Loading 230 gr LRN's

[philthephlier]

A friend gave me some Unique to try in 45 ACP loads for 230 gr. LRN's that I cast. I use a Lee turret press and the Lee Auto Disc powder dispenser. Their chart says the .66 hole should throw 5.5 gr. but I needed two hole sizes bigger, .71 to throw 5.7 gr. Point 66 would only throw 4.8 gr. Yhey talk about their chart being approximate data but a scale should be used to verify. I always do that anyway. Is my experience normal? Anybody else have to go 2 holes bigger for a given powder to get the weight on the chart?

[MT Gianni]

I find Lee's auto disc to be a guideline and set it to throw to my scale weight. Their numbers will get you started.

[sundog]

Phil, your experience is completely normal. Even lot to lot variations sometimes require switching hole sizes. I like the adjustable charge bar much better than the discs. Even the adjustment on it is more than the chart allows. Just scale it and move on. There is a caution however, using the flake powders like Unique and Red and Green Dot. Small amounts tend not to be too accurate and watch out for bridging, i.e., look in the case to be sure it got a proper charge.

[wizard93]

I think Lee does that on purpose with their bushings. I noticed with both the disks and on my Lee Load-All II that the bushings are always two sizes off on the powder weight. I can always go two sizes larger on the chart and get within a tenth of a grain of the powder weight I'm looking for. It's a Lee liability thing, I guess.

wizard93

[chris in va]

Small amounts tend not to be too accurate and watch out for bridging

Boy isn't that the truth. I just use a funnel and dipper, but that Unique has some huge flakes compared to 231 and Universal. When I dumped the excess back in the bottle, I kept having to tap the funnel so it would flow again.

[fredj338]

That is normal for fixed volumn measures. It's one reason I have always used adjustable models. You just can't get the exact powder charges you would like w/ a fixed measure.

[Rocky Raab]

It's almost a testimonial for an electronic dispenser, ain't it? Yup, it is.

Set the weight you want, and it dispenses until the digital scale reads that exact charge -- big flakes, small flakes, logs or little spheres makes no matter.

[pistolman44]

The Lee powder charge bar is the way to go for small charges with fast powder. It less of a hassle to get the right charge you want. I think I only paid around $8.95 for mine.

[fredj338]

It's almost a testimonial for an electronic dispenser, ain't it? Yup, it is.

Set the weight you want, and it dispenses until the digital scale reads that exact charge -- big flakes, small flakes, logs or little spheres makes no matter.
Not really, maybe for stick powders, but ball, flake or spherical all flow within 0.1gr in my Dillon or RCBS. Proper technique works everytime. I can throw an accurate charge about 5x faster than the auto units.

[Trader Vic]

I use a Lee pro 1000 & it does throw light charges. Usually I have to move up 2 disks to get to the required weight. A cheap digital comes in real handy...NRA PATRON LIFE MEMBER

[mpmarty]

I've got an old Redding measure and it just works. I spot check every so often and with Red Dot or Unique there is never a tenth of a grain variance. On the other hand (I've still got five fingers) my RCBS electronic scale is an absolute piece of junk. It won't calibrate and will absolutely give you ten different readouts weighing the same test weight ten times.