[Furner]

How much off from your desired powder weight is acceptable for your shotshell reloads? My recipe calls for 17.8 grains, but I am throwing between 17 and 19 grains. Should I worry about this much of a variance? My loader is secured, so I would think my weights wouldnt be this far off.

 

[Ulysses]

My loader will generally throw within 0.2 grains of the average throw for that bushing and powder. If your loader is throwing a spread of almost 2 grains, then something is wrong somewhere.

Here are a few suggestions of things to check.
Do you have a powder baffle in the powder tube?
Is something clogged up in the powder bushing or adjustable charge bar or powder drop tube?
Is your reloader bolted down tight?
Do you have a lot of static cling of the powder to the powder tube?
Does the reloader move through the cycle with reasonable smoothness, or is it rough and jerky?

Something is apparently loose or is varying way too much from throw to throw. A variation of 2 grains from high to low is not normal or acceptable, IMO.

 

[Guest]

I never get more than about .2 variation with my loaders. Technique is very important. Do it the same every time! If that doesn't fix the problem, you got something serious wrong! That just isn't good enough, could get you into trouble!!

BP

 

[Furner]

My handle is kinda sticky, I suppose that could cause that kind of results. I need to tear down the machine and clean it out, it has gone about 30 years without a cleaning. I just am not quite sure how to take it apart. The bar and bushing and powder tube look fine to me, the bar and bushing are brand new. I guess Ill work on cleaning the loader. Thanks for the suggestions.