What size vials for powder?
- Thread starter mwjones
- Start date
If you know someone who works in a lab, they could probably get you a bunch of screw-top centrifuge tubes. These come in a large number of sizes from tiny to pretty big but something around 5ml (about the size of your little finger) might work. However, the warning about static electricity is worth noting. I think they're made of polypropylene, not nylon.
Stuart
StuartOkay, just to state, the turret press is just as strong as the Challenger and almost as strong as a Rockchucker (now open to flaming) because I broke one and I know how hard I was pushing on it to do so when neck-sizing a .30-06 brass. It was the first time I had used the collet die and had not realized that the jaws were already closed. I squashed that case to half of its length and just kept going until the cast aluminum turret snapped in two. I had to get a new turret top and a new 3-hole turret for the press. All free from Lee.
Anyway, not actually my point. I throw charges because it is definitely quicker than trickling out each charge and I can understand (perhaps, if I stretch hard enough) that you may not want to do the whole job on the turret press, but just how much pressure do you need to seat a bullet? I do it with a Lee Handpress all the time and the Classic Loader uses two light taps with a small, nylon mallet.
If I were you, I would stop trying to complicate this and simply go over to your dad's, throw the charges into the cases, seat the bullets, then go home. Powder all sealed up in BRASS VIALS that are weatherproof and spill-proof. You can buy these absolutely perfectly sized brass vials, and the copper plated caps that are sold separately, from most retailers that sell reloading supplies.
Enjoy, RW
Barnes_270
Regular
- Location
- Langley, BC
This is exactly what I do. I use small glass vials with plastic threaded caps for pre-measured charges, and bring primed/sized brass to the range. Tap tap tap!
I will remove foot. That didn't come out the way I meant it.
How I meant that to come out was that, using the turret press, I could generate as much pressure as I have ever had to use with my Rockchucker. That kind of strong. Obviously, it could not withstand the full amount of force the cam and handle could exert.
No, my Rockchucker has never broken when I was using it. And I have never used the turret press to form cases.
I will now go put myself in a time out chair....
How I meant that to come out was that, using the turret press, I could generate as much pressure as I have ever had to use with my Rockchucker. That kind of strong. Obviously, it could not withstand the full amount of force the cam and handle could exert.
No, my Rockchucker has never broken when I was using it. And I have never used the turret press to form cases.
I will now go put myself in a time out chair....
Frick guys expand your horizons a bit. Many of you have never been to a real shoot. There are a lot a BR shooters who go to the matches with pre weighed charges in vials and then load accordingly.
I don't have plastic vials I have little glass vials that I use. Instead of taking all my loading stuff to the farm when I want to shoot I premeasure all my powder (because I can do it whenever at home and it saves time when actually out shooting) and put it into the vials. I then am just taking my press, dies and bullets.
Choose your vials according to how many grains (max) powder you would need it to hold. I bought vials that would hold enough powder to load for a 243 Win.
I bought mine from??????? Will send PM of where if you want.
CBY
Y
I don't have plastic vials I have little glass vials that I use. Instead of taking all my loading stuff to the farm when I want to shoot I premeasure all my powder (because I can do it whenever at home and it saves time when actually out shooting) and put it into the vials. I then am just taking my press, dies and bullets.
Choose your vials according to how many grains (max) powder you would need it to hold. I bought vials that would hold enough powder to load for a 243 Win.
I bought mine from??????? Will send PM of where if you want.
CBY
Y
Yep, we have a hundred or so vials used for pre-measured black powder charges. I think they were originally lab vials for blood work.
They are nice because the tops are even with the sides of the vials so they stack nicely side by side, or in a cartridge box for magnum cartridges.
The ones we have hold up to about 70gr of black powder, 12mm x 75mm
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Sandroad, the vials I use are not nearly as long. Mine are from a perfume bottle supplier. The ones I have can hold up to 95grs of H4350 and have a screw on cap. They would not hold the volume of black powder you guys use. What you have is ideal for that. This is what I use with a MTM hinged cartridge boxes to hold the vials.
CBY
CBY
Just to add a point of interest to the powder measure/weighing bit.
I have a book, I think written in early 1960s, by Warren Page, entitled, "The Accurate Rifle." Just to put you up to speed, Warren Page was likely the most famous of all bench rest shooters, as well as being an experimenter on wildcats, plus longtime shooting editor of Field and Stream.
He states in his book that world class bench rest shooters didn't have enough quality brass cases to last through a match. So they used to carry powder in vials, to reload at the match.
Then they discovered this was a waste of time. All they had to do was set their powder measure and simply use the powder measure to reload with at the match, and never weigh a charge. And this is in matches competing for world supremacy!
He also mentions the Lyman 55 as a good measure.
I have a book, I think written in early 1960s, by Warren Page, entitled, "The Accurate Rifle." Just to put you up to speed, Warren Page was likely the most famous of all bench rest shooters, as well as being an experimenter on wildcats, plus longtime shooting editor of Field and Stream.
He states in his book that world class bench rest shooters didn't have enough quality brass cases to last through a match. So they used to carry powder in vials, to reload at the match.
Then they discovered this was a waste of time. All they had to do was set their powder measure and simply use the powder measure to reload with at the match, and never weigh a charge. And this is in matches competing for world supremacy!
He also mentions the Lyman 55 as a good measure.
lol I KNEW I wasn't totally out to lunch i was looking at 7ml round bottom vials with a push in plastic cap. I can get 100 or so for about 10 bucks. I thought of getting a lee perfect powder measure, I've been warned against them (apparently they can bind up with long stick powders and be very inconsistent). For the price of a new one, i'd rather buy the vials and go over to my dads. Good excuse to get out of the house for a couple hours. Also, i have about 300 pounds fo wheel weight lead to melt, flux, and cast into ingots, so i could do both at each trip
I'm on the lookout for a decent powder measure, and maybe a better scale (have a lee safety scale). But until then, I think the vials are a good idea. Right now, it takes me about 2 hours to load 30 rounds of .308. Resizing/decapping, trimming, chamfer and deburr, measure out each powder charge on the scale with a dipper/trickler, funnel into cases, seat bullets, then give em all a whipe with a cloth so they're shiny. I've gotten pretty good at it, but measuring the powder takes probably 2/3 of the total time.
i was looking at 7ml round bottom vials with a push in plastic cap. I can get 100 or so for about 10 bucks. I thought of getting a lee perfect powder measure, I've been warned against them (apparently they can bind up with long stick powders and be very inconsistent). For the price of a new one, i'd rather buy the vials and go over to my dads. Good excuse to get out of the house for a couple hours. Also, i have about 300 pounds fo wheel weight lead to melt, flux, and cast into ingots, so i could do both at each trip I'm on the lookout for a decent powder measure, and maybe a better scale (have a lee safety scale). But until then, I think the vials are a good idea. Right now, it takes me about 2 hours to load 30 rounds of .308. Resizing/decapping, trimming, chamfer and deburr, measure out each powder charge on the scale with a dipper/trickler, funnel into cases, seat bullets, then give em all a whipe with a cloth so they're shiny. I've gotten pretty good at it, but measuring the powder takes probably 2/3 of the total time.
H4831, what you said above is true. I have a Harrells powder thrower that is used for my 6ppc at the range and at matches. The feeling is a grain high or low is NOT enough to worry about in the PPC sized case to effect accuracy at 100/200 yards.
There are some shooters though that feel there is NO NEED to adjust charges at matches so they come pre loaded and with powder in vials.
MWJones, you hit the nail on the head with the time factor. Whenever I feel like it and have empty vials I weigh out powder and have them in vials ready to go. I HATE weighing out the charges when I am in a hurry to load rounds. Vials is also a great way to take powder for the gopher trips.
CBY
There are some shooters though that feel there is NO NEED to adjust charges at matches so they come pre loaded and with powder in vials.
MWJones, you hit the nail on the head with the time factor. Whenever I feel like it and have empty vials I weigh out powder and have them in vials ready to go. I HATE weighing out the charges when I am in a hurry to load rounds. Vials is also a great way to take powder for the gopher trips.
CBY
1. Okay, I'll eagerly show my ignorance. Why do you need to load at the shoot? Don't you already know what your rifle shoots? I mean, isn't that the point of all the weighing, measuring, grouping, and lot numbers? You have already worked up the load and I don't understand why you just didn't load a few hundred rounds to take to the shoot? I mean, I am only a hunter and plinker and I have 500 cases per calibre on hand. When I find a load that a particular rifle likes in the desired bullet weight, I load a hundred of these. I shoot about 8 during the season and about 50 or so before the season to familiarize my self with the combination. So at the end of the season, I still have 40 or so rounds for next year. And 60 fire-formed cases. So why are you loading at the bench, when you BR shooters put so much more effort into your rounds? That would be like me taking the components to the field and loading them before legal shooting light.
2. why not just load them completely before you go to the farm and then you don't have to take the press or dies, and will save even more time when shooting?
This whole thread confuses me. Perhaps I have been reloading incorrectly all these years. I have read several reloading books from cover to cover and I still don't recall this method of loading. I CAN HOWEVER understand why you would do this for muzzle-loaders. There is no convenient carrying case for the components. But cartridge shooters? Aren't we being a bit anal on this one?
I load at the range if I want to play. I take the stuff to do it with me. We have an outdoor range so I load in the cab of the truck, using a scale and a Lee Hand Press. The hard work is done, cases are sized and primed, simply weigh and dump the charge, seat the bullet, and crimp. This doesn't take long IMHO. Sorry, but I don't think I'm gonna get the extra step. Please explain as you would to a child.
Wildcat, I take it you have never been to a Benchrest match or know much about it ?????
Go to one for a day. Not anything like what you think reloading is. The amount of time it would take to explain it I do not have the finger power to type it all.
Basically go to some of the other shooting forums and see what we are up to and what reloading at the match has to do with shooting.
Better yet call me and I would gladly talk about it. 1-204-729-6631
Reloading for Benchrest is nothing like loading foryour hunting rifle that you hope to get 1moa at 100 yards. We are striving for MINIMUM .250 MOA at 100. The guys who are good, you better be able to shoot groups in the .1's to very low .2's. Factory guns are not capable of doing that on a CONSISTENT basis. The other thing is a load can and does change with temp, humidity, altitude. Again something a off the shelf factory rifle you would not see.
Go to one for a day. Not anything like what you think reloading is. The amount of time it would take to explain it I do not have the finger power to type it all.
Basically go to some of the other shooting forums and see what we are up to and what reloading at the match has to do with shooting.
Better yet call me and I would gladly talk about it. 1-204-729-6631
Reloading for Benchrest is nothing like loading foryour hunting rifle that you hope to get 1moa at 100 yards. We are striving for MINIMUM .250 MOA at 100. The guys who are good, you better be able to shoot groups in the .1's to very low .2's. Factory guns are not capable of doing that on a CONSISTENT basis. The other thing is a load can and does change with temp, humidity, altitude. Again something a off the shelf factory rifle you would not see.
