[IDShooter]

Hello everyone,
      We've discussed previously the merits of weighing vs. throwing charges. I did a little experimenting to see just how much technique affects results. I have developed the habit over the years of "double tapping" the powder measure handle just before I throw each charge, in order to settle the powder in the metering chamber. Today I compared this method with simply throwing each charge to see if it really works. In short, it does!
      With XMR4350, metering without the double tap produced weights up to .7gr above and .9 gr below nominal weight. When I double tapped I got no charges above and a lowest charge of .5gr below nominal weight. With the AA#5 I use in the .44 there was not such a noticable difference between the two methods; all charges were so close it was hard to measure any difference. With the 4350 I do not use any throws that hang up badly because they do vary quite a bit.
       For reference, my scale is an RCBS 510 and my powder measure is an RCBS Uniflow, with a powder baffle pushed down as far as it will go. The charges I ran this little experiment on were 44.0gr of XMR4350 and 7.0gr of AA#5. Anyone having difficulty getting good thrown charges should try different techniques to see what works.
Also, my bench is rock steady and is bolted to the wall, and I'm sure that helps.   IDShooter

 

[Marshall Stanton]

In your post, you mention the well anchored loading bench.  Someone new might not appreciate the merits of such, but as you mentioned, the stability of your bench does much to promote uniformity in your loading, not just thrown powder charges, but a whole spectrum of aspects are affected by this one seemingly insignificant detail!

God Bless,

Marshall

 

[Alk8944]

IDShooter,

Another method you might try is this.  Take out the powder baffle and use a funnel, fairly small, and set it in the top of your measure reservoir.  You want one with a medium spout and the top large enough to hold a reasonable amount of powder.  If the funnel is too large it tends to be unstable and easily knocked over which is obviously not a good thing.

The funnel acts as a baffle but allows you to have a full and constant head above the cylinder cavity instead of the 1" or less head with the baffle down against the body casting.  In use I have found that a double bump, for me atleast, tends to be more erratic than just gently bumping the stop and hesitating slightly to allow the cavity to fill completely and the powder in the reservoir to stop all movement.  You watch at the funnel spout for movement.

Using this method has been quite consistent for me, usually only .1 to .2 gr. variation with most powders and .5 gr.total variation with most of the larger tubular powders like 4350 and it's clones.  Of course, the longer the grains the greater the variation.  I also discard (return to the funnel) any charge on which I encounter resistance as they tend to be way off the mark.

An alternate method would be to raise the baffle about mid way up the reservoir.  With either method be sure to keep the reservoir or funnel replenished before they run out.