Powder measures

K

konstan

New member
So, I reloaded some .38 and it was a blast, even though I had to measure the powder using the scale every time. It was easy because 90% of the time the Lee scoop had just about the exact weight that I was trying to measure out.

I am going to move on to loading .270 and I am thinking that measuring 50+ grains of powder that way is going to suck.

So, I am thinking powder measure.

I don't care if its cartridge activated, I don't mind pushing a button. I would prefer if it works like a funnel i.e. does not require a special charging die.

Given those constraints, what do you guys like?
 
If you plan to use a spherical powder, a stand alone powder measure might throw consistent charges for the 270. But most of those powder measures don't throw the long extruded stick powders very consistently.

I find myself weighing each charge when loading rifle cartridges with extruded stick powders. I set up my RCBS Uniflow or Hornady L-N-L powder measure to throw about a grain short and use a powder trickler to dribble in the remainder of the charge into the scale pan while watching for the desired weight. When the desired charge is reached, I dump the powder from the scale pan through a funnel into the primed case.

The above assumes you aren't trying to charge the cases on a progressive or turret press. If you are using one of those, you'll need a powder thru die at a minimum.
 
It depends on your budget.

I always opt for the "buy once, cry once" version by buying high quality, US made reloading equipment.

Whatever you do, I strongly suggest staying away from the RCBS Chargemaster. They have a couple of serious design flaws and have never been developed to meter smokeless powder to begin with. They are made in China and sold over there as medical devices for substances that don't eat through the plastic of the Chargemaster like double based gun powder does.

When it comes to general reloading on a single stage press or turret, I use one of my Redding powder measures. They are very precise, extremely well made and Redding customer service is on par if not better than Dillon's.

For pistol charges I suggest the Redding Competition 10X-Pistol and Small Rifle Powder Measure.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2...ion-10x-pistol-and-small-rifle-powder-measure

For rifle charges I would suggest the Redding 3 Powder Measure with Universal Metering Chamber:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/466608/redding-3-powder-measure-with-universal-metering-chamber


They offer an optional stand that easily attaches to any desk or bench with C-clams or screws.

Here is one of mine, mounted right between my UltraMag and my T-7 (on the other side of the chair).



Img_0601.jpg
 
+1 for buy once cry once. I don't want to end up disappointed :) I am quite ok with off-press charging.

My press is a Lee Classic Turret. I can use it manual index or turret index, I have done it both ways and can make it work both ways for myself.
 
The mentioned "Redding 3 Powder Measure with Universal Metering Chamber" goes down to 5 gr, hence will cover most pistol charges. At $139 that's not too much money for a high quality product made in the US.

If you ever decide to put the measure on a turret, you can use the Hornady linkage and powder through die.

Here is one of my Hornady measures on my T-7 turret. You can also get this Hornady measures, but it will need some optional parts (micrometer, small charge drum) and a thorough cleaning of all parts (it's full with gunky oil making powder stick and charges inaccurate) before it works properly.


Img_3428.jpg





That Hornady linkage works also great on my Dillons:



DSC1468.jpg
 
I use a Lyman 55 for pistol and a Lyman 1200 DPS2 electronic unit for rifle. Both work great. I’ve had the Lyman 55 for about 40 years and the electronic unit for maybe 7 years (give or take). And from people I consider very knowledgeable, I hear that the RCBS Chargemaster is an excellent unit.
 
It depends on the powder. For spherical powders the Benchrest folks like Culver and Harrel. For stick powder, hands down, the JDS Quick Measure, IME.
 
603Country said:
I use a Lyman 55 for pistol and a Lyman 1200 DPS2 electronic unit for rifle. Both work great. I’ve had the Lyman 55 for about 40 years and the electronic unit for maybe 7 years (give or take). And from people I consider very knowledgeable, I hear that the RCBS Chargemaster is an excellent unit.
Click to expand...


Do you own a Chargemaster? No? I do. This is how it looked like after being used just a few times. And yes, that is engrained and doesn't even come out when scraped with a screw driver.


image.jpg



Lets talk about its accuracy. Dispensed 4.0gr.


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The Chargemaster is off by 0.162gr at 4.0gr. This goes both ways, all the time.

Granted most don't realize that, because most don't own a certified calibrated balance.


image.jpg
 
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Unclenick said:
It depends on the powder. For spherical powders the Benchrest folks like Culver and Harrel. For stick powder, hands down, the JDS Quick Measure, IME.
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Now if we want to talk about serious handloading, a proper lab grade scale and the Omega Trickler are the only true options, weighting down to the very last and single grain.



DSC00969.jpg
 
Wow, lots of top of the line ($$$) powder masures (push button automatic machines). For a new reloader just about any major brand, hand operated, drum type, stand alone powder measure will do quite well. No powder measure will meter all powders 100% as some powders just don't meter well and some are .1 grain repeatable. (Lee Haters avert your eyes!) I have had 2 Lee Perfect Powder Measures and found them to be pretty accurate, repeatable as most drum type measures. I have a very nice C-H powder measure ($$$) that works quite well, but my PPM is nearly as accurate across the board (I did hold +/- .1 gr of W231 several times). Since you now dip and weigh, it's no big deal to measure light and trickle up. My bst advice for a new reloader is K.I.S.S....
 
mikld said:
Wow, lots of top of the line ($$$) powder masures (push button automatic machines). For a new reloader just about any major brand, hand operated, drum type, stand alone powder measure will do quite well. No powder measure will meter all powders 100% as some powders just don't meter well and some are .1 grain repeatable. (Lee Haters avert your eyes!) I have had 2 Lee Perfect Powder Measures and found them to be pretty accurate, repeatable as most drum type measures. I have a very nice C-H powder measure ($$$) that works quite well, but my PPM is nearly as accurate across the board (I did hold +/- .1 gr of W231 several times). Since you now dip and weigh, it's no big deal to measure light and trickle up. My bst advice for a new reloader is K.I.S.S....
Click to expand...


The 2 C-H powder measures are $55 and $100. That's far from being expensive. With all due respect, put the Lee Perfect Powder Measure is a low quality tool, made of cheep materials, with mediocre reviews. It is known to leak powder all the time.

Here a few quotes:

"Junk!"
"Not Good"
"NOT VERY ACCURATE!!!!"
"Imperfect"
"cheaply made junk"
"Dont waste your money"
"I would not buy this product again"
"Another Dissappointment from Lee"
"Absolutely the worst ..."

Read yourself:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012837257/lee-perfect-powder-measure#



And then compare to the Redding measure:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/466608/redding-3-powder-measure-with-universal-metering-chamber#


And yes, the Redding can do (depending on powder much) better than +-0.1gr.
 
Yet another oft-asked and answered question.

Here is one of the nine powder measures I use for small loadings, a B&M clone.

Vega Tools
IMG_0752.jpg
 
I have been taking to throwing all of my accuracy loads with a powder measure then trickling to weight on a beam scale. Once you get into a routine they be fairly accurate and fast. I have found pretty much all powder measures operate the same. You use one or more adjustment screws to vary the volume of a cylinder which you rotate with a lever to dump the cylinder of powder into a pan. There will be differences in fit and finish but that is it. None are any more accurate than plus or minus .1 grains

I have 2 Lee powder measures and a Hornady that I use regularly. As pointed out above the Lees can leak fine grained powder but all it takes to fix is tightening a screw. Lee measures are cheap enough where if you only load 3 or four loads you can set one up for each load and never adjust it again. They are also the kindest and gentlest on stick powder that use the rotating cylinder design

One of the best designs is the Lyman 55, pretty much unchanged for 50 years and still a best seller says something.

What it all boils down to is how much do you want to spend. If you want pretty get yourself a Harrel or Culver. They are gorgeous in fit and finish and work great. The little plastic Lee will do the same thing just as accurately but won't look as good as that polished brass and aluminum.

The only notable exception from the basic rotating cylinder design is the Johnson Quick Measure. Supposedly it handles stick beautiful with no cutting of kernels.

https://www.quick-measure.com/

some good reading

http://reloadingpresso.com/best-powder-measure/

http://www.reloaderaddict.com/the-best-powder-measure-for-reloading-top-4-products-reviewed/


https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/3/28/the-most-accurate-powder-measure/

hope this helps
 
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hounddawg said:
None are any more accurate than plus or minus .1 grains
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That statement is not correct. My 10 X pistol Redding hopper has a measured spread of only 0.02gr with #2.
 
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When I was reloading rifle cartridges with IMR stick powders I did most of it with an RCBS Uniflow. More than accurate enough for what I was doing. The great thing about IMR powders is that they are INCREDIBLY forgiving to variations in charge weight.

Over the past 30 years virtually all of my reloading has been for handgun, and most of that has been done with a Lee Pro Auto Disk on top of Lee turret presses. Using ball powders like WW 231 or WW 296 it is INCREDIBLY accurate and repeatable.

With flake powders like Unique and Red Dot not so much.

I also have a Belding and Mull measure that is also extremely accurate, and with flake powders like Unique more accurate than the Lee.

Were I to be loading more rifle cartridges than I do (about 100 in the past 10 years) I'd seriously consider one of the electronic measures/scales/dispensers.
 
I've got a collection of 11 different mechanical PMs, Hornady, 55, Dillon, Quick Measure, B&M, Little Dandy, Harrells and every one of Lee's. The Lee's Classic (now called the Deluxe) is my go to PM for single stage use. It's micrometer is easy to read and is based on VDM, Once the VDM is determined, for a specific powder, it fast and easy to set up for repeatable consistant drops for flake, ball and extruded powders. Of all my PMs the Lee Classic or Deluxe it is the most versatile (it's chokes with stick powder of bigger than IMR4350) but is amazing with IMR or H4895).

Determining VDM: https://www.titanreloading.com/powder-handling/vmd-explanation
 
That statement is not correct. My 10 X pistol Redding hopper has a measured spread of only 0.02gr with #2
Click to expand...

the Redding uses the same rotating cylinder with a adjustable chamber design as the Hornady, RCBS, Frankford Aresenal, Culver, Harrel, and Lee Perfect. Any of them is more accurate on ball and flake than they are with stick but if you are being truthful then you have the only mechanical measure in the world that is that is that is more accurate than .1 for repeated charges
 
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I've got a collection of 11 different mechanical PMs, Hornady, 55, Dillon, Quick Measure, B&M, Little Dandy, Harrells and every one of Lee's. The Lee's Classic (now called the Deluxe) is my go to PM for single stage use. It's micrometer is easy to read and is based on VDM, Once the VDM is determined, for a specific powder, it fast and easy to set up for repeatable consistant drops for flake, ball and extruded powders. Of all my PMs the Lee Classic or Deluxe it is the most versatile (it's chokes with stick powder of bigger than IMR4350) but is amazing with IMR or H4895).

Determining VDM: https://www.titanreloading.com/powder-handling/vmd-explanation
 
I use a RCBS ChargeMaster 1500, and it looks nothing like the problematic ChargeMaster shown in the above pics, with embedded powder scaling. Mine is perfectly clean. I do dump remaining powder, everytime I use it. It's had so many different brands of powder through it, that I no longer keep a mental track. It's all on paper, when needed.

As to accuracy, it's gets right down, to where my Redding beam scale does, also comparing to two other electronic scales I have. If it didn't, I wouldn't be using it.
 
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