Powder measure accuracy with H4350?

[mik641]

Hi guys,

What sort of consistency are you getting with powder measures with H4350, obviously a charge will be weighed before seating bullets, but can I expect 0.1gr accuracy from a powder measure such as Harrells etc?

Currently my Lee is +/- 0.5gr over about 10 loads!

Cheers

 

[jds holler]

I've always thought 4350 is one of the worst to meter. Don't know about the Lee measures, but my RCBS Uniflow probably goes +/- at least .3 gr.

Now on the big boys where you might be throwing 70 or 80 grains, that might not be too bad. Generally though I throw light charges, and trickle them up to weight. jd

 

[jr600yd]

Consistency is determined mostly by technique. Powder measures may have a + - value but technique will keep this consistent.

 

[mac86951]

I'm in to see what others say. I have several cases that use h4350, or varget; so, I went with an rcbs chargemaster

 

[FeMan]

I can get my Redding to throw to within 0.2 grains or less. For rifle cartridges, I set it to throw just under a half-charge and dump it twice. The averaging helps some. I always trew a slight undercharge and trickled in the last 0.1 to 0.2 grains if/as needed. Now that I am using the RCBS Chargemaster and McDonalds straw, I get the right charge 95% of the time with H4350.

 

[savagedasher]

My charge master with H4350 With 67 drops 2 were .3 tents over 4 was 2 tents 6 were 1 tenth over but they were also bouncing in and out of be correct.. Larry

 

[BoydAllen]

IMO and based on a lot of experience, no measure will throw 4350 close enough to be useful, which means that it does not matter which you use. They all will require trickling. I have a Harrell's', a Lyman, two Hollywoods, three Saeco Micro measures, and have owned and tested many more, including RCBS, Ohaus, Belding and Mull, and Redding. The advantages of the Harrells are that it has a convenient and repeatable system with which to set charge volumes, has a bottle adapter, has a built in clamp, and allows the user the option of various lengths and a couple of IDs of transparent drop tubes. These combined with their compact size, explain their popularity. If you plan on using 4350 a lot, you might want to try a RCBS Chargemaster, and check the charges on another scale, something like the new Bald Eagle scale. Otherwise just use a tuned balance, throw light and trickle.

 

[the long shot]

I use a RCBS uniflow and can throw within 2 tenths of a charge with Varget or H4350. Only when I catch a granual does it throw a little heavy. It also matters how full you fill the powder reservoir. The more full, the more consistent charge.

 

[ireload2]

I use an AMT/Lyman Autoscale. It is basically 2 motorized tricklers that feed powder into an Ohaus beam scale pan.

It will repeat to about =/- .01 grain with 4350, 4831 and even SR4759.

 

[BillPa]

It also matters how full you fill the powder reservoir. The more full, the more consistent charge.

Using a baffle or baffles will help the consistency by minimizing the effect of weight of the powder column in the reservoir as it changes. You can buy or make them.
http://www.shootersforum.com/attachments/handloading-equipment/5608d1166480764-you-baffled-powder-baffle-instructions.pdf

 

[mac86951]

IMO and based on a lot of experience, no measure will throw 4350 close enough to be useful, which means that it does not matter which you use. They all will require trickling. I have a Harrell's', a Lyman, two Hollywoods, three Saeco Micro measures, and have owned and tested many more, including RCBS, Ohaus, Belding and Mull, and Redding. The advantages of the Harrells are that it has a convenient and repeatable system with which to set charge volumes, has a bottle adapter, has a built in clamp, and allows the user the option of various lengths and a couple of IDs of transparent drop tubes. These combined with their compact size, explain their popularity. If you plan on using 4350 a lot, you might want to try a RCBS Chargemaster, and check the charges on another scale, something like the new Bald Eagle scale. Otherwise just use a tuned balance, throw light and trickle.

+1. Use mcDs straw, tinge up charge master for faster speed and check on a 505 or 10-10.

 

[mik641]

Seems a waste of time to have a powder measure and set to to drop a load under your target weight and have to trickle up, potentially you could be trickling a whole grain. id be happy trickling up 0.1 but not 0.5

Im surprised none of the big names haven't done anything about it

 

[mik641]

just did some testing with my lee powder measure, doing 2 charges to get full weight with the powder measure set on a random setting

first set, done willy nilly technique

49.7, 49.3 ,49.2, 49.4, 49.3, 49.6, 49.4, 49.6, average 49.4

then another set tapping at the bottom of the stroke

49.7, 50.3, 49.7, 50.1, 50.8, 50.2, 50.2, 50.1, average 50.1

then last set tapping at the top of the stroke

49.8, 49.6, 49.2, 49.6, 49.6, 49.6, 49.7, 49.4, average 49.5

so do you reckon any other brands of powder measures can do this more accurately?

 

[Ledd Slinger]

+1 on the RCBS ChargeMaster. I throw a lot of RL-17 with my ChargeMaster which is a powder with similar sized extruded kernels as H4350. I have yet to have a throw be off the mark. Whatever I set the scale to throw is exactly what it throws right down to tenth of a grain. I have verified the charge weights thrown by my ChargeMaster many times on my GemPro 250 scale. The weight on the RCBS scale always matches up with the GemPro. Of course the GemPro meausres to .02 gr, but I am usually within +/- .02-.04 gr of what my RCBS ChargeMaster scale indicates. Basically +/- one or two kernels.

That being said, I have done the McDonald's straw and programming upgrade. Did it right out of the box because I read about inconsistencies using the ChargeMaster in unmodified condition while doing research before the purchase. With the straw and programming upgrades, my Chargemaster is as accurate as anything else and WAY faster because I am confident that it can be trusted and does not need verification on other scales. So I sold my Scott Parker tuned RCBS 10-10 beam scale and my GemPro 250 just sits on the bench with a sad lonely face remembering the slow boring case charging times we used to have ;D

 

[R.Morehouse]

Low budget here......I use the correct little yellow spoon and the Omega unit. One scoop, a touch or 2 on the Omega then move on to the next. ......Very precise method & pretty quick as well....But I am never in a rush...

 

[hogan]

Longer stick powders can be difficult...

Most ctgs I use xmr4350 with are heavy-loaded. I throw the measured charge into the scale pan and then dribble the last grain or two with pan on the scale. Of course, I use checkweight set to get as close as I can for zeroing the scale.

Probably .2gr variance don't matter on a 55gr or heavier load; but, if I can control the chargeweight variable, I take effort to do so.

Used to own a Redding BR3a measure. It was no more consistent than RCBS uniflow. Optimized for lighter match loads, included mic adjustment, and powder baffle. Bought RCBS mic measure stem and their powder baffle, and polished the cast iron base area for smoother powder to drum delivery. Suits me fine.