Emptying a hopper of powder

In 50+ years of loading, I have never had contamination of the powder in the hopper. Not a risk.

The HUGE risks are dumping the hopper into the wrong can - and that WILL contaminate the powder. If you dump ball pistol powder into a can of ball rifle powder (they look the same) that will blow up a rifle.

The other risk is looking at the hopper and thinking the powder is 4350 and it is actually 3031. That will blow up a rifle, too.

When I put powder in the hopper, I stick a piece of masking tape on it, noting the powder.

And when done, I dump it back into the right can.

If you leave the powder in the hopper it can damage the plastic and the powder will dry out (speed up).
 
Powder from the hopper goes back in the container it came from. Spilled powder goes into a folded up piece of paper and becomes the worlds lamest fireworks display. (1/2 a teaspoon of powder does not make for a spectacular show)
I transfer a pound at a time from the 8lb jugs to a 1lb bottle of the same type for easier handling too. But only after using every grain of the original contents due to variations in density from one lot to another.
The graphite from the powder does 2 things, provides a conductive bleed path for any static charges so the powder doesn't stick or hang up and lubricates the measure.
There is no oil or grease on or about my bench when reloading nor powder or primers present when cleaning or servicing my guns.
 
Thank you all for your advice.

I bought a progressive press (Hornady lock and load) because I do subscribe to the notion that you buy once, you cry once. That said, I plan to run my first few batches very small and very slow: loading one case at a time and checking every powder drop until I gain confidence in myself, my process and my equipment.

FF
 
FyreFighter said:
Thank you all for your advice.

I bought a progressive press (Hornady lock and load) because I do subscribe to the notion that you buy once, you cry once. That said, I plan to run my first few batches very small and very slow: loading one case at a time and checking every powder drop until I gain confidence in myself, my process and my equipment.

FF
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Given your approach you should have no issues. Just oe last note is to check different books for loads as they sometimes list min and max loads at different weights for the exact same bullet and powder combo.
 
FyreFighter said:
Thank you all for your advice.

I bought a progressive press (Hornady lock and load) because I do subscribe to the notion that you buy once, you cry once. That said, I plan to run my first few batches very small and very slow: loading one case at a time and checking every powder drop until I gain confidence in myself, my process and my equipment.

FF
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An excellent plan. You'll find that as you gain confidence in your abilities and equipment, things will go much faster. Setting up and verifying the set up every time will become second nature.
 
First thing I did when I setup my powder hoppers is total degrease them. I rust protect the parts by applying paste wax then buffing it off before letting it air out for a few hours. When not in use, my hoppers are usually covered with a plastic bag just to minimize air circulation that might promote rusting. I don't use spray solvents or oils around my workbench. The lids of my hoppers are always on.

I work out of a 1lb jug of powder when I'm reloading and I'll end up using most of the powder anyway. Even with an 8lb jug, I pour out 1lb at a time to to avoid accidentally spillage from trying to dump powder out of an 8lb jug into a tiny hopper. I try and maintain a 3/4 to 1/4 full hopper to maintain equal powder loads. When the powder level drops below the baffle, the loads slowly start getting lighter.

Any remaining powder gets returned to the same bottle I was working out of. I do put a piece of tape on the lid with the date I opened the bottle. Never had a problem of powders going bad from cross contamination.

Any powder that spills onto the floor or workbench gets dumped into a zip-loc bag and later gets burned up in the campfire etc for sh!tz & giggles.


FyreFighter said:
Thank you all for your advice.

I bought a progressive press (Hornady lock and load) because I do subscribe to the notion that you buy once, you cry once. That said, I plan to run my first few batches very small and very slow: loading one case at a time and checking every powder drop until I gain confidence in myself, my process and my equipment.

FF
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Good choice. The odd time you may need to adjust the timing on it if you find that the shell plate isn't lining up properly on your downstroke. There are some good videos on Youtube on tweaking, troubleshooting this press.

One tip I can provide, pickup a split lock washer for the shellplate bolt. That bolt on its own has a tendency to loosen up.

Check out this guy's vids on the LNL.

 
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Thanks Trinimon. I checked out his videos, as well as the Hornady instructional videos. Helped me make up my mind. I was torn between the LnL and the Dillon. Both seem to have excellent customer service. It boiled down to the price: picked up the LnL for less than $400 US, and have 700 bullets on the way for getting the press, a scale and the dies.
FF
 
I bought a used Mec shotgun reloading setup. One of the big mec bottles full of what was labeled 700X. I did not fill the bottle, i did not know how long it had been there, so it simply got pitched. Anything questionable makes the Roses very happy.

Powder is hard to find, and really expensive in comparison to years ago. Next time you spend $40/lb let it be a motivation to clean up your bench when finished reloading.
 
A few things I learned over the years, & some have already been mentioned here, 1 powder ONLY on bench at a time, mark hopper with powder type ie; H335 with bright coloured paper (dollar store), dont leave powder in hopper for extended periods of time ie; hrs not days/weeks, I like to keep 8lb jug in front of me, keep a note of load data U are currently working on & keep things neat & tidy for organizational/safety purposes. SgtRock
 
My reloading bench and equipment has been is in my basement for over 40 years and I protect much of my reloading equipment with wax to protect them from moisture and air. This is the same thing that Trinimon has done above and what a conservator does in a museum to all metal parts of firearms on display.

"DO NOT" leave any powder in powder measures, a chemical reaction can happen between the plastic and powder. I have a new RCBS Charge Master that has gray ball powder freckles on the green plastic parts inside the hopper. This might have something to do with double base powders and their chemical makeup but it made me sick to see this on less than two week old Charge master. :bangHead:
 
bigedp51 said:
This might have something to do with double base powders and their chemical makeup but it made me sick to see this on less than two week old Charge master. :bangHead:
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My first powder thrower was an RCBS Uniflow. I left some powder in it for a few days (might have been Red Dot but I'm not sure) and when I emptied it I was surprised to see that the plastic that had been in contact with the powder was cloudy, not clear. Some powders definitely react with some of the plastics.

I never made that mistake again.
 
FyreFighter said:
Thank you all for your advice.

I bought a progressive press (Hornady lock and load) because I do subscribe to the notion that you buy once, you cry once. That said, I plan to run my first few batches very small and very slow: loading one case at a time and checking every powder drop until I gain confidence in myself, my process and my equipment.

FF
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I think you have the right approach and that all is going to go well for you.
 
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