Hornady LNL powder measure

[Tokimini]

My son and I just started reloading with the Hornady LNL Classic kit and every thing went well except the powder measure. I completely disassembled it and cleaned it as directed but we had trouble getting it to measure consistantly. It worked fairly well with the IMR 8208 I was using for my 204 but was terrible with the RL17 my son was using for his 300WSM. Is there a break in period or any tricks to get it to measure consistantly? Thanks.

[ryutzy]

I use that same powder measure also without any problems, however with this type of measure you will not get within .2 grain every time. I dont know how your measuring your charges, but each time that you lift the handle and lower it you need to duplicate your exact movements each time. I lift the handle and lower it giving it one slight tap after I lower it. This seems to settle the powder and it seemed to give me fairly consistent loads. Different powders do feed differently with ball powders tending to meter the best. I use the powder trickler to perfect the loads that need a pinch more powder. Tedious, but I weigh each charge. Play around with how you move/tap the meter handle to see what gives you a more consistant reading.

[Tokimini]

Thanks Ryutzy

[Tokimini]

I did some more playing around with my powder measure last night. I disassembled it, washed it thoroughly with dish soap and let it air dry. I then did a test run of 25 loads being very consistant in how I operated the powder measure. The first was way off compared the the others, .8 of a grain, but the rest were within .1 of a grain of the average. I'm new to reloading and I'm wondering if .1 of a grain would have a noticeable effect on accuracy.

[ryutzy]

Sounds like you got your problem fixed! It's normal for the first charge weight to be off and it's normally less. I think for the first charge the powder hasn't started metering or flowing yet so your charge holder isn't totally full. Having your charge weights within a tenth of a grain is acceptable by most peoples standards. Some electronic scales are only accurate to two tenths of a grain. There are other factors that will probably affect accuracy more than being a tenth of a grain off. One thing that you need to remember though is that if your target charge weight is 27 and your off high and low by a tenth (27.1 and 26.9) you are now varying by two tenths. I know we are handloading so we expect a lot more accuracy, but if you take factory ammo and pull the bullets, you will probably be shocked at how much their charge weights vary. Obviously the more dead on our charge weights are the better but dont lose sleep over a tenth of a grain. IMO. Shoot some loads and if your happy with your groups and if you are then your golden.

[Tokimini]

Thanks again Ryutzy. I was hoping being .1 grain off would be considered acceptable. With any luck I'll be able to get out this weekend and try my first loads.

[fishy]

With any luck I'll be able to get out this weekend and try my first loads.

I've been saying this for 2 weeks now. Hopefully our range ins't to wet from the snow we got today that I can get out to it this weekend.