Loading by Volume

D

Don_Parsons

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Looks like the time has come to start mass loading procedures in the years ahead.

I started loading cases by volume only last year, the time has come to step it up into a larger scale.

The test run of 1.01 is under way this week.

Tools of the trade are:
Cake pan to hold 100 brass.
100 same size drop pins.
Vibrations tool.
And a jug of powder.

Once the charge is poured and settled, it's just the matter of minutes seating the bullets.

Today I'm loading 100 cases by volume, then I'll take the time to check the (OAS) Over All Spread between the cartrages.

The closest I've come with OAS was 0.3 gr from a 100 rapid case pour,,, I'm hoping to get it down to 0.2 gr or less.

The trick is to have all 100 drop pins sized correctly and held security in place in the rack so they sit flush on the bottom of the cases.

Pulling the pins is tricky, so they will get polished to a chrome like finish.

I'm loading by Volume for a few reasons.

To spend less time at the reloading control center.
Incress efficiency.
Spend more time shooting.
And keeping a tight vertical line at close range. 100 to 600 meters.

If this case volume loading idea improves, Im going to run these cartrages in a 1000 meter shoot this summer.

I'm doing 2 different cartrages and powders on this test run.

30/06 H-4350 of 55.3gr and 308 Win using 43.5 Varget,,, both charges are sitting behind the Hornady 178gr ELD-X and ELD-M bullets.

Fingers crossed as I find better and faster ways to reload the plinking loads.
I'm sure I'll stick to weigh scale loads for competion shoots coming up this year as its been the best practic so far.

More to follow as I get the OAS of 1.01 under way.

Don from Western Canada
 
I am not exactly sure how your "drop pins" function. Loading by volume using mechanical powder measures is certainly not new, and very common in bench rest matches.
 
The case drop pin idea is pretty fast and "hopefully" becomes consistant.

Nothing like filling 100 to 200 cases in under a minute. I'm trying to speed things up.

My friend is helping me set up a Dillon reloading press this year to improve the reloading program.


Ice fishing and reloading ammo at the same time is the best. Ha.

Lots on the go, the trick is to speed things up over all
 
I know a single guy that uses volumetric loading for stick powders that uses them in matches. The rest of us all use weighed chargers.

Are you making plinking rounds or are you going for LR accuracy?
 
I'd really like to see photos of this as well.

But I am guessing that the OP has a bunch of small tubes that are are all cut to a certain length. The tubes go inside the cases and sit on the inside bottom of the case.

When filled with powder and the excess struck off the top of the tubes, the tubes hold a known quantity of powder -- they are basically like powder dippers.

When all the tubes are full, you pull them out of the cases, leaving the powder behind. This may be tricky as the power may not want to drop out of the tubes.

An interesting idea but I could see a few ways this could go wrong. I don't think double-charges would be a risk for rifle rounds, but I could see undercharged rounds happening here. I could also see a lot of spilled powder if one is not careful.

I don't know if I would try to do 100 rounds at once, but the ability to charge, say, 5 or 10 rounds at once might be something I'd consider. I use one of those MTM reloading trays to hold cases while I reload. A 5-tube "dropper" (rather than dipper) spaced to fit shells in the tray might be a handy thing to have.
 
There are guys out there that trickle powder after dumping most of a charge, and there's the smart ones who just dump the charge 2-3 times until it comes out perfect. It's actually quicker than using an automatic electric scale. I showed this to a friend one time when he was getting into reloading, he had a giant wishlist.

After I explained a few things (and talked him out of the Dillon), he ended up with a lee turret press, lee powder measure, a digital scale, a funnel, a micrometer, and the Lyman brass prep hand tools. The bugger actually loads with less runout than I do lately lol. I'm still tumbling his brass though haha
 
I think the idea is to place a certain size solid "pin" in each case, the pins are attached to a rack of some sort. You let the pins rest on the bottom of the cases. Then you simply pour powder until the cases overflow. Vibrating the cases allows powder to settle evenly. Removing the rack and attached pins leaves you with partially filled cases, theoretically all with the same amount of powder. I can see a few problems with this, but what do I know?
I may not be seeing what the OP had in mind at all, if that's the case please accept my apologies.
 
Last edited:
Chilly807 said:
I think the idea is to place a certain size solid "pin" in each case, the pins are attached to a rack of some sort. You let the pins rest on the bottom of the cases. Then you simply pour powder until the cases overflow. Removing the rack and attached pins leaves you with partially filled cases, theoretically all with the same amount of powder. I can see a few problems with this, but what do I know?
I may not be seeing what the OP had in mind at all, if that's the case please accept my apologies.
Click to expand...

Actually, that makes a lot more sense than my notion of drop tubes.

I think I will stick with my powder dispenser, scale, and Targetmaster :)
 
Chilly807 said:
I think the idea is to place a certain size solid "pin" in each case, the pins are attached to a rack of some sort. You let the pins rest on the bottom of the cases. Then you simply pour powder until the cases overflow. Vibrating the cases allows powder to settle evenly. Removing the rack and attached pins leaves you with partially filled cases, theoretically all with the same amount of powder. I can see a few problems with this, but what do I know?
I may not be seeing what the OP had in mind at all, if that's the case please accept my apologies.
Click to expand...
Good explanation but I think other options would be more repeatable from an accuracy point of view
 
silverfoxdj said:
Good explanation but I think other options would be more repeatable from an accuracy point of view
Click to expand...

I wouldn't consider doing this myself. I'm reloading purely for accuracy, anywhere from 100-800 metres.
When a single grain of IMR4831 is enough to move the scale I'm using, measuring powder by volume isn't a viable option unless I want warm-up ammunition.
 
Chilly807 said:
I wouldn't consider doing this myself. I'm reloading purely for accuracy, anywhere from 100-800 metres.
When a single grain of IMR4831 is enough to move the scale I'm using, measuring powder by volume isn't a viable option unless I want warm-up ammunition.
Click to expand...
^^^ Agreed ..but still a good explanation
 
Chilly807 said:
I think the idea is to place a certain size solid "pin" in each case, the pins are attached to a rack of some sort. You let the pins rest on the bottom of the cases. Then you simply pour powder until the cases overflow. Vibrating the cases allows powder to settle evenly. Removing the rack and attached pins leaves you with partially filled cases, theoretically all with the same amount of powder. I can see a few problems with this, but what do I know?
I may not be seeing what the OP had in mind at all, if that's the case please accept my apologies.
Click to expand...

If thats the way I understand it I think it would be a lot of work to get it set up for the right amount of powder to be left in the case.
 
Don_Parsons said:
The case drop pin idea is pretty fast and "hopefully" becomes consistant.

Nothing like filling 100 to 200 cases in under a minute. I'm trying to speed things up.

My friend is helping me set up a Dillon reloading press this year to improve the reloading program.


Ice fishing and reloading ammo at the same time is the best. Ha.

Lots on the go, the trick is to speed things up over all
Click to expand...

I think I'd have to see some pics of the setup to get a better understanding.
 
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