Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Weighing every charge?

All the above - Load for others - throw then trickle everything to the exact charge. Hunting loads for me - throw then trickle. Target loads for handgun and .223 - I try and purposely use ball powder so I can mostly throw then load to save time. Quick rule of thumb - when in-doubt during any particular loading process, just weigh everything so you don't have to cross your fingers every time you squeeze a trigger!

I'd take up golf if I had to weigh and trickle.

I haven't used a trickler since the early 90's.


Dump and run

If I'm loading near maximum then I'll weigh every charge. If I'm loading at 90% then I'll throw and weigh until I'm adjusted to the right weight, dumping the pan back into the hopper. Once I'm convinced the adjustments are good then I'll just load straight into the case and weigh every 10 to 20 throws. Keeping the hopper full is what makes the throw weights consistent.

Nothing wrong with that at all. For 223's and such I just drop charges from the uni-flo powder measure. I'll also drop charges for cartridges that use ball powder or other powders that dont have long extruded kernels. For guys like mathman that always say measuring each charge is a "waste of time", they don't load for larger cartridges like 300wm, 338wm, 300WBY or the like that use a lot of extruded powder in each case. He swears he shoots for accuracy too, but has never posted pics of any targets he has shot or any proof that he even shoots. I did a little comparison yesterday with my new Tikka T3 22-250 varmint rifle I have and this is how it went:



VS. the load I weighed each charge on:


Now, is there a difference? I will listen to some guys that post up accurate results and good comparisons. Mathman and the like, on the other hand, rarely tend to do such things. I've noticed a difference between dropped charges for my 6.5cm using H4350 powder. Even though that powder drops a whole lot more consistently than powders like IMR4350, it still doesn't produce the gilt edged accuracy of a good weighed charge.

Example:

(Weighed charge^^^^^)

I notice that difference when shooting that cartridge at and past 400 yards. A dropped charge will net me 1 moa accuracy, where a weighed charge will produce a very consistent load that produces close to 1/2 moa at 400 yards. The difference is seen when I'm trying to hit the 2" target. With a good weighed charge load, I'll hit a 2" plate 80% of the time and not even touch it with a dropped charge load. The difference is there and can be seen IF you shoot well enough to see it... For those that don't see a difference, well lets just say they need to get out and practice a little more... Hint.

I gave up reloading over 10 years ago, but I always weighed and trickled every charge.

Back then there were two trains of thought. Some believed that consistent volume was more conducive to accuracy. Others, myself included because of my own experiences, believed exact weight was the key.

Before you address what I've said make sure you are clear on what it was. I have never said weighing charges is always a waste of time. What I have said is in a lot of circumstances for a lot of purposes it is a waste of time. I have also specifically addressed shooting small targets at long range where velocity variation can become a factor in vertical dispersion that doesn't show up in a meaningful fashion at 300 yards and closer where most people are using their deer hunting handloads.

Two things about your H4895 22-250 test. 1. You need a larger sample of groups to demonstrate a trend. 2. If your throws are +/- 3 tenths with H4895 then something isn't right.

The groups should also be shot at the same session under the same conditions, and you shouldn't know which batch of ammo you're shooting.

Ball-drop

Stick-weigh.

I weight everything to the kernel because I want to hit small targets at long distances.

I'd also take mathmans advice long before I listened to the paper tiger....

Sound advice.

This has worked fine for my needs

Ever since I started reloading in 1973 I've weighed every rifle charge and thrown pistol charges using an RCBS Little Dandy.

I have 5 powder throws

2 Hornady LNL for my 2 Hornady AP progressives
1 Lee disc for my Loadmaster progressive
2 Lyman #55 on my bench

All of them are used for throwing 40S&W 45ACP and 223 bangin ammo

For my bolt guns that I demand accuracy from I weigh each pan

223 rounds with H335 I set measure and weigh every tenth round just for piece of mind. Hunting loads I weigh every load and trickle.

Chargemaster every round.

Same for me, I weigh every charge and trickle up. If I were loading just for fun and volume to shoot, like a 223, maybe I'd consider throwing charges. For my hunting rounds, I'll put the extra time and effort into it to get the most consistent ammunition I can get.

I use a lot of H4895 through an RCBS powder measure, and it's. . . well, it's okay on its own. H4895 is quite immune to small variations in velocity due to powder weight. However, I do as you do: I throw in a slightly underweight charge and weigh while I'm trickling in the last couple tenths. My main reason for doing it is that I find that there is considerable drift. After 20 rounds or so of 30-06, the measure is not dispensing the same weight.

With H4831 and H4831SC, I skip the powder measure and dip a dipper, and finish it off with a trickler. I could never cure a bridging problem, and the dipper was just as easy.

BL-C(2) , a ball powder is much more consistent out of a measure. I use it when I'm on the Hornady LNL AP progressive. I've had extremely good luck with it.

My general advice: What you and I are doing with the trickler is just fine, and if you do it right, it adds very little time to the reloading process.

Single stage press for accuracy, I weigh. Dillon 750 for volume, I throw. I think it boils down to the which goal you are trying to achieve. Volume reloading can be ultra accurate. Powder metering can/does have an effect on accuracy.

Never "thrown" a charge, ever. Weighed every one on a 5-0-5.

'I'm using a Redding 30BR currently, don't see a whole lot of difference between it and the RCBS Uni-flo I previously used.