BP drop tube length

[Captain*Kirk]

I found me a length of 3/8" brass tubing that looks like it should be perfect for a BP drop tube for .45/70. It measures 36" like many of the commercial drop tubes advertise, but it seems like 3 feet may be a little awkward unless it's sitting on a bench about knee high. 24" seems about "bench-top perfect". Is the extra 12" going to make a big difference? If so, I'll find a workaround. Thanks.

[indian joe]

I found me a length of 3/8" brass tubing that looks like it should be perfect for a BP drop tube for .45/70. It measures 36" like many of the commercial drop tubes advertise, but it seems like 3 feet may be a little awkward unless it's sitting on a bench about knee high. 24" seems about "bench-top perfect". Is the extra 12" going to make a big difference? If so, I'll find a workaround. Thanks.

how you pour into it proly make more difference than the extra foot of tube..........................

[1Hawkeye]

If I remember right drop tubes sold by sharps were 24" so that is what I went by when I built mine.
3/8" x 24" and used a plumbers flairing tool for the end that goes over the case mouth.

[Dan Cash]

how you pour into it proly make more difference than the extra foot of tube..........................

Absolutely! Use a Lyman 55 measure and "slow drop" the powder into the shell case. A little experimentation and you will find that a drop tube is not needed; the powder will be as settled in the case as it can get.

[GregLaROCHE]

Absolutely! Use a Lyman 55 measure and "slow drop" the powder into the shell case. A little experimentation and you will find that a drop tube is not needed; the powder will be as settled in the case as it can get.

I made mine with a one meter piece of copper tubing, because that was the length they were sold. I used it on my bench, but I was standing up.
I haven’t used it in a while since I started compressing the powder. For what I’m doing, I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.

[country gent]

My tube is 36" and it is a little cumbersome on the bench top. Look at online metals for brass tubing they sell by the foot in a wide range of sizes. Another source of tubing is old arrow shafts. A slow pour helps a lot with settling the powder.

Be sure when starting out to clean and polish the inside of the tube lightly. Being shooters we have the needed tools to do this with our cleaning rods jags and brushes.

One of the wsm cases in a smaller caliber ( i used a 270 wsm case) cut behind the shoulder makes a good funnel for into the case.

[Don McDowell]

Absolutely! Use a Lyman 55 measure and "slow drop" the powder into the shell case. A little experimentation and you will find that a drop tube is not needed; the powder will be as settled in the case as it can get.

True story

[Captain*Kirk]

Thanks for the replies! I already bought the tubing so I guess I'll play around with it some. It's 36" long and 3/8 diameter. I like the idea of using a cutoff bottleneck case as well. I also bough a Montana Swaging .45 cal compression die so I can go that route as well.

[Chill Wills]

I like the drop tube. My most accurate loads have been with uncompressed Swiss. Rifle after rifle and powder lot after lot, the accuracy is with a drop-tubed uncompressed load.
There is more than one right way to do it and I have mine. Just a contrarian at heart. :mrgreen:

The long drop-tube keeps the stack heights the same. I can't get that any other way, and I've tried.

[indian joe]

My tube is 36" and it is a little cumbersome on the bench top. Look at online metals for brass tubing they sell by the foot in a wide range of sizes. Another source of tubing is old arrow shafts. A slow pour helps a lot with settling the powder.

Be sure when starting out to clean and polish the inside of the tube lightly. Being shooters we have the needed tools to do this with our cleaning rods jags and brushes.

One of the wsm cases in a smaller caliber ( i used a 270 wsm case) cut behind the shoulder makes a good funnel for into the case.

mine is an arrow shaft - ran a cleaning brush loaded with powdered graphite through it - to steady the flow I mounted a cutoff 22/250 case on top with an mtm powder funnel to pour into - taped it all on with ductape. I stand at the loading bench - even so the arrow shaft is long enough to stretch ....................

[veeman]

Do you guys flare the bottom out over the shell casing? Mine is not, t fits inside the brass, just under flush, and there is always a bit of BP that bounces out. Is this normal for the procedure or should I flare out the tube?

[Castaway]

Veeman, I glued an o-ring about 1/10” from the bottom of my arrow shaft. No more powder splashing out

[Chill Wills]

Do you guys flare the bottom out over the shell casing? Mine is not, t fits inside the brass, just under flush, and there is always a bit of BP that bounces out. Is this normal for the procedure or should I flare out the tube?

Yes. Powder can splash out if not contained. I made a soft collar about 3/16" up from the bottom of the tube by wrapping electrical tape around the tube - on itself over and over until I made a large enough ring that seats on the case mouth. It was a quick fix 30 years ago and it is still there. An "O" ring of the right size or an ear plug fitted with a hole slipped around the tube are all ideas people use.

[one-eyed fat man]

The Ideal #5 powder measure dates to the 1890's when most folks were still loading black powder. It came with 2 drop tubes, a 3 inch and a 6 inch. It is the grandaddy of the Lyman 55. Slow drop the charge like Dan Cash said and it will work as well now as it did 125 years ago. No need to make it more complicated than it has to be.

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[Lead pot]

This drop tube discussion comes up often.
I have several DTs of different lengths and also calibrated funnels that have tapered restrictions for the granulations of powder I use. 1.5F to 3F. I can just dump the powder in the funnel and let it trickle through.
Quite frankly I don't see much difference in accuracy just loading the shells with the loading block on the floor and using my Lyman 55 with a long 34" tube that has a vibrator on the hanging bracket that settles the in the drum consistently load to load and just dump it in the funnel, but I have to use care with the funnel restriction so it don't bridge. But for my match loads I still don't use the Lyman 55. It's a security thing to weigh the load :D
Inserting the drop tube inside the case mouth sort of defeats the DT use if the shaft is in the case mouth to deep. It there is still powder in the tube and you pull it out of the case mouth it loosens the dropped powder and defeats the tube use.

The tubing is 3/8 OD type K ridged refrigeration tubing with a 3/8 OD X 5/8" OD sweat reducer that can be used for the .38 to .50 caliber cases.
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[Riverside]

I made a stand that will let me adjust my tube up or down. I adjust the ht. so as to be able to tilt a case a little,then stand it straight, and have the tube mouth just inside the case. No spillage that way. 24" seems just right for my arm length. Make sure you use a funnel at the top that is large enough to prevent spillage there. I also drilled a hole on the base of the stand that will hold a shell holder which I can change for each case type.