USING TRAILBOSS WITH A DILLON PRESS

[Maximumbob54]

I have officially taken over the back bedroom as the mancave. So I’m loading in the A/C which my spoiled bootay never turns off. I won’t say that means the humidity level in the house is zero as that would be whacky rubber room no holes for sleeves in my jacket talk. I’ve used Power Pistol and a few others that looked to my eye like smaller but still flake powders. Here are some pics I took a while back of some of my powders to show a bit of difference in them:

Go figure I can't find the Power Pistol or Universal pics... Figures...

 

[parabarbarian]

FWIW, I tried the large bar in my Dillon 550 and it did seem to make for more consistent weights. I had to fiddle with it more than I do with Bullseye but I am more optimistic about the powder now.

 

[riverrat38]

Being .2 gr off with Trail Boss means less than with other fast powders, as it has a very flat pressure curve.
I only use plated bullets, due to range restrictions. I have found that I do not get the accuracy with TB that I do with HP38. It takes more pressure to get good accuracy with plated bullets than it does with soft lead. Also, I have stuck a plated WC in a 6 inch barrel with a modest load of HP38. It was 1 inch from the muzzle. This is why Berry's has a warning to only use data that gives 800 FPS with their plated WC's.

Rick

 

[parabarbarian]

My experiments with Trail Boss have mostly been with plated 125 gr FP (Xtreme) from an 1894C. No chronograph measurements yet.

 

[Komodo]

Hello fellow Trail Boss reloaders,

Please pardon me for reviving a quieted thread, but I may be able to add a couple of worthwhile pennies to the discussion.

For context, I have probably got 5000 cartridges under my belt, made on a 550b and using 2.1 grains of Trail-Boss under Lapua 148 grain HBWC's. I double-check three powder-drops at the beginning and end of every 50 rounds, and have only ever had at most 0.1 grain of variance as measured on an an RCBS Chargemaster 1500. I am based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and humidity levels are often moderate to high.

In addition to the helpful link provided by "Aussie Bruce" to the procedure set out by Tom Freeman: Lee Love of uniquetek.com offers a useful and free tips file for improving powder measure accuracy here. Following several of the procedures outlined there also helped me to achieve a more consistent powder drop.

My impression is that the accuracy of my own powder measure was significantly improved by:

-Polishing the bottom of the measure, as per Freeman's instructions

-Dipping the hopper tube in soapy water to further reduce friction.

-Keeping the hopper at least 2/3 full of powder at all times.

-Adding a powder baffle to help regulate the downward pressure on the powder at the base of the measure.

If none of that leads to acceptable consistency, you might also consider trying Vihtavuori "Tin Star" as an alternate powder. Similar although distinct in nature: "Tin Star" is also a high volume powder designed for lead bullets. Please note, however, that in my experience Tin Star tends to require higher velocity loads than Trail Boss.

Best regards,
Ryan

 

[Nevada Ed]

Other than the price, I have found nothing wrong with TB and I think the high case volume and peice of mind of a double charge,makes up for the extra cost of this powder.

I use a Hornady lock n load for my powder drops and have not had any problems getting accurate loads with the larger powder fitting. I also fill the powder if it gets close to 1/3 full
and if lower, weight every 20th loading.

In my 686 6" with Mag. brass, a 158 lead with 4.7grs of Trail Boss, f-100 primer, has a soft target load at 780fps.
38 brass 4.2grs with a cci gives 770fps and 3.5grs with a f-100
primer gets 700fps .
In my mod 49 I can get a fac dup load with the 158 Lead with a f-100 and 4.2c grs of TB at 648fps and a ligher target load at 3.5grs chronys out at 601fps.
A Speer 148Lhbwc with 2.5grs of TB will shoot as good as the standard 2.7grs of Bullseye, just 1" below POA in my revolver
where the Bullseye hits dead center.

TB is a great light to medium velosity powder in my guns and
I plan to buy more when I run out since it the best so far with the new125 lead cowboy bullets that I am now testing.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Hello fellow Trail Boss reloaders,

Please pardon me for reviving a quieted thread, but I may be able to add a couple of worthwhile pennies to the discussion.

For context, I have probably got 5000 cartridges under my belt, made on a 550b and using 2.1 grains of Trail-Boss under Lapua 148 grain HBWC's. I double-check three powder-drops at the beginning and end of every 50 rounds, and have only ever had at most 0.1 grain of variance as measured on an an RCBS Chargemaster 1500. I am based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and humidity levels are often moderate to high.

In addition to the helpful link provided by "Aussie Bruce" to the procedure set out by Tom Freeman: Lee Love of uniquetek.com offers a useful and free tips file for improving powder measure accuracy here. Following several of the procedures outlined there also helped me to achieve a more consistent powder drop.

My impression is that the accuracy of my own powder measure was significantly improved by:

-Polishing the bottom of the measure, as per Freeman's instructions

-Dipping the hopper tube in soapy water to further reduce friction.

-Keeping the hopper at least 2/3 full of powder at all times.

-Adding a powder baffle to help regulate the downward pressure on the powder at the base of the measure.
If none of that leads to acceptable consistency, you might also consider trying Vihtavuori "Tin Star" as an alternate powder. Similar although distinct in nature: "Tin Star" is also a high volume powder designed for lead bullets. Please note, however, that in my experience Tin Star tends to require higher velocity loads than Trail Boss.

Best regards,
Ryan

Blue - Is this to say a film of soap scum on the plastic will aid in powder not sticking??? I've heard of rubbing the plastic with a dryer sheet to reduce static cling but I would think soap scum would cause powder to stick instead of slipping.

Red - Either one makes sense but the two together would seem to be in conflict with each other. I thought the added baffle was to offset the weight of the powder so as to minimize variation in powder drop? If you remove the baffle then I can see how that would increase the weight on the amount dropping.