Just taking a poll here to see who measures the powder or just throws the charges for bulk reloading like pdog shoots. I normally don't shoot large volumes normally so I measure every load. With the thought of loading 1k rounds, i've thought about throwing charges.

For load development I weigh each charge. When I find the load that shoots the best I set up the powder measure to match the weight and never look back.

When I am shooting Pasture Poodles and Gophers I don't expend the time it would take to measure for each shell.To me thats brain damage.

Best wishes, Bill

If you have a GOOD powder measure and if the powder you are using flows easily through it, there is no need to weigh every charge. Especially for PD hunting.

Large volume loadings like for a Pdog shoot or such, I use ball powder even if I have to give a bit on accuracy and throw my charges and weigh every say 10th charge.
Stick powder, I weigh.

Pistol ammo I throw, everything else is weighted.
I reload as means of relaxing, I`ve no desire to hurry up and watch TV - the only activity(?) I`ve done more boring then golf.

quote:

Originally posted by Ol` Joe:
Pistol ammo I throw, everything else is weighted.
I reload as means of relaxing, I`ve no desire to hurry up and watch TV - the only activity(?) I`ve done more boring then golf.

Ditto. I weigh all rifle charges as I have the time, and enjoy weighing each charge.
However, I did shoot centerfire benchrest competetively and never weighed a charge at that game. None of the other competitors weighed charges either. Between relays, there wasn't time for weighing charges. The accuracy proved there was no need to weigh charges, given good measures, and powders that flowed through the measure easily.
As far as the TV goes, the only reason I own one is to watch gunsmithing videos..

Don

Weighing charges is all right if you enjoy it ofr have nothing else to do. A little accuracy testing will tell you that it is a waste of time. As DMB said, competition shooters used powder measures. I have also noticed that my velocities vary less when changing lot no. if I use the powder measure setting rather than weighing. In other words, there is less variation in volume than weight from lot to lot.

Humidity influences weight but not volume. It is necessary to weigh powders that don't measure well.

I love my RCBS Chargemaster!

I just have a regular RCBS powder thrower. Nothing fancy. I think I'll throw the charges for pdog fields, but stick to measuring for other shooting. I'll adjust the thrower to throw the the right volume and measure every x ones to verify.

Thanks.

lee's dippers are amazingly consistent (assuming you can develop a uniform method) and never go out of adjustment.

After initial weighing for Ball and very short length stick powders like AA2015, I'll just drop the loads from the measure and check the weight periodically. I weigh each load with larger stick powder.

I try to use ball powders for large volume reloading e.g. PD loads or 45ACP.

Mike

It depends on the powder. Did you ever try loading any H-570 or H-5010? Those meter through a powder measure about like cord wood. When using coarse stick powders, I weigh each charge in order to achieve some semblance of charge consistency.

On the other hand, a ball or sperical powder probably provides more consistent performance when dropped than when weighed. Finer stick powders like 4895, the RL-series, and the new SSC series don't weigh quite as consistently when metered as ball powders, but doing them volumetrically rather than by weight is at least as good in terms of consistency in velocities as weighing them.

I'll be using H335. I'll throw the ball powders but continue to measure stick like h4895, varget, etc.

Like you I am not a high volume shooter. I am reloading for over 30 chamberings from 17 caliber through 45-70. I do a lot of load testing but even so it is usually 25 rounds or less of each. I weigh and trickle all my loads. I think that if I was going to reload a volume of rounds say for small volume 17, 22,caliber rounds I would look at a very accurate measure like a Harrell. Either that or throw 50 or so loads and assemble the load and shoot a number of rounds over a chrono at 100 and 200 yds to see what the difference was as far as point of impact in relation to the velocity deviation.
GWB

I throw if the powder's flow characteristics
will allow for sufficient accuracy. For
everything else there is my RCBS ChargeMaster.

dxr

I also use an RCBS charge master.
Works great and really speeds up my loading.
I used to throw a charge into a case then dumpit into the pan on my beam scale.
Loads were close but I would trickle in even .1 grain.
If you are loading near max you sure as hell aught to weigh each charge...tj3006

quote:

K20350

K20350, I've just sent my Chargemaster back for the third time. Seems the keyboards on both the scale and dispenser get whacky. I've been blaming Michigan weather. Go figure.

I use Lee Dippers and an RCBS 505 scale and weigh each charge....

It may not be as fast, but it certainly is consistent...

and it gives me the accuracy that I want...

I don't rush anything on the reload bench.. and that attitude is what makes reloading relaxing for me instead of being a chore...I'd rather be in the garage reloading than sitting in front of the Boob Tube, flipping thru the channels...

I throw my charge, check them by eye, and weigh about every 20th one..however I do use powders that almost fill the case.

Benchresters never weigh charges as that is the least important thing in accuracy they tell me.

win 69

I believe you are exactly right. If hunmidity changes weight, but not volume, why would you want to weigh them, rather than set your measure and go? I have some loads where I recorded the measure setting and haven't weighed a charge for 25 years, and my consistency from lot to lot is better. Like Atkinson I use powders that fill the case for the most part.

When I shot BR I never weight powder, my powder measure was over $200 at that time and they have what is called click adjustment and those clicks are repeatable. The click adjustments for my measure also has 4 setting between the clicks. What I you do is set 50.2 or 50.3 clicks and I know excatly how much in weight those clicks are. I may throw 20/30 times at each click adjustment to make sure weight and clicks are accurate. I'll give a good example 52 clicks on my measure is 28gr/N-133,
28.3gr/H-322 and 28.2gr/8208, I can increase amount of powder by going to 52.1 clicks or decrease only thing I don't need at a match is a scale and the 6ppc you use appr 30gr of powder. If the clicks weren't repeatable you see scales being use.

I like to be anal about my "low volume" rifle rounds. .350, .35 rem, and .257 bob all get measured with my Chargemaster, as do my hot .357 mag loads.

Any bulk loads (.45 acp, 9mm, .38/.357, and .223) get thrown from the measure. I prefer ball powders for bulk reloads when possible.