First reloads today, a few questions a Bullet Alignment, Powder Measuring

[Laser Sailor]

First time reloader here loaded about 20 rounds of .45 ACP. I used some Berry's 185 gr SWC bullets infront of 5.0 gr of Unique and a Remington 2 1/2 primer.

My powder measure is an old one, I don't even know who makes it and I plan to replace it if needed. As I was loading it seemed to be inaccurate throwing loads 5.0 gr one time, and 4.6 another, followed by 5.4 gr. How common is this? What do you recommend? Could it be because I'm using flake powder?

Secondly my Lee Classic Turret seems to be misaligned, as the case enters the die it is tilted slightly rearward. It doesn't seem to affect resizing or case mouth widening, however the bullets get seated slightly tilted. My manual suggests a COAL of 1.275 but this seems too long for my gun so I shortened it to 1.255. I'm a bit puzzled by this and could use some help figuring out what to do next.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Guantes]

My powder measure is also old, but it throws accurate charges, virtually every time, regardless of powder type. Are you locking it down good, once set? If so, get a new measure.

Don't know about your press.

[jcr2689]

I have a turret press and don't have this problem, but maybe try rotating the shell whole and make sure it is all the way in.
Look at the instructions on how to adjust the turret indexing.
As far as your powder measure, i might be a noob as this but a .8 grain variance seems like a lot considering the relatively small loads for pistol rounds. thats about 8 percent either way. For my powder thrower, about .1 either way is standard and doesnt really bother me for plinking rounds. I would start to look for a new powder measure if i where you.
I run a Lee auto disk BTW on my turret press

[nedrgr21]

Call Lee or you can (I do this on all my loads) press the bullet into the case 1/3 of the way at a time and then rotate it 1/3 turn each time.

[dukalmighty]

Do you have the right shell plate in,if you don't have the right shell plate it won't allow the case to slide in far enough to align straight up and down.IIRC the #2 plate is for 45acp

[OldVet]

I don't use Unique, use HP-38 in my antique Herters powder dropper. That much variance is a lot. Mine varies less than .1 grain throughout a loading. Some powders don't measure as consistantly as others. Typically, the finer a powder, the more consistant the measuing. I used 4064 (a spherical powder) for my -06 and it never dropped consistantly enough. I set it to drop a couple of grains low and used a trickler to bring it up to the correct weight. Of course, that would never do for loading large batches of rounds.

Things to check:
1. Make sure your powder bin is kept at least half full. This helps keep consistant weigh in the measure.
2. Run several measures through before weighing a powder load. It takes a fews drops to get the powder settled.
3. Make sure your scale is consistant. An erratic scale could make it appear that your loads are varying. Use a penny (dime, nickel, etc.) and check to see if your scale weighs each consistantly.

Don't know what to say about the misaligned bullets other than to make sure you're using the correct bullet seat. Some are designed for round nose, others for SWCs. A slight bit of sloppiness in the shellholder helps to align the case as it enters the die. Roll a loaded cartridge across the table and if the bullet obviously wobbles, something is wrong.

COL is somewhat a relative measurement, that varies with every bullet weight, shape, size, manufacturer, etc.
If the round fits the mag, feeds, and chambers, it's probably okay. The one thing to be concerned with is too short of a COL (bullet seated too deeply), which can raise pressures. The .45 ACP is a low pressure round and not a sensitive as something like a 9mm or .40 might be.

SWC should have approximately 1/32" of shoulder showing when seated.

[Exsimguy1]

Powder measure consistency is ussually a result of "operator consistency". Start with a decent amount of powder in the measure, set something under the drop tube to catch the dropped powder. Cycle the measure dozens of times, trying to find a repeatable stroke. It doesn't matter (with most powders) whether you slam both ends, slam one end, or do it smoothly, just do it the same, every time. After you find a repeatable stroke, drop and weigh a few dozen charges. If you are not within 0.1 grains MOST of the time, you need to replace your measure, or your scale. Unless dropping extremely large stick powder, most measures will drop consistently within 0.1 or 0.2 grains.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.
Terry

[doctruptwn]

You adjust the indexing by turning the nut on top of the rod that turns the die head. It only takes a very small adjustment to make a big difference. make sure you are using the #2 shell plate. If that doesn't fix it, take apart your seating die and make sure everything is straight. I have had to have lee send me a new seater because it was cockeyed. contact them by e-mail and send a picture of the rounds and they will advise further.

[farronwolf]

Lots of good advice so far, can't add too much other than the range in powder measure your getting is definately not safe. You need to figure out the powder measure and get it to drop consistantly before going any further, or replace the measure. Blown up guns and fingers are lots more expensive than a decent powder measure.

[HahnsXD]

Some powder just meters better than others, a fine ball powder like AA7 is very consistent compared to a flake powder like 800x.

[mlr1m]

Secondly my Lee Classic Turret seems to be misaligned, as the case enters the die it is tilted slightly rearward.

The press may be sprung. This can happen with a turret or C-press when alot of force is used on them.

Michael

[OldVet]

^^^
Or maybe the turret bolt is bent?