need a reliable hand operated powder dispenser. help me chose one.

[johnson1942]

ive been hand loading and weighing each charge too long. got me recently a nice cowboy 38 special and 45 long colt. want to shoot them alot. the powder will be blackhorn 209 and i need a hand operated powder dispenser that will be accurate for 10 and 1/2 grains to 22 grains and easy and relible to use. my right hand done it all before and to day i got the worst charley horse in it so time to buy a hand operated one. i need advice as i know nothing about them and what to buy. dont want a electric one and dont want to over spend. again help? thanks before hand. johnson 1942

[gloob]

I use a Lee PPM and am super happy with it. IMO, you need to lap it with some compound to get it to work really smooth and leak-free. But it still doesn't play well with super fine ball powders. I use my PPM for everything except H110. I'm not familiar with Blackhorn 209.

[kenyerian]

I have a Redding, A Lyman 55, two Little Dandy's, one Uniflow and a Lee Perfect powder measure. If you are going to ever load black powder the Lyman 55 Classic would be my choice. http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/000157767760/55-Classic-Black-Powder-Measure-. It will last a lifetime. I use the Redding for my rifles, the little dandy for pistols ( the 9 mm's) and the Lee for working up loads as it is easy to change. Not sure why but I use the Uniflow the least. Actually I've had the Redding since the late 60's and it is still going strong also.

[Deadpool]

I use the Lee PPM too and it's been pretty decent with most powders. It suffers a bit from static cling (for flake powders), so when I switch powders I dump the first few throws, and then give it a hard "tap tap tap" with my finger on the up stroke, as well as the down stroke. With flake powders it's probably accurate to about half a grain. When I want very accurate measurements, I put the charge on the scale and trickle.. usually only needs a touch or less to get exactly what I want. It's pretty fast for average plinking rounds.

[country gent]

Redding BR30, lyman55, Rcbs uniflow with small drum, Any of the older rotary measures will do a fine job. Not sure if the lil dandy or rotor type measures will et to your upper end listed. Belding and Mull but thats 2 hand operation to use. Harrels or brunos on top end. I dont think blackhorn 209 is to hard to meter, never used it. Since Blackhorn is a substitute black powder I would try and keep plastic in measures to a minumum to aleviate static as much as possible. There are alot of very good measures out there and almost any of them will do a good job for you. The biggest thing is consistant operation of the measure and a solid mount to minumize vibrations effects.

[Went2kck]

RCBS works really good for me even with ball powder.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

my Dad bought my Redding back in 1960 works like a champ and i just picked up a RCBS Uniflow works good too

[RogerDat]

The Lee PPM works pretty good. Least expensive too. Probably not the "best" but like the man said about building a race car. Speed is a function of price, how fast can you afford to go?

I'm not in this group but many seem to like to have several powder measures. Either to avoid having to reset it and dial it in each time they load a different ammo or to handle a different type of powder or load range. I'm more inclined to buy more brass and load more in a run but then I don't shoot as much as many on the forum do. My 300 round run would not get some of these guys through the weekend.

Point was if you buy one measure and it does not suit you or fails to be ideal, you can get another with or without selling the one you bought first. Two measures eventually is not a bad thing.

[kens]

the simplest and most reliable is a dipper.
I use cartridge case with a soldered on coat-hanger of a handle, then trim it to length to dip the charge you want.

[str8wal]

I love my Lyman 55's. The Lee dippers would work well with BP as well.

[Muskrat Mike]

I love my Lyman 55's. The Lee dippers would work well with BP as well.

Ditto!

[pworley1]

All the above listed measures the job for you. You can usually find a decently priced one on ebay.

[GhostHawk]

I have a 30 year old RCBS Powder measure with the green glass powder cylinder. It remains on the bench, normally full of Red Dot and set from 4-5.2 grains.

For needs other than that I either hand weigh, or dipper. Like Ken above I'm not above crafting a custom dipper for a load I'll reload often. 9mm trims down to throw 4-5 grains. 38 special will do 10-13 range pretty easy. With dippers I think the main thing is to fill it consistently same method, every time.

[texassako]

All the above listed measures the job for you. You can usually find a decently priced one on ebay.

Lots of unloved measures on ebay for a decent price. I have found quite a selection for $35 or less shipped, including older Redding, Saeco, Lyman 55, and Pacific/Bair measures.