Suggestions on powder measure.

C

Chainsaw.

New member
I have a lee "perfect" powder measure. Lets just say perfect is the wrong descriptive, Im not getting super consistent throws of powder. Any of you guys have good luck with a certain powder measure?
 
Both. The inconsistentsy comes out on rifle ammo. I can actually feel the difference if I dont weigh every charge.

Production is maybe a couple hundred rounds a month.
 
It will depend on the type of powder you are trying to throw. Some work better with ball powder, some with stick powder and some with flake powder.

The Lyman, RCBS, Hornady and even Lee have measures that are good. Your right the "Perfect" is not perfect but for the price it is pretty good.

I used mine when I first started out and found that to get a EXACT drop I needed to use a "Trickle Charger" to bring it right to where I wanted the charge to be. You drop 98% of the charge with the perfect and then trickle the balance to the exact load.






The Lee "Auto Disk Powder Measure" would be a better unit to use.



This is the Auto Disk powder measure with a double disk set for loading rifle cartridges 223 to be exact.

If you want to spend the dollars (about $300) you could go with an electronic scale and powder measure combo, like the RCBS 1500.




Good luck and stay safe.
Jim
 
I use an RCBS Chargemaster Combo, auto-dispensing scale.

It has been and continues to be the *ONE* thing I tell anybody who will listen should be on their bench.

It doesn't have to be the RCBS. There are cheaper versions now that still (seem to by reviews) perform very well. (Hornady!)

I wouldn't reload without one.

There are also probably ways to make your existing unit work a lot better. I'll leave that to those with experience so doing.
 
Last edited:
I recently got a Hornady Auto-charge and it is indeed an awesome thing for rifle reloading. You just type your number in and go. It saves so much time and frustration.

Before that, I used a Lyman 55. The Lyman was rock solid once it was dialed in on a charge, but it could take some time to get there. The Lyman could throw H4831 (a huge stick powder) within 0.2 grains with consistent technique.
 
20-odd years ago, Precision Shooting Magazine did a comparison test of a bunch of powder measures, (this was pre-electronic dispensers).

I don't remember who won, but Lee and RCBS were comparable, and both were pretty close to the top of the list.
 
Just get a Lyman 55, and don't worry about it for the rest of your life.

A Chargemaster is great, but not for a few hundred rnds a month.
 
I use a lyman 55.
Its good with stick powders, but a bit messy with fine grained ball powders.
The truth is there isn't a perfect one for every possible load & powder combination.
I drop a couple of 10ths short & trickle the balance to dead on.
 
From bench rest shooting years ago we found that volume not weight gave better results. Consistent thrown charges from a precision powder measure were more reliable than what it weighed. A few tenth of a grain isn't going to make a difference. Other variables have way more effect.
 
RCBS

My information is old, but it works for me. My RCBS Rock Chucker kit came with a Lil'Dandy powder measure when I bought it 25+ years ago. You can purchase rotors which drop fixed amounts of powder which is as consistent as you can get. No muss, no fuss, no adjustment back and forth to dial it in. I read in several different posts that a few tenths of a grain plus or minus doesn't affect the general accuracy and that has been my experience as well. I am happy with the sizes of off the shelf rotors which RCBS sells. I also read that others have "customized" their rotors to drop the exact amount of powder desired which is between the fixed rotor sizes. RCBS does not recommend this because the rotors are case hardened. I have not tried it.

I also bought a Lyman 55 about 20 years ago because I wanted something which was adjustable without having to buy so many rotors. I only reload for handguns and typically use fine ball powder. I have never been happy with the Lyman because it does not smoothly load and discharge powder. I did not use it very much for almost 20 years. Recently, I took a ceramic stone and Dremmel with various buffing attachments to polish the surfaces and also dusted the friction points it with some teflon powder. It is glass smooth when empty, but after a dozen or so charges, it becomes sticky again. I strongly favor my Lil' Dandy, especially since consistency and accuracy are my primary objectives.

One more comment about RCBS. I posted elsewhere that I recently had two EXCELLENT customer service responses from RCBS, one for my old Lil' Dandy and one for a new rotor. Kudos to RCBS!
 
I have two: Lyman 55, which is great, once dialed in. The other is a RCBS Little Dandy, which is a dandy on pistol loads. Would buy either again in a heartbeat.
 
I have a Lee powder measurer for each caliber I reload so I don't spend a lot of time adjusting between loads. They work great as long as you remember these rules. Go slow, allow time for the powder to fall consistently, never tap the tool, all powder will compact if you shake it which causes inconsistent loads.
Following these rules I never have any problems with consistent powder loads.
 
Tightened up my Lee . . .

I have a Lee as well. It seems to be consistent within a tenth of a grain or so. I take it apart every couple thousand throws and put just a smidgen of grease on the rotating surfaces that touch. Then I can keep the throwing mechanism really tight and it still rotates without much force.

Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
I wonder how the new Lee Classic measure stacks up.

My PPM is decent once I discovered the silicone wiper can be 'tightened up' a bit by inserting a thin piece of paper behind it. Fine flake and ball powders used to flow out the rotor until I did this.
 
I have a Redding BR powder measure and find it's accuracy to be very good. I do use a trickler too to get the charges exact, but if I'm doing good with my throw I dont even have to trickle. I find it to be very consistent with larger stick powder like 4350. You can feel it cutting the powder as you throw. It's a nice unit and I load small pistol to large rifle without changing out any parts.
 
Two things about that simple Lee dispenser (I've used it for many thousands of charges)--when you use the small spherical powders they tend to crawl into the gasket for the charging handle--so you need to periodically clear that. The other thing is as you progressively empty the powder holder--it drains off the powder weight in the center so you can expect to see variations in the measured loads as you get towards the bottom of the holder.

I've used digital scales for years--but have simply had too many instances of "malfunctions" due to calibrations, battery charge variations etc. and am going back to a precision balance beam measurer. Sure--this will make my reloads take all day to do not that many--but I've gotten to the point I just don't trust the electrical thingamajigs.
 
I have 2 RCBS with the small drum in one and the large drum in the other and they both work well. I also have the Hornady lnl that came with my Hornady lnl ap press, it came with both drums and find it to be just a little more consistant.
 
Thanks guys. I just ordered a powder tricker and a better (read faster) scale. I think I'll be upgrading my powder measure soon too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top