Fellow shooters, I've recently decided to try my hand at reloading at the range. I have ( among other types) , an old Neil Jones powder measure. I've practiced with it making various drops, and found it really works quite well.
My at home test showed within 10-20 drops and using a spreadsheet my standard deviation with Staball powder was .092, or .1 (-/+). After comfortable with testing my powder drops I moved to the range.
When there I shot my 6.5 CM at 100 yards obtaining a decent .4 MOA grouping. Yes, the gun has done better but I was curious about the constancy between using a volume old style measure and my FX 120i. Could someone in the field obtain decent groups reloading in the field?
My gun is an AI-AXMC, 6.5CM. The load that day was Hornady brass, 38.0 gr of Staball, and a Berger 130 VLD projectile. I was able to gain under .5 MOA all day long.
Seems that a .1 grain difference does not produce large variations, at least at 100 yards. I'll expand my ranges in the next test and see.
My dial indicated 52.5 for the 38.0 g of Staball. Last night I loaded a few 30-06 using 4064. The instruction sheet that the Neil Jones comes with indicates a conversion factor depending on the powder used. With this factor the user divided the desired load and finds the dial setting. After the math the dial number indicated was 71.9. I dialed in 72 and the measure did indeed drop 45.0 g.
The obtain the 72.0 indication I had to turn the dial back to zero ( being careful not to bottom out the measure). Then 7 turns with 10 numbers each = 70, then turn past zero to 2.0 on the dial indicator.
My question for others that use these old measures: I've heard others say " 45 clicks to obtain a certain load with a certain powder). Are the "clicks" not actual clicks but the numbers 1-0 on the dial? If so, that would mean 62.5 "clicks" for 38 Staball, and 72 "clicks" for 45.0 4064.
Any insight of how best to use these measures would be appreciated. Of note, Neil still makes then, as does Harrell's.
The end result is that if for some reason you were mobile in the field and could not return to home base you could indeed reload without a scale simply using a kit along with a Jones or equivalent powder measure. I know this is no revelation as bench rest shoots have been doing this for decades, but it seems almost like a lost art. The rest of my kit includes L.E. wilson neck size die, seating die and K and M arbor press. It all fits in a small kit and could be very handy when needed.
My at home test showed within 10-20 drops and using a spreadsheet my standard deviation with Staball powder was .092, or .1 (-/+). After comfortable with testing my powder drops I moved to the range.
When there I shot my 6.5 CM at 100 yards obtaining a decent .4 MOA grouping. Yes, the gun has done better but I was curious about the constancy between using a volume old style measure and my FX 120i. Could someone in the field obtain decent groups reloading in the field?
My gun is an AI-AXMC, 6.5CM. The load that day was Hornady brass, 38.0 gr of Staball, and a Berger 130 VLD projectile. I was able to gain under .5 MOA all day long.
Seems that a .1 grain difference does not produce large variations, at least at 100 yards. I'll expand my ranges in the next test and see.
My dial indicated 52.5 for the 38.0 g of Staball. Last night I loaded a few 30-06 using 4064. The instruction sheet that the Neil Jones comes with indicates a conversion factor depending on the powder used. With this factor the user divided the desired load and finds the dial setting. After the math the dial number indicated was 71.9. I dialed in 72 and the measure did indeed drop 45.0 g.
The obtain the 72.0 indication I had to turn the dial back to zero ( being careful not to bottom out the measure). Then 7 turns with 10 numbers each = 70, then turn past zero to 2.0 on the dial indicator.
My question for others that use these old measures: I've heard others say " 45 clicks to obtain a certain load with a certain powder). Are the "clicks" not actual clicks but the numbers 1-0 on the dial? If so, that would mean 62.5 "clicks" for 38 Staball, and 72 "clicks" for 45.0 4064.
Any insight of how best to use these measures would be appreciated. Of note, Neil still makes then, as does Harrell's.
The end result is that if for some reason you were mobile in the field and could not return to home base you could indeed reload without a scale simply using a kit along with a Jones or equivalent powder measure. I know this is no revelation as bench rest shoots have been doing this for decades, but it seems almost like a lost art. The rest of my kit includes L.E. wilson neck size die, seating die and K and M arbor press. It all fits in a small kit and could be very handy when needed.
Last edited:
