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Posted: 7/2/2015 5:05:31 PM EDT
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So I am currently using a Lee 4-Hole Turret Press to reload 9mm, 45 ACP and 223 Rem. Soon expanding to 300BLK.
I picked up a Lee Charge Bar, and i have yet to test it. I mainly got the Charge bar for when I'm making multiple loads and testing powder loads. I am using the Lee Auto disk system with the press. I am getting good consistency with Bullseye but with Unique and Ram Shot TAC it's all over the place. Unique would be off by as little as .5gr or as much as 1.2gr. Ram Shot was more that it would slowly increase, maybe the powder settling in the hopper? Would I get any different results from this vs the Auto Disk? Would this fix my consistency issues? |
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Also have had poor results with the adjustable charge bar. When I have a load for a powder I like and plan to load a lot of and I can't dial it in with an existing disk hole, I'll take one of the smaller holes on the smallest disk and slowly open it up with drilling and filing until I have a custom hole size that throws the charge I want. |
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Quoted:
Also have had poor results with the adjustable charge bar. When I have a load for a powder I like and plan to load a lot of and I can't dial it in with an existing disk hole, I'll take one of the smaller holes on the smallest disk and slowly open it up with drilling and filing until I have a custom hole size that throws the charge I want. I like that, I may have to play around with that. I know I have a bunch of disks I'm not using. I'm relatively new to reloading and I know a little bit about powders and types. Could I be running into a settling issue with the Unique or Ram Shot Tac? |
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I have not had good luck with Unique at low charge weights (you didn't list yours) with either the disk or the charge bar. The charge bar was worse.
Other powders work much better. Unique flakes are just too big for the Auto disk PM. Settling can be a problem. Waste 15-20 drops back into the top to get the powder settled. |
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I have not had good luck with Unique at low charge weights (you didn't list yours) with either the disk or the charge bar. The charge bar was worse. Other powders work much better. Unique flakes are just too big for the Auto disk PM. Settling can be a problem. Waste 15-20 drops back into the top to get the powder settled. The Unique I was running in the 45 ACP, 200gr Rainier Bullet, and i was aiming for 5.8gr of Unique. I was getting anywhere from 5.0gr to almost 7gr at times. I ended using a dipper and measuring each load of powder by hand 
I don't remember which disks i ran, but i know it was directly off the provided Lee chart. All that being said, i need to either find someone who wants to buy or trade for the Unique. Most likely I'll have to suck it up and use it, I may borrow a buddies Hornady Powder Measure/Scale and just load up a bunch of 45. But I will be turning the load down some. Probably around 5.3gr-5.5gr of Unique. The Ram Shot Tac was in 223rem, 55gr Remington FMJ, and the goal of that was 23.8gr of Ram Shot, that was more consistent, but like i said it would climb. I'm assuming due to settling. But that load shot great, decent plinking round. |
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Quoted: How so? A small piece in the hole to fill space? This lessons the volume and the charge weight. Tape a disc and weigh the charge it throws, adjust tape as needed to get desired charge weight. This is a standard "trick" to adjust a "fixed" disc or bushing when throwing powder. And welcome to Arfcom and the Reloading Forum.
 Use masking tape, mark disc as to what it is modified to throw. |
| Are you loading 300AAC or planning to? I tried Lee dies in Pro 1000 and the powder die would have problems centering on tile case mouth causing crushedcases. The powder measure did not drop W296 without leaving a mess all over my bench. So I am stuck using a single stage press. I have to place case under Perfect Powder aleviateMeasure with a funnel because it leaks ball powder also. I am planning to upgrade my measure soon to |
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I have had good luck with my charge bar. My biggest problem is it wont throw more than about 24.5 grains of Win 296. For small charges, like 4 grains, I use HP38, longshot, bullseye, and Titegroup. works fine and consistant. You have to do your part though. be consistent with how fast you pull the handle. |
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Clean the entire thing with drier sheets to stop static electricity.
Take a piece of glass (welding mask shield works) and put a sheet of fine sand paper on top. Sand down the stands that hold up the powder hopper a few thousandths. Make sure they are even. Make sure the screws holding the hopper on are quite snug. If they loosen all bets are off. Good luck. Mine now works well, but it took some tuning. |
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Are you loading 300AAC or planning to? I tried Lee dies in Pro 1000 and the powder die would have problems centering on tile case mouth causing crushedcases. The powder measure did not drop W296 without leaving a mess all over my bench. So I am stuck using a single stage press. I have to place case under Perfect Powder aleviateMeasure with a funnel because it leaks ball powder also. I am planning to upgrade my measure soon to I haven't started loading 300BLK yet, my build is still in process here. And from some of the other reading i'm doing. About the only Lee Die people use for 300BLK is the factory crimp die. |
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Clean the entire thing with drier sheets to stop static electricity. Take a piece of glass (welding mask shield works) and put a sheet of fine sand paper on top. Sand down the stands that hold up the powder hopper a few thousandths. Make sure they are even. Make sure the screws holding the hopper on are quite snug. If they loosen all bets are off. Good luck. Mine now works well, but it took some tuning. I feel like I got a good deal starting with Lee Reloading products, but i can definatley see it needs a little "tuning" And to reply to "OverScoped" that's the first thing i learned. Once you get something right, repeat it! Especailly on the press, don't want to throw off a bullet seat or powder throw. |
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If i decided to start running my reloading in stages for certain things, would anyone be able to recommend a decent Powder Measure/Dispencer?
The Lee Perfect Powder measure catches my eye (Price and I have mostly all Lee gear right now) but if i spent a few bucks more the Hornady Lock-N-Load Powder Measure looks pretty solid. |
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I had that Lee press with a Lyman 55 powder drop attached by using the Perfect Adapter from Unique Tek.
The Lyman worked very well in that setup. Adjust until you reached your weight and run 10 or 15 rounds and check the weight again for safety. I had zero issues with that combination other than I wanted to load more ammo in less time. I will have to say I was not fond of the primer system. Keep an eye on the EE here for a powder measure or other items you may need. 
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.44 Rem Mag. Quoted:
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I have had good luck with my charge bar. My biggest problem is it wont throw more than about 24.5 grains of Win 296... What cartridge are you using that much W296 in? Yep, ok. There was a guy who did a tutorial thread on stacking two adj. charge bars together. Minor mod to one and then stack them up. I expect Google could find it. |
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Quoted: Yep, ok. There was a guy who did a tutorial thread on stacking two adj. charge bars together. Minor mod to one and then stack them up. I expect Google could find it. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have had good luck with my charge bar. My biggest problem is it wont throw more than about 24.5 grains of Win 296... What cartridge are you using that much W296 in? Yep, ok. There was a guy who did a tutorial thread on stacking two adj. charge bars together. Minor mod to one and then stack them up. I expect Google could find it. I have a Double disk kit too. But instead of getting that all set up, I set the thing up to throw 2 throws per case, then I weigh them. I know its not recommended, but I only load a few boxes a year. |
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But instead of getting that all set up, I set the thing up to throw 2 throws per case, then I weigh them. I know its not recommended, but I only load a few boxes a year. I mean a double adj charge bar setup. Not double disk. It was pretty neat. 2 throws works as long as you are careful. Sounds like you have a good handle on it. |
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Thanks for all the info.
After playing around with the charge bar last night I found I got a bit more consistent throws then the disc kit. But that large flake powder just doesn't throw very well at all. I'm going to do about 300 rounds of 45 tonight or tomorrow and probably use the dipper again and just suck it up and take my time. But once this Unique is gone, that's it. It's not a bad powder, just a pain to work with. |
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Thanks for all the info. After playing around with the charge bar last night I found I got a bit more consistent throws then the disc kit. But that large flake powder just doesn't throw very well at all. I'm going to do about 300 rounds of 45 tonight or tomorrow and probably use the dipper again and just suck it up and take my time. But once this Unique is gone, that's it. It's not a bad powder, just a pain to work with. I know your pain. I have 3/4# that I am loath to use. I want to use it eventually. But not now. Power pistol and Bullseye meter too well to fight that Unique. |
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Just finished 200 rounds of 45 using the charge bar.
Loaded 5.5 gr of Unique. Actually ran really well, i checked every 2-3 rounds. Just to make sure I was getting good throws. I set to 6.4 (The Lee paperwork says 6.0). I then topped the hopper off and proceeded to tap the hopper with a screw driver lightly for about 15-20 seconds. Every 50 rounds i would top off and tap again. I feel that settling the powder really paid off. Out of 200 rounds 1x 5.9gr 1x 5.8gr 3x 5.7gr 2x 5.2gr and the rest were fairly even between 5.4gr, 5.5gr and 5.6gr. For plinking ammo (200gr Rainier Plated Bullets) I'm pretty happy with how the powder worked out on this one. |
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I mean a double adj charge bar setup. Not double disk. It was pretty neat. 2 throws works as long as you are careful. Sounds like you have a good handle on it. Quoted:
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But instead of getting that all set up, I set the thing up to throw 2 throws per case, then I weigh them. I know its not recommended, but I only load a few boxes a year. I mean a double adj charge bar setup. Not double disk. It was pretty neat. 2 throws works as long as you are careful. Sounds like you have a good handle on it. So I was curious myself, so went and looked for the thread. Double charge bar thread |
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