Dillon's Powder Cop - Worth the $ or ?

[dmftoy1]

I'm curious of anyone has experience with Dillon's powder cop. I've got a good habit of visually checking the powder level in each case before seating a bullet but I like the idea of a buzzer going off for an overcharge or undercharge. I know it's overpriced like alot of Dillon's options but I'm just curious if people who are using them have had any good or bad experiences with them.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[taliv]

i don't use one. reloading 223 at around 24 grains of powder, the hopper holds enough for about 300 rounds, which means you've got ot get up and fill the primer tube 3 times before you NEED powder. if you can't be bothered to pour more powder in one of those 3 opportunities, then you shouldn't be reloading.

for 45acp, with ~5 grains of powder, you can easily load 1000 rnds with one full hopper of powder, which means you've got to get up 10 times to fill the primer tube. if you don't notice you're low on powder at least 1 time in 10 tries, you're mentally retarded and should not be reloading.

 

[dmftoy1]

LOL . . . .I'm not too concerned about missing the powder hopper going empty as I am about bridging, somehow getting a double charge, some strange thing like the shellplate not indexing or me doing something stupid.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[taliv]

oh, my bad... i thought you were talking about the sensor in the powder hopper. i definitely use and recommend using the powder check station for each case. as i mentioned in your previous thread, it lets you know if you failed to seat a primer.

i've never had a double charge or no charge though. i do get a lot of false positives, meaning the buzzer goes off and there's nothing wrong.

edit: occasionally, i will get something odd like a 22lr case stuck inside a 223 case that miraculously goes through my sizing/depriming station without a problem. things like that also set off the buzzer.

 

[dmftoy1]

Yeah, after I posted last night I started thinking about your reply and came to the same conclusion. So overall would you recommend the powder cop/die thing?

 

[jmorris]

I wouldn't live w/out it. If I set my poweder measure so it throws on 9mm but not on .380 my powder check will tell me I have a .380 case before I waist a bullet (nice if you use range brass). Light charges in 38/357 cases are hard to see down into (yeah, I used a mirror and aimed lights before). I don't need it so much for .223 as I load to case capicity, but it does seem to "pack" the powder a bit, this helps when I'm using IMR3031 (I don't recomend this powder in a dillon but a friend gave me 20#).

 

[Father Knows Best]

I think it's a great idea. If I was loading a lot of smokeless pistol ammo, I would probably invest in a 650 with the powder check. As it is, I load principally rifle ammo and black powder pistol on a pair of 550's, which won't accept the powder check, and for those uses probably don't need it.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I prefer the RCBS lockout die. It's cheaper and if you're powder is too low or too high, it locks the press up, which gets your attention.

 

[srv656s]

I love it.

I think it's great and am very glad I've got it on my 650.

Shawn

 

[Rico567]

+1 on the RCBS Lockout Die. It does the same thing as the Dillon & Hornady powder check devices, but at half the price and no batteries. What some people are confused about concerning these devices is their function. They DO NOT in any way check the exact powder charge you have set. All they do is basically tell whether or not you have a double charge / no charge in the case. I got one for my .45 ACP toolhead setup in my Dillon XL650, because my powder charge of Clays is a bit too low in the case for me to see clearly. I don't use the Lockout Die on my other calibers, because either the powder charge is easier to see, and a double would overflow the case.