As the headline states, this is my time at reloading.

I have Lee Breech Lock deluxe kit. The issue I have or issues.

The funnel and the powder measure have tons of static cling. What can I do to get rid of the cling?

The deluxe powder measure isn't getting consistent drops. Im using Power Pistol. Are there any tips?

Scale I'm digging the lee scale so I bought a small digital scale at the show on Sunday. It calibrates well with the 50gram calibrate weight reading 50.001 grams

 

I loaded 10 38 special with 6.2grains seated and crimped. While do my next 10 at 6.4grains I started to get reading all over. I started to doubt my 1st 10. I weighed a bullet and primed casing and tore to 0. Weighed my finished rounds they ranged from 5.6 to 6.7grains. I double checked the casings and since I have 2 different casings, I weighed and tore with the different casings.

Torkk,

Wipe the funnel and powder measure hopper inside and out with a Bounce dryer sheet. Ground the powder measure. Throw a charge, weigh it, record the weight, throw that powder back into the hopper, repeat ten times. See if you're getting consistent the weights.  You need to do the same motion everytime you throw a charge. Slow or fast or tap 3 times - whatever. Just make sure you throw charges the same way each time. Report back with your progress please. 

- -Longranger

1 minute ago, Longranger said:

Torkk,

Wipe the funnel and powder measure hopper inside and out with a Bounce dryer sheet. Ground the powder measure. Throw a charge, weigh it, record the weight, throw that powder back into the hopper, repeat ten times. See if you're getting consistent the weights.  You need to do the same motion everytime you throw a charge. Slow or fast or tap 3 times - whatever. Just make sure you throw charges the same way each time. Report back with your progress please. 

- -Longranger

Ill give it a go tomorrow. How do the crimps look in the picture?

I forgot about COAL. Do you have to be dead on nuts with that or is a thou or 2 long ok?

 

I dont know how many reloaders do it,  but I LOOK in EVERY case after the powder is dropped.  Every single one.  A squib will ruin your day.  I stick to strickly BALL powders.  I only use Win 231 and Hodgdon Longshot for all of my handgun needs.  They meter great.

1 minute ago, Tunaman said:

but I LOOK in EVERY case after the powder is dropped

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^  Such an easy and quick thing.  I check them all with a single glance when the tray is filled, then I stupidly look into each one once more before seating the bullet....Just to be double sure! It's become such a habit with me, I could not possibly change!  Never had a single reload of mine fail....I trust my reloads more than factory ammo for sure!

Crimps look ok from what I can see. 1 or 2 thou over on COAL should work. 

-Longranger

39 minutes ago, Torkk said:

The funnel and the powder measure have tons of static cling. What can I do to get rid of the cling?

Set up a humidifier.  Problem solved.

24 minutes ago, Tunaman said:

I dont know how many reloaders do it,  but I LOOK in EVERY case after the powder is dropped.  Every single one.  A squib will ruin your day.  I stick to strickly BALL powders.  I only use Win 231 and Hodgdon Longshot for all of my handgun needs.  They meter great.

I'll keep ball powders in mind thanx.

 

7 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Set up a humidifier.  Problem solved.

Bench is in the basement, could be a winter thing.

 

14 minutes ago, Longranger said:

Crimps look ok from what I can see. 1 or 2 thou over on COAL should work. 

-Longranger

Ok

But do they need to be dead on precise?

Dead on precise for COAL?  Shorter tends to increase pressure, which you'd need to watch closely at maximum or near maximum loads. Longer - problems fitting into mag if way too long or maybe chambering in a revolver.  SAAMI spec for max 38 SPL length is 1.550". What COAL are you getting?

-Longranger

Wash the funnel and powder hopper in dish detergent (such as Dawn) let air dry, do not wipe dry.

I always run graphite powder lube through the powder dispenser multiple times to coat all surfaces help reduce break in time.

As stated above I ALWAYS glance at each cartridge for powder. I load for accurate high quality ammo, not volume of how many can I do in a hour ammo. Speed equals greater chance for squib or KABOOM. Deliberate attention to detail reduces those to practically nil.

Distractions are one of the biggest problems when reloading. If distracted finish whatever process you are doing before addressing it.

12 hours ago, Torkk said:

Ill give it a go tomorrow. How do the crimps look in the picture?

I forgot about COAL. Do you have to be dead on nuts with that or is a thou or 2 long ok?

 

 

Looks like a lot of crimp to me, but different people like different crimp, so if it works for you stick with it.

As others have mentioned, wiping down the powder tube with a Bounce sheet and using dry graphite will eliminate the static (even in the winter in a basement).

If you're not loading to max powder then your COL having a slight variance shouldn't be an issue.  Ideally you'd want to be as consistent as possible.  For ME the amount of variance I'm comfortable with depends on the bullets and cases I'm using.  If I'm using the same brass/headstamp with a good/consistent jacketed bullet, I don't expect more than .002 variance here and there.  If I'm loading lead SWC that I got in a cheap bulk pack and I'm using mixed brass I expect a little bigger variance.  There are some reloaders who would read that and say I'm a fool and that every round has to be nuts-on.  They measure EVERY bullet with calipers and separate them into groups so that EVERY finished round will measure EXACTLY the same.  You have to do your homework and get to a level that's comfortable for you.

For me powder needs to be nuts-on.  If I'm set for 3.7 grains, my powder measure needs to throw 3.7 every time.  I have a Hornady Lock n Load press so the powder measure is great for the powders I use.  Like others, I have an empty spot in my progressive press where I visually look at the powder in the case before I seat the bullet.  I'm less concerned with a squib than I am about a kaboom from a double charge.

14 hours ago, Torkk said:

As the headline states, this is my time at reloading.

I have Lee Breech Lock deluxe kit. The issue I have or issues.

The funnel and the powder measure have tons of static cling. What can I do to get rid of the cling?

This is all plastic funnels ever. 

Various solutions

Satern metal funnel. It's caliber specific (good)

Precision hardcore one piece aluminum funnels also caliber specific.  (perfect)

I own both of the above and can vouch for them. 

In the realm of trying to reproduce the multi caliber plastic funnel kits, you have the following I know of

Area 419 master reloading funnel kit

Lyman brass smith pro powder funnel kit. 

The lyman is the biggest bang for the buck and all metal, but I haven't tried it. 

 

 

14 hours ago, Torkk said:

The deluxe powder measure isn't getting consistent drops. Im using Power Pistol. Are there any tips?

That's because it is hot garbage.  Lots of lee stuff is very usable and good value for the dollar. The deluxe powder measure is not. I've had one, and it was less consistent and accurate than their disc measure. The tolerances are just too big and the material choices compounds the problem to the point really fine ball powders can come out of it from places powder isn't intended to be coming out of. Near as i can tell with fine powders, a ball or flake wedges someplace, and then because the material has too much flex, it lets more in, which makes the gap wider, rinse and repeat. 

 

14 hours ago, Torkk said:

Scale I'm digging the lee scale so I bought a small digital scale at the show on Sunday. It calibrates well with the 50gram calibrate weight reading 50.001 grams

When I say lee makes some things that are usable and a great value, the scale is on the list. I still use mine to this day. If your digital scale has a 50 gram calibration weight, I'd be leery of trusting it. If it is a plug in model, even more so as scales can be sensitive to line noise. 

 

14 hours ago, Torkk said:

I loaded 10 38 special with 6.2grains seated and crimped. While do my next 10 at 6.4grains I started to get reading all over. I started to doubt my 1st 10. I weighed a bullet and primed casing and tore to 0. Weighed my finished rounds they ranged from 5.6 to 6.7grains. I double checked the casings and since I have 2 different casings, I weighed and tore with the different casings.

Stop using the digital scale and stop weighing things wrong. First off, it has a precision. Let's take one I bought as an example. It said it was accurate to 0.2 grains. That means if I want a 4.0gr charge, I could be throwing that and it could read 3.8-4.2 and be working as intended. You will also note that your scale self zeroes. If you read around forums you will see lots of people bitch about their digital scales and trying to trickle charge. That's because it see's the very very minimal weight added during trickle as sensor noise or something and tries to correct for it. Additionally, digital scales will drift because of temperature. Whcih is where they become a REAL pain in the ass. Their own circuitry is often enough to change temp and cause drift. So ideally you want them to reach a stable operating temp. Plug ins can, but they have line noise. Battery powered units often turn themselves off. 

Never weigh a loaded round to determine charge weight. Especially with pistol bullets, the bullet alone may vary as much as 2 grains.  The cases are also going to vary by at least that much unless you batch sort them. Headstamp isn't going to get you there. If you want to know what your charge is, weigh your charge. 

 

14 hours ago, Torkk said:

Unless it's weird lighting, that is a ton of roll crimp there. I would not be surprised if that causes you accuracy problems due to distorting the bullet. 

 

As fro Cartridge OAL, what will get you depends on the powder and the gun. 

First the powder. Shorter means higher pressures. However, if you aren't pushing the ragged edge, a little variance won't matter much other than less consistent velocity. 

Then there's the gun. Being a revolver load, you are good to go. However in general when setting up a load, do the plunk test for semi autos. Take the barrel out of the gun, and drop in one of your loaded rounds. You want it to fully chamber without touching the rifling. If a round is already engaged with the rifling before firing, it will see higher pressure than ones that aren't. 

That being said, pistol components just aren't that consistent will vary in the thousandths. 

 

Only because it can't be said enough, always check inside the case before seating a bullet.

Thanx for all the replies. I have made a few batches, and settled for a recipe that got me about 2" group at 23 yards. Trying others out now for 357.

Im using the Lee beam scale for now, waiting on an Ohaus 505 to come. My powder measure has been getting me more consistent drops. I ran graphite through it and use the same action.

 

I use graphite as well... it seems to have the best effect after cleaning and running a dryer sheet through it. Plus, I collect and reuse the graphite. I find it sticks the worst In the measuring well, but the graphite really costs it and keep things smooth

 

Directions should be followed for the crimp, turn it down until it hits the case and follow the prescribed #turns for proper crimp.. I ussually go lighter then recommended

My crimps above were my first,. My currents crimps are just enough, not a severe on the 38s and just  a touch more on the 357 magnums

 

The Lee Deluxe Perfect Powder measure is superior to the Perfect powder measure in everyway.

Consistent throws with Power Pistol, Universal, Ramzip, AANo.7, True Blue, 3n37,n320, Bullseye.

No leakage.

Crimping is a funny thing. You can go from not enough, to just right, to way too much in the blink of an eye.

The lightest crimp allowable is what I strive for. Only way I move off that, is if Im having bullet creep.

I have a lee classic turret press that uses the disc system and when using ball powder it metered pretty accurate and it churned our thousands of rounds of reliable ammo. 9mm, 45 ACP, and .223. The thing is collecting dust now. I should probably sell it.

Do you guys trim your pistol brass?  If you dont they are not the same 

length — I haven't trimmed pistol brass for over 30 years

Crimps are relative to brass length — longer brass gets crimped more than shorter brass