Powder checks

I’m in the process of unpacking around 800 rounds of 9mm I foolishly loaded with a light target load believing that the speed and pressures would be plenty to cycle the action. In 20 rounds between 3 pistols 2 ended up with stuck lead and one wouldn’t cycle properly. As I’ve been unpacking these I’ve noticed that my nifty Lee auto drum measure forgot to put a full charge in some of these cases. I’ve read in previous threads about using powder checks in progressive presses, I’m thinking that’s a grand idea and I’m curious about operation and specs and what yalls favorite would be for those that use one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lee just did an upgrade on their auto drum PWDR measure. You send it to them and they will upgrade and return it for free

RCBS Lock-Out Die $52.99 Free Shipping for Prime Members Will stop your press if the powder is way off

RCBS Powder Checker.22 Cal and Larger $30.76 + $4.99 Amazon not prime Will show you if your powder is high or low I did a mod in it and am happy with the results http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...hecker-Die-MOD

I’ll look into the auto drum upgrade mine is as new as the breech lock pro press so not sure how new the upgrade is but it makes sense since I have 2 SS presses to moves sizing and priming to one of them and save myself this embarrassment again with a powder check


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My method (even with a audible alarm on my D1050) is eyeball each case before setting the bullet on the case. Good lighting helps.
I had a very observant RO behind me in a IPSC match stop me when I thought I had a fail to feed and in the heat of the moment started the tap/ rack routine to get back in the game. I had loaded another round behind a squib. He stopped me before I had a chance to hurt myself or the pistol. I always used ear plugs and muffs back then which made it easy to not hear the muffled pop of the squib. Those rounds were assembled with my first progressive, Lee 1000. The small powder hopper was prone to light or no charge when it got under 1/3 full. Not long after that I upgraded to better loading equipment and certainly better QC.
Pulling down a bunch of rounds sucks. Even now I rarely load more than what I plan to shoot in the next few weeks because of that fear. Also I change pistol loads some as the weather changes from hot to cold.

I don't know anything about cheap red presses, but on my loading blocks and blue semi-progressive, I have found the Mark-1 Eyeball the best powder check.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grmps

Lee just did an upgrade on their auto drum PWDR measure. You send it to them and they will upgrade and return it for free

---

Grmps,
What is this upgrade to the Lee Auto Drum? I looked around on Lee's website and could not find any reference to an upgrade.
Thanks.

I had an auto drum lock up (again) so I sent it in they told me they had an upgrade to it and would install it in my powder measure. I asked for 2 more to put in my other ones but they said I had to send them in to get the upgrade. Give them a call (number is at the bottom of their web page)

I only had a squib happen once and that was with me giving some 9-mm rounds to a savvy gun friend he heard pop and didn’t cycle the action. He let me know about it so i ordered a powder check the next day for my Dillon 650 and after 2 years I still look inside each one just before the boolit goes on top, just to be sure. Because when you sitting, cranking out 100s of rounds you just get complacent, it helps to have a back up.

Eyeballing will eventually fail you unless you load slowly and are very attentive and do not load over a long period of time.

I use the Dillon powder check unit and so far so good. I typically load over 500 rounds at a time and run rather quickly so eyeballing is not safe enough for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grmps

I had an auto drum lock up (again) so I sent it in they told me they had an upgrade to it and would install it in my powder measure. I asked for 2 more to put in my other ones but they said I had to send them in to get the upgrade. Give them a call (number is at the bottom of their web page)

---

Sounds like typical Lee. I’m certainly not a basher and defend them all the time. But this type of thing is ridiculous. They should have it front and center on their website. Just like they should have put it front and center when they realized the drums weren’t trued. So now there are two fixes for this measure and they aren’t informing anyone. So they’re leaving products on the market that aren’t working right. This is one of the reasons Lee gets a bad name. Apparently I have two measures and four sets of drums to send them but I wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for the forums.

The Dillon is as sensitive as they get. Mine will even detect stepped cases with the correct charge.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EU9deSKm48&t=6s

That said nothing will help you if you don’t test a given load before cranking out hundreds. Making sure they run is job #1.

Just need a bore scope and tablet/laptop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us0X_7kRgt4

OR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TimpXJHEvz0

a friend uses this.

Well I think I figured out what happened to create the multiple squibs I’ve been pulling apart apparently the drum does not return completely to the full position everytime I’m gonna try and graphite it but we will see if it need to go back to Lee


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you have a 3D printer or a friend with one, there are free designs available. The designs can easily be modified for what case your loading

If you have a die station for a powder check leave it empty, the case will easily visible for a powder check when the ram is up with the die removed.
No peaking around to catch a glimpse of the powder when the ram is down
You can even insert the bullet after the ram up visual powder check...
:D

Lock out die, only one I'd trust. The powder cop dies that you have to look at are a waste because you are already looking in every case, right?

I seem to find that I load about 15 test loads for new loads. Then when testing in my auto's I load 3 at a time in the gun and test for feed, cycling and will it lock the slide back. If all is well from there I load another 50 and check for accuracy and general feel.

On my Pro1000 when I mounted it to the bench I rotated it about 20* counterclockwise. I can easily see into the case at the bottom of the powder drop where I also place the bullet before beginning to rotate it to the seating die as this was it doesn't splash powder out. Also I enjoy moving at a more leisurely slow pace as I do not need a 2 hundred per hour rate to meet my needs as some do.

I use an ancient Lee 3 hole turret press for pistol and eyeball every round. I also measure every 10th round to make sure the powder measure is still accurate. So far, so good. For rifle, I use a single stage press and hand measure each load. Since all the rifles I load for are bolt action, the volume is not that high, but if you are feeding a semi-auto, my method would likely not work.

all i know is my XL650 powder check station saved me from couple squibs .

wouldn't load without it,even if i always keep an eye on station 3.

this is why i weigh every load. but being retired i got plenty of time.