conistant enough for Weight Sorting.
Same thing for your Bullets.

Simplest and most time consuming route to go is to weigh The Batch of rounds and sort hem by Weight. Also Weigh some, say Ten, completed round from an earlier Loading Session that you feel comfortable that were loaded accurately, average the Ten Weights and compare the result to the wights of your suspect Rounds.

Once you have them sorted, pull a sample of each loaded weight group and measure the Charge.

This will give you some confidence in how many you will need to pull down versus the quantity you might like to pull down.

As an Aside, I load one Case at a time using a Balance Beam Scale to weight each Charge, charge a case and seat a bullet in it, then set it in a Load block for later Batch Crimping process to follow. Slow but effective in limiting Charge Errors.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Mk42gunner]

Better safe than sorry. I would pull the bullets, save the powder, and start over from the case flaring step.

Robert

[Motard]

As an Aside, I load one Case at a time using a Balance Beam Scale to weight each Charge, charge a case and seat a bullet in it, then set it in a Load block for later Batch Crimping process to follow. Slow but effective in limiting Charge Errors.
Best Regards,
Chev. William
this is about routine but i use two blocs. but I drop powder directly in the scale pan, then from the scale pan into the brass that now will be transferred from loading bloc1 to loading bloc2. when process is complete and loading bloc1 is empty I inspect all filled cartriges with a flash lite, hand set - press crimp bullets - and start transferring ended rounds again from bloc2 to bloc1. it s a time consuming process too, but make me feel good. sought a ruger 357 brand new nearly exploded few time ago at the range. the idiot was, that lost the gun but fortunately not the hands, explained he was tryng developing magnums charges. plus loads where so overcrimped that nobdy was able to undue one with the chinetic hammer

[EOD3]

Unless you're planning to close your eyes, cringe and pray every time you pull the trigger, PULL the bullets and chalk it up to experience. .02

[bearcove]

Pull them, then switch to Trail Boss for your mouse fart loads - 7 to 9 grains and you may test up to about 11. Just do not compress the powder.
Unique isn't listed for the 38-55 anywhere. It is a fairly fast powder. Low volumes of fast powders have a tendency toward secondary detonation. Bad ju-ju

I think you are wrong. Low volumes of SLOW powders have this issue. The fast powder are all used in low volume.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[pahermit]

Pulled the bullets. Threw away the old scale and ordered a new one. None of the loaded bullets were no more than 2 gr over what i wanted.

[ascast]

ya know, I got to thinking on that, if you tried to save a few rounds by some inventive and complicated weighing procedure, what scale would you use? The one that caused this problem in the first place?
You did the correct thing. Your gun is fine. Your skull is still intact. Your scale was junk anyway. now, back to re-loading lol

[Chev. William]

Pulled the bullets. Threw away the old scale and ordered a new one. None of the loaded bullets were no more than 2 gr over what i wanted.

Now You HAVE confused me!
in your Original Post you said your POWDER MEASURE started throwing Erroneous charge weights.
Now You Say You Threw away your OLD SCALE and ordered a New one.

Which Was the Thing That Went Bad in the first place?
How did you determine which was the Bad Item?

Curious here.
Best Regards,
Chev. William

[w5pv]

There is a lot more pullems than smokem,I would pull them,throw the cast bullets back in the smelting pot and start over.A little lost time is better than a lost finger or banged up hand.

[mozeppa]

unique is a great powder for shooting ....but metering it out in powder measures is all over the map.

however it does measure good out of a trickler type measure.

[ascast]

op still wondering bout your equipment types, makes ??

[marlinman93]

unique is a great powder for shooting ....but metering it out in powder measures is all over the map.

however it does measure good out of a trickler type measure.

I've loaded Unique for 4 decades, and never had any issues with irregular measurements with my Lyman 55 or my Belding and Mull.

[fast ronnie]

Flashlight in every case. Every case.

[rfd]

i'd vote for pulling, as well. better safe than sorry. this is why i both measure and weigh all charges for all cartridge loading.

[justashooter]

You would be safe to shoot all rounds in your #3 or your 336, but the vertical stringing at more than 50 yards would be noticeable, and a chronograph would validate variation in charge.

Unique has a max pressure ceiling that is around 18KSI. It was designed as a dual purpose powder in the "semi-smokeless" age for use with pistol cartridges and cases originally designed for black powder, like the 38-55. It is not a risk for detonation as modern tubular powders can be when used in low volume loading. IT is, as you are finding out, not easily metered. All the Hogden flake powders suffer this defect. Switching to a ball powder will get you a better consistency in metering (Trail Boss), and cleaner burning characteristics.

Phi Sharpe and Townsend Whelen discussed this issue in detail, as did every important writer between them.

[Chill Wills]

Flashlight in every case. Every case.

This is a very good reply!

Everyone should keep handy and use two items on the handloading bench, a penlight and the dial-caliber. They will save you time, money and blood.

[dverna]

How does either a scale or powder measure "act up"?

The answer to this would be interesting.

[jhalcott]

When I start a new cartridge load ,I weigh all the cases. Sorting them into groups as close to each other as possible. This is the only way you can weigh sort loaded rounds. I have weighed each individual component and found tenths of a grain differences in primers, a grain or so in purchased boolits and several grains in brass from the same maker. Different makes of brass can have a large difference in weight. I got two boxes of .223 (SAKO) that had a 15 grain difference in weight (95-110)!. Other calibers have similar differences.