Dropping Ball Powder Charges without Weighing?

[General RE LEE]

I’ve always loaded each individual charge and trickled or adjusted as necessary.

Certain ball powders I run are on the money or off .01 a grain when I get my dropped set up.

Last night I decided to skip weighing every charge and just weigh one every 5-10 loads.

Anyone do this for banging steel at the range?

 

[3gunyotehtr]

All of the time. The only ones I weigh are my hunting loads. Everything else is loaded on a progressive. No reason to be obsessive, within reason velocity variation isn't as critical as I used to think.

 

[Carl Ross]

I have no issue throwing everything for use out to 600, and I throw everything that's ball powder. Enjoy the time savings...

 

[RodgerB]

The only time I weighed each individual charge was when I was shooting Service Rifle. For everything else I set the Harrell's powder measure and load 'em up. I don't shoot long range.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

If I'm just plinking, absolutely, saves a bunch of time. Especially with my .223's as we cannot use them for hunting big game here. My hunting loads, no.

 

[jfk69]

In my .223’s, which are the only cartridges I have using ball powders, I throw every one and don’t think twice. I’ve got two bigger cases that I’m going to work up pressure ladders with a ball powders (Staball 6.5, Ramshot Hunter, Magnum and Grand). If I find a load that works for them, I’ll throw the charges after development. Ball powders are ideal for using a thrower. I have a baffle in mine and rarely are the charges I weigh off more than .01.

 

[Wrongside]

I have no issue throwing everything for use out to 600, and I throw everything that's ball powder. Enjoy the time savings...

Yep. Same here.

 

[actionshooter]

I can't speak for all powder measurers, but I have thousands and thousands of rifle rounds through a Dillon 650 and with the right powder, it never changes.

 

[Scottf270]

Rcbs powder measure. Once I get scale set, I go to work.

 

[seand]

Why are you stopping to check overly 5 or 10th round - surely you aren’t adjusting the measure between charges?

Weighing charges of stick powder is generally a waste of time for anything short of long range Fclass or PRS, and weighing ball powder is hilarious.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I’m thinking of buying a Harrell dispenser just for this.


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[Steve300xcw]

Keep an eye on how much powder you have in the thing. Head pressure makes a difference. But yea, I'll get things set and then throw powder until I'm done for the day. Not like the settings on the measure moved.

 

[SamsonMan22]

I’m thinking of buying a Harrell dispenser just for this.


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They sure are nice to work with.


OP I throw everything ball or stick powder. Most is done on a Harrells some on a progressive with a Hornady I believe it is their bench rest version. My technique for the Harrells is to throw a charge and keep adjusting it until it reads close to my target weight, right on is even better. Then I throw 30 charges recording each to see what my variation is. Once the 30 charges are all recorded I take the average of them to see if it matches my target weight. I adjust accordingly until the average is to the point where I can’t adjust it out. I record the setting for that powder at that weight and just return to that setting every time.

It takes a little time to do it this way but once you have the settings it’s simple to setup the thrower and load. I don’t weigh charges again once I have the setting confirmed, at least not until I get to a new lot of powder. I’m not waiting for scales to warm up and calibrate or for an electronic thrower to run its cycle, and I’m surely not taking the time to trickle and weigh each charge for a field rifle.

 

[General RE LEE]

Keep an eye on how much powder you have in the thing. Head pressure makes a difference. But yea, I'll get things set and then throw powder until I'm done for the day. Not like the settings on the measure moved.

I was told to fill the hopper up vs putting enough to load the tray. A full hopper keeps charges more consistent.

 

[Steve300xcw]

yup. FWIW a 1lb bottle o powder fits nicely in the top of the hopper............

They also make these baffles.

Powder Baffle

shop.rcbs.com

 

[Castle Rock]

I never weight powder, these are dropped straight from the measure into the case

 

[jfk69]

yup. FWIW a 1lb bottle o powder fits nicely in the top of the hopper............

They also make these baffles.

Powder Baffle

shop.rcbs.com

That’s the type/style of baffle I use in my RCBS. Works great and as long as there is powder above the baffle it throws very consistently.

 

[bhylton]

I don’t know the true variability in powder charges. But there was no difference in 10 rd group dispersion between weighed vs thrown charges of w748 in my tikka 223. I just picked a charge weight that was .7ish below pressure to be safe if it charged one heavy. I’m using the cheap rcbs thrower than comes in a rock chucker kit, no powder baffle

 

[Weldor]

I was told to fill the hopper up vs putting enough to load the tray. A full hopper keeps charges more consistent.

Make a baffle and it does not matter. There are some good templates online. Or you can buy one.

 

[4090Sharps]

I make a point of using ball powder in every cartridge shoot so I can so that I can set up a powder dropper on a turret or progressive press. This way, besides an occasional quality assurance check, I don’t have to mess with it again.