quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
YellowJacket...I’ve got some Lyman case prep tools (primer pocket reamers and cleaners...small and large and inside and outside case deburring) as well as an older but very usable LEE hand priming tool with a full set of dies for all popular calibers that are needed to use with the priming tool (they only fit the LEE tool the older priming tools which are way better than the newer tools from LEE which are prone to break)...I will “Instant KARMA” them to you if you if you will send me address to ship them to...just send me an address to the email address in my profile and I will ship them out to you next week

Email sent! I'm very fortunate to have a forum like this (and one other where I got insta-karma'd a Lee BreechLock). Thank you very much!

YellowJacket - That Lee hand priming tool and case holding dies that Bisley has offered you is by far the BEST hand held primer ever made...I had one that I loaded over 30,000 primers into pistol and rifle cases without a single breakage.... The model he has offered you is no longer made and it a very desirable unit...You just received one of the handiest discontinued tools I have ever used for reloading......Treat that tool with extra TLC as it will serve you well (also makes it so that you do not need a priming system on your press)....

A very generous offer, indeed. I now have a press, 1k large rifle primers, a little over 100 pieces of 270win brass, and 50 Barnes X bullets that I bought for a friend to load me 10+ years ago. I feel like I'm about halfway there but some bigger expenses coming up. Do I ease into it with a balance beam scale or cannonball in with an RCBS chargemaster?

I've also been reading a manual and compiling load data sheets from the major manufacturers for each cartridge I plan to reload. Working on a spreadsheet to start filling in, as well.

I would “ease into a balance beam scale”...back when RCBS scales were made by Ohass here in the USA I would recommend their 502 scale...mine is pushing 20 years+ old and is as accurate as the day I brought it home (sadly Ohass is now made in China)...I have been impresses with the Lyman Brass Smith line and if I were in the market for a new scale I would look at these...

https://www.lymanproducts.com/...etal-reloading-scale

Amazon has them for $71 with free Prime shipping for some reason I can’t copy and paste the link to Amazon, but do a search and it should pop up...

A good accurate manual scale is clutch to weigh and compare powder charges even when using an electronic scale and it will last a life time with proper care...it’s a good investment for peace of mind.

I have always liked the the looks of the red, white and blue RCBS Summit press as well as its unique design and congrats on the primers!...you are well on your way to ammunition self sufficiently ...

I will put the package in the mail tomorrow when I go by the Doctor and run other errands.

Thanks again Bisley. Maybe we can meet up at one of Marzy's shoots sometime in the future. I've only been to one but had a great time.

I've liked GunBlue490's YouTube channel for awhile now and watched one earlier today about manual measuring that convinced me on the balance beam, as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGaPv_3oWQ&t=1828s

One of the most useful quality assurance tools, more like essential than useful, is a small set of standard weights. These are easily acquired via eBay for just a few dollars. The sizes that are most useful for a hand loader are in the fractional gram to a couple of grams range. I have not seen them in grains although such probably exist somewhere. The conversion from grams to grains is simple.
A half gram weight is approx equal to 7.7162 grains,
One gram is twice that many grains, 1 gram =15.432 grains,
and 2 grams is = 30.865 grains.

When in doubt all that one need do is check the accuracy of the weighing device, be it a beam balance or an electronic scale, using a weight that is reasonably close to the target weight of powder. Periodically is also helpful for peace of mind (and for continued confidence in the device's measurement accuracy given that all such devices can and do drift). You don't need a set of standards that are traceable to the (formerly) Nat'l Bureau of Standards (those are prohibitively expensive given that they are made to very exacting tolerances). There are several different established grades of tolerances and the cheapest are quite satisfactory for hand loading.

Found a Lee Pro 500 scale NIB for $40 so it is on the way. Also picked up a new RCBS 270 Win FL die set at Cabelas this morning.

Looking through the various load data sheets I am trying to narrow down a couple of all-around powders that will work for 270 win, 7x57, 257, 30-06, and 243. Looks like RL-19, IMR4350, and Varget are my #1 targets. Needles in a haystack right now, but seems like there are solid loads for all my calibers from those 3 powders.

270 Win works best with slightly slower powder. Think 4831 or RL23.

Also, get a Wilson case gauge and some calipers.

Be prepared for finding only one powder per caliber/bullet combo that clearly shoots best.
Sometimes it will work equally well in another caliber, but more than that is usually just asking too much.

Powder is an acceptable collection item, don't fear variety.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
Be prepared for finding only one powder per caliber/bullet combo that clearly shoots best.
Sometimes it will work equally well in another caliber, but more than that is usually just asking too much.

Powder is an acceptable collection item, don't fear variety.

I definitely understand how it will likely turn out but I want to at least start with powders that at least have good known loads for multiple calibers.

Also, I'm doing this to load premium bullets in hunting rifles and not to punch holes in paper that are as close together as possible. To begin with, at least.

quote:

Originally posted by Orthogonal:
One of the most useful quality assurance tools, more like essential than useful, is a small set of standard weights. These are easily acquired via eBay for just a few dollars. The sizes that are most useful for a hand loader are in the fractional gram to a couple of grams range. I have not seen them in grains although such probably exist somewhere.

Lyman makes a set in grains, though it's a bit more expensive ($27) than the stuff on eBay.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...012866166?pid=212586

After reading a few of the on-site reviews of the Lyman 'weights' I believe I'll stick with my sets of eBay calibration weights in grams (and my few additional ones that are traceable). Ifn you have to grind 'em down to bring them to their designated 'weight' they ain't suitable for calibration purposes, IMHO.

My electronic scale is provably good to a some tenths of a milligram, i.e., about 0.01gr or less, although annoyingly it does not read out in grains. Forgive me for being a bit obsessive as I have spent a lot of time in and around standards laboratories where true accuracy means something of great merit and is aggressively sought. Accurate scales are absolutely necessary in achieving superior accuracy for hand loaded competitive ammo, but perhaps not so much when it comes to plinking ammo or safety as the acceptable deviations or tolerances there may be greater.

UPDATE:

After some effort searching online this is the least expensive grain calibration weight set findable with 'almost assured' quality. It is from a certified USA manufacturer. https://www.troemner.com/50-g-...-no-certificate-22es

Unless you are comfortable using ancient UK apothecary lingo (eg., grains, scruples drams) you may find it awkward. The abbreviation for grain is GN or gn, and this set has 6 different grain weights. They are 1/2 GN, 1 GN, 2 GN, 3 GN, 4 GN and 5 GN.

Higher weights (in scruples and drams)are also included, so note that 20 GN = 1 scruple, 1 dram = 3 scruples, 1 ounce = 8 drams.

It's not hard to understand why much of the world was happy to switch to to Napoleon Bonaparte's's imposed metric system is it, at least in this small arena?

This set goes for $142.50. The same set with traceability documentation costs double that.

One might click on the link just for the lovely photo of the set nonetheless. The $30 RCBS set of grain calibration weights mentioned as sold online by Midway is mentioned and sold elsewhere with this Troemner branding, but oddly not mentioned or available via the brand's link above.

quote:

Originally posted by Orthogonal:. Accurate scales are absolutely necessary in achieving superior accuracy for hand loaded competitive ammo.

I have found the repeatability of a scale to be more important than its absolute accuracy. It may seem like the same thing, but it really isn’t. Therefore, the absolute accuracy of the calibration weights isn’t that important provided you use the same scale/weights as you used to work up the load. Obviously if you’re going to be switching between different measuring equipment, then you absolutely need the accuracy, but most of us reload with the same equipment that we used for load development. Therefore, I find the Lyman weights to be fine for reloading.

I've got a bench full of bullets to use as calibration tools... What would be the problem of randomly choosing 5 or 10 bullets from a box of 130gr from a reputable manufacturer and testing that way? And then do it again with another manufacturer/grain weight... maybe 55 gr 5.56 to be a little closer to an actual charge weight.

There are many ways to get a set of standards for your own personal usage. Here are a few:

1) Go to a Whole Foods store and buy a bag of barley seeds. Each should weigh a grain, more or less.

2) Buy a cheap new set of consumer grade gram weights online(Chinese made), for around $10 and do the arithmetical conversion to grains with an electronic calculator(multiplication) or an online conversion tool. for example https://www.ebay.com/itm/Preci...3:g:i1QAAOSwB21e1ixj

3) Spring for the Troemner grain denominated calibration standards, new, for reloading from an RCBS dealer and trust them (or get them checked with a really good accurately calibrated scale). US made(hopefully) and around $30.

4) If you can avail yourself of access to a really fine well-calibrated scale, make(cut and grind/polish) your own standards of some durable material. Non-magnetic stainless steel is usually preferred, SS wire or tubing from a hobby store should work well, similarly to Troemner. Requires scale access, time, tools, travel and patience and a few $$.

Use tweezers, keeping your fingers off of the standards which should be kept in a closed container. Maybe some light reading on the subject, commonly found in an intro to quantitative chemistry. Search engines and Utoob can help.

Keep in mind that you do not need calibration weights to exactly match the sought powder load weight. You need only to be somewhat near in order to be assured that your scale is doing its job correctly, without bias. You just want/need the calibration weight to be matched by the weight shown by the scale, in the range of the powder load.

Good luck and safe reloading.

Major score today from a member of my Georgia Tech forum getting out of reloading 7mag. RCBS FL dies, about 50 pieces of cleaned brass, 1100 Large Rifle Magnum primers, and an unopened pound of IMR4831. For $60.