What would you consider an accurate powder measurement?

[ddjchemist]

I decided to start my own reloading, so at this point I am reading and wathing various videos to learn as much as I can. I also got a couple of good books. I am planning on reloading 300 WM, 30-06 and 8mm Mauser. I still need to buy reloading equipment. I have one question about powder measurement. To what decimal place in grams one needs to measure powder? For example, if I want to measure 12.3g of powder, how accurate should I be? I am lucky to have access to electronic balances able to accurately measure +- 2 mg (2/1000 grams).

Cheers,

Dan

Read More

 

[AMT]

Unless everything else on your rifle is absolutely precise, and every single shell you load has the exact same internal capacity, and every single bullet is the exact same diameter and weight, a few 100th of a grain of powder isn't going to make one bit of a difference. I'd just leave it at 12.3g (the example you gave above) and forget any other digits that you are able to read.

Hopefully you'll be able to start loading soon!

 

[Tikka308]

Unless everything else on your rifle is absolutely precise, and every single shell you load has the exact same internal capacity, and every single bullet is the exact same diameter and weight, a few 100th of a grain of powder isn't going to make one bit of a difference. I'd just leave it at 12.3g (the example you gave above) and forget any other digits that you are able to read.

Hopefully you'll be able to start loading soon!

Kneck tension means more, than powder does. scott satterlee load development. Learn about what scott is doing. It will change what you do.

 

[ddjchemist]

Unless everything else on your rifle is absolutely precise, and every single shell you load has the exact same internal capacity, and every single bullet is the exact same diameter and weight, a few 100th of a grain of powder isn't going to make one bit of a difference. I'd just leave it at 12.3g (the example you gave above) and forget any other digits that you are able to read.

Hopefully you'll be able to start loading soon!

Cool. For my target mass of 12.3g I am able to easily measure 12.300 +- 0.002 g, so I should be set when it comes to accurate powder measurement.

 

[ddjchemist]

I still have a lot of to learn. One step a time. No hurry.

 

[AMT]

Kneck tension means more, than powder does. scott satterlee load development. Learn about what scott is doing. It will change what you do.

I forgot to post about crimp, etc. too. EVERY step of the process has to be precise if you really want to care more than 0.1g of powder weight.

Is every brass annealed to the same specs?
Is the crimp the exact same of each round?
Is every primer the exact same?
etc
etc
etc.....

 

[RVTECH]

Kneck tension means more, than powder does.

Ditto this - along with crimp as mentioned - if applicable to the round.

It would be interesting to break down some factory ammo to see how much the powder charges vary - especially with the less dense varieties such as 'stick' powders. I'll bet it's more than expected but many report very good accuracy with some factory ammo.

I have one question about powder measurement. To what decimal place in grams one needs to measure powder?

Also, don't forget, powder is measured in GRAINS - not GRAMS.

 

[ddjchemist]

Ditto this - along with crimp as mentioned - if applicable to the round.

It would be interesting to break down some factory ammo to see how much the powder charges vary - especially with the less dense varieties such as 'stick' powders. I'll bet it's more than expected but many report very good accuracy with some factory ammo.


Also, don't forget, powder is measured in GRAINS - not GRAMS.

I know that, but my balances are only measuring in grams

 

[RVTECH]

I know that, but my balances are only measuring in grams

Just making sure!

I often wonder how far 'off' I am even though I try my best to 'zero' my Ohaus beam scale for each charge.

 

[oremike]

IMHO, you would be money ahead to get a GRAINS scale rather than continually do the conversions. As far as accuracy in measurements I try to stay +/- 0.1 of a GRAIN in my loads.

 

[ddjchemist]

I might buy a grain scale. However, I have an old electronic laboratory grade scale that can go down to 0.0001 g, so I might use it at the beginning. The one that I have is more accurate than anything I can find that measures in grain unit, of course unless I want to spend a lot of money.

 

[Dinglenutz]

I know that, but my balances are only measuring in grams

It's perfectly OK to just work in grams.

 

[noylj]

Never confuse g and gr. Personally, I only use gn for grains--no confusion with grams.
For any shooting I have ever done, a scale with 0.1gn readout is more than good enough. Exterior ballistic paths are very similar for pistols out to 50 yds and rifles out to at least 100 yds.
Somewhere beyond 300 yds, you might need better weight precision, but all I've ever seen is hand-waving with no targets to back it up.

 

[Horatius]

I might buy a grain scale. However, I have an old electronic laboratory grade scale that can go down to 0.0001 g, so I might use it at the beginning. The one that I have is more accurate than anything I can find that measures in grain unit, of course unless I want to spend a lot of money.

getting most powder to meter at those tolerances your scale will do can be difficult. unless your shooting long range or match i personally dont think you will notice +or- .1 gr

 

[Horatius]

relax, keep learning, pay attention to every step and enjoy! basic reloading is not hard but can be a bit tedious. i find it relaxing to get my brain and hands busy. welcome to reloading!

 

[Mikej]

The simple answer to the question in the first post is... To a tenth of a grain. .1, +/- .050. That's how I try to roll anyway. And I'm using an RCBS 5-0-5 scale.

 

[baker3gun]

my 2 cents:

In my experience, resolution to 2 tenths of a grain is good enough for match ammo that can hold 1 moa or better at 1000 yards.

EDIT May 18: it probably doesn't matter, but...
I was re-reading this thread and realized that my statement above was unclear at best.
When I do load-development, I work in 0.2gr increments.
When I load match ammo, I have already identified a load and I weight each charge and top-off with a trickler as needed. I do this on a beam scale, and I try to get the exact same charge into every round.
What I meant to say in my earlier statement was that doing load development at 0.2gr resolution has been good enough for me to find loads that can hold sub-moa at long range.
[end edit]

0.2gr is 13 thousandths of a gram.

Every step in a process is an opportunity for error. It makes sense to minimize steps.

Reloading scales are cheap. Most kits come with a decent beam scale.

Your only reason for using grams is your present scale doesn't offer variable units.

Seems like an easy decision.

Regarding your OP - IMO, the answer to your question hinges on what kind of ammo you want to produce.

When I load match ammo, in addition to all of the other required steps, I weigh each charge and use a trickler.

When I load "progressive press" ammo, I hand-weigh charges to find a load that will shoot 0.7moa, then I set the powder measure to dispense that charge, then I load "progressive" in 100rd batches. That ammo is invariably better than 1.5moa, which is easily good enough for medium-range hunting, plinking, speed competitions (like 3-gun), fighting, etc.

My guess: new handloaders pursue maximum accuracy. After a few thousand rounds, most people end up with two classes of ammo: match ammo they load slowly, and really good ammo they load quickly.

We learned shooting 3-gun that weight-sorted Hornady bulk 55gr fmj's were consistently accurate enough for 18x30" steel plates at 500 yards (a 3.5moa by 6moa target). We loaded them on a Lee Classic Turret with auto disk powder measure. We loaded 'em fast, and we blasted away, using the same round for 500yd steel and 5 yard paper.

Good luck!

Lot's of handloading knowledge on this board.

 

[03A3Sporter]

I keep my deviation between loads to 1/10th a grain or less if possible and I shoot small groups. consistency has always been a bug of mine so I hand trickle every load.

 

[ddjchemist]

Thank you all for good advise. I will take it step by step. I have learned some basic reloading theory (bullet size and types, relationship between bullets and powder, bullet depths, etc), but I got so much more to learn in practice. It looks reloading is mix between art, science and hand skill. Right now I am reading about various equipment and will soon start ordering basic gear (press, die sets, etc). I would prefer to get quality gear from the beginning. Luckily, I also know a couple of highly skilled re-loaders, so that will also be a good help.

 

[quneur]

You should be fine with a lab scale. The tolerance of .002 grams converts to .031 grains. Most reloading beams scale tolerance are .1 grains. Again, make sure you don't get confused with untis. Everyone will list weights in grains. Books will use grains. I wonder if the rest of the reloading world are forced to use imperial units?

Just make sure you write down every load because trying to work up a load using the ladder method is going to require different powder weights.

I've heard of people who load to maximum use lab scales because of the precision.

Edit: Ugh, I confused Benchmark with Trail Boss!