My first powder measure, which I acquired in 1958, was a Belding & Mull. For those of you unfamiliar with the measure, it utilizes a charge tube, like a black powder shooter's powder measure, adjustable with a graduated sliding rod, which is secured by a thumb screw on the side. I use it when I am loading a small quantity of ammunition because it is so easy to adjust and the table of weights which comes with it is so accurate. It does involve an additional step, which is pouring the powder from the charge tube into the case, which has to be standing in a loading block, but this is generally no problem. The B&M tube has been a preferred powder measure for bench rest shooters for many years because of its precise measuring capability. http://www.beldingandmull.com/visible_powder.html

Yesterday I was in a hurry to load some ammunition for my Model 1916 Newton rifle in caliber ,256 Newton, and I set the measure to throw 46 grains of IMR 4064, going by the chart setting. I weighed the first charge, which was right on the money, and then proceeded to charge the few cases I needed to sight in, prior to assembling the hunting loads.

On the range, I fired the four cartridges I had left over from a previous batch of loads, and adjusted the sights, then fired on of the new loads. I noticed nothing different about the shot, other than a slight odor of burnt powder, which led me to believe that I might have a pierced primer. However, when I attempted to open the bolt, I found it to be hopelessly stuck.

Thoroughly puzzled, I returned to my shop and pulled the bullet from one of the rounds of ammunition. I then weighed the charge, To my amazement, it came up 50 grains, well above the loading manual's maximum. I puzzled over this, until I remembered that I had more than one charge tube lying on the bench next to the powder measure. I picked up the other tube and measured a load with it. Sure enough, 50 grains.

It took the effort of a 12" crescent wrench and a cleaning rod to open the bolt and remove the case. The primer pocket was greatly enlarged and a section of the rim had been torn off when I forcefully opened the bolt.

The Newton action is exceptionally strong, using six locking lugs, arranged in interrupted thread order, to lock it securely, but what was truly amazing was the fact that my 100 year old rifle had handled the escaping gas so efficiently. Had I been firing a Mauser, M1917 Enfield or 1903 Springfield, the result of such a blown cartridge case might have been disastrous. Thank you, Mr. Newton!

It always seems to come down to our feeble minds being the weak link. In almost 31 years of loading I've only blown one primer I'm grateful to say, because I know me. I love my Belding but only use it for black powder loading now. Just seems right for that.

Glad you were not hurt.
We've all done things like this over the years. I have the same measure on my bench and try to keep the tubes in a drawer when not used and off of the bench.

This is the second reloading incident I have had since I began in 1958 (age 19). The B&M measure was involved then, also. The phone rang when I was in the middle of measuring powder into the cases in the loading block. I was using a reduced load (30 grains) of IMR 3031 powder in a .30-'06 case, and when I resumed loading, I somehow double loaded one row of five cartridge cases and failed to load another before seating the 220 grain cast bullets.

The 60 grains of 3031 vaporized the case head, blew the extractor away and peppered my face with bits of brass. The right lens of my eye glasses disappeared, but miraculously nothing happened to my eye. I was also knocked off the bench rest seat I was shooting from.

Since then, I have never used a load so reduced as to allow a double load in the case.

56 years between accidents is not so bad, but at my age, I don't need to be rushing to do anything, especially something as crucial as reloading.

When I started reloading in 1967, I started with a Belding&Mull and it's the only measure I have ever used. I read here and other places about this and that and the other powders not metering on a different type measure, but the B&M handles every powder I have used. Slower, but accurate. I had a magnum tube, but 30-06 being the biggest I load, the standard tube works fine and I gave the magnum tube to my nephew.

One of the things that I do when reloading is to leave the sized and primed cases neck down in the loading block until I'm ready to put the powder in that case and I visually check the powder level in the cases before I seat the bullet.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:


Thoroughly puzzled, I returned to my shop and pulled the bullet from one of the rounds of ammunition. I then weighed the charge, To my amazement, it came up 50 grains, well above the loading manual's maximum. I puzzled over this, until I remembered that I had more than one charge tube lying on the bench next to the powder measure. I picked up the other tube and measured a load with it. Sure enough, 50 grains.

A good reason to try and use powder that fills any given case to near full capacity. Part of my process is to always seat a bullet immediately after charging each case. That also helps to minimize human error.
I have a B&M measure too. They are one of the few measures that do pretty well with stick powder, but otherwise I dont find them to be any more accurate than most other PM's that use volume as their primary function.

Hello XUSA. As a kid here in UK I read about and saw these Belding & Mull in Keith's books and other references.

You couldn't get them here in the UK. So as you guess I needed one, wanted one, had to have one.

To move on...

Then after Al Gore's invention of the internet comes eBay! Wow! Old eBay! Not new eBay where it's no longer a pleasure.

And there it was. A new in box B & M. Plastic hopper, micrometer tube. The lot. Instructions too! And the seller would ship it to the UK!

So of course I bought it and, like the Lyman Eezy Loader for sawging shot gun slugs that I also bought (from someone else) it was like Christmas when it arrived.

And then the disappointment set in after using it. And the Eezy Loader! I'm guessing that I should have screwed it to the bench rather than screwing it to a block of wood and then clamping it to the bench.

But yes, it looks great, it should work great, but I just put it away and went back to my tried and trusted two Lyman #55 measures in dark battleship grey.

But yes I see the tube idea of the B & M is the ultimate measure. Just buy or make a series of tubes and the job is done.

But it is a long narrow tube and IMHO that's its fatal fault. I'm with WestrnHntr on what he found too. I'm glad your pride was the only thing hurt.

It's hard to get a B&M clamped down with the clamp that comes with it. I set mine in a cutout for it and screw a piece of wood to the side of where it's mounting to prevent it from twisting, once solidly mounted works fine.

I too have been a faithful user of a B&M measure for several decades. I was tempted early on to get multiple tubes for it, but I recognized the pit fall described by XAUSA. This is the first I heard of it happening, but I finally feel vindicated!

My brain fart blunder occurred recently when I set my 10-10 scale for what I thought was 6 grains (of 2400, for in a .25-20 cast load), and inadvertently thought of the 10 grain increments on the main beam to be 5 grains. (Insert emoticon of holding a gun to my head.) The resultant charge was 11 grains- enough of an overload to scarily pierce the primer on the first shot. Thank goodness for the hell-for-stout German single shot I fired it in. And yes, I visually checked the powder level in all the cases before seating bullets- it was a low level in the cases even being an overload. (I had never worked a load of that nature in a .25-20 before, so I had no previous reference point to refer to.) Whew.