Powder measures

But once the load is developed I try it out with different elements lacking. No case prep. Does it still work as well? Simple volumetric charge dispensing.
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The goal when developing a load for long range and precision is to find flat spots in the velocity curve where you can vary by .1 or .2 in either direction and produce almost identical velocities. Once you find that flat spot you can rely on a good throw if you use good technique and a fine grained powder for short range closer than 300 - 400 yards.

to do that though you have to use a fine resolution scale so that in the development phase the charge needs to be accurate to + or - .04 grains which is 2 to 3 kernels of Varget. I try and get it closer than that even. Otherwise out of 5 test loads the individual charges could be as far as .3 grains apart and you can miss some good nodes. I use stick so I throw low and trickle up so I doubt I will ever stop weighing every load but loading accurate throw and go ammo is feasible with a fine powder and good technique even on a $30 dollar Lee. There are some good hacks out there like your baffle templates and running some graphite through the throw and dryer sheets etc.
 
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I own two Electric Powder dispenser. They have pluses and minus but I find the minus vastly lower than the plus. I also have an old RBS dispenser.

The old RCBS was erratic, not sure how it could not be, more so with stick powders but as I am focused on tiny holes in the target (for my own enjoyment) I do want to maintain under 3/10 accuracy. More so when I am playing with a load and want to do a 5/10 or a 4/10 interval as to dial into the mid part of an accuracy node.

So, the MO for the RCBS was to underweight, trickle up to what I wanted on an electronics. Ok, slow but ok. Then I got a Lyman scale that had the built on trickler and that worked better but still same drill just more convenient.

My brother owns the RCBS charge master and it still seems to be the best of the lot (actually he owns two). With two you can load very fast.

I got a great deal on a Lyman Gen 6, its decent, reasonably fast, accuracy varies about 2/10, sort of ok. If its fairly consistent I can under set or overset and hit my target point, or if erratic I can set under, reach in with a small screwdriver and pull out grains till spot on.

I also have a Horandy. Its spot on accurate but you have to fiddle with adjustments on the program to get it reasonably fast. Somewhat annoying but it has a beep to let you know its on, nice, Lyman does not. Also annoying is some adjust to tune go away when you clear the load. Still like it a lot better than hand.





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.
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You have a problem. Its a one off type. either a product defect or something you caused. If it was RCBS you should have contacted RCBS when it occurred. They would have replaced it (warranty, now 1 year not unlimited).

Stuff happens and an entire product should not be condemned based on one sample. Too many people have these and its not ever been an issue.

Failure to use a warranty is on the individual not the company or its product.
 
hounddawg said:
The goal when developing a load for long range and precision is to find flat spots in the velocity curve where you can vary by .1 or .2 in either direction and produce almost identical velocities. Once you find that flat spot you can rely on a good throw if you use good technique and a fine grained powder for short range closer than 300 - 400 yards.

to do that though you have to use a fine resolution scale so that in the development phase the charge needs to be accurate to + or - .04 grains which is 2 to 3 kernels of Varget. I try and get it closer than that even. Otherwise out of 5 test loads the individual charges could be as far as .3 grains apart and you can miss some good nodes. I use stick so I throw low and trickle up so I doubt I will ever stop weighing every load but loading accurate throw and go ammo is feasible with a fine powder and good technique even on a $30 dollar Lee. There are some good hacks out there like your baffle templates and running some graphite through the throw and dryer sheets etc.
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I almost forgot.

Since you never came through with any proof that a Redding 10X (that you don't even own) can't throw better than +- 0.1 gr, I will do it for you.


Just done:

Image1.png
 
sounds like those people paying $5000 for a Promethius and 400+ for Harrels should Ebay them and go buy a $100 Redding

now try some Varget or 4895
 
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I've been using the ChargeMaster1500 for 12+ years , looks like new . May not be exact on every throw but for me close enough for pistol loads . I double check the load by dumping the CM charge into the pan on the GemPro250 to fine tune for rifle loads . I would want my charge to be as accurate as possible but with all the other variables in reloading , how exact can we make every round to each other. I went down that road , over thinking wasn't enjoyable . I'm close as possible without the headaches , my groups are still good . Having fun shooting at the bench .
 
I've been using the ChargeMaster1500 for 12+ years , looks like new . May not be exact on every throw but for me close enough for pistol loads . I double check the load by dumping the CM charge into the pan on the GemPro250 to fine tune for rifle loads . I would want my charge to be as accurate as possible but with all the other variables in reloading , how exact can we make every round to each other. I went down that road , over thinking wasn't enjoyable . I'm close as possible without the headaches , my groups are still good . Having fun shooting at the bench .
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If you have a balanced load + or - .1 is all you need
 
hounddawg
This year I'm sticking with the same load , powder an bullet . Only this year instead of using the same brass 30 cases going average 24 reloads. I'm using 3 different brands of brass 30 each cycling each brand every week . Makes shooting enjoyable ,working on form instead of tweaking my reloads . I can weigh my loads using the GemPro250 to 40.84 gr. of IMR 4064 stick powder . Works for me .

Chris
 
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Same here CW. I have 3 good long range loads worked up for the .260 and a .223 load that is damn near bench rest quality at mid range.

I was thinking about adding another caliber/cartridge and smacked myself in the head with a brick. Woke up with a heck of a headache but no more crazy thoughts about how much fun it would be to start from scratch again
 
I use the set of 15 yellow Lee powder dippers for just about all my hunting loads.
Not worried about fractions of a MOA with my 45-70 for instance.
It’s a simple process: imurse the dipper in the powder and let it fill up and then scrape it level with a playing card. DEFINITELY NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
Very accurate and not subject to mechanical failure or malfunction like an electronic or mechanical powder measure.
How can a cup made of solid plastic malfunction.
I can get within a small fraction of a grain in accuracy.
A fraction of a grain is irrelevant in say a charge of 53 grains of IMR-3031.
 
McCarthy said:
The 2 C-H powder measures are $55 and $100. That's far from being expensive.
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Different people have different circumstances. $55 or $100 may not be expensive to you but may be expensive to someone else.

McCarthy said:
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.
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I guess my Lee Perfect Powder Measure must be defective, then. I've been using it for more than ten years and it doesn't leak yet.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
I guess my Lee Perfect Powder Measure must be defective, then. I've been using it for more than ten years and it doesn't leak yet.
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I guess this is just all made up:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-powder-measure-leak-fix.321118/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/leak-lee-perfect-powder-measure-normal.770695/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-perfect-powder-measure-leaks.760690/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-perfect-leak.701528/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/perfect-powder-measure-stop-the-leak.649544/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-perfect-powder-measure-no-more-leaks.651675/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-autodrum-leaking-h335.803460/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-perfect-powder-measure-leaks-powder.287135/

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-powder-measure.783488/

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=527052

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=363413

There are tons more. Google is your friend.
 
You waited a month to post that? For what reason?

Why not just let it go?

It's known that Lee wiper measures tend to leak a bit. That's inherent in the design.

Replacing the wiper every once in awhile and keeping it properly snugged up does wonders to mitigate that.

Some powders tend to leak more.

Oddly enough, my RCBS Uniflow, which cost $55 in 1984 ($140 in today's money), also leaks with some powders.
 
I'll echo what Mike said. I disassemble and clean and lube and reassemble my tools with some regularity, including the two Lee Perfect measures that live in one of my range boxes, and I've never had a serious leak problem with them. If you have a leak problem that doesn't respond to cleaning, burnishing the drum and its journal in the body with graphite or motor mica powder, followed by reassembling and tightening, you might contact Lee to have them look at it and see if you got one with some drum or body warp that is out of tolerance.
 
I use a redding 10-x pistol for most of my loading and I find it works good with some powder, terrible with others. Universal powder from Hodgson is +/- 0.75gn, way beyond acceptable. With AA#5 its accurate to 0.05gn repeatable. I now buy more AA#5, and less universal.

I want one of those fancy powder-insensitive trickles now so I can use up this dang universal powder...
 
I wish there was a way to fix the semantic problem of the words 'accurate' and 'precise'. Everyone of the above comments should substitute 'precision' for 'accuracy'. Do we need to develop an editorial policy to clarify what we are really talking about in our data?
To me, it is meaningless to talk about an 'accurate' handload. But I understand you when you say 'I have a powder measure that is PRECISE to 0.2gr'.
Didn't you people take high school chemistry?
 
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