Hi, do you weigh each load of W760 or do you rely on your powder measure, since it's a ball powder?

dump a dozen loads in a row (and weigh them) from your powder measure and decide for yourself.

When I load .223 varmint rounds I am so confident in the measure that I'll check only one in 50 loads using ball powder.

When loading big game (requiring much larger loads) I weigh every one but I sure don't have to.....darn stuff meters extremely well.

My measure probably isn't as good as some, but I weight every rifle load. I'm not as worried about pistol so I only measure the first few.

No, I weigh the last load in my group to check that its still weighing the same, & eyeball all the filled cartridges in the loading block to see they all appear to have the same amount in them, any that appear more or less filled, I will check weigh. I rarely do more than about 40 at a time.
I have come to this method thru a lot of what I consider to be unnecessary weighing in the past that has built me up a confidence level to be happy to do this. All the mags say, or used to in the days when I bought them, check every fifth load. I don't find that needs doing either, BUT, do don't load to the total limit so a grain over isn't going to be dangerous. I also dump any powder throws that don't feel right back into the hopper, not normally a hassle with a ball powder like 760, it meters beautifully, & I keep the hopper topped up so it always has a reasonable head on it to ensure consistency as much as possible. This has worked well for me, even with relatively coarse extruded powders.
Steve

With ball and flake powders I don't weigh them any more set the powder measure check the proper wieght then. Start filling cases the check very 50 or so

I check weigh every 10th or 12th round, just to be sure.

even a mediocre powder measure will dump ball powders quite accurately. I use one of my own design that was sold by Herters and it's a great measure.

There is a much better thing to do than weigh all the loads and that's to dump 50 (or so) charges in cases all in a loading block and then using a flashlight go over the tops of the cases to see that all the cases have visually the same powder level in them.

That prevents any with no powder and an occasional partial dump.....and then seat bullets and go have some fun.

I measure all my loads with W-760, all rifle loads. I would not hesitate to use a thrown load if I were shooting dozens of rounds of the same, after adjusting as some above have related. Good shooting.

If a powder measure won't throw charges of W-760 as accuratly as weighing, then you should get another measure.

Although I have several Powder measurers I still weigh each and every round and trickle to reach the weight. This way when I go to the range or afield I am giving my guns a good chance to hit its mark. Just my way and makes reloading a pleasant chore.

Some will say to weigh them all, but only the ones who have never compared groups from a 'weighed' box to a thrown box. It may make you feel better, but they will not shoot better, so I don't do it. It doen't do a thing for accuracy, and takes time, I load way too many to spend the time weighing charges for no positive result.

It seems that the benchrest shooters non't bother to weigh but measure their high precision loads by volume. That should work for hunting and target shooting purposes, too.

I don't care what the powder is, I weigh every darn load I make...

I don't use those powder throwers...cause I don't trust them...and each weighed charge is focusing on more consistency and hence more accuracy...

I don't see the appeal of short cuts in loading ammunition...

quote:

Originally posted by jstevens:
Some will say to weigh them all, but only the ones who have never compared groups from a 'weighed' box to a thrown box. It may make you feel better, but they will not shoot better, so I don't do it. It doen't do a thing for accuracy, and takes time, I load way too many to spend the time weighing charges for no positive result.

+1 I couldn't have answered the question any better. Powder measures and 'ball' powder (Winchester's brand name for spherical gunpowder) just go together. Throwing a charge is only another way to get your powder charge. A weigh scale is always involved, but once you get the measure set up, it's not needed except for occasional quality control checks. No way is using a measure a short cut. It's just another way to skin the same cat.

I have a .416 Rigby that I load with 105 H4831, which is coarse. It is a heavy enough charge that I have to use two strokes of the powder measure, and this load of stick powder will shoot 1/2- 3/4 inch every day of the week. The charge weight may vary 3/4 grain, but if it doesn't affect accuracy, why bother? A good number of people just weigh them because they think it should help consistency. That does sound right. The only problem is it doesn't help, just takes time. I have also found that recording my measure settings and resetting the measure to that setting rather than weighing leads to more consistency when changing powder lots. In other words, individual powder lots will vary more by weight than volume. I can change lots, set the measure to the previous setting, and get darn near the exact velocity of the previous load, even though charge weigh may be 1/2 grain more or less than the original load worked up many years ago.

I loaded some .375 H&H for a friend last evening, reduced load with SR 4759. The charges thrown witht the RCBS thrower varied about +/- 0.1 grain. This most likely does not at all influence accuracy.

I do however weigh every 10th load or so, just in case and check teh powder level in the cases before seating the bullets.

I weigh each charge only because I use my digital scale/dispenser for everything I load on the bench theses days. Ball/spherical powders meter quite well and you don't need to worry about the effects of cut grains, so a good quality volumetric measure should work just fine--operative word: quality.

BTW, there are some BR techniques that translate well into general handloading; powder charging by volume/load density only is not one of them. The folks who do that are using custom built rifles that are made to handle pressures that would over stress factory receivers and greatly accelerate throat erosion. There are many who consider a BR barrel un-match-worthy after as few as 500 rounds. Usually those of us who load on the tailgate have very carefully worked up a base load and make volume adjustments to attempt to tailor the load for the range conditions on the day--or even a particular time of day-- at a match. While powder densities don't seem to vary as much as they did in the past, it's still a good idea to check weight/volume relations. There are occasional boo-boos at the factory, some of which were found only after the powders were sold, and only because folks got some odd results when either calculating the density of the powder or weighing a charge. I don't personally know of anyone who found a mislabeled lot of powder the hard way, and I hope I never do.