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powder throwers accurate ?

savagehunter44

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Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 10, 2011
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florida
was reading over on accurate shooters.com and read something about benchrest shooters using throwers . but i didnt think thay where that accurate. it also said thay where not worried about + or - .2 grains and thay where more worried bout case capacity, "filling the case" cause air space is a bad thing.so how bad is too much air space in a case ?
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

I started out using my hornady thrower, it was not very consistent with most powders, TAC is pretty fine and it seems to work ok with that...but that wasn't the only powder I wanted to use. I ended up buying a powder dispenser and scale, made a world of difference.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

Space in the case? Who knows, I've never seen inside of the case after I put the bullet in.

Do a proper load work-up. See what shoots and what doesnt.

Weighing powder charges gets the velocity standard and maximum deviation down for me, not thrown. Very important at long range.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

Balance beam scales are accurate. I like an electronic though for the speed.

~$150 for the Gempro-1000 that I use, .05gr accuracy, works well but keep the paperwork, lifetime warranty but they tend to give up every now and then.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

Powder "thrower" accuracy will always be dependent on the structure of the powder "thrown". Stick powders will tend to jam the measuring mechanism and individual granules will be cut. It throws of the "rhythm" that's necessary for consistent powder charges.

Most powder measures/throwers tend to prefer ball or small granule powders and get real inconsistent with powders like Varget and other stick powders.

This is why many are changing over to the Chargemaster combo and with every charge weighed. Lots of BR shooters are leaving their prized Harrel powder measures in the tool box and using battery powered Chargemasters. Good for +/- .1 grain accuracy or about 3 granules of Varget.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

Here's an interesting comparison of scales:
Prometheus Scale Comparison

You need to decide how much precision you need. That will depend in large part on how well you shoot.

A shooter that does not shoot well with Federal Gold Medal Match (that is manufactured with thrown charges) will not benefit by dedicating large sums of money and time to weighing charges out to .01 grain.

A good beam scale can reliably weigh charges to about one-tenth grain, and they can usually be had for under $80 or so.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

I bought a Sartorius electronic scale to "verify" the loads thrown by my Chargemaster. The thread is here: Link

For my .300 wsm loads that I am working out to 1780 yards, it's worth the extra step. For cranking rounds to hit steel out to 1k, the CM is good enough for me.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

Bnechresters use throwers because they shoot at short range and small deviations in charge/velocity don't make much of a different at 100 yards. They also tend to use powders that meter well.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Bnechresters use throwers because they shoot at short range and small deviations in charge/velocity don't make much of a different at 100 yards. They also tend to use powders that meter well. </div></div>

AND they also have found and mapped the window of charge weights that shoot well, so as long as their thrower can hit the window, they are good to go.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

sounds like a good thrower would work for me , we can shoot a lot at 300-500 yards & at local range is only 200. midway usa has the rcbs 1010 scale for on sell for i think about 139.00 now. but it i think it would be over kill for me , i might could get by with just a 505 model or so.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

I recently just switched things up and couldn't be happier.
I got a tuned balance from Scott Parker (with $5 webcam in-front of it and laptop) with an Omega Auto powder trickler and a Lee perfect powder measure. I use the Lee to load .5-.1gns low then let the Omega do it's trick...it's usually dead nuts on, if not then a simple bump of the slow speed button gets it right on the money.
I haven't been able to seat a bullet and get back to it before it's done yet. More accurate and faster...win win!

FWIW both Scott Parker and Dandy Products couldn't be better to deal with, just plain awesome!
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

here's what i have worked out.

redding 3br measure with rifle insert to throw.

weigh on chargmaster 1500 (just the scale)

occasionally verify charges with a double beam pharmacy scale and also use the pharmacy weights to double check the electronic scale.

here's where i worked out my own odd work flow and for me its fast. probably faster than the chargmaster auto measurer.

i throw very close. sometimes over, sometimes under. i was using a trickler but to use it i had to stand up and hold the trickler over the pan on the scale and twist the little knob. i could have set the trickler up on something but still the tube would not reach the pan. i hated trickling.

i cant help myself. at least right now. i want to the scale to show the exact weight am after.

i found that a pair of scissor tweezers could pick a few grains very quickly either to take out or to add. once i got this step down i dont have to stand up and i move real fast. using these like tiny pliers to grab a few grains either to add or to take out is really fast. much faster than the trickler.

as an aside, using the pharmacy scale, i determined that the electronic scale was good down to 3 to 5 milligrams + or -. say 1/2 of a tenth of a grain (approximately 65 milligrams to a grain).

anyway this works for me and its fast.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

My hornady throw with the IMR 4895 is +/-.3gr consistantly. I dump the powder onto the electronic scale and balance every round. I don' know how you'll get any consistancy if you don't. Volume shooters...yup, this is not a process for the impatient and it doesn't turn out rounds quickly...but I like what the rounds do!
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: savagehunter44</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> sounds like a good thrower would work for me , we can shoot a lot at 300-500 yards & at local range is only 200. midway usa has the rcbs 1010 scale for on sell for i think about 139.00 now. but it i think it would be over kill for me , i might could get by with just a 505 model or so. </div></div>

FWIW, my Dillon 550B powder measure throws pretty consistent charges when using ball powders. I only spot check cartridges during a loading session, but when I weigh the charges, they are always within +/- a tenth of a grain of the nominal weight I am seeking. It does not do as well with stick powders, but still manages about +/- .2 grains.

The tradeoff is that I can very quickly produce a lot of quality cartridges using a good ball powder load, and get more time behind the trigger. For me, time is at a premium, and at my skill level, more practice has yielded more progress than more precise powder charges.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

It is a MEASURE, not a THROWER. It depends on the powder you use. Most ball and flake powders can be "thrown" with a measure to extreme accuracy and consistency. Rhythm is your ultimate control in consistency with a measure.
 
Re: powder throwers accurate ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: armorpl8chikn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is a MEASURE, not a THROWER.
</div></div>

Unless it's a cheap piece of crap then the "Measure" is then usually "thrown" and the owner is the "thrower".
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