quality control after loading

[1-12 INF (M)]

Had an idea. I finished a big batch of .45 ACP with Titegroup on a Dillon 550. Mostly went smooth, except for interruptions due to small-primer cases. When done, I had that nagging feeling that I might have double charged or skipped a case. I’ve never had a problem, but still, you gotta be sure.

So, I weighed all the finished cartridges. Most of the loads came in between 322 and 324g. But a couple were as low as 318 and an high as 331. So I took out the ‘lows’ and ‘highs’, and sorted them by headstamp - and they lined up really well. Starline were consistently light, PMC were always heavier. Winchesters were all over the place. Out of 750 rounds, I took about 15 that didn’t ‘fit the profile’ and pulled them, just to make sure.

[Major Tom]

Always correct and safe to be sure of your reloads. I personally do not trust progressive reloading equipment. I reload the 'old school' way that way I can check my reloads as I go along.

[1-12 INF (M)]

I don't load rifle on a progressive, I wouldn't trust stick powders to measure well. But for pistol, maybe consider the progressive nature a built-in safety feature. If you forget to advance the shell holder, the problem shows up in not one place, but three or four. You've already seated the bullet in the next case - and running the 'first' case through the resizing die is noticeably easier - alerting you to something wrong. The powder measure is pretty consistent (especially with AA powders like No. 2 or No. 5) but not like measuring each charge out yourself.

[Major Tom]

You own a good progressive loader with Dillon.

[Sunray]

Doesn't hurt to by wary, but the difference in weight doesn't tell you much. The 9 grains difference can be the thickness of the case itself.
Dillon makes a Powder Check device to deal with the issue. Apparently not for a 550 though.

[1-12 INF (M)]

Agreed, the cases themselves varied in weight by as much as 12 grains. R-P, Federal, and Starline were the most consistent. Winchester (fine font) was the least, although W-W was pretty good, but as heavy as the PMC's. Speer's were pretty heavy too, as was *I*. The heaviest case I found was AMERC, but that brass always seems to give me problems so they go in the scrap bin, along with all the small-primer stuff.

It wasn't the difference in weight itself, but spotting a different case than others that were close to the same weight. For example, if I pulled all the ones that weighed 318g, and 18 of them were Starline, and one was R-P, I'd toss the R-P one - as the average weight for a finished R-P case was 322.6. This didn't happen though.

[MMA10mm]

Curious what you found out on the ones you pulled down... Any with no powder??

I load both on a single stage and a Dillon 650. I do not trust anything mechanical and visually look at every powder charge. Having started and used single-stage for a couple decades before getting the Dillon, I was really used to looking at a loading tray and comparing powder levels. Made looking at the one case at a time on the Dillon disconcerting. As time went by and I had 20-30,000 rounds loaded on the Dillon, I came to get used to looking at just the one case and now looking at a loading block freaks me out... I put a small LED light on my Dillon and see every powder charge. Never a question.

I also minimize distractions by keeping the door closed and phone off. If I do have to leave, I stop with all the stations full, exactly in-process, and put the machine cover over the press. When I come back, I remove cover and inspect each station to be sure everything is as I left it. I never doubt my loads...

[Hefights]

My biggest problem with the Dillon 550 (old version) was interruptions by failure to drop primers in the cup. I adjusted the height of the cup on the slide bar per the manual's instructions. I couldn't get it to sit down to the specification shown, but close enough, minimal disruptions now, knock on wood.

Every time I find that I am distracted, or if I have a disruption, regardless of reason, I go back and check the powder charge in the case in that station, and never resume until I am sure all is well and there were no mistakes.

[Litt'le Lee]

ya got any problems-send it back for repair-I just received a complete new powder measure--I wore the first one out-no problems

[PWC]

Had an idea. I finished a big batch of .45 ACP with Titegroup on a Dillon 550. Mostly went smooth, except for interruptions due to small-primer cases. When done, I had that nagging feeling that I might have double charged or skipped a case. I’ve never had a problem, but still, you gotta be sure.

So, I weighed all the finished cartridges. Most of the loads came in between 322 and 324g. But a couple were as low as 318 and an high as 331. So I took out the ‘lows’ and ‘highs’, and sorted them by headstamp - and they lined up really well. Starline were consistently light, PMC were always heavier. Winchesters were all over the place. Out of 750 rounds, I took about 15 that didn’t ‘fit the profile’ and pulled them, just to make sure.

Did you pull the bullet to do visual check, or are you going to only trust weight, if as you say the brass in a variable?

[1-12 INF (M)]

Thanks for the replies.
PWC, I took the ones I didn't 'trust' - either too light or too heavy (and some of the too-heavy were in oddball brand cases, which I didn't have a big enough sample size to determine their average 'proper' weight) and pulled the bullets. Turns out none of them were empty, and none were double charged - but now I was extra sure.

MMA10mm - those are good procedures, and I like the idea of adding a light to the side of the machine. The biggest safety improvement I did during last batch I loaded was to pre-inspect all the brass. Interruptions had been most often caused by small primer cases, or a 9 or 40 case lodged inside. Once my cases were good to go, it was easy to establish a rhythm and everything ran smoothly. I agree with you on the complexity and manual-ness of a loading block, although I do use them when I make up 'Super Duper Match' loads where all the charges are hand weighed, like rifle cartridges.

[milboltnut]

weigh the bullet, primer and case.. separately and then the loaded round for each brand of case. Then you can see if you didn't charge them.