Problem with consistent powder drop.

Eludnu · Jan 26, 2013

The details: Dillon XL650, 45 ACP, dropping IMR 700x powder, Lyman 1000XP scale.

I setup my new Dillon press today (upgrade, addition to Lee Progressives) and decided to use 700x powder for my first load instead of the typical Bullseye I've always used for 45ACP. Since I am loading for 230 grain FMJ's and the Lyman 49th edition shows the 700x as the "best" powder for that bullet, I figured this was a great time to try something new. I decided to start a 3.8 grains and proceeded to get that value dialed in. Once it scaled at 3.8, I pulled 10 more drops to test how consistent it was. I zeroed the scale each time, and to my surprise, grains ranged from 3.75 to 4.2. My instinct is to suspect the 700x doesn't drop consistently, but since I have zero experience with it, I am just guessing at this point. Since this is my first Dillon experience as well, I don't have the knowledge of history with it to expect how consistent it is in that regard. While I'm waiting for reply's I may pull all the 700x and replace it with Bullseye just to see if that drops more consistently.

Any input, suggestions, ideas is greatly valued!

Otter · Jan 27, 2013

Something has to be wrong with your powder drop. 700x should meter pretty good. With Varget I can drop within .2 grains. You are getting twice that with a powder that should meter much better.

Sheldon · Jan 27, 2013

I had the same issue with my Dillon measures and 700X. What worked for me was to polish the inside of the belled bottom of the powder measure aluminum body. In my case that seemed to make a world of difference.

On a different note, I have had an instance where some wad of fiberous material got into the drop tube/powder funnel of the measure and was bridging and catching powder and causing me all kinds of consistancy issues till I took the powder measure apart and found that fiber wad. So look into the powder funnel and make sure no webs or fiber material is in ther....polish it too while you're at it.

Izzy · Jan 27, 2013

Sheldon said:
I had the same issue with my Dillon measures and 700X. What worked for me was to polish the inside of the belled bottom of the powder measure aluminum body. In my case that seemed to make a world of difference.

On a different note, I have had an instance where some wad of fiberous material got into the drop tube/powder funnel of the measure and was bridging and catching powder and causing me all kinds of consistancy issues till I took the powder measure apart and found that fiber wad. So look into the powder funnel and make sure no webs or fiber material is in ther....polish it too while you're at it.

ALL TRUE! Take it apart, make sure it's clean & dry. I also like to take all of my powder dispensers apart periodicity, & wipe every thing down with a dryer sheet, this helps prevent "static cling" which also can cause inconsistent powder drops.

Good luck!

rdt · Jan 27, 2013

No experience with that measure but +/- 2gr is unacceptable. I cant imagine any manufacturer letting something out the door that inaccurate.

Disassemble Clean and Inspect.

My 3 sons · Jan 27, 2013

I run a 650 as well with universal for fun and have little variation with my drops. When I tried stick powders it gives me all kinds of trouble. Ball and flake powders should not give you the kind of issues you are describing. An obstruction or excessive humidity or static as stated above must be creating the variances.

Papercidal · Jan 27, 2013

Make certain the fail safe rod is adjusted correctly. I have had both Lee and Dillon powder measures that the rod or chain was adjusted just a tiny bit too long and as a result failed to reset fully causing inconsistent powder drops. Check this first this is a very simple fix but easy to overlook looking for a bigger problem. I have no experience with 700x but have got very accurate measuring Less than + - .1 gr with even Unique.

Good Luck

gunfreak · Jan 27, 2013

I had a RCBS little dandy given to me a while back, like it a lot for it's ease of use and consistancy.

Eludnu · Jan 27, 2013

Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback.

I polished the inside of the powder funnel as suggested, then ran an anti-static sheet across and through all surfaces. The effect of the anti-static was instantly apparent when filling the tube back with powder. Not a single flake stuck to the side of the tube. Expecting much better results I was disappointed to obtain nearly the same results. A buddy loaned me his analog scale just to verify my digital scale wasn't contributing to the issue. While the old school scale was more consistent (resulting in my schedule tomorrow adding finding one locally) I still was getting wide variances.

Re-reading the other suggestions here and realizing I didn't have graphite to coat the surfaces with, I went ahead and made about 20 drops and re-scaled. Dead on consistent drops now.

Not being able to use the new press for another 12 hrs was going to be tough! Thanks again for the insight.

deadshot2 · Jan 28, 2013

Eludnu said:
Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback.

I polished the inside of the powder funnel as suggested, then ran an anti-static sheet across and through all surfaces. The effect of the anti-static was instantly apparent when filling the tube back with powder. Not a single flake stuck to the side of the tube. Expecting much better results I was disappointed to obtain nearly the same results. A buddy loaned me his analog scale just to verify my digital scale wasn't contributing to the issue. While the old school scale was more consistent (resulting in my schedule tomorrow adding finding one locally) I still was getting wide variances.

Re-reading the other suggestions here and realizing I didn't have graphite to coat the surfaces with, I went ahead and made about 20 drops and re-scaled. Dead on consistent drops now.

Not being able to use the new press for another 12 hrs was going to be tough! Thanks again for the insight.

You might also consider adding a powder baffle to the powder dispenser. That little piece Dillon uses isn't really up to the job for many powders. I make my own using "Uncle Nicks Powder Baffle Templates" (google this and it will lead you to a PDF file. Just print the page with your size, stick the paper to some thin aluminum roof flashing, and cut out).

For others that run across this issue with ANY powder measure, a simple cure is often to just run a pound or so of powder through the measure, dropping then pouring back, continuing until everything is coated with any residual graphite from the powder granules. Kind of a "break in" cycle. A quick and effective cure in most cases with no other work required.