Pistol to rifle loading

[Daver3two]

Hi Folks I’m new here and wanted to get your guys opinion on something.

I use an rcbs chargemaster to dispense powder. I tend to get a lil nervous when loading rifle ammo after I’ve ran some pistol powder thru the chargemaster. I do my best cleaning out everything. I’ve been thinking about buying another powder measure just for pistol loading.

What do you guys think, am I being paranoid? How do you guys do it? Anyone ever have any issues?

I’ve been reloading for handful of years def not an expert but not a rookie either. I’m interested to hear your guys experiences and thoughts.

 

[blasternaz]

Having been doing this for a few years (>50) I can tell you from experience that the only time I've used "just" a pistol measure was with the Lachmillar or Lyman Little Dandy types. Using both the small charge bar and the large bar in the same housing, and loading some pistol charges that had me using the rifle bar occasionally, I've never encountered any problems I could trace to cross contamination. I don't know what type of reloading setup you have, but for my Dillons, multiple powder measures, on dedicated die heads is an easy way to speed converting from one to another. Clean it out, use canned air if you can, and don't worry. By the time you get your new powder charge dialed in, any residue you left is long gone.

 

[Suck My Glock]

The biggest problem most folks run into that gives them potentially dangerous trouble is failing to properly label what powder is in the powder measure. They just put the powder in, produce some ammo, then empty the measure of the powder back into the powder canister. But,...sometimes we get distracted and interrupted in that process and walk away,...only to come back a week or more later and no longer remembering exactly what powder is in the measure. Or worse, misremember and misidentify the powder,...and proceed to load ammo believing you are using one powder, but the wrong one. I've done this myself and nearly blew myself up once upon a time by accidentally loading spherical ball rifle powder meant for .223 into .45acp cases, thinking it was pistol powder.

As a result of that, I now write on a slip of paper the particular powder I am using, and stick it in the powder measure so it faces outward and can be read through the plastic. I do this BEFORE I even put the powder in the measure. In this way, I can even leave the powder in there for weeks or months if I choose to. And when I empty the measure and return the contents to the proper canister, I just remove the little hand-written label and toss it away.

As far as getting the last remnants of powder out of the measure, I've never found that to be a problem. Even after I am certain I have gotten every last grain out of there, after re-mounting it, I always just attempt to to charge an empty case a few more times, just to see if anything drops out. Occasionally some does indeed drop. But after about 3 or 4 throws, it is all gone and problem solved.

 

[samnev]

OP you're not paranoid. I use 2 ChargeMasters one for IMR 4895 in my 308's and one for W748 in my 556's. If I want to. load pistol powder I use the one that I use W748 in. I've never had a problem emptying the W748 from the ChargeMaster. After emptying the W748 I hit he dispense to see if that's really empty. But I do use my compressor to blow it out afterwards.I've never seen any residue when blowing it out. Am I over doing probably. Better safe then sorry.

 

[Daver3two]

Gotcha, thanks!

 

[condition_0ne]

I use the same powder measures for all my reloading interchangeably, never had an issue. That said, just make sure you clean them out well, maybe use some compressed air if you're really paranoid.

 

[Old Jeff H]

I don't worry for 3 reasons:

1) I only take one powder out of storage at a time.

2) I keep a spreadsheet and record every single loading session that I do.

3) Like condition_0ne, I use compressed air to clean out my powder measures. Compressed air works great for helping get cleaning media off your brass as well.

 

[BigNate]

I don't worry about a spare / stuck kernel of powder getting into a load based on a different powder. If I've emptied the hopper and "tapped" stuff to ensure that there is no clog - then metered out a measure or two of the new powder to verify mass (and visually confirmed that it is the new powder coming through) I'm OK. If I get a single pellet of a fast powder into 1000 pellets of slow powder I can imagine it nominally impacting the pressure curve - but not blowing up the gun.

I do worry about accidentally using the wrong powder for a given recipe. I've learned to be militant about labeling my powder reservoirs and only having one powder out at a time.

 

[knockonit]

much ado about nada, a subject beaten to death, however safety when it comes to ''boom'' material is of the utmost, and if'n you get to complacent with your moves, well then, we all know what happens then. :shock:

i reloaded over 45k of misc ammo in the last year, multiple powders, come up with a system that works and deal with it, i'm fortunate enough i have six reloaders, and the space for them, but i still on occassion have to exchange powder drops, clean it, scan it, fill and go for it.
happy days
Rj

 

[QuietM4]

Clean out your powder dispenser...it's easy. Use compressed air to blow it out. Done and done. You're overthinking it, OP

 

[firemedic]

The only issue I have had with my Chargemaster was an occasional over charge. Now I never load really hot loads so (FOR ME) it hasn't been an issue. What I do is if I am loading 45.5 grains I will set my charge master to 45.0 grains and then trickle it to 45.5 gr. I also weigh on a separate scale every 10th or so charge. That is my proceedure, YMMV. The goal is to feel comfortable with your loads and know that you have a set way of doing things EVERY TIME.

Good Luck and Happy Loading and ultimately Shooting.

 

[xerts1191]

If you’re anything like I am, KISS principals play a huge factor in my everyday existence