Author: britrifles
Subject: Digital scales
Posted: June 26 2023 at 12:44pm
I’ve gone back and fourth with weighing each charge, for the 600 yd line. More because it’s one less thing to get in your head than any concern for a safety issue. The powder measures like the type I use with a micrometer adjustment marked in 1/10th grain increments are very simple volumetric devices, much simpler than an electronic scale that is more likely to be wrong than a powder measure (the subject of this thread).
Subject: Digital scales
Posted: June 26 2023 at 12:44pm
I’ve gone back and fourth with weighing each charge, for the 600 yd line. More because it’s one less thing to get in your head than any concern for a safety issue. The powder measures like the type I use with a micrometer adjustment marked in 1/10th grain increments are very simple volumetric devices, much simpler than an electronic scale that is more likely to be wrong than a powder measure (the subject of this thread).
I do weigh every charge for long range (800 and 1000 yds), again, to minimize vertical dispersion, although it’s debatable if this makes any significant difference in my No. 4 7.62 shot prone with aperture sight.
When I set up to load a batch of cases, I’ll weigh the first 5, just to be sure there is no change in the measure settings, or I didn’t dial in the wrong setting. Then, as Shamu does, weigh every 10th drop, to make sure nothing has changed. It never does, but just another safety step in the process.
One of the tricks I learned early on is to tap the handle up against the stop, to be sure all the powder drops from the measure, before rotating it back to refill the drum. Also, periodically removing the rotating drum to clean it and the measure body to ensure smooth operation (which also promotes more consistent charge weights). I do this about every 500 - 1000 loads.
The final step I take is to visually check the powder level in each case. The loading block holds 50 cases and it’s obvious if you missed a charge, or there is some other fairly gross error that could be a safety issue.