Powder charging vid

ds1 · July 25, 2017

Please critique this (my) charging process. Not saying that it is good or bad but interested in what other folk do

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxVRZotMscwfMkFsVU5GM3dRTzQ

Powder charging- left to right process. A classic approach. Hardware:

1. Rcbs powder measure, drop tube and stand - tall enough to put the powder tub under it for easy emptying. I use dedicated throwers for 308 and 388 lapua.

2. Glass bed - levelled

3. Rcbs 10:10 scale

4. Target Master powder dispenser and beam sensor. They are linked by a wire but I run it under the work top to reduce clutter

5. iPhone 7 using the magnifying app to see the beam pointer without parallax - mounted on a small u shaped rail on the TM.

6. Clear plastic powder funnel. Better than the alloy ones as you cannot see when powder bridges with them ( unless you can look over the top)

7. Rcbs case holder tray.

Having tried everything from the rcbs charge masters to Prometheus I feel this system is a good compromise of speed, accuracy and repeatability.

The powder thrower is also a bit of a safety thing as it always dispenses to within a grain or two so any gross error like setting the scale 10 grains low would be seen.

In the vid I check the weight by lifting the pan and replacing it - I don't do this often. Also I wanted to show that the TM can be used to trickle up a charge - sometimes I do this and sometimes I set it to the desired weight and dump any over charges.

When finished the powder stand stays in place the rest are boxed and shelved.

The system is not as temperature sensitive as the charge master was and easier to set up than the Prometheus.

Not shown in the vid but after a tray is full I check the cases have powder in them with a small flash light.

Murph · July 26, 2017

Please critique this (my) charging process. Not saying that it is good or bad but interested in what other folk do

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxVRZotMscwfMkFsVU5GM3dRTzQ

Powder charging- left to right process. A classic approach. Hardware:

1. Rcbs powder measure, drop tube and stand - tall enough to put the powder tub under it for easy emptying. I use dedicated throwers for 308 and 388 lapua.

2. Glass bed - levelled

3. Rcbs 10:10 scale

4. Target Master powder dispenser and beam sensor. They are linked by a wire but I run it under the work top to reduce clutter

5. iPhone 7 using the magnifying app to see the beam pointer without parallax - mounted on a small u shaped rail on the TM.

6. Clear plastic powder funnel. Better than the alloy ones as you cannot see when powder bridges with them ( unless you can look over the top)

7. Rcbs case holder tray.

Having tried everything from the rcbs charge masters to Prometheus I feel this system is a good compromise of speed, accuracy and repeatability.

The powder thrower is also a bit of a safety thing as it always dispenses to within a grain or two so any gross error like setting the scale 10 grains low would be seen.

In the vid I check the weight by lifting the pan and replacing it - I don't do this often. Also I wanted to show that the TM can be used to trickle up a charge - sometimes I do this and sometimes I set it to the desired weight and dump any over charges.

When finished the powder stand stays in places the the rest are boxed and shelved.

The system is not as temperature sensitive as the charge master was and easier to set up than the Prometheus.

Not shown in the vid but after a tray is full I check the cases have powder in them with a small flash light.

I use a Very similar setup. I was having trouble a couple of years back with consistency of hand loads. The target master was doing its job admirably, but something wasn't right with my groups. I bought an electronic scale to check if the powder was being weighed consistently. I found out that there was serious inconsistencies on some of the fills. Some were have a grain heavier than others. I later found out that there was dust in the pivot point of the scale and it was throwing out the charge weights. The target master was still doing its job but must have had that little bit more resistance to deal with. I would never have got to the bottom of it, only for putting lots of rounds through a chronograph. Every so often I give my scales a very thorough clean in case it happens again.

ds1 · July 26, 2017

Must admit that I have always been a bit suspicious about the way the blade sits into the agate bearings - the blade ends can touch the scale sides, so must create some friction if the beam is moved latterly. Sometimes but not often I test the scales against another set that I have, so far no issues but I will take the advice and keep the scales clean.

The_Dogge · July 27, 2017

I use a very similar setup, except I use a camera and TV screen to view the scale pointer, and I have a cheap 0.01g scale which I use for gross error checking at the start and occasionally as I go.

Thanks for the tip on keeping the bearings clean, I also have a small calibration weight which I use to check the scale setup.

banus02 · July 27, 2017

is it really that important? i dont target shoot so perhaps its just as well.but for deer out to 250 and vermin out to 500 yards my loads are good and i use a lyman 500 scale and lee powder dispenser which throws a light charge and i trickle the last few grains.