Lee powder scoops......oh, the shame of it all!

First of all, I began reloading clear back in 1972 or so, with a .38 special Lee loader. Since that time, I've advanced "a bit" to RCBS equipment, interspersed with Hollywood, Pacific, etc. etc. In other words, I pretty much know what I'm doing.

Pretty much.

I've been playing with a load for my SKS, consisting of Lee's 155 grain boolit over 22 grains of 4895. It operates the gun quite nicely and deposits the brass within easy reach. Accuracy is becoming quite good, with an occasional flyer, as I experiment with seating depths, etc. Today I finally set up my chronograph and began noting the velocities.

They were all over the place, from a low of 1192 fps up to 1530 fps. What? I returned home and reviewed my loading sequence. I've been using Lee's 1.6cc scoop for charging, since I'm only loading a few rounds at a time for testing. I got the scoop out along with my scale and began throwing charges in my usual fashion. To my astonishment, they varied as much as .7, or over half a grain on the HEAVY side! Then I realized the obvious.......I was scooping the powder, then tapping the edge of the scoop with my finger to "level" the powder. There was the answer. My tapping was causing the powder to settle while the excess was falling back into the charge cup [smilie=b:. I finally used a business card to scrape the top of the scoop (as Lee suggests) and suddenly the charge variance was less than .2 of a grain.

That explains the fliers AND the wild velocity differences. Moral of story? Follow the manufacturer's directions......they seem to know what they're talking about! By the way, I set up my Uniflow for future use..................ahem.

I found the same problem several years ago(about 1970) but my solution was to use my 12 inch stainless ruler to wipe the excess powder off. Those Lee powder scopes will weigh pretty darn close if you use them right. Glad you found your problem. I have been reloading since about 1957 and I still am learning about it and guns in general. james

A bamboo skewer hot glued across a paint can lid is handy.

https://i.imgur.com/PNRIbYZ.jpg

I don't use them for the charge anyway, just for trickling charges or dumping 2/3'rds of a desired load on my old RCBS auto powder dispenser after pushing the start button to make it deliver faster.

According to the Lee book, the scoop should be plunged base first into the powder, then leveled off with something.
Scooping will give inconsistent fill in.
I've tried it both ways, and dipping is much better.
When I used to use the scoops, I'd dump it in the scale pan and trickle up to charge.
Don't use them much now.
Have an old Lyman autoscale that works great.

Tapping the side of the scoop will give you inconsistent results, found that out the hard way. Scoop and level with a card/6" rule and I got much better results.

Long ago I discovered I could vary the powder charges with a dipper by a full grain, depending on my method. When experimenting (aka playing around) I tried every method I could think of from Lee's suggestion of running the dipper in the powder backward and leveling to running it through the powder twice mouth first. I occasionally use dippers but always in conjunction with a scale, especially during a load work up...

I too started with a Lee Loader, mine was in .410, about 1976 or so (Dad said he was going broke buying .410 shells). Back then I didn't have a scale, it was just dip the red powder scoop into the paper sack of Herco then seat the wad.

I still use powder scoops quite often, although now it is in conjunction with a scale. I also make my own for those combos that the Lee set doesn't cover. Solder a handle on a piece of brass then test the thrown charge, adjust with a file or a case trimmer.

Some of the ones I have made that come immediately to mind are 16.0 grains of 2400, and 2.5 grains of Red Dot.

If I am going to load 10-100 rounds it seems quicker to use a scoop and scale than to mess around setting a powder measure. Any more than 100 I will take the time to adjust a measure.

Robert

I too find the scoops to be quicker to load (black powder) as I usually load about 50 at a time. The homemade scoop is great as Mk42 suggested when you need a scoop that the Lee dippers don't cover.

Believe it or not, using a Lee scoop is the most accurate way to measure 800x. I've never had a powder measure that could throw accurately. 800x is so chunky, you can usually see the level is off in the scoop when you do it wrong.

I discovered years ago while loading IMR 4350 in my .270 Winchester with my RCBS Uni-Flow powder measure that the loads were inconsistent. I pulled the bullets & weighed the charge from each cartridge and was surprised to discover there quite a variance in charges. It was at this point I started dumping each charge into the pan and dribbling to the desired weight on each charge. When I started loading Black MZ for handguns I purchased the LEE Dippers and I have been using my dribbler and weigh each charge as Aliant said it was not safe to use my Uni-Flow powder measure. It's a little time consuming, but it's a hobby, not a chore.

AntiqueSledMan.

I am a low volume, high precision reloader so I like to scoop or drop a charge a little light and then trickle to the desired amount. Yes, I weigh every charge.

I have never used the lee scoops as I thought (rightly so) that they would lead to inconsistency.

consistency . . . . . consistency . . . . consistencency

I have a set of the old red Lee scoops as well as the yellow scoops. I'm a "plunger" and then "strike off" the top of the scoop. For me, it works the best to get consistent loads but I only use the scoops on certain loads - and i always double check with my scale. The one thing I found out early on was that while I do use the reference charts that come with the scoops, the charges they show for a certain scoop/certain powder is not always what I end up with so I take the charts with a grain of salt and just use it for reference. For me, I have found that once I have established a load for a certain cartridge/boolit - I make my own scoop out of a brass casing, attach a handle and label it as to what it is for.

As the OP points out . . . you can end up with inconsistent loads with a scoop method - I don[t have a crony but saw it early on when I first was experimenting with the scoops - and I'm a firm believer that some powder types scoop better than others as far as getting consistent loads. In the end, it doesn't take long to check at least randomly and the scale will tell you how you are doing in short order.

As I said earlier I started with Lee Loaders, first a 3" .410, then a year or so later a twenty gauge. With those I didn't use a scale, I didn't even know that I needed one.

When a buddy and I started loading rifle cartridges, we started with an RCBS Rockchucker, dies, a 502 scale and a Sierra manual. For powder dispensing we had a coffee cup and a teaspoon to fill the scale pan with. I dipped several pounds of 3031 with that setup while Billy seated the bullets.

To this day I despise powder tricklers, I think they are the most over rated tool on a loading bench. I have had a few and ended up selling them because I don't like them. I kept the last one so I won't be tempted to buy another.

I can dribble a few granules of powder just as accurately from a spoon or dipper and a whole lot quicker to level a scale.

But to each his own; if you like a trickler, and it works for you, keep on and be safe.

Robert

Consistency is vital .
1967 and still use scoops , they are a very accurate way to dispense powder if you have perfected your technique , practice and consistently dip the charges .
Haphazard and inconsistent techniques will get you nowhere .
Gary

for a powder trickler I just use a 45-70 case, roll it in my fingers and it will dribble out a flake at a time!
Loren

I use dippers for all my flake powder pistol loadings. I scoop and then give a little shake to dump extra off. I weigh to make sure Im using the right dipper

I'm with rockshooter ,, I use a 40-60 win. case w/ dead primer.

coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.