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Thread: Best powder measure for the price

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Best powder measure for the price

    Got into reloading last year with a Lee reloading set. The hand priming tool started giving me problems and I bought a RCBS hand primer and could not believe the difference in quality and ease of use. Now the Lee powder measure is becoming untrustworthy. It can vary the charge .4 of a grain above or below the desired charge so I have been weighing each charge it throws on a digital scale. I used to weigh every tenth charge and thought I was doing ok. My 11 year old grandson was shooting the 44 caliber lever action and said he thought some rounds had more kick than others and that is what got me started checking closer. I saw another post of someone having inconsistant charges with a RCBS powder measure. I don't want to spend $100.00 still have the same problem. Should I just stay with the Lee and weigh each throw, it is still faster that using the little powder scoops.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master altheating's Avatar
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    Straightarrow You just experienced what I always tell folks. You get what you pay for! I would go with the RCBS measure without hesitation. I have used mine since I was 16 years old. 48 now and its still going strong. Lee makes some good stuff but an awful lot of marginal equipment as well. I understand that some can't afford the top shelf stuff but sometimes its better to wait awhile and save for the better stuff. In the long run you spend more when you have to set the cheaper stuff aside and spend the money on a replacement. RCBS, Lyman, Hornady Dillon they are all great products. For the time being weigh each one until you decide on a replacement.

  3. #3
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    i like the hornadys with the powder ajusments that can be snapped in and out

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    I second the Hornady. The one thing that really makes it shine is the Rifle and pistol Micro Mitering units. I just wish you did not need to buy them separate from the dump. And with the pistol drum you need too buy the Drum separate with the standard metering unit and then buy the pistol Micro-mitering unit separate. I owned a Lyman 55 for years. I got my first Hornady LNL dump with my press. I liked it so much I sold the Lyman and bought a second Hornady.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy Ziptar's Avatar
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    With powder measures when it comes to accuracy and consistency more depends on the design and the powder you are using than the price. In other words a ball powder is going behave diferently than a flake powder will and a stick powder will in the same measure regardless of price. Sometimes differently with the same types.

    I use Unique mostly and have been trying some Universal lately.

    I have 2 powder measures, a Lyman Acculine Pistol and an old Pacific Standard Pistol. The Lyman is a rotor type, the Pacific has hopper that swings side to side and dumps into an adjustable measure that's like the old muzzle loader measures.

    The Lyman always drops spot on to what the charge lists for the rotor size when using Universal. When using Unique it consistantly comes up 1.1 grains short of the charge table.

    The Pacific drops both powders spot on what the charge table lists for each powder and setting.

    I paid $40.00 for the Lyman with 6 rotors used, The Pacific was $8.00 used.

    So price has no effect in my case.

    I would do some research first by searching the forum and seeing what measure folks use with the powders you are using and what kind ofresults they are getting.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    There's no magic in any powder measure and how consistant they are depends a whole lot on how consistant the user is. Actually, the Lee measures are quite good if they are set up and used correctly. You don't say which Lee measure you have but I can't imagine anything in any of them that would produce a .8 grain spread if assembled and used correctly, perhaps you should check it out before dropping a wad on something that you may not need.

    Lee's adjustable "Perfect" measure is not perfect but it is very good and may well be the best available at any price for consistant drops of coarse rifle powders but, like anything else, it demands the user set it up and then use it properly. Lee's Disc measures are very good for small charges of ball and fine grain tubular powders, especially on progressive and turret presses. No measure works very well with fine flake powders because the thin grains will work their way into the moving parts and cause things to bind up.

    Iron measures like the Reddings, RCBS and Hornady are virtual clones of each other and, no surprise, there is no effective difference between them. They all require different measuring chambers for best use with rifle (large) and pistol (small) chambers, each maker sells both types of chambers as extras. Only the Redding measures include a micrometer type adjustment without charging extra for it; that should be standard on all of them. I've been using a Redding since '65 with satisfaction but I have to disassemble and clean the rotor after using flake powders for long. And I finally bought a Lee Perfect some years back to use just for coarse rifle powders; love it too.

    Lyman's excellant #55 measure is also iron. It has a unique measuring chamber with three sliding bars to control the size and shape of the measuring chamber; that makes it ideal for most any powder (except flake) but only IF the user understands what he's doing with the adjustments and works with good consistancy himself.

    I've never found price, as such, to be a very effective gage of the usefulness of anything; an expensive piece of junk is still junk. Thankfully, ALL of our domestic reloading makers produce very useful tools - IF we use them correctly - but some do over-charge us by quite a bit, IMHO. For instance, RCBS charges much more for their "Gold Metal"/"Competition" die sets than the very simular Hornadys but they really don't make any better ammo, nor are they any better than common die sets. (And no other dies are nearly as precise in use as Forster/Redding's premium rifle dies but that's another issue.)

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    All are designed to work within their manufacturers' stated degree of accuracy, which is usually +/- 1/10 of a grain. A variance of 4/10 of a grain is certainly a matter that needs looking into. Verify your set up and operation per the included instructions, and contact Lee if the problem persists.

    Lee's Perfect Powder Measure throws inconsistant charges when using fine powders (I think that the fine kernels leak from the hopper down into the measuring chamber) but works great with stick powders. Lyman's 55 works great with fine powders but not as well with stick powders. I don't have any experience with the other brands, but suspect that they each have their strong and weak points.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Well, if you want the "best" whatever that means, try to find a good condition Belding and Mull. Although rather slow, I have never found a measure that meters ALL powders as accurately and consistently as the B&M.

    With that said, I don't believe one can go wrong with the HOR Lock-n-Load measure. The RCBS version is probably just as good but I have no experience with it at all.

    As for the high dollar "bench rest" measures, my experience with them is that they are no better or worse than any of the others, they just cost more.
    When it's time to fight, you fight like you are the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark.... and brother, it's STARTING TO RAIN!!

  9. #9
    Boolit Man
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    My RCBS Uniflows are very consistant on smallish pistol loads with ball powder. They have two drum sizes, one for rifle and the other for pistol. In stock form they have a powder adustment screw that gets you close and requires a few test drops to get it spot on. Micrometers are available if you want to dial in quickly. There are plenty of old Uniflows around and they are cheaper than used Redding or Hornady measures.

  10. #10
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    Funny in that my Lee has been accurate and easy to use for at least the last 10 plus years and still soing excellent. I also have the Lyman 55 powder measure and the Hornady Bench Rest Grade Lock & Load measure.

    The one I always return to is the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, maybe I just know how to set it up. I has thrown literally 10's of thousands of rounds per year untill the last 2 years as I do not shoot as much anymore due to health.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    Take it apart and clean every thing up it is probably build up of grime causing trouble or even rust.
    When I think back on all the **** I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all ! And then my lack of education hasn't hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    When I think back on all the **** I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all ! And then my lack of education hasn't hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master rmcc's Avatar
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    Save your money , as [B]roysha[B] said, and find a Belding & Mull. All measures are pretty consistent with ball and most flake powders. But when you get to stick powders like IMR 4350 or H4831 your average measure is going to show its weakness. B& Ms are slow compared to others like UNiflow etc.. but they make up for it in accuracy. For volume loading I use a Dillon, all else Belding & Mull. Once you get one you will see, I have 2 and will buy another. Good luck!!

    Rich

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    I like my Hornady I use now..I've used RCBS a lot also,,Great also..Like said above....I also believe the consistency of the powder...ball vs. stick makes a lot of difference...I personally dump a load with the measure a little light for rifles..and trickle the rest into the scale pan!
    With Pistols with ball powder...I only weigh about every 50th round on my Hornady Progressive!
    And Yes..Consistency of how you Work the handle by hand makes a lot of difference too!
    Terry

  15. #15
    Boolit Bub
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    I would continue to use your current measure and get a good powder scale and trickle. Ball powders usually measure pretty evenly in my old orange Lyman and my green RCBS. Stick powders have quite a bit more variance in charge weights. How do I know this? Because I scale each and every powder charge. I use a Denver Instrument MXX-123 electronic scale, that I purchased around 5 or so years ago. The old oil dampened scales give excellent results as do the magnetically dampened ones. I should add that I do not load in volume for something belt fed. Only around 20 to 40 rounds at a session.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master


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    Straightarrow,

    If you are lucky enough to find an old Saeco powder measure, buy it. I have one, a couple of RCBS Uniflows, an RCBS Lil Dandy and some Dillon presses with their measures. The Saeco is the most consistent of the bunch with medium length extruded powders like H335 and H4895. The longer the powder, the harder it is to get consistent metering. All of mine do well enough with ball and flake powders. SOmeone pointed out in a conversation one day something that made a lot of sense but I've not done any testing to cionfirm it. They said that the big issue with measures like the Uniflow is the size of the opening where the powder enters the metering chamber. A large opening allows for more irregular wiping of the top of the powder charge as the rotor wipes past the edge of the powder reservoir. The large opening can allow more or fewer granules to be swiped away as the rotor moves. It sounds like a reasonable theory. The Lil Dandy is really consistent for pistol and very small rifle cartridges but collecting a full set of rotors could be costly.

    I agree that .4 grains is a lot of variation. I wouldn't want to be near max with that kind of variations. OTOH, if you're getting +/- .2 or less, that's a pretty small deviation for rifle loads. If you're loading 50 grains of whatever, 0.1 grain is only 0.2% variation. Can you control everything else in your loading process that closely? I used to worry about 0.1 grain variations until it was pointed out how tiny that variation is in the grand scheme of reloading and shooting.

    David
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  17. #17
    Boolit Master fryboy's Avatar
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    the single biggest variable in every measure is the user , once adjusted every stroke should be the same be it a jiggle on the handle or a tap on it , hard/soft down or up etc , granted big flakes and the larger stick powders will show more variation , i've used the rcbs , the older hornady , all the lee's , a lyman and an old redding , the two i use the most ( manually operated that is ) is the redding and the lee perfect ( it's not but for me it's repeatable and with ball powder , it's set it and forget it )
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  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have used the RCBS Uniflow and it works pretty good. I like the Dillon much better. It doesn't seem to drift as much as the Uniflow. For pistol, I check the Uniflow every 40-50 rounds. The Dillon get's checked about every 500. I started checking every 50 and it was spot on, then went to 100, then 200, then 250....

  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    I'm only a rifle guy, I have only ever loaded 100 pistol rounds and have not fired them yet.

    I started using a tea spoon and a trickler. Then I bought the Lee and that was a big step up. Later I bought the Lyman 55 and that is a really good measure but it takes a while to get it set up. I saved for a long time and bought a Harrel's and consistency is good but the big advantage to me is the click knob. I write down the number used last time, set it there, run a few charges through it and dump them back in the top and then check wieght. Tweak if necessary and then I'm loading rounds in a few minutes rather then 20 minutes with the Lyman. I only measure dump 4895 and down. For 4064 and up I bought the Lyman Auto Scale (the old orange one with the beam scale built in) and that gives pretty good accuracy.

    I did buy an RCBS Charge Master a while ago but have not gotten around to trying it.

    I either measure dump or use the auto scale for 600 yards and down. For Palma and 1000 yard I set the Harrel's short and trickle.

    As the others have pointed out, the type of powder used and consistency in use is very important. Been looking at maybe trying Bullseye NRA pistol matches and I hear the RCBS Lil Dandy is the word.
    Last edited by Hip's Ax; 09-09-2011 at 07:56 PM.

  20. #20
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    straightarrow

    I don't know how experienced you are or how precise you are with your hands but you can really goof up with any measure. Consistency of handling is what gets you +- .1 grain with charge dumpers, That and selecting the one that likes the powder type you are measuring. There is no measure that handles all types of powder. If you only have one you are likely to think they are all bad.


    My Lee Perfect loves stick powder
    My Lyman #55 loves ball powder
    Mt Lee Auto Disk likes Stick and flake powder

    The Perfect is most sensitive to being bumped and rough handled.
    The #55 with the clapper is least sensitive to being bumped and rough handled. Really poor handling will throw any of them off a half a grain. Really good handling puts any of them +- .1 grain.

    They really don't do it for you without effort.

    It is also a good idea to have an inexpensive stand by and learn to use it well. A set of Lee scoops, a powder trickle and a good balance scale is not slow at all when you know what you are doing and do it well. Igenerally use that unless I am loading more than 50 rounds. The setup on the complex tools takes too long.



    Gary
    Last edited by onondaga; 09-10-2011 at 12:30 AM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check