powder didn't drop..WHY? help

D

Dudechevy

Inactive
I loaded my first 357 magnums the other day, and out of 50 rounds 3 of them didn't have powder in them. 2 of the rounds were shot and only didn't seam right so I checked the barrel before continuing, and found the bullet was still lodged in the barrel. We shot about 15 of the rounds before having the second one.

I stopped shooting them and removed the projectile from the brass on the rest of the bullets. That's how I found the 3rd one was when removing the projectiles. I measured the powder that i dumped out of the brass, and it ranged from 20.3 to 20.1.

20.3 gr of Winchester 296 is what I was trying to get when i was loading the rounds. I am using the Hornady Lock N Load AP press with RCBS dies. I have been reloading for about 2 yrs so not brand new to it. I have been loading 9mm and 45 ACP without this happening. This was my first attempt at loading 357 Magnums.

Other than not completely cycling the reloading press, what would cause the press not to dump the powder into the brass? Any help or advise would be appreciated.
 
Since 296 generally flows smoothly through the powder measure and your measured charge weights were fairly consistent (other than the empty case), I wouldn't suspect a problem with the powder measure. In my case when using Hornady's Lock-N-Load AP Press, charged cases are removed at times to check the charge weight (either during setup or as a periodic check). If I weigh the charge on the scale and dump the scale pan back into the hopper (instead of back into the case), I need to remember to put the case aside until the end and finish it last. If instead I place that now empty case back into it's former position on the shellplate and continue on, it gets processed without powder.

That's how it can happen to me. And that's why I try to remember to visually check the charge level in each case as I place the bullet on top. If that is happening in your use, what doesn't make sense to me is why that same thing didn't happen when you loaded 9mm or 45.
 
If it were bridging, others would be overflowing. Missed the case somehow.

David

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
WW296 meters about as good as any powder I've used over the last fifty years. If it's not dropping, it's your powder measure. There are a lot of powder measures I've used over the years and there's only been a couple that I was truly satisfied with. If I were you, I'd be checking about one out of five to see if it has powder in it. With the powder you're using it would be very easy to see if it was good or not.
 
Thanks for the replies. I plan to mount a flashlight to shine into the case so i can verify it has a charge in it before i put the bullet in.

David
 
From y'all s experience, is the powder drop that comes with the hornady lock n load system a pretty good dependable one?
 
The only problem I've had with my Hornady LNL is Trail Boss. Trail Boss is a fluffy flake powder and occasionally it will not drop correctly.

Winchester 296 is a small ball powder and flows like water. The only problem I've had with W296 is in a Lee Perfect Powder Dispenser. It would migrate into every nook and cranny and start leaking out because it is so fine.

With W296 it should be pretty easy to see the powder in the case.
 
DudeChevy - moisture or set up error

296 is about as consistent as you get with respect to its ability to drop. Clearly 1 of 2 things is the cause:

1- moisture
Oil, packaging fluid, humidity either in the dispensing system or powder has caused an obstruction or clumping of powder.

2- improper set up
Double and triple check alignments and position and any other set up procedures.

On a side note, I love 296 and 2400. But, have found, if you do not load near max, the powder is excessively dirty. If you are using lower charged loads, there are some cleaner options.

Love to know what you find out.
 
I have the predecessor to the LNL... the ProJector. While there is an auto powder drop mech available for my press, too, I don't use it, preferring to actuate the powder drop manually for each case. It is part of my reloading 'system', been doing it for years. it allows me to feel the drum turn (important with stick rifle powders) and I know the powder is headed to the case.

They make 'strip lights'... an LED (or similar) light strip that fits up inside the press. Hornady markets one, but there are aftermarket ones that probably work as well or better.

I don't know the specifics of the LNL powder mech... but something is wrong. Are you giving the powder enough time to drop?

As an aside, W296 is one of the powders I don't fool with... I measure each charge on my balance scale. At that power level a bridged charge or double charge wouldn't have a happy ending. Granted, I don't load a lot of it, but even measuring 100 charges is a pain in the rear compared to just building them all up on the ProJector.... but I do it.
 
Dudechevy said:
From y'all s experience, is the powder drop that comes with the hornady lock n load system a pretty good dependable one?
Click to expand...
I've had no issues with mine.

Another possibility is the powder measure getting bound in the powder measure adapter die. I believe the weight of the powder measure combined with the return spring is designed to prevent that. But if for some reason the powder measure doesn't drop back down after charging a case, it also won't refill the cavity with powder either. I have had this happen when I forgot to install the return spring that runs between the powder measure linkage and the powder measure adapter die.
 
From y'all s experience, is the powder drop that comes with the hornady lock n load system a pretty good dependable one?
Click to expand...

In my experience no it is not. I had a problem with 4 out of 50 rounds I loaded on mine not getting any powder. That is unacceptable. Powder I was using? Unique, W231, bullseye, trailboss, all loading .45 ACP. I used the small cavity rotor and the large one with micrometer inserts for both, both were unreliable, didn't matter. I fixed the issue by selling the LNL measure, and replacing it with a Dillon measure and belling insert. No issues since then. I also have a 550 and 22 years reloading experience.

You can read about it here:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-my-lnl-ap-working-great.617417/#post-7619099

By the way I have been using the Dillon measure on my LNL for 6 years now and I have not had a single round with low or missing powder.
 
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I loaded my first 357 magnums the other day, and out of 50 rounds 3 of them didn't have powder in them.
Click to expand...

This is one of the things that can happen when you rely on the machinery of an automated system.

You don't mention the bullet you are using, nor the gun its being fired from, but 20gr of W296 is a max level load for the 125gr .357 Mag.

NOT a good starting point for your "first" .357s.

I won't attempt to trouble shoot your press system at long range, its not a brand I use, but W296 general meters very well.

I have had another brand of progressive press where the powder measure would sometimes "stick" in the dumped position, stayed stuck, while the next case went through (dumping no powder) then snapped back afterwards to its normal position and properly dumped powder in the next round. This is what likely happened to you, 3 times, it appears.

Progressives are not all the same, not all equal, and not machinery where you can have complete confidence in a quality end product without paying careful attention to ALL facets of the operation as it happens.
 
Need more information on this OP. I use a lot of 296, Unique and many others through my LNL AP powder measure and have never had what you are saying.
I have caught myself once when first using the LNL taking a 10th primed case off the shell plated right after dropping powder in it to check the powder weight and damn near put it back without putting the powder back in.
Did that happen to you? Maybe but without more information on how you have everything set up its just a guess what happened.
 
Yes, the LNL is a good press...and when operated and set up properly, it should give you consistent drops.

Good light ...to see in a case is important ( adjustable head / drafting table light/ halogen or LED is my choice --- and to light your bench top ). I also rig a flexible shaft small mirror / onto press, to help me look into case before I place bullet on case ( auto parts stores or harbor freight has them).

I suggest you install hornadays powder check system on press / I'm more familiar with Dillons version, but I have buddies running hornaday system & it works.

You should go back over your setup ...make sure powder measure has no foreign object in it ( a patch, etc ) ..take it off, remove powder, check it.../ make sure it has no loose nuts on actuator rods, etc. / make sure its tight in tool head....all the little stuff. If everything checks out ....look at your procedures ( operator error )....

You're lucky you caught these squibs...without blowing up a gun or hurting yourself....so go over everything carefully & figure out how you screwed up !!

Loading .357 mag is as straight forward as loading 9mm..../ ...I suspect you missed something in your setup when you changed calibers....something is probably loose.

I would strip the press down and check inside of dies, everything on the press...and then reassemble ...and double check everything again for this caliber.
 
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I have the hornady lnl ap and have never had a problem with the powder measure, I also use an rcbs powder measure and never had a problem with it. Maybe use a powder cop or visually check each case for powder. I have a LED strip light on my press and can see very well into the cases for powder. I also have a powder cop.
 
I have A Dillon 550 and 650. I was having some drop problems initially where some would get stuck, then spill after the flair/drop tube came out of the case. And charge weights were off by as much as +/- 0.3 gr with H110. It wasn't as bad with small stick powders like benchmark in .223 but still not within 0.1 like I wanted.

So, I took all my drop/flair tubes and polished the inside with fine stones on my dremmel tool and also polish paste. I polished the powder bars, and then sprayed static guard inside . It now drops ball powder almost exact every time as well as small stick and flake.
 
I'm not a progressive press user, but I have heard of "short stroking". When using a progressive press with a few things happening with each pull of the handle, it can be difficult to feel anything out of the ordinary and perhaps if the handle is not pulled through the full cycle the powder measure isn't being actuated? I have used a friend's Dillon helping him load ammo for competition and I felt "disconnected" with the process...
 
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Once again, thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I ordered a powder cop today, and am going to mount a light so I can also visually see that its got a proper charge.
 
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