It's about as close as I can personally get to choosing lead accurately for my personal uses. I just need to grade the indentations and see where they correspond with the BHN. I place the plunger where ever I want to mark/measure, I push down with my finger until it clicks (spring loaded) only takes a second or two, it leaves a nice little divit that I then compare to other bullets I have of different BHN. Using a Walmart receipt bar code as my gauge, I know that if it measures 7.5-8 lines across it's 5-6 BHN. If it measures 4-6 lines, I am right around 13-15 BHN. Anything measuring under 4 lines and I am quite certain it is hard cast that is well over 18 BHN. This kinda like the LEE tester, but way faster and easier as I utilize the zoom features of my phone to get down and close to my work...no eye strain, no guessing... I do make sure to remove any powder coat or coating of any lead I am checking. I know it's not ideal, but it works for me and I get consistent results because it is spring loaded. No press, no special V block to hold the bullets, I can test from a large block of lead down to a .38 special (it's my smallest caliber that cast). I just thought I would share my experience just for fun. By the way, in the image with the three bullets side by side, if you notice, the two on the left have identical divit because both were poured from the same pot of pure lead. The bullet to the far right is a harder alloy as can be seen by the shallower and not so wide impression. One could say that I don't know what I"m doing but the results are there and it's been working.