Powder check on progressive press?

[Matthew Duncan]

Wondering how many cowpokes hide was saved by a powder check alarm?

[Tyrel Cody]

Can’t speak to powder checks, but on the rare occasion I load smokeless I use an RCBS Lockout Die and that has saved my butt a couple times. 
 

 

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

Can't hear the electonic alarm.  I too use the RCBS lockout die.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Another RCBS lockout die fan.   All my Dillon 550s carry one (yes, that means I seat and crimp in a single die).    I get a lock about once per 200 rounds loaded; some are false lockouts and that is OK with me.  

good luck, GJ

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

Add another thumbs up for the RCBS lockout die

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

I use the Dillon powder check die and the buzzer doesn’t work so I just look at the pointer.

 

Randy

[SHOOTIN FOX]

Rcbs lockout. Several times. 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I changed out my Dillon powder alarm to the RCBS lockout dies.  I still have to use the Dillon system when loading 5.56 because the RCBS only works on straight wall cartridges.  Everything else uses the RCBS lockout.

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

1 hour ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Can't hear the electonic alarm.  I too use the RCBS lockout die.

I leave the battery out and just use the visual...and yes, it has saved me when a moth decided to make the powder drop it's burial place.

 

Phantom

[watab kid]

when my friend was teaching me to reload a couple decades ago we would pull every fourth case and check it as it went through his dillon , i use a single stage and hand dip every one so im sure what i have , 

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

50 minutes ago, watab kid said:

when my friend was teaching me to reload a couple decades ago we would pull every fourth case and check it as it went through his dillon , i use a single stage and hand dip every one so im sure what i have , 

I know someone that used a single stage press...blew two fingers and his thumb off one hand.

 

Thank god he wasn't using a progressive...probably would have lost his whole hand!

 

Phantom

[watab kid]

1 hour ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

I know someone that used a single stage press...blew two fingers and his thumb off one hand.

 

Thank god he wasn't using a progressive...probably would have lost his whole hand!

 

Phantom

it would be interesting to know what exactly caused that catastrophic failure , might be educational to all of us , i hand prime as well , i have to think the primer stage must have caused the issue yet it seems powder would have needed to be in volved as well , 

[Lassy LaRock]

The safest and best for me is the DAA Magnetic Powder Check. It gives a visual warning with a red LED as well as a beep.

 

I've noticed that I don't always look at my old powder check from RCBS.

[Jackrabbit Joe #414]

This is what I did to solve my problem.   See attached photos. And now I use a motor from fish tank attached to powder and it vibrates by shaking powder. This came from my son Leadfinger. I'll take photo and try to get it to yah.

I could not hear the alarm so attached a light and ran wires to the battery. Worked great.

Edited November 25 by Jackrabbit Joe #414
Correct spelling

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

11 hours ago, watab kid said:

it would be interesting to know what exactly caused that catastrophic failure , might be educational to all of us , i hand prime as well , i have to think the primer stage must have caused the issue yet it seems powder would have needed to be in volved as well , 

Double charge. That's the thing about single stage presses. You can forget you already loaded powder...yes, you'd have to be distracted. 

 

Phantom

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I load on two DILLON 650s.  Powder Check on both.  First thing I do prior to loading is test the powder check.  I've had to clean the internal contacts from corrosion and change the batteries. sever times over the years.  The Powder Check has definitely saved my butt several times.

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

Got them(RCBS) on both 1050s

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

20 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

I load on two DILLON 650s.  Powder Check on both.  First thing I do prior to loading is test the powder check.  I've had to clean the internal contacts from corrosion and change the batteries. sever times over the years.  The Powder Check has definitely saved my butt several times.

I got so fed up with the batteries...and the high pitched "beep", that I started just using the positioning of the check to verify all is good.

 

Phantom

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

On 11/24/2024 at 3:59 PM, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

I still have to use the Dillon system when loading 5.56 because the RCBS only works on straight wall cartridges.

Yeah, that is just one of several reasons that I load rifle cartridges (bottlenecked and straight-wall dinosaurs) on a turret press, with charging using a powder measure dispensing onto a scale pan for weighing each charge.

 

 

PS -

OK, I found I did not really know about the Dillon powder check die.  I assumed the reference was to the powder hopper sensor.   So, the comments below only apply to the Dillon powder hopper sensor.

 

Remember that a powder check level sensor only catches the absence of powder in the hopper.  Any problems that prevent dispensing the powder, including fubar'ing the reload process, powder clumps, foreign matter in the case, partial drops, etc, etc WILL NOT be caught by powder checkers, but WILL BE caught by the powder presence in CASE dies like the RCBS lock-out.  From years of loading experience, I have drained all the powder out on my progressive press during a loading session - zero times.  All powder charging or obstruction in case problems discovered were caught by RCBS lockout dies.

 

 

I too would be very concerned that just an audible signal instead of locking the cycle like the RCBS die does would be less useful.

 

 good luck,  GJ

Edited November 28 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

[Jackrabbit Joe #414]

3 hours ago, Jackrabbit Joe #414 said:

This is what I did to solve my problem.   See attached photos. And now I use a motor from fish tank attached to powder and it vibrates by shaking powder. This came from my son Leadfinger. I'll take photo and try to get it to yah.

I could not hear the alarm so attached a light and ran wires to the battery. Worked great.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Double charge. That's the thing about single stage presses. You can forget you already loaded powder...yes, you'd have to be distracted. 

 

Phantom

ok , that makes sense , bad day , 

[Black Angus McPherson]

I've never used a lock out die.  Are they specific to caliber, or is it more of a one size fits all thing?

 

Angus

[Badlands Bob #61228]

8 minutes ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

I've never used a lock out die.  Are they specific to caliber, or is it more of a one size fits all thing?

 

Angus

The RCBS lockout die comes with several different sized shafts for different calibers.  When properly set, it will lock up the progressive press when there is a double charge or no charge in the case.  It does not help with small powder variations.  Very easy to set up.  I found used ones on Ebay for about 1/2 price.  They only work on straight wall cases.

[Hoss]

I had a RCBS lockout. I reckon I wasn’t smart enough to properly set it. I decided after a couple years to test it. It would not always catch a no charge. I was only using 3.0 bullseye so that might have had something to do with it (I put more pepper on my grits!) 

I’m currently using a Dillion. Seems to work, but neither have saved me from a bad happening. If you stay in order on a Dillon press you are not likely to have a no charge or double charge. Yes, I suppose it could happen, but not likely. I’m considering losing my powder check in favor of a bullet feeder in that station. 

[Texas Maverick]

1 minute ago, Hoss said:

I’m considering losing my powder check in favor of a bullet feeder in that station. 

I did this a couple of months ago. It took me a few sessions of reloading to get past the anxiety of not having the powder checker in place. Now I just load on and so far have not had any bad rounds.

 

TM

[Hoss]

8 minutes ago, Texas Maverick said:

I did this a couple of months ago. It took me a few sessions of reloading to get past the anxiety of not having the powder checker in place. Now I just load on and so far have not had any bad rounds.

 

TM

DAA Gen 2 bullet feeder? 

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

1 hour ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

I've never used a lock out die.  Are they specific to caliber, or is it more of a one size fits all thing?

 

Angus

They are for pistol calibers .38 and above.  They come with different tips.  

[Texas Maverick]

28 minutes ago, Hoss said:

DAA Gen 2 bullet feeder? 

I got the mini-bullet feeder. Couldn't afford the big one. It works fine for what I do.

 

TM

[Griff]

A what?  Good light, Mk 1 eyeball in good condition, and a reasonable pace is sufficient.  I shoot so I can reload... the hobby of reloading is an enjoyable pastime, needn't be rushed... but if one is so inclined, and reloads at a pace where visual confirmation isn't possible, a powder check should be a veritable necessity.  

[Equanimous Phil]

15 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

When properly set, it will lock up the progressive press when there is a double charge or no charge in the case.  It does not help with small powder variations.

I set up my RCBS Lockout Die that it catches undercharges rather than overcharges because you have always the undercharge first when powder gets stuck. And a double charge it will catch anyway.

[Blackwater 53393]

20 hours ago, Jackrabbit Joe #414 said:

 

I picked up one of the new Chuckwalla powder vibrators a few weeks ago to use on my 750.  MAN! It works GREAT!! 
 

I made a “bushing” to adapt it to my RCBS powder dispenser as well.

 

A lot less noisy than the aquarium motor, a MUCH cleaner installation, and the vibration rate is adjustable!

 

I’m going to buy another one so’s I don’t have to swap it around between presses and the free standing dispenser.

 

They come in three sizes so you can fit one to nearly any press or powder measure.

 

Here’s a quick video of it running.  Not noisy at all!!

That’s with my phone right next to it. It’s louder on the Dillon when the hopper is empty.

 

 

Edited November 26 by Blackwater 53393

[Idaho Gunslinger]

I use the Dillon Powder Check on my 650 and I've only had it catch something once. It was on 45 acp and I checked the case and there was powder in it so I dumped it out and there was a little tiny rock sitting in the bottom of the case. It was small enough it likely wouldn't have been an issue to just shoot it but I was impressed that it caught such a small change in powder volume. 

[Texas Maverick]

16 hours ago, Griff said:

A what?  Good light, Mk 1 eyeball in good condition, and a reasonable pace is sufficient.  I shoot so I can reload... the hobby of reloading is an enjoyable pastime, needn't be rushed... but if one is so inclined, and reloads at a pace where visual confirmation isn't possible, a powder check should be a veritable necessity.  

I've seen others say the same thing. Not sure how you guys are doing it though. I can't see into my casing to verify that there is powder without having to step on my tiptoes and peering over into the case. Nothing simple to verify it. Guess I could rig up a mirror above the case but that seems like a lot of trouble. I use a Dillon 650XL and there isn't anyway to verify visually that there is powder in the case.

 

TM

Edited November 26 by Texas Maverick

[Eyesa Horg]

26 minutes ago, Texas Maverick said:

I seen others say the same thing. Not sure how you guys are doing it though. I can't see into my casing to verify that there is powder without having to step on my tiptoes and peering over into the case. Nothing simple to verify it. Guess I could rig up a mirror above the case but that seems like a lot of trouble. I use a Dillon 650XL and there isn't anyway to verify visually that there is powder in the case.

 

TM

Same on my SDB, but with fingers crossed and butt clenched, I've never had a squib in over 30 years with the machine. A double charge would be difficult/impossible without removing a charged case and putting it back into station 2. I think I'd lose the advantage of a progressive press if I pulled the little brass pin and looked into the case of every one. I load 45 colt, C45S, 38 spl., and 45acp currently and would be using it for 9mm if I'd been able to get the conversion kit when I started loading that caliber.

[Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667]

I’m another proponent of the RCBS Lockout Die.  I made a video comparing it with the Hornady Powder Cop.  

The only limitation I found was when using a rather small charge of Clean Shot in a .45 Colt case.  It may be the geometry of my press but I could not get the rod down far enough to touch the powder charge.  Every other case/powder combination has worked fine.

 

A shooter in my area bought the current version (no sensitivity adjustment) of the Double Alpha Academy magnetic powder check, which looks great and can be used with straight wall or bottlenecked cases.  He had trouble setting it up with the same .45 Colt/Clean Shot load.  He called the company and was supposedly told small charges of fine powders can be a challenge.

 

I really like a system that I don’t have to watch.