RCBS Shortcomings

[Mags]

spinoff topic from https://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic. ... 20#p212379

And this is with .30-30 stuff?

For this topic yes, .30-30.
Two other calibers, I'm a little bit more discerning with separating brass.
o With 45 colt I have 3 buckets, Winchester brass, Reused Hornady Leverevolution brass and everything else.
oo For whatever reason the RCBS Universal shell holder jaws used in the case trimmer and primer tools have trouble grasping Winchester 45 colt brass.
oo Hornady Leverevolution brass case length is shorter than standard 45 colt brass.

o I keep .223/5.56 brass separate. New and once fired 5.56 brass needs to have the primer pocket swaggered.

I don't separate brass brands in .380 and 45 acp either.

... And I don't feel like my RCBS powder measure is any more repeatable than say, that +/- .2 grain spread, with pretty much any powder I've tried. Likely doesn't matter, huh?

I think it matters when loading small calibers. The RCBS powder measure I have isn't too repeatable dropping 3ish and less grains of powder. It sometimes under drops.

[Mags]

[Mr. Neutron]: Nice, helpful post, Mags!

The RCBS powder measure I have isn't too repeatable dropping 3ish and less grains of powder. It sometimes under drops.

Man, did I ever find that to be true this afternoon! I realize it’s off topic, but I got into some small pistol primers at BiMart this morning. I’ve had some .380 ACP brass, powder, and lead bullets sittin’ for months on my mess I call a reloading bench. They’re MAGNUM Small Pistol caps, but at this point in time I’d possibly stuff a dog turd in the primer pockets if I thought it might ignite a round.

And the ole RCBS powder measure kinda lived up to it's small charge-challenged reputation and sucked like a bucketful of ticks on those tiny (2.8 grains ) charges of Bullseye. It works pretty well for 30-something grain charges of Win 748 for .30-30 rounds and larger. Thankfully…….. I do use a trickler for most of my rifle rounds, then weigh each one. Takes a lotta time, and I know I probably sometimes make rounds that can outshoot my skill level now. Whatever. It keeps me off the streets, huh?

Added in EDIT: Mags, when I need to trim my 30-30 cases, my RCBS case trimmer sounds as if it's about like yours. Doesn't hold the flange of the case well at all. I've kinda given upon it, as much as I like RCBS's stuff, and am using a Lee case trimming setup for the 30-30. It seems to be a bit more consistent.

[Mags]

...

Did you see any Large Pistol and Rifle primers at BiMart?

For me .380 is/was a new caliber to reload to. I have plenty of factory ammo so I haven't seriously pursued reloading for it other than to test the powder measure for how small of a Universal powder drop it can get repeatably. I've sorta come to the conclusion that Universal is too coarse for small drops. I have other pistol powders to check for finer grain size, then I'll see how accurate a drop I get with the measure.

I also have a trickler, but haven't seen the need to use it with the larger calibers.

I'll take a look at the Lee case trimmer, but for now I haven't given up on the RCBS one. I think the issue for me has been primarily with 45 colt Winchester cases. The cannelure in the case base seems to be too shallow for the case trimmer to get a good grip. It doesn't help that the teeth are sorta sloppy loose in the trimmer. I need to take a closer look to see if shimming the teeth will minimize the slop. Maybe get a better grip with stiffer teeth.

[John E Davies]

My Uniflow measure was iffy with flake powders, I suggest you try a ball (spherical ) powder like AA2 or AA5, they meter wonderfully well through a mechanical measure. SO well that long ago I quit buying other brands. The exception is Trail Boss, which I measure by volume.

https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/ ... _rates.pdf


John Davies
Spokane WA

[Mr. Neutron]

Did you see any Large Pistol and Rifle primers at BiMart

They did have (and still do; I was just in there a few moments ago.....) a few Large Pistol CCI Primers at the Sandy BiMart. I wanna say that I *think* they were Magnums, but ain't 100% certain. The lady clerk made a mistake yesterday, and let me buy an incomplete brick with 800 primers in it. The guy behind the counter today said you could only buy 1 or 2 hundred of the Large stuff they have on the shelf. You want me to go back and try to score a few for ya?

My Uniflow measure was iffy with flake powders, I suggest you try a ball (spherical ) powder like AA2 or AA5, they meter wonderfully well through a mechanical measure. SO well that long ago I quit buying other brands. The exception is Trail Boss, which I measure by volume.

https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/ ... _rates.pdf


John Davies
Spokane WA

Good helpful advice, John!!! Thanks for that!

Yeah, that inconsistent measurement seems like you may be on to something. Now, the amounts I throw out ofmy old powder throw are vastly different from caliber to caliber. It meters really good with Win 748 ball powder I use for my .30-30. With IMR 4350 used in my .30-06. it's pretty much imperative that I throw light charges with the powder throw, then use the trickler to get the desired charge. With the small amount of Bullseye flake powder used for my .380, it's inconsistent as all git out.

[Rifletom]

On my RCBS Uniflow, I put the "small" drum in and the baffle in the hopper for smallish powder charges of Unique and Clays[ when I had Clays].
It seemed to help.

[Mags]

On my RCBS Uniflow, I put the "small" drum in and the baffle in the hopper for smallish powder charges of Unique and Clays[ when I had Clays].
It seemed to help.

Thank you Rifletom! I think you resolved our small drop issue. I believe this is the 'small drum' part you are referring to.
https://www.rcbs.com/priming-and-powder ... -9004.html

[Mags]

My Uniflow measure was iffy with flake powders, I suggest you try a ball (spherical ) powder like AA2 or AA5, they meter wonderfully well through a mechanical measure. SO well that long ago I quit buying other brands. The exception is Trail Boss, which I measure by volume.

https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/ ... _rates.pdf


John Davies
Spokane WA

I do have #2 and #5 (as well as Titegroup and CFE Pistol). I'll give these try for .380 drops. Maybe avoid getting the 'small drum'.

[Mags]

Did you see any Large Pistol and Rifle primers at BiMart

You want me to go back and try to score a few for ya?

I have some errands to run this afternoon. Route goes by 2 Bimarts. I'll check them and see what I can find. Otherwise I might take you up on that offer. Thanks.

[Rifletom]

On my RCBS Uniflow, I put the "small" drum in and the baffle in the hopper for smallish powder charges of Unique and Clays[ when I had Clays].
It seemed to help.

Thank you Rifletom! I think you resolved our small drop issue. I believe this is the 'small drum' part you are referring to.
https://www.rcbs.com/priming-and-powder ... -9004.html

Yes, that is it. Hope it works out for you.