Measuring and weighing
Many people often watch their weight and I'm no different really, I just do it a little differently than most.
I wrote a post a while back about grain-weight, the grain measurement in respect of gun powder. You can see that post here to get yourself up to speed.
In it I demonstrated how small the grain weight measurement actually is. Someone made a comment about how I dispense the gun powder though and this post covers that concept.
Below I've laid out the equipment and will explain its use. As usual I will attempt not to get too technical and invite people to make comment or ask questions in the comments below.
Here are the three basic tools for powder measurement and dispensing.
- Beam scale
- Powder thrower
- Powder trickler (The yellow item)
I won't discuss the beam scale much. It is a pretty simple device that uses a beam and a series of weights to measure the exact powder charge required, right down to 0.1 of a grain weight. Just a recap from the last post above - A toothpick weighs 1.5 grains so 0.1 is a very small measurement. (See that previous post, it's interesting.)
The powder thrower
This equipment is clamped to my bench when I am reloading rifle ammunition and the hopper is filled with the appropriate gun powder which you can see in the back of this shot; The AR2209 container.
It is simple to use. Once the charge-amount is set one simply places the small container underneath the outlet nozzle, works the handle and the charge drops into the container. It is then placed on the scales to check the exact weight, and is adjusted accordingly.
Above you can see the charge-setting device. One simply throws a charge, weighs it to determine its accuracy and twists the knob open or closed more then does the throw and measure again continuing until the exact charge is obtained. The adjustment simply lets more powder into the dispensing cavity or less. Once that is done the locking ring is tightened and it's good to go.
You can also see the outlet nozzle above. When throwing a charge the receptacle has to be pressed right up to it or the powder falls, bounces and goes everywhere. This is not a good thing.
I have demonstrated the throw below.
From here it's straight onto the scales for measuring and adjusting.
Just a word on throwing the measurement. I normally set my unit to throw out a little below the required charge as it is easier to add a little than take a little out when obtaining the exact measurement on the scales. So, if I wanted 42.9 grains (the weight, not individual granules) I'd generally set it to throw 42.5 in the process mentioned above.
As I have mentioned before, very precise loads are required for accuracy and repeatability. This weighing process can take hours just to do 100 rounds. Once weighed the charge goes right into the prepped and primed case and the projectile is seated using a press - But that's another post.
The only real trick is to have the powder thrower set up correctly, have its moving parts lubricated with graphite powder for smooth operation and to keep the hopper over half full. That's where I get the most consistent results.
The trickler
Once the charge is on the scales and is measured I need to adjust it to the exact weight. Sometime it is perfect first time, but very rarely. When it is I have a special dance to perform to whatever music I'm listening to at the time. It's glorious although I dance like a retarded spider monkey on crack, so I'll not show you.
Usually the charge will be higher or lower than optimal though. If lower the trickler is used to top it up.
It is a simple device, essentially a very heavy-based container with a shaft through the middle. The shaft is hollow and threaded so when turned picks up gun powder and advances it forwards dispensing one granule at a time. Simple.
Below you can see it set up. The charge is on the scales, the trickler beside full of gun powder. Once the silver tube is turned (manually) it begins to pick up gun powder from the small hopper and dispense it forward granule by granule so I can slowly bring the weight of the charge up to exactly the right weight.
Here is a close up of the outlet. You can see the thread and a couple of granules making their way forward. Some careful turning will dispense a single granule.
The image below shows the empty hopper. You can see the tube running through it and the hole drilled right through that tube which is how it collects the gun powder as the shaft is turned. It also shows the size of a granule of AR2209 gun powder on the tip of my finger. It's small.
This is a very simple device, but is very accurate and effective. I'm a simple dude, so simplicity works for me.
If the charge thrown out happens to be too high in weight then gun powder needs to be removed. I usually pick up the charge in that gold container thing and just tap it a little into the trickler hopper to remove a few granules. If only one granule needs to come out I often use tweezers...So you can understand why this takes a long time.
Do I have to be so precise? Well, for hunting rounds probably not, but considering the distances I shoot to I prefer precision hand-loads. I am a little OCD also, so I end up spending a lot of time doing this for my rifle rounds as I like to have them as close to optimal as possible.
Anyway, that's really it. I have glossed over anything technical and this is certainly not a comprehensive training manual about these topics however you'll get the idea I suppose. This is only a very small part of hand-reloading though; It is a bit of a science.
I find reloading my own ammunition rewarding and usually relaxing, when everything is going right. Having precision hand loads brings me confidence when I'm shooting at something that is alive, and in competition, as I know they will perform the same every time which factory ammunition can't do due to the inconsistent nature of its manufacture.
It may seem time consuming and boring, but the results I gain from doing this are worth the effort.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209