powder measures

[StarMetal]

I've mentioned this before, but we have new people now. I too have a Belding & Mull, the one and only powder measure I've ever owned. Notice, I said owned, not used. I think it's one of the best on the market. Mine even cuts coarse rifle stick powder. The one thing I had go wrong with it is the aluminum slider block got gauled up. So I cut a bronze block and milled out the cavity and cut a piece of glass for the front of it and installed it and my measure is like new again. I hand fit that bronze block too so there wasn't any loseness.

I have the micrometer metering tube. Once you weigh a particular powder you can write down the setting on the metering tube. I do this and record it in a book for future use.

Joe

[JerryW]

I have a new in box B&M last of the old ones has plastic hopper missing the charge tube. I use a brass blackpowder measure on the one on my bench. I will sell the new one for $100.00 + shipping. Jerryw

[Willbird]

I am klutzing around with an RCBS uniflow, I typically use the small drum only, and I have one of the old lyman 3 slide measures that I use for pistol stuff....I'm happy,

when you load man sized rifle ctg. 1/10 of a grain doesnt mean much anyway. also I really like hogden extreme powders and most of them come in short cut types now anyway.


Bill

[carpetman]

Willbird--Is that hogden extreme powder used for pigs only? How many hogs it take to make an extreme den?

[KCSO]

I think I have used about every kind of measure made, but after I got a Belding and Mull that is what I use for all my accuracy loads. I have a lathe so I made up a batch of measures for the B and M and put one with the load data in the die box. I also still use an old Ideal measure that I got from my father in law. The instructions say good for black or smokless powder, so it must be an old one.

[Maven]

I currently have 4 powder measures, a Lyman #55 (wi. a powder baffle added), which gets the most use; a Lee "Perfect" measure; a Forster "Benchrest" (? red wi. small red plastic hopper) and an Ohaus Du-O-Measure (got it from eBay for $15 + shipping). While I wish I owned a B & M, I have to say that the aforementioned work very well, but not with the same powders. Believe it or not, the Lyman is very repeatable, mostly because I have a notebook full of settings by powder type, e.g., IMR 3031 and weight, e.g. 29gr. The Forster is the hardest to set as the scale markings are arbitrary and sensitive. Like most measures, it likes ball powders. The Lee is OK, but no more "perfect" than the Lyman. It likes ball powders, but handles stick powders rather nicely. That shut-off valve is a nice touch too. Lastly, there's the Ohaus, which not only throws pistol powders in low doses rather accurately, but chunky milsurps such as IMR 5010 (much coarser than IMR 4350) also; i.e., within 5% accuracy. Having said [all] this, I must confess that I now use pistol powders for 99% of my CB pistol (duh!) and rifle reloading, particularly WC 820. The beauty of them is that you can use a pistol powder measure to throw the charges with complete repeatability if you first establish how many grains of a given powder each rotor throws: Much easier this way! ...Maven

[VP]

I ... use pistol powders for 99% of my CB pistol (duh!) and rifle reloading, particularly WC 820. Maven

Any suggested loads for .45 Colt?

[felix]

820 is too slow except for 280 grainers and above. The powder will work better for the lighter boolits if you have really small chambers or really large diameter boolits. We are talking standard industry chambers here, not those custom smaller ones. If you have a 454 gun, then 820 powder would be much closer to ideal. ... felix

[omgb]

I bought a B and M measure two years ago and love it. It's very accurate with BP and IMR powders. Now to the Aggie joke: A Texas Aggie is walking down the street with a pig under his arm. A feller walks up and drawls, "Hey, where'd ya git that stupid looken thang?" And the pig says, "I won him at the fair".