gundownunder
07-23-2018, 08:36 PM
I'm not a fan of all things Lee. They don't always live up to the precision part of their name.
That said, I just purchased one of their auto drum powder measures to go on my old Challenger single stage press, and I'm impressed.
I started with my 32-20. Screwed in the flow-thru expander die, screwed the drum measure on to the expander die, and screwed the drum adjustment screw in and out a few times till I got the right spot to throw 12.0 grains of 2207.
That all took a few minutes. Then broke out the digital scales and started weighing loads. I filled 100 cases and most weighed 12.0. A few went 11.9, and a few went 12.1, but most were spot on to less than .1 of a grain.
Then I switched to 357 and 38 SPL. My load for these uses AP70 which is a coarse flaky powder, and I noticed some difference in the accuracy of metering. My target was 5.4 grains, and those that were off were only .1 of a grain off, but there were more off than with the 2207. I'm not surprised my that result. I don't think I could better it with a scoop, or any other quick method either, due to the coarseness of the powder.
The auto drum lets you know pretty quick when something isn't right. I have 2 expander dies to do my 357 and my 38 SPL and at some point in the last 10 years I had switched the expander plug in my 357 and 38 SPL dies. With the short plug in the 357 die I needed to screw the expander die all the way into the press to get the plug to activate the drum , and even then it would only partially rotate the drum, causing cases to not fill. With the longer plug in the 38 SPL die the auto drum was sticking into the plug and not rotating properly which caused cases to come out either empty or only part filled, ( mostly empty ). Both were pretty definite indication that it wasn't right, and needed correcting.
I will need to try it with a really fine powder like 296 next and see if there is any trickle past the drum.
All in all, I'm happy with it. It's simple, and it speeds up my production time significantly.
That said, I just purchased one of their auto drum powder measures to go on my old Challenger single stage press, and I'm impressed.
I started with my 32-20. Screwed in the flow-thru expander die, screwed the drum measure on to the expander die, and screwed the drum adjustment screw in and out a few times till I got the right spot to throw 12.0 grains of 2207.
That all took a few minutes. Then broke out the digital scales and started weighing loads. I filled 100 cases and most weighed 12.0. A few went 11.9, and a few went 12.1, but most were spot on to less than .1 of a grain.
Then I switched to 357 and 38 SPL. My load for these uses AP70 which is a coarse flaky powder, and I noticed some difference in the accuracy of metering. My target was 5.4 grains, and those that were off were only .1 of a grain off, but there were more off than with the 2207. I'm not surprised my that result. I don't think I could better it with a scoop, or any other quick method either, due to the coarseness of the powder.
The auto drum lets you know pretty quick when something isn't right. I have 2 expander dies to do my 357 and my 38 SPL and at some point in the last 10 years I had switched the expander plug in my 357 and 38 SPL dies. With the short plug in the 357 die I needed to screw the expander die all the way into the press to get the plug to activate the drum , and even then it would only partially rotate the drum, causing cases to not fill. With the longer plug in the 38 SPL die the auto drum was sticking into the plug and not rotating properly which caused cases to come out either empty or only part filled, ( mostly empty ). Both were pretty definite indication that it wasn't right, and needed correcting.
I will need to try it with a really fine powder like 296 next and see if there is any trickle past the drum.
All in all, I'm happy with it. It's simple, and it speeds up my production time significantly.