question on how to throw powder (pistol)

[Thirties]

question on how to load powder (handgun)

I'm reading the books, and it seems there are two ways to put powder in your handgun cartridges:

1- in the press using a die
2- manually through a funnel (off the press)

I'm planning on getting a turret press, and I cannot visualize the powder going in to the case.

I can imagine it not being difficult dispensing powder into a vessel, then pouring from the vessel into the cases sitting in a block using a funnel.

But in some places I see what looks like a powder measure mounted on one of the press's stations, automatically dropping the measure into the case during the process without removing the case from the press until the whole job is done (bullet seated and crimped).

Based on my volume (100/150 per session) and cartrige (.38spl), how should I get the powder into the case?

I did several searches here and did not find this info anywhere. I admit it is a real greenhorn/newbie type of question.

Thanks.

 

[jjmorgan64]

This is going to depend on the press you have. Most progressive presses, pull the handle and don't remove the case til it's done, have powder measures attatched. A simple turret, lee or lyman, etc, you can remove the case and hold it under the powder measure.

If you let us know exactly what your set up is, or is going to be you will get the best way to do it. Of course the best way will vary greatly by who's telling you.. I drop powder both ways depending on what press i'm using.

 

[vulcan]

I have under 1 year reloading & I have all my cases(3,000+ 9mm & 600+ .357) prepped before storage(deprimed,cleaned,sized, & expanded). When I'm ready to load, I prime, put them upside down into the cartridge trays,Take 1 case, Drop powder from measure into case, seat bullet, crimp,check OAL, & return to tray. I use this method to prevent double charging a case while its on the tray. I also use 1 press for seating & another for crimping,Sorta like a poor man's progressive. I charge from the measure for plinking rounds & scale weigh each charge for hot loads. The scale isn't slowing me down because while its settling down, I'm seating,crimping & checking OAL of the previous cartridge. Every loader has his own routine, I do mine this way because it seems speedy & reduces chance of double charging. I normally do about 300 rds per sitting. I tried several different routines until settling on this one. On a turret press the charge is dropped into the case while in the expanding die(hollow die with measure mounted on top). I could use this expanding/charging method in my routine, But I like to see the powder going in the case. Hope this helps

 

[50 shooter]

If your referring to a progressive style press, the powder funnel does take one of the stations. As it rotates around and you work the arm it drops a charge into the case. On a progressive you have to set all of your dies before you get rolling. Once they are set, just make sure to give them a check every so often so that nothing has moved. Basically what happens is, when you pull the arm down on the press the shellplate runs up to the dies. The case in the powder funnel station pushes it up and the charge is dropped into the case.

If you have a single stage press and can mount a powder funnel, you would just need to have it set for the amount of powder that you wanted to dispense. You would then take one of your prepped case and hold it under the funnel and throw a charge.

Now if you were loading some match stuff, you can use a powder trickler and a scale to measure each load so that they are all the same. This would take you the longest but you would have loads that are more consistant.

 

[Thirties]

Turret

" If you let us know exactly what your set up is, or is going to be you will get the best way to do it. Of course the best way will vary greatly by who's telling you.. I drop powder both ways depending on what press i'm using"

Jim, and the others, in my message I said I was going to get a turret press. I have no reloading equipment yet -- only a few manuals. I'm still trying to figure out what I will need and what to buy.

What I am asking is when using a turret press for loading .38 special ammo (about 100/150 each session), would I take the shells off the press to load the powder trough a funnel, or would I load the powder through a die in one of the turret positions with the shell still in the holder?

Sorry if I didn't make my original question more clear.

 

[vulcan]

On a turret press,you can drop the powder into the case without removing it from the shellholder. you would uses a powder through expanding die. The powder drops though the hollow die during the expanding position of the turret. The powder can be dropped from a measure mounted to this die or thru a funnel if you use dippers or weigh your powder. You also can remove the case from the shellholder to charge from bench mounted measure. Hope this clears it up a bit.

 

[jjmorgan64]

Vulcan nailed it exactly, You can use a powder through expanding die,( Lee has them, RCBS doesn't, check the dies before you purchase them)
On my Lee turet, I'll often set the powder measure in the expanding die to charge when I'm loading plinking rounds, when I'm loading near max loads, or hunting loads on the lee turret i'll anchor the powder measure to the table and weigh the charge, removing the brass, or weigh it then dump it through the expanding die, done both. 150 loads shouldn't be a problem with this setup.

Hopefully you'll enjoy it so much you buy a progressive down the road, but don't worry you'll always use the turret press.

 

[Thirties]

Vulcan and JJ, which way is better when loading .38 specials for plinking and target (no defense or hunting)? Is it purely a personal choice?

Whichever turret press I get, I will make sure whichever powder measure fits on top. That way I can choose how I load the powder.

I guess there are three ways to do it:

1- pour the powder into the cases which sit in a block

2- hold each case under the bench mounted measure and drop the powder in

3- mount the measure on one of the turret positions and dispense through a die

I was hoping I'd get the opinion of folks here as to why one method is better than the other for my type of reloading: .38spl 100/150 per session.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[DAVID NANCARROW]

Fastest would be the Lee auto disk powder drop, which also expands the case mouth to receive the bullet at the next station.

Next fastest would be to throw the charge from a bench mounted powder dispenser.

Most accurate would be weighing each charge, expand the case neck, throwing the charge through the funnel.


With the Lee setup, you can either have the auto disk set up with the powder on top, or there is an adapter which accepts the funnel and you could weigh each charge as well as expand the case neck.

 

[Thirties]

Thanks David. That helps a lot.