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help with progressive loading powder funnel issue

2scoops

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
May 6, 2017
1
0
appreciate some help with my new progressive reloading setup. Loading on a Dillon 650 for 6.5 Creedmoor. In the powder load stage i have a Lee powder funnel die with a cheap plastic funnel. When i pour the powder there's a tolerance between the die and the case. A lot of powder sits on the rim of the case. It's not all falling into the case. Is it my cheap plastic funnel ? any other tips ?
 
Not familiar with the lee die/funnel combo but I’ll take a stab since no one has chimed in yet.

Can the die be adjusted down lower in the tool head. Seems like maybe the funnel is not making complete contact with the empty case.

Adjusting the die down would allow the funnel to slide all the way onto the case. Pour the powder and then lower the ram on the press and load the next case.

If lowering the die is not achievable or does not mitigate the spilling of powder, look for a nicer funnel that is caliber specific.
 
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I assume you are doing something like the picture I have attached?
If you can't adjust the Lee one to work better, just get a Dillon one... it'll work.
 

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Sounds like you are experiencing the same issue I have with the Lee 'universal' funnel and 338LM cases. There isn't a good interface between the case mouth and the funnel, and I think it comes from the neck of the funnel being too long for our sub-.45 case neck diameters. My theory is that the bottom of the funnel contacts the case before the case mouth seats firmly against the tapered inside of the funnel. Probably due to our cases being more overbore than something like a 30-06 or 45-70, which are probably what Lee had in mind when they designed the funnel however many decades ago.

I'm thinking about shaving some of the bottom of the funnel off so the case mouth creates a tight seal against the funnel before the bottom of the funnel contacts the case shoulder.
 
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Sounds like you are experiencing the same issue I have with the Lee 'universal' funnel and 338LM cases. There isn't a good interface between the case mouth and the funnel, and I think it comes from the neck of the funnel being too long for our sub-.45 case neck diameters. My theory is that the bottom of the funnel contacts the case before the case mouth seats firmly against the tapered inside of the funnel. Probably due to our cases being more overbore than something like a 30-06 or 45-70, which are probably what Lee had in mind when they designed the funnel however many decades ago.

I'm thinking about shaving some of the bottom of the funnel off so the case mouth creates a tight seal against the funnel before the bottom of the funnel contacts the case shoulder.

Thats a hypothesis, not a theory. The Lee powder funnel will go over a 6.5 Creed case no problem. The diameter of the 338LM and 300WM in my case are too big to fit in the funnel. Put some fine sand paper on something round, and sand out the the I.D of the funnel a little. Just sand and test fir until it goes over the case. It doesn't take much.

Its pretty normal for H4350 to want want to bridge in the funnel. Tap the case, tap the funnel. Not sure whats going on for sure, because the rim is whats held by the shell plate.