using electronic scale to check reloads

Denn0001

Denn0001

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I have a little Fankford Arms electronic scale that goes up to 750 grains. How should I use the scale to check finished reloads. Different brands of casings weigh differently etc. I will be loading .223 caliber with 60gr. Nosler ballistic tip bullets. My powder will be standard Varget. My primers will be CCI #400 small rifle primers. Thanks guys ( and ladies ):confused:
 
usually you would use the scale to check your powder load. If I understand you correctly you want to check finished total weight?? If so it will be all over the place because of different brass, and the fact that scale is not the most accurate.

You could check the final total weight for major variance in case there was a powder charge missed. But besides that I think your total variance from load to load can be up to 8-10 grains mostly because of the brass.

Now you could batch your empties in to groups that weigh the same to develop better loads.
 
I have a digital scale as well and only use it to check the powder charge when reloading.

As others have said the final reload may have a lot of differences especially using home cast lead bullets.

Cactus
 
The only way to do what you want is to weigh and mark each primer, case and bullet before loading your rounds, then you can weigh the finished round to verify the powder load.

Me thinks it would be easier to just weight the powder out properly before putting it into the case.
 
There seems to be a wide variance as to how much H2O each brand of case will hold. Is it safe then, to use the minimum load all across the variety of cases? I will, of course, check each case for flaws etc. after they have been cleaned. For example: the starting powder requirement for the .223cal. and using a 60gr. bullet with Varget as a propellent is 25 grains according to the Lee data table.
 
Denn0001 said:
There seems to be a wide variance as to how much H2O each brand of case will hold. Is it safe then, to use the minimum load all across the variety of cases? I will, of course, check each case for flaws etc. after they have been cleaned. For example: the starting powder requirement for the .223cal. and using a 60gr. bullet with Varget as a propellent is 25 grains according to the Lee data table.
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Of course it is. It's also safe to use the max load listed, assuming your firearm is modern,functioning properly and you've checked the cases.

Best if you're new to reloading is go 10% below max load and work your way up.

Careful with max loads if your 223 is an autoloader,lever action or pump.
 
When I started out and after the first few accidental double loads I started weighing every case after priming but before the powder went in (you catch missing primers plus get a baseline weight), and again after the powder went in but before the bullet went on (which confirms the powder weight) and sometimes again after the bullet went on for the heck of it. The main concern was powder weight (missing primers tend to be fairly obvious when you add powder because of the mess it makes) but helped me get familiar with the process, how the weight of components varies and what to expect of the powder measure & a given powder. Still do it sometimes with my progressive when I get interrupted.

Edited to add: you can weigh the finished product but as you suggest the final weight is going to vary as the weight of the components varies. Once you've weighed a few hundred cases, primers and bullets (or a few thousand in my case...slow learner :-/) to see how they can change you should have a pretty good feeling for how that translates into weight of the finished product.
 
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Lordy some people like to make things complicated.......:rolleyes:

Weigh the powder. Pick up a case and check to see if there is a primer seated.:rolleyes: Dump freshly weighed powder into freshly inspected brass.:D Without putting the powder/case down (you just never know when extra powder could mysteriously find it's way into the case), place case into the press and seat a bullet (previously weighed several times and then not out of your sight for more than 5 seconds):D.

Done. If you want to weigh them again before you put them into the box or when you take them out of the box next week and then 1 more time before shooting just to be safe, have at it. You obviously have more time than a lot of other people.:)
 
I've changed my routine from putting 50 cases in a loading block and filling each one with powder then seating 50 bullets to preping 50 cases in a loading block,charging the case and seating the bullet then placing the completed round in a seperate loading block.(make sense?)

My RCBS 1500 Chargemaster had a lot to do with it. I'm seating a bullet while it is dispensing the next powder charge.
 
DOUGLAS D said:
I've changed my routine from putting 50 cases in a loading block and filling each one with powder then seating 50 bullets to preping 50 cases in a loading block,charging the case and seating the bullet then placing the completed round in a seperate loading block.(make sense?)

My RCBS 1500 Chargemaster had a lot to do with it. I'm seating a bullet while it is dispensing the next powder charge.
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^^^^^^^^At last! Someone who thinks outside the box! Just because the book always shows a tray with 50 shiney brass standing, waiting for powder does not mean you have to do it that way! If you build one round at a time, what could go wrong?
 
I'm another Charge Master 1500 fan, I weigh the powder amount twice and seat a bullet as the 1500 is turning out the next load. I also only use powders that fills the case to around 90% or more so double powder charges are of no concern.

The best reloading tool I have bought is a $100.00 Chrony, so I can actually know what the speed of my loads are for my firearms.
 
What do you expect to accomplish by weighing loaded rounds that cannot be accomplished by careful loading?
For uniformity, cases can be from the same make and lot, and can be weight sorted for uniformity.
Slight variations in bullet weight are essentially irrelevant.
Weighing primers would be a waste of time.
Powder charges can certainly be weighed, and depending on the circumstances, it can be a good idea.
 
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