Weighing powder to the kernel

[FNSafari]

Boy you've got to have one very sensitive scale to weigh to the kernel and the technique and static location to take advantage of it. I'm now using a MacDonald dispenser and scale and am thrilled at its .02 gr variance.

 

[mikecr]

I've become a pretty strong believer in the adage, "Good enough is always good enough. Better or perfect, is the enemy of "good enough". jd

Have you achieved nothing on your own?
GOOD ENOUGH is the enemy of BETTER

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I found an "unusual" kernel in a Lot# of Varget today while weighing powder. This guy takes weighing powder to +/- one kernel to a whole new level. LOL. At almost 1" long, I'd also imagine he might cause a wee problem in a trickler. No worries, I broke his monopoly up into little pieces.

View attachment 1494110

No wonder Varget never metered very well in my Dillon...

 

[D Coots]

I've been weighing to the kernel for years and it doesn't make me a better shooter. All the bullshit of trying to do everything to perfection isn't going to make you shoot better. A friend of mine who is one of the best if not the best score shooter throws his charges with a Jones powder measure. Learn how to read your wind flags if you want to shoot better. And in the end all the crap you try to do to your ideas of perfection won't mean a damn thing if you pull the trigger at the wrong time.

Maybe I'm just bad at throwing powder but I sure can weigh powder better than I can follow the flags....so that's one more variable out of my equation. I can turn my brass within 3 or 4 tenths and call it good enough too. Or not trim to length until it grows .010...close enough. Seat my bullets within a few thousands of each other......that'll do.

Actually, I would be fine with everyone else throwing charges......

You're right in your last sentence Jim...don't do that.

 

[JimPag]

It has always been a three legged stool; ammo, rifle, and shooter. If each one of those elements is not up to the task, u are just a donor! A sea of wind flags does not make u a good shooter. Flags lie, it is the rifleman who takes in all the info available and puts the bullet in the x ring.

Yes once in a while the bullet goes someplace different on the paper than where the flags were telling you where it normally should of ended up but a person that can read and understand where the bullet should normally go will have a better chance of winning than someone that can't read them. So like I said before it is the rifleman in the end that can read flags and knows where in theory the bullet should end up at on the target will have the best chance of winning.

 

[jelenko]

Have you achieved nothing on your own?
GOOD ENOUGH is the enemy of BETTER

But, what is the value of 'better'?

 

[Bill Clifton]

Nothing wrong with drinking if you drink the right stuff - Maker's Mark.

That's my brand too, not when I reload though.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

So now to be competitive you have inspect each kernel for size and shape then count the number of kernel to make sure you have the same in each load, so that’s the secret to winning

 

[gpoldblue]

So now to be competitive you have inspect each kernel for size and shape then count the number of kernel to make sure you have the same in each load, so that’s the secret to winning

Plus getting all of your cases to within .02 of internal volume....maintaining sight alignment....trigger pull...follow through...wind flags.....sighters....and finally doping correctly...whew!!
Good luck and stay safe.

 

[Andy Work]

That's my brand too, not when I reload though.

Right. You want Four Roses small batch for the most accurate cartridges.

 

[urbanrifleman]

My velocity nodes are usually at least .3 grains wide. Sometimes wider.

 

[D Coots]

My velocity nodes are usually at least .3 grains wide. Sometimes wider.

Curious as to what powder and what discipline you shoot?

Dave

 

[urbanrifleman]

Curious as to what powder and what discipline you shoot?

Dave

The point being that if a person needs to throw powder to a kernel to stay in tune, or to get single digit spreads, I suggest getting another powder. No matter what "discipline".

 

[durand mortenson]

Do you know what a short timers stick is. I had one in Nam. A 105mm primer tube with a 50 cal bullet stuck on one end and a 50 cal case on the other end. They fit together perfectly. You were supposed to carry it around to indicate you had less than 30 days. I think we would have got in trouble if we carried it every where we went.

I had one made up before rotating back. The piece between the case and the bullet I think was bamboo painted black . The case and the bullet were chrome plated.

Mort

 

[D Coots]

The point being that if a person needs to throw powder to a kernel to stay in tune, or to get single digit spreads, I suggest getting another powder. No matter what "discipline".

Well evidently the SR BR I shoot is more fussy, not that I'm down to the kernal though. 6PPC. I don't have any barrels that allow me a .3 wide window. I may get by with .2 but when tuning it can be seen on paper.

If my load is .3 off at a match the joy is gone in Muddville.

That's why I was curious what caliber and discipline you shoot.

 

[Ccrider]

Right. You want Four Roses small batch for the most accurate cartridges.

Well evidently the SR BR I shoot is more fussy, not that I'm down to the kernal though. 6PPC. I don't have any barrels that allow me a .3 wide window. I may get by with .2 but when tuning it can be seen on paper.

If my load is .3 off at a match the joy is gone in Muddville.

That's why I was curious what caliber and discipline you shoot.

This is exactly what I was thinking, both short range and long range. My loads do not have .3gr windows. I must be doing something wrong too.

 

[urbanrifleman]

This is exactly what I was thinking, both short range and long range. My loads do not have .3gr windows. I must be doing something wrong too.

Of course, charge weights relative to case capacity might have something to do with the width of the node. Either way it's not a kernel. Which was the point.

 

[Evan]

This thread has drifted from the not very serious original post but there’s a super easy test for how much powder matters if you have a good beam or scale: Load 10 rounds with +\- 0.1gn variation, and load another 10 with +\-0.02gn and go shoot them.

I found the answer for me in my discipline of 1000yd benchrest. Some things don’t matter, like cleaning your primer pockets, and some things do. If it matters, you’ll see it when you test it. Be pragmatic and don’t surrender to dogma.

 

[davidjoe]

This thread has drifted from the not very serious original post but there’s a super easy test for how much powder matters if you have a good beam or scale: Load 10 rounds with +\- 0.1gn variation, and load another 10 with +\-0.02gn and go shoot them.

I found the answer for me in my discipline of 1000yd benchrest. Some things don’t matter, like cleaning your primer pockets, and some things do. If it matters, you’ll see it when you test it. Be pragmatic and don’t surrender to dogma.

Can you preview us with your results? I’m especially curious because I have been relaxing the precision of powder charges a bit lately because the dump ratio would be very high if I loaded only the same tenth of a grain.

 

[Evan]

Can you preview us with your results? I’m especially curious because I have been relaxing the precision of powder charges a bit lately because the dump ratio would be very high if I loaded only the same tenth of a grain.

For my 6.5x47 and my 22BR, I can go to .04gns without seeing any detriments. +\-0.1 is too much though and I see inches of vertical show up at 1000yds that isn’t there otherwise. Not sure I would see it at 300 and in. Shows up at 500 and beyond though.

Edit: I should put some context: at 1000yds during practice and load development, a good group is 3”. At 600, 1”. In competition without my flags and on a relatively unfamiliar range it gets bigger.