Hornady Auto Charge

[tarster]

Well guys... I pulled the trigger on a Hornady Auto charge, I was going back and forth between the hornady unit and the RCBS charge master.. and I just couldnt justify the extra 100 dollars for the chargemaster.. even after the 75 dollar rebate...

So we will have to see how good it is, I am excited to start doing load developement with it as it should be quite a bit easier to go up and down in the loads instead of throwing with my rcbs thrower and then trickling in while its on the scale.

http://www.amazon.com/Hornady-Lock-...460046241&sr=8-1&keywords=hornady+auto+charge

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[Member 5605]

Cool man!

Let me know when you need a place to store it longer term. I have a spot on my bench.

I've considered one as well with all of the varying loads I've been doing lately.

 

[tarster]

ill let you come over and play with it once it gets Dyjital haha. More than welcome to come over and work up some load.

 

[Member 5605]

Next work up I'm doing will be at a bench on the range. That would work good there too. Mount press to bench and load right there on the spot.

 

[tarster]

I would just put it on the back wall since there is a few power plugs there. Im hearing a play date at the range haha

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Oh you auto charging kids!

 

[tarster]

Am I hearing your a might bit jealous Sgt. Hahaha should be a nice alternative to trickling in powder round after round.

 

[Crohnos01]

Lol... I just did the same thing, but went with the chargemaster.... we can compare notes!

 

[tarster]

Sounds like a plan to me. I just couldn't justify the extra price. Plus I don't think I'll use the saving ability of the charge master.

 

[Crohnos01]

Yeah, I am loading so many different calibers, and toying with charges, that was something that I really liked. Not being a trusting soul, I still cross check every 5th or so charge on my balance beam, but so far so good

 

[tarster]

Well I have had some time with the unit, I have only had one or two over throws in about 40ish loads with it, I run the slow speed with my 3031 and have changed nothing else, it works pretty well, I have found to speed it up I throw a powder load thats fairly close in my rcbs thrower and then dump that into the pan and dispense from there, if I was doing one at a time custom loads I wouldnt bother, but when doing 20 - 30 it makes it go quite a bit quicker. I loaded some subsonic 8gr and 7gr titegroup for my 308 and it handled flake (titegroup) really really well, I moved it up to the normal mode.. or fast.. cant remember and it was throwing great, I did not have a over throw with that powder or that amount.. i might try the straw mod and then speed the feed up and see how that goes. Otherwise I am pretty happy with the unit, I wish it was made out of metal instead of plastic... but its all in cost savings..

On a side note I saw the RCBS units go down to 300$ on amazon and then RCBS has a 75 dollar mail in rebate.. if I had seen that (about a week after i bought mine) I would have just got the RCBS, but for the price paid 171$ I am happy with my purchase.

 

[bbbass]

I load a lot of pistol rounds and have found Titegroup to meter very well in small quantities down to 4gr. Have used Titewad down to 2.8gr in my RCBS Uniflow. Both meter so well because they are very small, stiff flakes. 700X and Red Dot have been difficult enough (requiring trickling) to make me think of looking for an Auto-Disk. But they are not a very versatile unit for throwing small changes in charge weight. Then I'd be back to trickling again.

 

[tarster]

I do all my pistol loading on my Dillon and do not have any issues with powder variance, the powder throwers on the Dillon are top notch for sure. This is more for testing, the rcbs (maybe pre-uniflow??) is from about the early 70's it was my dads, same with my RCBS Jr press. it throws kinda close, with the 3031 it was 40.5 - 42.5 when I was trying to throw 42.5... its not something i would trust for a accurate throw any day.. but it gets me close and then i can use the autocharge to trickle it in the rest of the way.

 

[Crohnos01]

I find the extruded powders a challenge on my late 70s RCBS drum thrower. My new Chargemaster seems to handle them in stride however. Once in awhile it will throw a tenth grain over, probably once out of 50 or so throws. However on a balance beam, I can't even seem to differentiate between the over throws and those that are in the money according to the Chargemaster.... Usually.... However being an accuracy freak, I usually dump them back and let the Chargemaster re-throw.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Am I hearing your a might bit jealous Sgt. Hahaha should be a nice alternative to trickling in powder round after round.

Ahhhhh......I just pick an empty piece of brass that looks about right, braze a coat hanger on and throw scoops of powder at the empty's! Hammer a bullet into the mouth! Easy, peasey, quick and sleezy!

I, actually, stopped reloading some years ago! My shooting, hunting and reloading partner and best friend for most of my life, died of a massive coronary and car crash on Christmas Eve! I gave all my gear away, locked up the gun safe and didn't bust another cap for a few years! Just wasn't fun anymore! I've made noises about getting another press and accessories, I don't know. Fixed income and finding components sounds like a PITA.

 

[bbbass]

I do all my pistol loading on my Dillon and do not have any issues with powder variance, the powder throwers on the Dillon are top notch for sure.

So right on. Loaned my Dillon 550 to my brother in Las Vegas that wanted to get more pistol shooting done. Using my RCBS Jr... it might be time to get the Dillon back. The Dillon always threw accurate loads.

When loading 2.8gr of Titewad, as I do, a little makes a big diff. Really nice powder puff load for .45ACP with 11lb recoil spring. Against advice, I tried Titewad for 9mm and the loads wouldn't cycle but just another .2gr gave indications of pressure problems. Not!!! I bought 4 new 1lb cans of Titewad for $12 each during the shortage. I'm using Titegroup and others for that load now. Hey, I buy whatever I can find.

 

[Mikej]

Ahhhhh......I just pick an empty piece of brass that looks about right, braze a coat hanger on and throw scoops of powder at the empty's! Hammer a bullet into the mouth! Easy, peasey, quick and sleezy!

I, actually, stopped reloading some years ago! My shooting, hunting and reloading partner and best friend for most of my life, died of a massive coronary and car crash on Christmas Eve! I gave all my gear away, locked up the gun safe and didn't bust another cap for a few years! Just wasn't fun anymore! I've made noises about getting another press and accessories, I don't know. Fixed income and finding components sounds like a PITA.

Sad Sarge.....Ifin you ever want, I'd be happy to offer up my modest single stage RCBS set-up with powder, brass, primers and projectiles for a box or five of you're favorite hund gun flavor. I've not shot as much as I have in components so it would be a pleasure to give you the chance to feel "IT" again. Hit me up! I believe I heard you say where you live and we're pretty near neighbors!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Thank you, Mike! That is very kind of you! I don't miss the feel of reloading, I just buy bulk and shoot common calibers! .45, .38/.357, 9mm, .223/5.56, 7.62N, 12ga!
I have factory .30-06 and .22 Hornet and '06 and .22K Hornet hand loads to last the rest of my lifetime!
The only rounds I'd have much interest in loading would be 6mm Remmington, cause they are so hard to find. I no longer have dies or brass for them though!
Again thanks, Mike, for a very decent and kindly offer! I'm touched! Which is different than techted! I'm that too! SRG

 

[Scott F]

Next work up I'm doing will be at a bench on the range. That would work good there too. Mount press to bench and load right there on the spot.

I have done that a lot. Took 98 pieces of brass for a Roger #1 in 22 BBEt Nevada for three days of sage rat killing. Would shoot until the b3rral got hot then reload from the shooting bench using my Harrell's measure and home made hand dies. A little work with your powder of choice and the Harrell's measure will let you safely adjust your loads in the field.

I have a press. I sometimes take to the range with a eating die and a bunch of rounds loaded to maximum length in my rifle. I would shoot five hot groups and then adjust the seating die a little deeper until I found the sweet spot.

 

[Member 5605]

Loaded a handful this afternoon with my auto charge.

Had one over weight out of about 20 loads and tests. Over by .2gr