First time at the range with my reloads - no one died

[epoletna]

Left_to_lobster asked if he could be introducing variation by dispensing powder "automatically" and seating a bullet in a previous case as his dispenser was operating.

My own experience using an RCBS powder dispenser is that the dispenser stops trickling powder when the weight is correct. If you take the pan off at that time, you will have the correct charge. If you leave the pan on the scale and vibrate the table, you might cause another few kernels of powder to drop into the pan, but if that. happens, the scale should reflect the change in weight right away.

SO, if you dispense, and then seat a bullet as you are dispensing another charge, just make sure you are not seating the bullet AFTER the dispenser has stopped. Of if you must seat after it is dispensed, take the pan off the scale.

Just my experience.

 

[Scott E Ames]

My experience with the RCBS charge master has been very +/-. The scale wanders around up to 0.3 grains with the calibration weight on it and that is with a voltage conditioner and 30 minute warm-up. My A&D scale has always had the exact same weight on the calibration weight down to the 1/100 grain with no wavering. The charge master sometimes throws high or low relative to the programed weight. I use it only to get "close" to the final powder weight and finish on the A&D scale with a trickler. The RCBS is fine for hunting (1-1.5 moa) but leaves a little to be desired for precision loading. The type of power also plays a big part. Larger stick powders always meter worse than a fine spherical powder. There are some tune ups for the RCBS like the McDonalds straw that help but still a work in progress from my perspective.

 

[epoletna]

When I first got my RCBS Chargemaster I checked it against n RCBS 10-10 balance beam reloading scale and decided the accuracy was no better on the balance beam scale. I have not gone back and re-checked that; perhaps I should.

 

[Karey Kimmel]

I can only share with you what my Browning 30-06 Hunter A-bolt loves.... Took me a while to find it and then fine tune the load but the results are very good and I have used it to take elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, antelope and a few ground hogs. Sierra Game Kings. 165 Gr SBT. Winchester std primers. Hornady brass fire formed (once fired) to my barrel then OA sized to .002 off the lans. 56.0 gr of IMR 4350. Had to tweak the powder up and down .5 gr before I found this load. Went through about 20 different powder loads. THEN I FOUND THE MAGIC POTION. My rifle is factory OTS and shoots sub moa @200 yards from a bench on sandbags. This IS my hunting rifle. The pic above is a 3 shot group @200 yards from a bench on sandbags.

 

[aushunter1]

Left_to_lobster asked if he could be introducing variation by dispensing powder "automatically" and seating a bullet in a previous case as his dispenser was operating.

My own experience using an RCBS powder dispenser is that the dispenser stops trickling powder when the weight is correct. If you take the pan off at that time, you will have the correct charge. If you leave the pan on the scale and vibrate the table, you might cause another few kernels of powder to drop into the pan, but if that. happens, the scale should reflect the change in weight right away.

SO, if you dispense, and then seat a bullet as you are dispensing another charge, just make sure you are not seating the bullet AFTER the dispenser has stopped. Of if you must seat after it is dispensed, take the pan off the scale.

Just my experience.

Pretty much what I said in post#9

The only thing is if you remove the pan you will be getting powder all over the scale or bench.
As I suggested check your weight on the display & remove the kernels until you have the correct weight or just charge all the cases in one go.

But if you are just seating while charging then there shouldnt be to much vibration/movement of the bench, but then we dont know the integrity of the bench he is using??

 

[LVJ76]

Pretty much what I said in post#9

The only thing is if you remove the pan you will be getting powder all over the scale or bench.
As I suggested check your weight on the display & remove the kernels until you have the correct weight or just charge all the cases in one go.

But if you are just seating while charging then there shouldnt be to much vibration/movement of the bench, but then we dont know the integrity of the bench he is using??

You made a couple of great points.

As @aushunter1 said, your reloading bench must be stable (not shale or wobble) and the scale must be balanced. I re-balance my electronic scale after every 3 to 5 loads, this is provably due to my OCD Lol.

Also as mentioned before, load all your powder first and then seat the bullets, this is non-negotiable for me.

Movement causes the scale to lose balance and it can throw more or less kernels and cause your loads to be all over the place, in other words your loads will be a grain lower or higher than supposed to.

Great job getting your first loads done and good luck finding that good load.

Stay safe

 

[epoletna]

When I first got my RCBS Chargemaster I checked it against n RCBS 10-10 balance beam reloading scale and decided the accuracy was no better on the balance beam scale. I have not gone back and re-checked that; perhaps I should.


Well, live and learn. I just loaded 20 rounds of a caliber that shall not be named here. Threw all the charges with my Chargemaster, then re-weighed on my RCBS 10-10 reloading scale.

Get this: out of 20 loads, only 2-3 were right on. Others were off by 1 to 4 tenths of a grain, most of them LOW.

I can't explain it, except my Chargemaster is 3-4 years old and maybe wearing out. Not the charging part: that just keeps throwing a charge until the scale tells it to stop. But the scale is apparently giving me spurious weights. I don't know if RCBS sells replacement scales, but I guess I should try.

So I have apparently been throwing charges of 46 grains for a year now trying to get my unnamed load to tighten up. But in fact, I guess I've been throwing charges of 45.6 grains to 46 grains, in a random pattern. It's hard to improve groups if my powder charge is not consistent.

I'll be using the balance beam schedule from now on.

 

[Buster Hemlock]

When I first got my RCBS Chargemaster I checked it against n RCBS 10-10 balance beam reloading scale and decided the accuracy was no better on the balance beam scale. I have not gone back and re-checked that; perhaps I should.


Well, live and learn. I just loaded 20 rounds of a caliber that shall not be named here. Threw all the charges with my Chargemaster, then re-weighed on my RCBS 10-10 reloading scale.

Get this: out of 20 loads, only 2-3 were right on. Others were off by 1 to 4 tenths of a grain, most of them LOW.

I can't explain it, except my Chargemaster is 3-4 years old and maybe wearing out. Not the charging part: that just keeps throwing a charge until the scale tells it to stop. But the scale is apparently giving me spurious weights. I don't know if RCBS sells replacement scales, but I guess I should try.

So I have apparently been throwing charges of 46 grains for a year now trying to get my unnamed load to tighten up. But in fact, I guess I've been throwing charges of 45.6 grains to 46 grains, in a random pattern. It's hard to improve groups if my powder charge is not consistent.

I'll be using the balance beam schedule from now on.

If you are getting inconsistent results with your chargemaster a few things worth looking at are:
1.) keep it powered up, or turn it on a hour before use.
2.) Wipe it down with dryer sheets to remove static
3.) Add a voltage conditioner
4.) McDonalds straw to eliminate over throws
5.) If it is still acting up contact RCBS and ask them about the Tap Test/Reset

I run a higher resolution scale for when I need/want stuff extremely precise but by doing these things my Chargemasters throw consistently within .10 grains as verified by my high end scale

 

[EWY]

First: a big thank you to those in this community for all the help with getting into reloading.

Rifle: Ruger M77 Hawkeye FTW in .30-06
Glass: Vortex Diamondback Tactical 4x12
Brass: new Starline
Primers: WLR
Bullets: Accubond 165 gr
Powder: IMR 4064
Starting load: 47.0 gr
End load 50.4 gr
Max load: 52 gr.
3 rounds per group
Reloaded in groups every 0.3 gr.
Ogive used: 2.689"
OAL used: 3.315"
Distance: 100y

I bore snaked with CLP after every group. I shot two groups.

My best group was 50.4 gr. My second best was I think was 47.0 gr. I dumped my groups in the Ballistic-X. I put those in the Imgur link below. Pretty happy overall. What's your thoughts?

Nice!! all you have to do is read the manuals, follow the recipes and keep your brain engaged.

 

[epoletna]

Buster Hemlock:

I have just learned about keeping the Chargemaster turned on, and I know about the MacDonald's straw, but I had not heard of the tap test. I'll call RCBS tomorrow and ask about that. It would be nice to get the Chargemaster working properly again!

BTW: I was not particularly impressed with the MacDonald's straw thing. I tried it, but never saw any difference. In fact with some powders it seemed to create problems. Oh well. . .

 

[thatguyshm]

Great job on sending your own rounds down range! I had decent luck with IMR4064 and a charge around 50 gr with a 165 HotCor bullet. I will say it wasn't consistent. One trip would be sub MOA, the next it would open up. Slower powders will be better suited.

As far a what may have opened up the groups that much is just you. And I don't mean it in a negative way at all. First range trip was nice and slow, concern for your first rounds loaded and how they were going to work. Second trip you set up your chrono, so a bit of confidence in your first experience, then add a chrono and there may be too much going on to hold the rifle the same way.

When I'm trying a new cartridge I haven't loaded for I try out a few loads first. I figure out if anything is even worth chronoing. If it doesn't shoot I don't care how fast/slow its going. You can always go small adjustments to get your ES and SD where you want them. Being new to reloading, just take your take and weigh everything well, take your time to turn out consistent ammo then get the velocity readings.

Small steps work best for me. Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth. Again, congrats on turning out great ammo and enjoy!

 

[SteelBanger]

First, congrats on successfully loading and shooting your first hand loads. And welcome to the addiction!

I'd highly suggest googling the satterlee load ladder process and trying that out next using a chronograph. Shooting for groups to find your optimal powder charge can provide inaccurate results, for me at least. Let's say you shoot a 3 round group of 45.5gr at 100y at .5 MOA and call that your best power charge because the group was amazing ... then you shoot a group of 47.0gr at 1.5 MOA and say the load sucked. It's possible that that .5 MOA 45.5gr load gave you terrible SD and ES numbers but happened to group together that day, while the 47gr load gave you single digit SD / ES but you had an off day at the range and pulled a 1.5 MOA group.

Using the Satterlee ladder process you should be able to identify a steady velocity node (or two) within 10-12 shots, and then fine tune things from there. This method takes the shooter out of the equation and is why I rely on it ... because I know my shooting skills are not yet refined enough to rely on for shooting groups for load data. Not saying your shooting isn't capable, but why not take yourself out of the equation if you can?

 

[Buster Hemlock]

Buster Hemlock:

I have just learned about keeping the Chargemaster turned on, and I know about the MacDonald's straw, but I had not heard of the tap test. I'll call RCBS tomorrow and ask about that. It would be nice to get the Chargemaster working properly again!

BTW: I was not particularly impressed with the MacDonald's straw thing. I tried it, but never saw any difference. In fact with some powders it seemed to create problems. Oh well. . .

I called RCBS when I was having issues with my first one drifting a lot and not holding zero. Essentially you just tap the plate somewhat firmly and it helps reset the piezoelectric crystal that the scale uses. After doing this and wiping it down with dryer sheets it was back on track. I'd call RCBS so you can hear it direct from them yourself. Now I wipe my scales every time before use with a dryer sheet to help remove static and then just use them on the next load of laundry. I also throw all my charges a tenth or two short and trickle up or move to my higher end scale to trickle up to my desired charge. I have 2 chargemasters and love them. Also limiting other electronics near your scale has been said to help, leave your cell phone out of your pocket, fluorescent lights have been said to have an effect on them as well as not having a fan or air blowing through the room while in use. If you have carpet in your work area consider putting down a mat so your not creating static while shuffling around at your bench.

 

[epoletna]

All good advice. Thanks.