Powder Trickler question
- Thread starter luckey
- Start date
For accurate rifle loads I'd be wanting to weigh every charge. And that involves using a trickler for the last couple of 1/10's of a grain.
For less demanding loading like handgun or speed related competition rifle ammo the Dillon powder measure will do just fine provided it drops sufficient powder from the deeper powder bar. For some of the larger calibers I don't think it'll work. But for up to something like .308 or 30-06 it should be fine.
For less demanding loading like handgun or speed related competition rifle ammo the Dillon powder measure will do just fine provided it drops sufficient powder from the deeper powder bar. For some of the larger calibers I don't think it'll work. But for up to something like .308 or 30-06 it should be fine.
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- The Orion Arm
FWIW, I use the powder drop station on my 650 for all pistol, AR, and M1A loads. For precision rifle, I weigh each charge individually with a scoop or a RCBS manual powder drop and trickle up
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- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
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I must be gimpie.
Had a tricklerer and just hated it.
Now I use a nickel magnum case and drop a charge in it.
Tap tap tap over the scale tray.
Werks far easier than the tern tern tern bump oh chit........chit.
Have and use a Hornady powder drop, but it is never ever acckerate.
Bout ready to take a martoe to it too.
Had a tricklerer and just hated it.
Now I use a nickel magnum case and drop a charge in it.
Tap tap tap over the scale tray.
Werks far easier than the tern tern tern bump oh chit........chit.
Have and use a Hornady powder drop, but it is never ever acckerate.
Bout ready to take a martoe to it too.
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
I use a glass bowl and a little wooden spoon to weigh my rifle charges into a beam scale.
For pistol, I just use the powder throw on my Dillon.
I've got a tricklerer, but I found it useless actually. Threw way too much powder. The spoon is better, since I can just scoop a nodule or two to finish off that last .01 grain I need.
For pistol, I just use the powder throw on my Dillon.
I've got a tricklerer, but I found it useless actually. Threw way too much powder. The spoon is better, since I can just scoop a nodule or two to finish off that last .01 grain I need.
I guess I got lucky with my tricker. It's one I made myself just as a fun shop project. It gives me really good control.
But obviously we all have our own pet ways of putting those last few tenths onto the scale.
Steve, I wonder if your skin oils or any oil you pick up from the loading gear might affect the powder? Because of the likelyhood of my skin having some natural or lubricating oils on it from handling all the oiled metal around the loading area I tend to avoid touching primers or powder if at all possible.
But obviously we all have our own pet ways of putting those last few tenths onto the scale.
Steve, I wonder if your skin oils or any oil you pick up from the loading gear might affect the powder? Because of the likelyhood of my skin having some natural or lubricating oils on it from handling all the oiled metal around the loading area I tend to avoid touching primers or powder if at all possible.
Not to sidetrack but I will...
I trickle my single stage rifle loads as I weigh each charge.
But I'm starting to question my logic- to a degree.
Weight is subjective as the manufacturer adds moisture to control burn rate (other threads on here) and as you get down in the jug it has been suggested that the load speeds up due to the drying of the powder.
I find it hard to believe factory ammo weighs anything- mass production I would think requires a volume measure. Honestly I don't know but this is my speculation...
My pistol rounds are all made by volume- and they work great.
I still find it impossible (mentally) to drop a rifle charge but if the measure is a consistent size (not weight) would it make any difference?
If your not water measuring every brass case for uniformity then why must I measure the load to the N'th degree?
Surely the manufacturing differences in the brass is greater than the percentage trickled- or it's impact on a load?
Again all my speculations as I trickle away each charge...
I trickle my single stage rifle loads as I weigh each charge.
But I'm starting to question my logic- to a degree.
Weight is subjective as the manufacturer adds moisture to control burn rate (other threads on here) and as you get down in the jug it has been suggested that the load speeds up due to the drying of the powder.
I find it hard to believe factory ammo weighs anything- mass production I would think requires a volume measure. Honestly I don't know but this is my speculation...
My pistol rounds are all made by volume- and they work great.
I still find it impossible (mentally) to drop a rifle charge but if the measure is a consistent size (not weight) would it make any difference?
If your not water measuring every brass case for uniformity then why must I measure the load to the N'th degree?
Surely the manufacturing differences in the brass is greater than the percentage trickled- or it's impact on a load?
Again all my speculations as I trickle away each charge...
I use a cheap Lyman trickler and control the flow by picking it up and angling the barrel up or down. I use a Lee scoop to get close but some charges I dont have a close match for so I end up trickling a bit more. I start by angling the barrel down some to get good, fast flow then reduce the angle as I approach the charge weight. A slight upward angle is great for those last few kernels.
you wont need a trickler, but you will need a scale.
I have a 550, and if my hopper has a powder in it, and I want to try a load with a different powder, I have used the beam scale and trickler to load those rounds, then take them to the Dillon to seat and crimp my rounds. I'm talking about .223.
When you get your press, prime a case and then move it to the charging spot. dump a load in the case then weigh it. So this 3 or 4 times to be sure that the load coming out is the same.
After your load is set, you're off to the races.
Trickling is to give accuracy and consistency to loads dumped by a hopper. If you need 40.2 gr, but the closest you can get without going over is 40.0gr.. you would then trickle the last 0.2gr
I have a 550, and if my hopper has a powder in it, and I want to try a load with a different powder, I have used the beam scale and trickler to load those rounds, then take them to the Dillon to seat and crimp my rounds. I'm talking about .223.
When you get your press, prime a case and then move it to the charging spot. dump a load in the case then weigh it. So this 3 or 4 times to be sure that the load coming out is the same.
After your load is set, you're off to the races.
Trickling is to give accuracy and consistency to loads dumped by a hopper. If you need 40.2 gr, but the closest you can get without going over is 40.0gr.. you would then trickle the last 0.2gr
Back when I was forced to use a Lee progressive the odd round would skip a primer and it would get kicked out and roll away. I'd pick those up and put them back in the tray. The case lube or oil on my hands apparently transferred to the cups and then onto the plastic of the little funky ski slope feed guide that Lee uses. That made things sticky to where the primers would not feed correctly.
So that was one effect. It took me quite a while to pin down the issues with the primer rail and why it was getting sticky and needed cleaning with brake cleaner now and then. Then one day I was putting a few primers back into the tray and I realized where it was coming from. From then on I used some tweezers and never had the problem again.
Eventually I removed the issue by giving the press to a buddy.... I told him he had to buy his own tweezers though....
OK, maybe killing the primer or some of the powder is a bit of over kill provided our hands are not clearly sticky with the stuff. But it was amazing how little it took to mess up that primer guide.
Funny, I've never used any sort of primer handling system, other than the thumb and forefinger I use for trickling. I plan to buy a Lee turret press at some point, and have already decided not to bother with their primer system. I dunno, maybe there are really oily people out there, but I'm not one of them, it seems.
i picked up a lyman ez flow powder measure and found that no matter how easy i was on the handle it trickled too much powder........so i modified it with heat shrink tubing,i can now easily drop 1 grain at a time.imho i think they should manufacture smaller tubes to attach to the main tube.
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