Just for fun Worst metering powder you have ever used

[joneb]

None of the flake powders like the Dots or 700X meter well for me, but Bullseye does well along with most ball type powders. This becomes a issue when dropping small charges in small cases, I don't want to weight each charge.

 

[jamesinalaska]

800x. Seemed to be a good powder in the bigger cartridges but was so inconsistent I used up what I had and never looked at it again.

 

[Ex]

800X without a doubt. Bought it JUST for 10mm 3 years ago. Lower case pressure
than LongShot with "almost" the velocity. But I hand weigh EVERY charge with it.
Dillon 550 here and it throws almost everything else just fine.

Still like the 800X loads in 10mm, but hate the order of magnitude slower process!

 

[joneb]

So we have auto powder meters that will weigh the charge for us, is this a good option for hard to meter powders? I noticed 800X got quite a bashing, but it is a good powder could a auto meter help? or is it like trying to meter bricks :banghead:

 

[ku4hx]

IMR 4350, 4895, 4064 ... pretty much any of the extruded "stick" powders. I always think twice when I call these propellants "powder". Kind of like looking at a bowl of rice and calling it flour.

 

[Toprudder]

I have a pound of 800x I have not tried yet, based on what I am reading here I am not looking forward to it.

700x was not good in either my Uniflow or Dillon. However, when I installed a baffle in the Uniflow it improved consistency a lot. I then tried the aquarium pump trick on the Dillon and ended up getting consistent +/- 0.1gn drops. The pump trick has worked well for several powders I have tried.

 

[gandog56]

One of the big reasons I bought my Hornady auto dispense/scale. It doesn't matter what powder you are using.

 

[gunnels]

800x is by far the worst metering powder I use. However, it is still the best powder by far that I have tried for 40 S&W loads so I use it. I wouldn't consider it for anything smaller because of it's inconsistencies.

 

[FROGO207]

FWIW I find that using any flake propellant (700X-800X etc.) in small charges was more of a chore to work with. The technique used and the setting of the measure/way you scoop, was more labor intensive until I had done it a bunch and figured out what worked best with my loaded ammo. Now I breeze through loading things and have good results down range if I do each step with boring regularity once I get things set up where I want them. YMMV

 

[LiveLife]

Unique for me with .2-.3+ gr variance. Thank goodness for BE-86, the "modern" Unique that meters like Bullseye/Power Pistol - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9890280#post9890280



Red Dot/Promo meters with .2+ gr variance yet still produce accurate loads.

 

[TfflHndn]

I also can't use Bullseye through a meter (Hornady) - it sticks and I can't get consistent charges. 700x is a pain also.

 

[Dudedog]

Even with the big flakes Promo meters much better for me than Unique, can throw 3.9 no problem. But it is less dense than Unique so it needs a bigger disk.
Unique was frustrating for me because I like the way it shoots, but hate the way it meters. Hurray for BE86.

 

[JimKirk]

I'd have to go with 800X being the worst .... what makes that "hurt" so bad is 800X is a great powder for the 357 SIG, 40 S&W, 10mm, 44 Mag....

 

[FM12]

Unique. Also known as "flammable dirt".

 

[brutus51]

Just a tip about Unique, I used to trickle charge all my Unique loads then, quite by accident, I discovered that if you use the rifle barrel of the RCBS Uniflow instead of the pistol barrel the larger orifice will improve accuracy by about 50% putting each throw within +-.1 of a grain. Haven't trickle charged since.

 

[loose noose]

I'm with RW Dale, in regards to using the Uniflow, with enough force to cut the grains of powder. Once I got the hang of that my trickler has pretty much sat by the wayside, however I do weigh about every 5 rounds just to make sure, and every round when I'm at or near maximum load.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Trail Boss in my Redding 10X.

Most of the charges are spot on, but some are real light, like a grain or more. Must be bridging.

Unique would be #2, but it's never been more that +.2/-.3, so at least it's safely within tolerances. If I use a magnet to hold the handle in the up/dump position between throws it does better.

 

[JimKirk]

If I use a magnet to hold the handle in the up/dump position between throws it does better.

All those folks using the RCBS Uniflow ... if you would set the measure up so that the handle is down on the "dump" position ... you'd find better results with many powders ...

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Cordite.

Good luck metering this stuff.



IMR-4064 is up there on my list too. I remember it as worse than IMR-4895, IMR-4350, or IMR-4831.

Extruded powders that meter pretty well for me are IMR-8208, H322, and N-135.

 

[wankerjake]

#1 Lil' Gun is terrible, static buildup every time on my Lee dispenser. Totally inconsistent.

#2 Herco
#3 Unique*



*I ain't ever giving up Unique. Nothing better for 45 Colt and it's not that bad anyhow.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have to agree completely with those who said 800X. IMO it's the worst of the worst.

I have several different powder measures including a Lee Pro Auto-Disk for handgun loading and a Lyman #55 for everything that needs loading. Both will meter most powders better than other powder measures I have used but 800X is still terrible.

 

[Dudedog]

Glad were having fun with this.
Still sounds like 800X is in the lead....

 

[johnb1226]

I have no trouble with pistol powder as I use W231 and WSF and ball powders are pretty easy to deal with. IMR 4350 and IMR 4064 and IMR 4895 some of the more difficult powders to deal with. What really surprises me is that no one made mention of the Omega Trickler. When loading stick powder I try to set my powder measure on the light side and set up my scale and when it drops light the Omega trickler finishes it off and if it throws heavy I toss it back in the powder measure and throw another load. I get exact loads ever time. I recently bought a RCBS Powder Master 1500 and have yet to get it set up. We'll see how well that works.

R.W. I have two Uniflows and one is set up for 9MM and the other for 45 and they both are pretty accurate using the mentioned ball powder and I use those exclusively for those loads only and I don't trickle those loads. I only occasionally weigh a couple loads. You seem to have your method down to a science using the Uniflow. It would be most helpful to myself and others that find Uniflows to be less than very accurate using some of the mentioned difficult stick powders and if could you make a video showing us your technique as you mentioned in post #24 on this thread it would be there for others to learn. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and a video would be most helpful. Thank you for your input.

 

[R.W.Dale]

If you set the uniflow up right and use good technique you won't need the trickler.

I sold my vibrashine YEARS ago.

 

[GW Staar]

Cordite.

Good luck metering this stuff.



IMR-4064 is up there on my list too. I remember it as worse than IMR-4895, IMR-4350, or IMR-4831.

Extruded powders that meter pretty well for me are IMR-8208, H322, and N-135.

Cordite...now that's funny! Yessss I forgot about those giant logs they call 4064! I don't use that anymore....too easy to get in trouble with it. The only way to meter that stuff is with a trickler and scale. I haven't tried 800X....probably won't, now.

I'm surprised Unique is up there for so many. It may not load to the 10th every time, but it's never off enough metering out of my Uniflow to change shot location or speed on my 1911 Kimber Target II.

So I change my vote.....IMR 4064.....then Varget.