How many decimal places do you SERIOUS reloaders go to???

Gunneegoogoo

Gunneegoogoo

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Hi,

Just wondering if anyone goes to .01gn, or if that's even possible??

As you all know the chargemaster does .1gn, which I have, but wondering if the ultra case preppers go beyond??

Cheers!!

-J.
 
.02 gr for powder which probably isn't necessary but once I was able to measure it then I had to. And then if I knew it wasn't correct I had to fix it.

For weighing bullets generally sort into piles of +/- .1 grains
 
For reference, a kernel of H4350 and H4831SC is right around 0.02gr..... unless you plan on cutting the kernel, that's the limit match shooters will go to.

Remember, that the chargemaster scale may report 0.1gr but does it actually weigh that accurately? All scales have a range of error. Some devices have more then others.

Personally, for my competition ammo, I want each powder charge to be well within the same 0.1gr so I need to use a scale what has an error much less then this. Quality scales that match shooters tend to use will have an error of +/- 0.02gr or roughly +/- 1 kernel of the powders we use.

The smaller the powder charge, the more important this tolerance becomes. Also, the further you shoot, the more you can see the affect on target....assuming the rifle is accurate.

I just did a test on some Bergers I am competing with just to see affect of the highest and lowest weights in the current lot. The weight range was very small and the effect on target was Zippo. I rarely weigh Bergers and have confirmed this is of little relevance with my current bullets.

I will do a spot check on my next batch of bullets..... just in case.

I do not weigh my brass as I have proven to my satisfaction, it doesn't do much of anything. If you want to sort brass, sort by case volume AND after the case has been formed to the chamber you want to shoot it in. Weighing doesn't reliably tell you anything about the case volume.

All same manf, same lot... seems to lead to very consistent stuff at least for my uses.

Jerry
 
I looked for charge weight scale that accept 2 decimals. +/- .01

I firmly strict to weigh powder under .02. All by hands and a measuring spoon. And of course, a powder tricker.
 
A tenth is good enough for me.

I use the Lee powder dippers... to drop single grains, hold the dipper over your scale and tap the handle with a finger until the grains trickle out... when you get the hang of it, you can drop grains one at a time.
 
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For hunting purposes, I go up or down about a grain or so of powder in my 30 cals. (303 and 30-30) Running some loads across the chronograph I had velocity variations in the 50 fps from highest to lowest speeds.

I NEVER load to the maximum powder levels, so the lower pressures are still within the limits.

For the distances I shoot, and the level of accuracy I get, it's perfectly fine my me.

I'm not a long range shooter, more of a hunter, so my accuracy requirements are different than the ultra precision shooters.

(I get a lot fussier when I load for my .22 Hornet. Plus or minus 1 grain is a 10% change in powder higher or lower. Yikes!)
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
Do you use a powder trickler, or a setup like a pharmacy tech would use to count pills??

-J.
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I throw the charge with a ChargeMaster, drop it on a gempro 250 with a trickler above that. Usually only needs a few kernels, up to 5. As Mystic said a kernel is around 0.02 gr (it is with Varget at least too) so that makes quick math to know how many kernels to trickle in.
 
I'm with Jerry on the spoon trickle. I started hand loading in the late 70's and used a DQ plastic spoon. Still using the same one. It's red just in case your interested.
 
We've likely all read articles with quotes from long range guys that throw all their loads by volume - believing that there are much more important things to worry about - like neck tension and striker spring strength and consistent case mouth thickness and distance to the lands and the quality of chambering. After reading this sort of thing, I took it to heart and keep a tub of powder sweepings to pinch-trickle into the scale pan if it does not weigh up. I reckon that a few granules of variety-powder is no big deal - we are only talking maybe 2 tenths at most of a say 30 grain to 50 grain charge.

It is kinda fun at first to think that being fussy matters, but likely we could do some tests on ammo that we have reloaded and find case to case variations that are have more to do with accuracy than the perfectly constant charge weight. Take neck tension - maybe we should measure just how much pull it takes to pull the bullets out of the cartridges. If some cases need annealing and some are still soft - or if mouths are of uneven thickness - and other stuff that I know nothing about - one bullet is going to hang around in the case longer than another. If the case mouth is thinned and trimmed and chamfered and bevelled and annealed and lubed before seating the bullet - and a dozen other things - maybe then a perfect charge weight would make a difference.
 
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When I shot TR I spent a lot of time on this issue for both the 223 with 80 gr and 308 with 155 gr. The elevation and groups at 900 meters were identical between weighed and thrown. I ended up using thrown charges from a Harrelson measure for all my long range stuff. I was not an F-class shooter so my accuracy demands were not quite as great but I needed both rifles to confidently group less than MOA at 900 meters.

I gather today's F-class is in a whole other world as far as accuracy to win matches so I'll leave it to the experts but for non- competitive use I think thrown is adequate for most.

For 25 meter center-fire pistol competition I use 32 S+W Long with a 100 gr wadcutter and 1.2 gr of VV 310. Once I've dialled in the measure I just turn out the rounds on the Dillon. The accuracy matches Lapua factory ammo. I did some mods to the Dillon measure to get the repeatability but again the results seem to support thrown charges.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
No worries about oils from skin on powder??

Don't laugh, that's an honest question!!!!

-J.
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None whatsoever. I also handle primers with thumb and forefinger as well, and not once have I ever had any issue from handling either powder or primers.
As I asked in another thread, who are these people whose skin is so oily that it can kill primers and powder?
 
ericrose said:
I'm with Jerry on the spoon trickle. I started hand loading in the late 70's and used a DQ plastic spoon. Still using the same one. It's red just in case your interested.
Click to expand...

LOL.....I remember my dad having 3 or 4 DQ spoons as well. I still have one, albeit I have not used it for a long time....
 
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