STAR BE 4.2 and 4.4 Powder Slide

Hi All,

A local bullseye shooter lent me one of his STAR Machines for reloading 45 ACP. He gave me a 4.0 gr BE powder slide with the reloader. I ransom rested my gun last year and found 4.2 and 4.4 bullseye worked best with 185 SWCL bullets.  Did STAR make a 4.2 and 4.4 gr BE powder slide? Does anyone know where I could get them?

Best,

Joe

I’ll have to dig through my box of powder bars and see what I have.
Always weigh the charges with a scale, many of the bars out there do not throw the charge stamped on the bar. Many old timers took the liberty of opening up the holes for more powder or for using a different powder.
Also adjustable powder bars are available.
Jon

Alliant changed the formula for Bullseye a few years ago. My 3.5 BE slide now drops 3.8.  You might check and see what it drops, but I'm guessing your 4.0 slide drops 4.3 or so.

I discussed this with Bruce at Star Machine Works.  He does make a slide that uses bushings and he will make them to order, but he said his lot of BE may be different, so he does not guarantee they will drop correctly.

IMR was making a powder called Target, that was a BE equivalent and it does drop 3.5 in a 3.5 slide.  Unfortunately it is out of production.  I have about a 1/4 pound of it left.

Star custom made the powder slides to your desired powder and weight. You told them" I want a powder slide for Bullseye with a weight of 4.2 grains" With that said the thrown weight may vary with different lots of the same powder and the water absorbing characteristics of the powder.
 There are aftermarket adjustable slides available or some people drilled out a slide and use changeable bushings. Of course there were 3 or 4 thicknesses of slides, The most popular was the "00" but the earlier .38 special progressives used the thinner "0" slides. The thicker ones were used for such cases as the .44 Mag. and the .223 conversion.

Bruce will make you whatever size bushing you want. And make a slide for the bushings.

As mentioned above, Bullseye seems to have changed over the years.   The vintage Star Bullseye powder slides tend to drop .2-.3 grains more than marked.   If you have a powder slide marked 4.0 BE you might already have what you need.

I do make powder slides that use interchangeable bushings for the charge of your choice.   I use the published VMD (density) for the powder to calculate the hole size and I bore the hole to +/- 0.0005".   Powder density's do vary from lot to lot, so the VMD for your lot may not match the published value.   Bullseye doesn't vary in density as much as some powders, so you will probably be within +/- 0.05 grains of the desired charge.

Bruce Williams

Hi Bruce,

You are right.  I tossed a few charges and weighted them.  With the BE 4. slide it weighed a 4.3 grn.  So, the charge is about .2 to .3 heavier that is stamped like you guys said. I think I am OK on the powder slider bar.

One other question.  Is there some kind of aftermarket add on to remove the completed cartridge from the shell plate after assembly?  Right now, I need to pull it from the shell plate to rotate plate to add the next empty case.  Is there some kind of "springed finger" to push that completed cartridge off the plate?

Best,

Joe

Jon Eulette wrote:...
Also adjustable powder bars are available.
Jon

Where? Skipping the bushing constriction would be worthwhile- if it is reasonable.

Thanks,
Chase

There were to my knowledge two people that made the adjustable powder slides. It seems that both went by the way side for whatever reason. The only way is to find one on Ebay or there is a Star Loader Forum.

Chase Turner wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:...
Also adjustable powder bars are available.
Jon

Where? Skipping the bushing constriction would be worthwhile- if it is reasonable.

Thanks,
Chase

I bought one some years ago off the Star Forum.  Don't remember the guys name that made it but I paid $100 for it, which I thought was awful at the time, now I'm glad I got it.  It's just a modified 00 charge bar.  If you can find one, jump on it.

For those DIY's:
I made this excel sheet for making & boring Star bushings to needed powder charges. It is pretty much spot on.
I'll send it to anyone wanting it.
Wes

Goose wrote:

Chase Turner wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:...
Also adjustable powder bars are available.
Jon

Where? Skipping the bushing constriction would be worthwhile- if it is reasonable.

Thanks,
Chase

I bought one some years ago off the Star Forum.  Don't remember the guys name that made it but I paid $100 for it, which I thought was awful at the time, now I'm glad I got it.  It's just a modified 00 charge bar.  If you can find one, jump on it.

Ask for Rich Daniels on the www.starreloaders.com forum.   He made an adjustable powder charge bar for the star press.

My adj bar goes on the 38 machine, it’s made by Hoag.

I have a bar with a 1/2” hole too that accepts aluminum discs that fall off my lathe..infinitely selectable.

As for a shell extractor, I wound a bent piece of coathanger around the pin at the last station. It has a 1” curved finger that embraces the shell. A 3” extension the other way allows an easy flip to toss the shell. I can get a pic if needed

I think the original powder slides are taper reamed as well, not a straight hole.

bummer7 wrote:...
Ask for Rich Daniels on the www.starreloaders.com forum.   He made an adjustable powder charge bar for the star press.

Thanks for the lead, I appreciate it.

In case anyone happens upon this thread:

It looks like Rich is no longer making parts from the scuttlebutt over on the forum; also, his message box is full, so can't easily get in contact with him to see if he has any adjustable bars (and apparently other parts) left.

I'm going to need to think on it, but I'm probably going to put my 32SWL Star press up for sale. Make sure to keep an eye on the classifieds! 

-Chase

Chase Turner wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:...
Also adjustable powder bars are available.
Jon

Where? Skipping the bushing constriction would be worthwhile- if it is reasonable.

Thanks,
Chase

Chase,

I bought one of the adjustable powder bars many years ago and find it very convenient when changing bullets/loads.  I definitely do not remember who the seller was, unfortunately.

Mike