40 S&W reloading thread

[BuffCyclist]

Discovered the reason I'm spilling so much powder.

Here is my powder measure.



The top pipe is just long enough to hold the cap on, but small enough that I don't have to force it on and off each time. I didn't think it through, but it worked out perfectly. EXCEPT, if I put the cap on quickly enough, the air inside the feeder tube doesn't have time to equalize, and it blows powder out the side of the base. Shown as this tiny crack on the left side in this picture.



So each time I remove and replace the cap, which is a lot when I'm dialing in a load, it blasts about 1 grain out the side. I can just put the cap on slowly and it doesn't happen. However, if I want to not worry about it, I could seal this gap in some way. I don't want to use a sealant for many reasons, such as risk contaminating the powder, want to be able to remove the pipe, etc. I could wrap a rubber band around the base of the pipe, but even that thickness will make it difficult to place the pipe in the stand. My options are a gasket at the bottom (which requires me going and shopping for one), or drill a small vent hole on the side of the cap. How important is it to keep the powder sealed? If I drill a 1/8" hole on each side of the cap to help equalize the pressure without blowing powder out, will I have to worry about the powder going flat or some other adverse reaction to contact with the air?

Drill a hole in the cap. If you're worried about dust falling in and contaminating powder (which you shouldn't, see below), then drill the hole in the side of the cap, but above where it rests on the pipe.

You should never leave powder stored in a powder measure when you aren't actively reloading, as in, at the end of each reloading session you should put the powder back into the powder containers. And yes, that's what the powder jug says, but if you live dangerously and don't follow directions, carry on.

eta: For what its worth, I was loading my pet 40 load with 3.9gr WST behind a 180gr Xtreme plated bullet. That was the best grouping I had when I did my initial 5rd groups last year. This year, when I got a chrono, I decided to retest and found that 4.3gr was the optimal load (5FPS StdDev in my Glock 23, 7FPS StdDev in my M&P40c) and had the smallest grouping. Since the StdDev's don't lie, I switched my pet load. But I still had my target from last year when I did my initial loads and the 4.3gr load was almost identical in size to the 3.9gr load, I just chose the 3.9gr load last year due to it using less powder.

[Irving]

That's kinda cool. I like how you kludged the Dillon part.

Why the bend?

The old powder measure had baffles, I guess to help support the weight of the powder and help reduce clumping and other pressure problems. I went to Sportsmans and the small baffle, that I'd have to mangle to fit anyway, was $9.99. Looking at it I knew I could make it out of an aluminum can, but I knew it'd be ugly and barely work. I went to Home Depot to look at ideas (I came up with several if anyone is ever interested), and the idea sprung out at me when looking at a T fitting. I figured if I off-set the bulk of the powder so it wasn't directly above the working parts, I could avoid pressure issues. Using T fittings and 90 bends seemed bulky.

In short, those bends are my attempt at poor man's baffles, to off-set the weight of the powder. Seems to be working well so far, especially since I only have a pound of powder and didn't put much in to start with in the first place.

[Irving]

Drill a hole in the cap. If you're worried about dust falling in and contaminating powder (which you shouldn't, see below), then drill the hole in the side of the cap, but above where it rests on the pipe.

You should never leave powder stored in a powder measure when you aren't actively reloading, as in, at the end of each reloading session you should put the powder back into the powder containers. And yes, that's what the powder jug says, but if you live dangerously and don't follow directions, carry on.

Didn't know about removing the powder, thank you. My idea of the side hole is exactly what you said.
When removing powder, do you just remove the charge stick and pour it out that way? Seems like it will be a pain to reset every time. Oh well, more reason to reload a lot in each session.

[BuffCyclist]

Didn't know about removing the powder, thank you. My idea of the side hole is exactly what you said.
When removing powder, do you just remove the charge stick and pour it out that way? Seems like it will be a pain to reset every time. Oh well, more reason to reload a lot in each session.

No, unmount the powder measure and pour the powder out through the top. Easy peasy. I also use super high tech and spendy paper funnels. They're pretty neat actually, they come in this 8.5x11" size and are always lumped in one nice big bin in my reloading room, there are bins for plastic, cans and glass too.

On second look, it'll be hard for you to remove that powder measure since its permamounted. I have mine c-clamped to my bench, which makes clean up super simple. And for pistol, it mounts directly into the die (both are Lee powder measures, one is rifle, one is the pistol pro auto lee disk whatever).

eta: You could also fill the powder measure half full. The reason for the jig in your measure is to prevent a full hopper from compacting powder and pouring larger loads in the beginning and smaller loads when its empty. Then when you're done, just cycle the powder measure in 5gr or whatever your charge is, increments into the jug until its empty. Just make sure its totally empty (tap on wall then keep emptying, powder static clings to everything) before adding a different powder.

[Irving]

I will look it up, but what is the threat of leaving powder in the hopper? Is it static? Risk of mixing another powder?

If I were a smart guy, I'd design a powder throw with a threaded base, and drop in baffle, that would accept the 1lb size bottles. Then you'd just place the baffle, mount the bottle and go. When you're done, turn the whole thing over, unscrew from throw, replace lid, store till next time.

[cstone]

I like it, very creative and unique.

I've been known to leave some powder in the measure on the press for a week or two and never had a problem. Low humidity and no large temperature swings, so the powder isn't really affected. That said, I wouldn't leave it for months without loading some or dumping it back into the proper cannister it came out of.

Next step will be some type of auto powder measure. I like these for the price:

[BuffCyclist]

I will look it up, but what is the thread of leaving powder in the hopper? Is it static? Risk of mixing another powder?

If I were a smart guy, I'd design a powder throw with a threaded base, and drop in baffle, that would accept the 1lb size bottles. Then you'd just place the baffle, mount the bottle and go. When you're done, turn the whole thing over, unscrew from throw, replace lid, store till next time.

Want me to design such a system?

I think the threat for leaving powder in the powder measure is from moisture (humidity) but maybe I misunderstand too. I know all powder jugs are light proof, so maybe the powder degrades over time when exposed to light?

[Irving]

I've loaded every night so far. I'll go take it out. I know the cap on my Accurate No.5 sure as heck isn't light proof though. Can practically see right through it.

And yes, please design that powder measure so we can both get rich.

Cstone, brand and model of that measure?

[BuffCyclist]

I've loaded every night so far. I'll go take it out. I know the cap on my Accurate No.5 sure as heck isn't light proof though. Can practically see right through it.

And yes, please design that powder measure so we can both get rich.

Cstone, brand and model of that measure?

I have my pistol powder measure mounted to my dies (single stage press), so pouring the powder out from the top is super easy.

I guess in theory that type of powder measure could be designed, but I'd probably have to sell thread adapters for various powder jug manufacturers, as I'm sure the cap thread isn't a standard

[Jamnanc]

I love my lee prodisk. Double disk kit and micrometer. Good stuff for small money.