DesertRatR
New member
I had a bit of a loading scare yesterday, and am recounting it here to remind folks to not deviate from their established procedure, just because the equipment is working properly.
I load on an RCBS Pro 2000 press. One nice feature is the micrometer control of the metering screw on the powder measure. I have found it to be a very reliable way to control powder weight. Once the setting is determined by trial and error it is very consistent. The micrometer thimble controls the metering screw via a set screw that locks the two parts together. You can see where this is going.
Yesterday I started out loading 200 rounds of 230 gr 45 ACP with 5.2 grain Unique. That is my standard load. It is a light load (Power Factor barely meets IDPA limit). I always start every loading session by calibrating my scale, dropping 25 loads to settle the measure, and then weigh 10 loads for score. That process is very consistent. And it was yesterday.
I visually check each load with a flashlight before dropping in the bullet. I was almost done with the loading when I noticed that the powder level in the cases seemed deeper than it should be. So I weighted 10 loads and discovered that the load had increased to about 7 gr. I shut down and disassembled the measure. Everything was clean and in good shape, except that the set screw between the micrometer thimble and the metering screw had loosened up. That let the metering screw back out, I presume. I’ve got it back together and the set screw loctited in. And I’ve got about half the rounds downloaded.
I am lucky. I used to check at the beginning, middle and end of a loading session. However, the thing was so consistent that I was only checking at the beginning of a session. I’ll go back to the old method. And continue to carefully check each case with a flashlight.
I called RCBS to see if there was anything else to check. Their only comment was “tighten that set screw and if it backs out again let us know”.
The point is you can't be too careful. I don't know if 7 gr would blow up the gun or not, but I don't want to find out. Stay consistent.
I load on an RCBS Pro 2000 press. One nice feature is the micrometer control of the metering screw on the powder measure. I have found it to be a very reliable way to control powder weight. Once the setting is determined by trial and error it is very consistent. The micrometer thimble controls the metering screw via a set screw that locks the two parts together. You can see where this is going.
Yesterday I started out loading 200 rounds of 230 gr 45 ACP with 5.2 grain Unique. That is my standard load. It is a light load (Power Factor barely meets IDPA limit). I always start every loading session by calibrating my scale, dropping 25 loads to settle the measure, and then weigh 10 loads for score. That process is very consistent. And it was yesterday.
I visually check each load with a flashlight before dropping in the bullet. I was almost done with the loading when I noticed that the powder level in the cases seemed deeper than it should be. So I weighted 10 loads and discovered that the load had increased to about 7 gr. I shut down and disassembled the measure. Everything was clean and in good shape, except that the set screw between the micrometer thimble and the metering screw had loosened up. That let the metering screw back out, I presume. I’ve got it back together and the set screw loctited in. And I’ve got about half the rounds downloaded.
I am lucky. I used to check at the beginning, middle and end of a loading session. However, the thing was so consistent that I was only checking at the beginning of a session. I’ll go back to the old method. And continue to carefully check each case with a flashlight.
I called RCBS to see if there was anything else to check. Their only comment was “tighten that set screw and if it backs out again let us know”.
The point is you can't be too careful. I don't know if 7 gr would blow up the gun or not, but I don't want to find out. Stay consistent.
