Powder measure advice

[Spud]

In your opinion, what is the best measure when using flake powders, such as Unique & 700X, etc? I've had an old Redding measure(looks like the Redding 3 casting but with cast iron cap) that I've had for years and purchased the pistol chamber some years back. Was never happy with the pistol drops or the ease of use (jammed a lot). Plus the pistol chamber never seemed to fit right, too low in the chamber when installed. Got the bright idea to lap the drum-to-pistol chamber flush. Came out looking wonderfully except now Unique jams 10 times worse than before. Anyway, I need a measure, strictly for pistol loads, that works with these powders. I'm a dinosaur and still batch load. Need advice. Thanks.

[454PB]

I like Unique, but it is troublesome in every powder measure I own or have owned.

I've had the best results by modifying my technique. I install the small metering chamber in my RCBS Uniflow, then double tap the charge handle at both ends of the stroke.

[Spud]

I like Unique, but it is troublesome in every powder measure I own or have owned.

I've had the best results by modifying my technique. I install the small metering chamber in my RCBS Uniflow, then double tap the charge handle at both ends of the stroke.


I've tried the double-tap thing to no avail. Basically, I think I ruined the drum on my Redding for use with small amts of flake. Unique is bad, but unfortunately, I have @ 14 lbs of the stuff. How about a case actuated set-up. I have an old Lee turret press that works fine, whaddaya think? Looked at the Lee offering on Midway's site; seemed to get decent reviews. Not afraid to spend some money on something decent, though. Now if only I could find some pb.

[BD]

The only measure I've found that will reliably meter the surplus 107 "hockey pucks" is the Lee Pro Auto Disk. I'm sure it would work for Unique as well. My old Hornady measure also measures Unique well enough in amounts of 10 grains or more.
BD

[Spud]

The only measure I've found that will reliably meter the surplus 107 "hockey pucks" is the Lee Pro Auto Disk. I'm sure it would work for Unique as well. My old Hornady measure also measures Unique well enough in amounts of 10 grains or more.
BD

Thanks, BD, I'm seriously thinking of the Lee. Most seem reasonably happy with it. One guy said he had one on each of his Dillon 1050's!

Speaking of hockey pucks, we got a good'un coming up today. We rained a few on that Finnish goalkeeper the other day! See ya.

[Mike W1]

I don't know if it's even made anymore but I always liked my Pacific/Hornady pistol measure that used bushings and I always use Unique!

[DLCTEX]

Be sure to get the Pro Auto Disc measure as it has the teflon wiper that eliminates cutting of the granules. The plain Auto Disc measure does not have the wiper. The adjustable charge bar is worth the price also.

[Spud]

Be sure to get the Pro Auto Disc measure as it has the teflon wiper that eliminates cutting of the granules. The plain Auto Disc measure does not have the wiper. The adjustable charge bar is worth the price also.

That was my thinking, too. Do you actually use the Pro Auto and if so could you give me a brief description on how it works? I'm not visualizing how it works and my friend who uses nothing but Dillon 550's wondered, too. This would be if it was mounted on a Lee 3-hole Turret press.

Mike W1 - I'll look into the Pacific unit. I have an old blue Pacific "C" press I still use occasionally. Thanks to all.

[Ekalb2000]

I am on my third pound of Unique (2nd lb of 2400) going through the Pro Auto disc. I have had no problems with it. I have it mounted on my 4 hole turret press. You have to use lee's powder thru expander die. It mounts on top of the expander die. I dont have a pic. but I am pretty sure if you google it, you will see what it is and how its mounted.

[mike in co]

i believe the wiper design on the lee is used on the dillon by permission/lic/fee.

mike in co

[RobS]

The lee is a simple design and has worked well at 5 to 6 grains of Unique; anything lower and there is a greater likelyhood of the powder bridging and having wider varied results. If memory serves me it was usually within a tenth of a grain or so at 5-6 grains and very repeatable out to larger powder volumns.

I recommend the double disk kit and/or the adjustable charge bar. I have both and have only tried the adjustable charge bar a few time; the double disk kit is what I regularly use when I am trying to dial in on a load. I also would go with the pro version like others have stated.

Rob

[wallenba]

For batch loading with Unique I resort to my RCBS Chargemaster. Yeah, it's expensive, so I made a commitment a while back to set aside money for it, but it was worth it. It is spot on, the only thing is, it takes about 30 seconds to meter an average load.

[DJ303]

I've had good luck with the Pro. Double disc works, but i haven't had good results with the adjustable charge bar.

[7of7]

Just purchased an old manual Dillon powder measure...one for the RL 450... I haven't had any problems with the flake powder in my dillon measures, so I figured this would be a good benchtop..
The RCBS thrower, doesn't do well with real light loads of flake either.. hense the reason for the Dillon..

[wizard93]

I've had some pretty good luck with my Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure. I'm using it on a Lee Classic Turret press. I got tired of playing around with the disks and decided to spring for the micrometer adjustable charge bar. The disks were plenty accurate, whether I was using HP-38, Red Dot, Unique, etc., but I like the convenience of the adjustable charge bar. I haven't loaded any ammo since about this time last year, so it will soon be time to blow the dust off of everything.

I included a photo of what the charge bar looks like when it's installed:

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd282/tburdette303/Reloading/100_4413.jpg

wizard93

[abunaitoo]

Lee auto disc works the best for me.
I never got consistant drops with the adjustable charge bar.
Withe the double disc, I tape the two disc together.
It seems to be more consistant this way.
I've also done a triple disc.
Works great.
The Lee disc with the rubber wipe is the Pro auto disc.
The regular auto disc doesn't have the wipe.

[Spud]

Thanks to all for the input. Purchased the Pro yesterday with all the attendant powder thru dies for 4 handgun chamberings, incl. the adj ch. bar. About the only thing I didn't get was the double disk & rifle charge die, since my Redding still works ok with Benchmark in 223. The larger cals. I still scale- weigh my charges. Like I said, I'm a dinosaur. Again, I appreciate all the help.

[geargnasher]

I'm a little late on this. but I'll add my glowing review of the Lee disc measures, both the cheapie and the Pro. I have run about 12 different powders through both, and keep marveling at how TOTALLY ACCURATE they are, even with Unique and BD. My Lyman and RCBS Uniflow haven't been in service since getting the Lee measures. The trick is to keep them topped-off, and shake the powder to settle it before throwing test measures. Only issue I've had was the large flake powders seem to throw fatter charges than the chart indicates, sometimes by over a grain, but no big deal, adjust down. I'm amazed that the volume chart Lee created is anywhere near as accurate as it is considering the variances in powder lots.

Gear

[NoDakJak]

I have had a love/hate relationship with Unique for almost fifty years. It is an excellent powder, good enough that it has outlived most other powders and is still one of the most popular almost a hundred years after it was first introduced. It can be a pain to measure however. Many years ago I learned the hard way to weigh every charge of Unique that I ran through a powder measure. When the humidity is high and the lightining is dancing about you may as well quit loading if you are using Unique. I still use it in small amounts but have switched to PB for most of my mid range pistol loads and some of my rifle loads. PB has a burn rate almost identical to Unique. It bulks up better, measures better than many of the smaller ball powders and is possibly the cleanest burning powder that I have ever used. It is availble in eight pound canisters for less money than many other powders. What's not to like about it? PB has to be the best kept secret out there. Neil

[Spud]

Got all my stuff today. Don't know how I got along without it all this time. Got decent metering of Unique down to 3.7 grains. (for 380 Auto). The disk system works fine for any loads I produce with Unique and the adjustable ch. bar works great for 44 Spec/Mag loads with 2400. Thanks again to all who helped. Best hundred bucks I've ever spent on reloading stuff.

NoDakJack - If I didn't have 13 - 14 lbs of Unique, I'd think about PB. Got it mainly for loading 20 gauge.