Powder Measure for Bullseye

[unique]

The 38 special wadcutter threads got me thinking about bullseye powder. I have a bunch of 38 wadcutters I would like to load with Bullseye. I never had much luck using RCBS rotor powder measure with bullseye. What do you use as powder measure for bullseye?


Thanks

[StuBach]

I’ve had good luck with the Dillon powder measure system as well as my old Belding and Mull powder measure. My Dillon can be adjusted to be accurate throw to throw within 1/10th of a grain.

Powder bars on the Star reloaders are also fairly accurate I’ve found. I reload old HG50s 38 wadcutters very repeatably with the old Star progressive I have.

[Larry Gibson]

I use(d) the Lyman 55 since '68 with excellent results. One just needs to adjust it correctly and to use the knocker correctly and consistently. I've charges thousands of cases of various cartridges, including 38 SPLs with WCs, with Bullseye using it.

I also have found the Dillon system to be throw accurate charges of Bullseye in both my SDB and 550B.

[Rich/WIS]

Old Forster-Bonanza fixed rotor measure, very accurate and more user friendly than the RCBS Lil-dandy. Only negative is that it is out of production probably 30 years and if you don't have the rotor you need they are hard to find. Picked up pretty much a complete set for mine over the years as well as for my son.

[CastingFool]

I used my Redding. I use 4 gr of BE for my 9mm practrice loads, the Redding drops a charge very close to 4 grs, but not close enough or consistently enough for me, so I weigh every charge, and use my trickler. Very time consuming. Charging my 223 cases with 748 is my favorite step when reloading 223, not so when doing 9 mm.

[atr]

I use the Lyman 55 and if adjusted properly it is accurate and consistent

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Bullseye measures great in my Lee Pro-disk measure, mounted on the Lee Turret press.

[Petrol & Powder]

I get very consistent powder drops with the Dillon 550 measure when using Bullseye powder and small charge weights.
When loading 38 Special wadcutters, the Dillon consistently holds the disbursed charge weight to the tenth of a grain. After filling the measure I will run 3 or 4 casings through the machine and check each charge. After the measure settles down (usually by the 3rd casing) it will hold the exact weight.
I used to pull every 10th or 20th casing to check the charge weight. I don't even bother to do that anymore - it's never off.

When using a bench mounted rotary type measure and disbursing very small amount of powder (like say 3 grains of Bullseye), it's important to have an appropriate sized chamber for that powder measure. Many of the powder measure manufacturers offer smaller drums sized for handgun loads. These are a big help when dealing with very small charge weights.
Don't forget, a simple powder dipper works well when you are always dealing with the same powder and same charge weight.
You can make your own powder dipper for next to nothing.

[bedbugbilly]

I use a Lyman 55 or a Lee Perfect - both work well. I find it meters well - like anything - consistency is everything. On the 55 I just make sure that the knocker gets the same treatment every drop.

I also use dippers with BE at times depending on what I'm loading. With dippers it is also about consistency but I find BE to be easy to use dippers with - random check with scale and easy to get good throws.

[Char-Gar]

I have seven Lyman 55s, set for various charges of Bullseye.

[BigAlofPa.]

I use my auto drum for pistol charges. I like bullseye a lot.

[ranger391xt]

I use my auto drum for pistol charges. I like bullseye a lot.+1 on the AutoDrum with Bullseye. Autodisk with Microcharge bar has also worked well for me.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[fecmech]

I have used the Redding powder measure with the pistol chamber, doesn't vary a tenth from what it's set for. I also use bushings on my CH AutoChamp and there is zero variation there. Bullseye is one of the best metering powders next to the ball powders IMO.

[Winger Ed.]

My Hornady does a good job for me with anything except the IMR type stick powders.

[quilbilly]

I use old rifle brass and a small pipe cutter to make my own powder measures. The handles are made from wire I twist around the case. They work great for Bullseye. It takes a little experimenting using a powder scale to get the measure just right so you will probably end up with extra measures until you get one just right. You never have too many measures anyway.

[faraim]

The Bullseye granules are fine enough that I believe you could use any measure with good luck. I have two Redding measures, a Hornady/ Pacific pistol measure with the brass inserts, an RCBS Little Dandy, and a Lyman 55. They all work equally well with fine powders such as Bullseye, 231, and 748. When measuring coarse powders such as Red Dot and Unique I've found the Lyman 55 to be more accurate in it's metering than the others. Some of the newer powders, such as Tightgroup, WST, and IMR Red are either fine or thin enough to become caught between the moving parts of the looser measures. For example the old Hornady pistol measure has very loose tolerances and I limit it's use to the coarser powders. I hope this helps.

[hoodat]

I have used my RCBS Uniflow down to 2 grains of Bullseye. I have the drum with the smaller chamber installed in one measure, and the large chamber in another for larger charges.

I have even considered creating an even smaller chambered drum for the tiny charges. I would also have to modify one of the adjustment screws to fit the smaller chamber. jd

[Multra]

Lee Auto Drum has eaten every powder I have thrown at it, and stayed +- .1gr.

[mdi]

Bullseye is one of those powders that meter pretty consistently. To be honest none of my powder measures vary too much with Bullseye. I own a C-H 502, Pacific Pistol Powder measure, Lee PPM, and an old Ideal (?) with slider. The C-H and the Lee will hold .1 (+/- .05) gr easily, even with light charges; like 2.9 gr. for my 38 Special wadcutter loads...

[Mk42gunner]

My RCBS Uniflow only has the large rotor so it doesn't get used for anything less than 4.4 grains of W231.

The Lyman 55 can take a bit of fiddling to get set right, but once set, it works very well with small charges of Bullseye.

Robert

[unique]

Thanks everyone for the input. I see Lyman 55 is recommended by several so went looking for one. Turns out it has been discontinued but did find a like new one on ebay so went ahead and bought it. Seems like Lyman is really winding things down...what I mean is just yesterday I noticed they discontinued the 429383 mould which is a classic RN for 44 special.

[Carrier]

Both of my Hornady’s will drop 2.7 grains of Bullseye all day long with the pistol drum.

[Gofaaast]

Redding or RCBS with a pistol drum and consistent charge motion has always been very accurate for me when dispensing BE or Titegroup. I prefer my Redding since it has the micrometer adjustment and feels like it was machined to tighter tolerances. Without pistol drums I had the same results you experienced.

[jonp]

Hornady Electric, Lyman 55 both seem to work fine. Bullseye is not a powder I use for most anything and when I do I find a Lee Dipper works for me as I am just using it for target plinking in my 38sp. I have a few pounds that have been on the shelf for years. Just don't use them and like the 231 I passed on to a member here as I didn't use that I'm thinking of getting rid of this.

[smithnframe]

Bullseye works fine in all of my Lyman 55 measures. Also works well in both of my RCBS uniflow measures. Also in my Ohaus Duo-measure.

[faraim]

unique, the Lyman 55 was introduced in 1947. It was a modernized version of the old Ideal Number 5 made from 1903 to 1947. I believe the main difference is the number 5 had a hopper cast integrally with the body instead of the removable one on the 55. If you ever need parts, they should be easy to find.

[barrabruce]

Nothing wrong with dippers.
I have an old Lyman 55 which seems to work well with the top slide.
I haven’t had a chance to compare loads at 300 metres to verify just how good the Lyman is but short range it working well enough and consistent.
I use an inverted funnel in the hopper and use one full dongle fall when charging and another when dispensing at it shakes a few granules out of the tube.
Keep a constant rhythm and it will throw constant charges.

[JoeJames]

I have used my RCBS Uniflow down to 2 grains of Bullseye. I have the drum with the smaller chamber installed in one measure, and the large chamber in another for larger charges.

I have even considered creating an even smaller chambered drum for the tiny charges. I would also have to modify one of the adjustment screws to fit the smaller chamber. jdSaturday I was loading and weighing very small charges of 32S&W Long - some with 1.8 grains of Bullseye, and some with 1.9 grains of Bullseye. It struck me once again how accurate my old RCBS powder measure was. Once it was dialed in, it kept the charges very uniform. Out of 30 or 40 rounds I might have had to use the powder trickler 4 or 5 times.

[Freeandcold]

My Lee powder measure worked well with BE.
My Hornady powder measure works well with BE.
I've found BE to be very consistent on both...

[alamogunr]

No one has mentioned the RCBS Little Dandy. Granted, it is not adjustable but there is an adjustable rotor for the Little Dandy. I got one for those situations where flexibility of charge is not acceptable. It still has the shortcoming of other rotor type measures in that certain powders are more difficult to work with. It is also inconvenient to have to remove the adjustable rotor in order to make adjustments.

[gwpercle]

I have my 55 set for a pet load and hate to mess with it so lately when loading Bullseye so lately when I want to load target 38 special wadcutters I pull out a Lee scoop , it's yellow and marked 3cc ,
it will dip 2.8 grs. of Bullseye using my technique ... perfect for a 148 to 160 gr. wadcutter target load .
Dipping is accurate , safe and not as slow as having to recalibrate and reset my 55 measure .

Call me Big Dipper
Gary

[Alferd Packer]

lyman 55 is good and so is RCBS
but I prefer the dippers I make.

[CastingFool]

Based on the discussion above, I did some research and found out Redding does make a pistol metering measure, that dispenses 1-10 grains of powder. The downside is that Redding doesn't do retail sales, so you must go through a distributor, but most are out of stock. Deliver projected 10-12 months. I did find two units in Australia. I think I'm gonna start experimenting with dippers.