Lee auto disk problems

[cowboy777]

I've been loading on a lee turret for about 3-4 years. I use the auto disk dispenser with the micrometer charge bar. My main pistol powder is universal clays which is a larger flake than most and can be difficult to meter. It usually meters exact with a +/- 0.1 but at times as much as 0.2. I measure every 10th round and my loads are mid range so never been to concerned. Anything beyond 0.1 gets re done.

Yesterday I had my first squib ever & didn't realize it. Thankfully It just bulged the barrel. New barrel $150

I do have the rcbs chargemaster I use for rifle reloads. I've never used it for pistol cause it was quicker with the auto disk but now I'm concerned and thinking about using the chargemaster even if it slows me down a little.

[stilly]

I've been loading on a lee turret for about 3-4 years. I use the auto disk dispenser with the micrometer charge bar. My main pistol powder is universal clays which is a larger flake than most and can be difficult to meter. It usually meters exact with a +/- 0.1 but at times as much as 0.2. I measure every 10th round and my loads are mid range so never been to concerned. Anything beyond 0.1 gets re done.

Yesterday I had my first squib ever & didn't realize it. Thankfully It just bulged the barrel. New barrel $150

I do have the rcbs chargemaster I use for rifle reloads. I've never used it for pistol cause it was quicker with the auto disk but now I'm concerned and thinking about using the chargemaster even if it slows me down a little.

If you have a MID load and you got a squib then I dunno that I would call that a mid load. maybe up it a tad. Damn. I thought that only squibs get stuck in a barrel. No bulging. > This sucks. Pics?

[cowboy777]

If you have a MID load and you got a squib then I dunno that I would call that a mid load. maybe up it a tad. Damn. I thought that only squibs get stuck in a barrel. No bulging. > This sucks. Pics?

I'm pretty sure it must have been a light charge. The bulge came when I shot the squib out with the next round.

[1bulletBarney]

The bulge came when I shot the squib out with the next round.

[stilly]

I'm pretty sure it must have been a light charge. The bulge came when I shot the squib out with the next round.

Bro you should be...

GO BUY A LOTTO TICKET!

[Cowboy T]

Glad to read things didn't turn out worse than they did. You were fortunate.

I know powders are hard to come by, but I'd seriously consider a different, less flaky, powder. *IF* you can get your hands on some Titegroup, that meters very well through Auto-Disks and has a similar application to Universal Clays.

[Fishslayer]

A "squib" is a round with zero powder.

If you stuck a bullet with a midrange charge then something prevented a full charge of powder from getting there. Unlikely that a poorly metering powder suddenly stuck a bullet.

Did you change anything immediately before that particular batch?

Is your powder path clean & dry? If oil gets into the powder path it can cause big variances in charge, including zero powder in one load & a double in the next. I got lucky & caught mine before anything made it into a gun. Only had to disassemble a couple dozen rounds.

Did you get distracted during the batch? Almost impossible to skip the charging step on a turret. Note I said "almost." It CAN be done.

Did you let the hopper go empty? Maybe forget to turn it on after changing powder? (Ask how I know about the last one.)

I have an LED light that shines right into the shell holder of my Lee Classic. Every charge gets eyeballed. I've only had one unexplained squib. No idea how it happened but I'm determined it won't happen again.

[cowboy777]

A "squib" is a round with zero powder.

If you stuck a bullet with a midrange charge then something prevented a full charge of powder from getting there. Unlikely that a poorly metering powder suddenly stuck a bullet.

Did you change anything immediately before that particular batch?

Is your powder path clean & dry? If oil gets into the powder path it can cause big variances in charge, including zero powder in one load & a double in the next. I got lucky & caught mine before anything made it into a gun. Only had to disassemble a couple dozen rounds.

Did you get distracted during the batch? Almost impossible to skip the charging step on a turret. Note I said "almost." It CAN be done.

Did you let the hopper go empty? Maybe forget to turn it on after changing powder? (Ask how I know about the last one.)


I have an LED light that shines right into the shell holder of my Lee Classic. Every charge gets eyeballed. I've only had one unexplained squib. No idea how it happened but I'm determined it won't happen again.

I always keep the hopper topped off. This is the first time this happened after a few thousand rounds. Thankfully I only have to replace a $150 barrel. Like you said still unsure how it happened but determined to not have it happen again. I think I will just use my chargemaster for every load. It's one extra step but every charge is weighed and it can't take much longer than pausing at every 10th round to weigh the charge like I do.

[AEC1]

I use Tru Blu from ramshot in my auto disk, it works great! I am sure someone from the blue cult will tell you to mortgage your house and buy a dillon soon.

[mchava]

I'm pretty sure it must have been a light charge. The bulge came when I shot the squib out with the next round.

If you had a squib and didn't clear the barrel before shooting again you are really lucky. You could have blown your hand off. You need to clear your barrel anytime you have a squib. This time luck was on your side, but you I gut not be so lucky next time.

[thai562]

I just start using the lee auto disk powder charge with their micrometer charge bar for unique powder, which are flake powder also.
At a low charge, around 4.0gr-4.5gr for Unique powder, the charge is dangerously inconsistent. Sometime, I got charges that were less than 3.0 gain. I decided to use their pre-drilled disk instead. All through I can't dial in the amount I really want, the options available got me very close. Happy with the result. Reloading pistol is much faster now.
The micrometer charge bar work well with charges above 5.0gr with unique powder, different flake powders, get different result I guess.
I decided to use the disks from now on, they seem much safer.

[emptybottle151]

A "squib" is a round with zero powder.

If you stuck a bullet with a midrange charge then something prevented a full charge of powder from getting there. Unlikely that a poorly metering powder suddenly stuck a bullet.

Did you change anything immediately before that particular batch?

Is your powder path clean & dry? If oil gets into the powder path it can cause big variances in charge, including zero powder in one load & a double in the next. I got lucky & caught mine before anything made it into a gun. Only had to disassemble a couple dozen rounds.

Did you get distracted during the batch? Almost impossible to skip the charging step on a turret. Note I said "almost." It CAN be done.

Did you let the hopper go empty? Maybe forget to turn it on after changing powder? (Ask how I know about the last one.)

I have an LED light that shines right into the shell holder of my Lee Classic. Every charge gets eyeballed. I've only had one unexplained squib. No idea how it happened but I'm determined it won't happen again.

This

[cowboy777]

If you had a squib and didn't clear the barrel before shooting again you are really lucky. You could have blown your hand off. You need to clear your barrel anytime you have a squib. This time luck was on your side, but you I gut not be so lucky next time.

I didn't realize it was a squib. It went bang and failed to eject/FTF. Cleared the jam and shot again. That time it locked the slide up and I knew something was wrong. The only indication I saw afterwards was the brass that had the squib had a lot of discoloration like powder blast.