TargetTalk

I was wondering what equipment to use to get the small powder charges for 32 S&W Long. I read that Don Nygord used 1.7 gr of W231, and other powders use similar amounts of powder. I have a RCBS Little Dandy powder measure that uses replaceable bushings for each charge weight, and the smallest one will throw 2.7 gr of W231 or 2.5 gr of Bullseye. I have adjustable powder measures (Lyman and RCBS) that I used for highpower rifle, and I think they may go that low, but I like the idea of a fixed size bushing, as I have had an adjustable powder measure adjust itself on it's own! Not much room for error on a 32 S&W Long! I kind of like the Little Dandy powder measure. Are there smaller bushings available? Would something like me welding one of the larger bushings up and notching it for the size I need be a bad idea? Thanks, Jeff jokerloco9@aol.com

You can do as I did with my Bonanza (similar to L'il Dandy). Put a couple of drops of glue or wax in your rotor. By trial and error, using a drill bit remove until you get the proper charge weight. You have to work that up with Ransom Rest testing.

Because the powder charge is so small, fine grained ball powders meter the best. I use WW 452AA (now discontinued).

Hello;

Maybe this will help you out.

I am not sure what the bushing looks like on the Little Dandy, but if it is metal, you may try filling it with JB Weld and then drilling it out to the volume you need.

Or you can sleeve it with Delrin, or polyethylene, or a hardwood such as maple or dogwood. Powder flows across these pretty well.

You may be able to sand down the outside of a hardwod dowel to fit into an existing bushing hole and then drill it out. Then you can cement it in place when you have found a size that works

I have known several people who have the cheap, plastic (adjustable) drum type measure sold by Lee and they have all been very happy with how well it works, I just don't need another measure.

I have the Lee auto disk and I love it, but I have the same problem with light loads. It's easy to make a brass (or wood such as ash, maple or hickory) bushing for the Lee, though. I purchased an adjustable charge bar for the Lee, but it doesn't work very well for light charges of light, flaked powder such as vv-N310 or Blue Dot. IMHO. The hole is not round and it traps and holds a small amount of the charge and then dumps it with the next load.

If you know the volume of the bushings you are using, you can weigh charges from 3 or for different size bushings and plot the results on a graph. Then you can interpolate the approximate volume needed and drill smaller. I find this easier than calculating the volume because of the differences in density per lot.

Yo may want to taper the opening in the bushing with a large bit so that powder will flow in to it better, otherwise you may not get results as consistent as you require for target work. Watch the position of the bushing opening and the orifice that the powder comes out of and make certain the are aligned well.

Good Luck,
Ed

Thank you for the info. I just found out last night that RCBS makes a 00 and 0 bushing to throw the smaller weights. My Little Dandy powder measure was bought about 15 years ago, and the bushing chart with it only went down to #1. There was no 00 and 0 back then. It says number 00 will throw 1.7 gr of Bullseye, which is perfect for me. But I like your ideas for filling with glue and drilling out to the size needed. JB Weld would work well. I would bell the inside of the rotor to insure the JB Weld plug couldn't fall out.

Thanks again,

Jeff

LEE makes the "Micro Disk" for the LEE Auto-Disk Powder Measure. It has cavities sized from .12 to .27 in .03 increments. If you already have an Auto-Disk, it works like a champ for small charges.

Lee (no connection)

Hi,
Regarding you small charge, and using 231 winchester powder, at 1.7 load:-
Here in Australia we usually only use 1.5 or 1.6 max. load, with a hollow base waxed projectile. The speed velocity reads approx. 690 - 700 ft/sec which we find, for 25 metre Centre Fire event is very accurate.
Also, we use Walther GSPs .32, or Manurin Rovolver. and these are providing excellent scores.
However, we are using the new powder which is Winchester WST. This is a black powder, and is easily metered. If you are shooting 50 metres you most probably use a different projectile.
I can give some more information if you you require it, as we tested various powders at different loads, and I have a copy of the readout.