Does the Lee Perfect Powder Measure Work ??

[hoodat]

I'm putting a kit together for a friend to get started with basic pistol reloading. I've got pretty much everything needed from my cast-offs and forum deals -- except for a powder thrower.

I'd like acceptable accuracy "as thrown" (=/- 0.1ish) with plinker sized nines for now. Powders used will be such as HP38, Auticomp, HS6 at weights of 3-7 grains. jd

[namsag]

In my experience, "it depends." For fine powders like Bullseye, I find sometimes it will leak powder out the side. On the extruded rifle powder end of the spectrum, I think it works just about as well as measures that cost 10x as much.

[Jack Russel]

I've been using one for years. I find it as accurate or more accurate than the Brass Smith or the RCBS i've used.

[414gates]

It does work, and will give you the required consistency with ball powders.

Don't expect it to last forever, the internals are plastic and will wear.

Put up a bit more money for an old Lyman 55 or used RCBS uniflow with a pistol rotor in it. These are not more accurate, but they will last longer / forever.

[Barry54]

I hated ball powder in mine. It leaked out and bound up the works. I dealt with it for years not using ball powder. I upgraded to a Hornady measure eventually.

I really like the Lee auto disc powder measures though. I have four of them. They reside on my progressive press tool heads. Not a fan of the adjustable disc option. I never could get it to drop a consistent charge.

[Hannibal]

I use one for stick powder as it works better than more expensive ones. I have resorted to using a trickler for stick powders. They are NOT user friendly and that's my current best solution.
For ball powders, I use a vintage Redding. Not saying it's the best for ball powder. It's what I had and it works very well for that.
Edit to add, none of the powder measures I've tried work great for small charge weights such as you mentioned.

[hoodat]

Well, I'm not hearing enough to recommend it for what we're doing. I'll probably start him out with one of my Uniflows or Little dandy, until we see how it's gonna go. jd

[Tall]

I used the Lee disc powder measures for many years, around 35. When I got a Perfect Powder measure I used it with Unique. I have not used a disc powder measure in several years, maybe 7.

[Barry54]

https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bull...-jhp-mpr-nuke/

Since you mentioned reloading 9mm, I’d like to recommend RMR In Idaho. Their jacketed hollow points are practically the same price as plated bullets elsewhere. They make reloading 9mm very worthwhile!

[longarm60]

The Lee PPM is a wonderful, cheap tool. It will work really well with anything except dust-fine powders. The silastic "sweep" inside makes stick powders of every sort most tolerable, but.. Yeah, it will pee fine "ball" powder everywhere. The "valve" on the tank is bloody genius, and is still wonderful.

I keep my PPM in the trunk with other gear, and 99% of my powder-portioning is now done with the Lyman "Brass Smith" dump (get the stand, too).

I can tune that thing in for every powder and load I use, and be within 1/2-1gr of everything - and unless you are a Match Shooter, that's freakin' fine accuracy.

You can get adapters for powder thru dies as well..

[walnut1704]

They work, and throw very consistently. But they tend to leak with some powders. Most will attempt to fiddle with (tighten) the screw that holds the drum in. Once you do that it leaks even more. Plastic parts warp under pressure.

[Comrade Mike]

Its.... okay. I use mine to throw the bulk charge and trickle up. I've never had it consistent enough with anything that I'd trust it without scale verification. If thats what you're after buy a redding.

[Bazoo]

I use one. I lapped the rotor because mine leaked and powder would bind it up. Now it doesn't bind. It still will leak a bit, I just brush off the bench when I'm done charging powder. It is accurate and reliable though. I've been using mine, which I got new, for something like 10 years now. Mine is the older model.

[414gates]

...I'll probably start him out with one of my Uniflows or Little dandy ...

Either of those is far better than the Lee Perfect powder measure.

The Lee pro auto-disk is a solid choice for pistol reloading, preferable to the Lee Perfect.

In a pinch, the old auto-disk measure from Lee woks very well, but any old ones probably need fixing.

If you do pick up a busted old Lee auto-disk , you can buy the Pro auto-disk upgrade kit, and it becomes a Pro Auto Disk.

[Jhon]

I have or have had LPP, LPP Deluxe, RCBS Hornady Pacific, Lyman 55, C-H, Lee Disc, Dillon on 550B and Square B.

Ive kept two LPP and a Deluxe which I use most. Kept the RCBS because it matches my RCBS Summit and I'm a gear snob lol. Got rid of the Lyman pretty quick and the Hornady. The old C-H is good but only a Pistol drum one so off it goes. I have several of the Lee disc measures permanent calibre setups.

The Lee PP and Deluxe are the most accurate. Follow Lee instructions and pre-condition them. They get better with use. DO NOT overtighten the drum screw! Mine dont leak with W296/H110. I have new wipers for them, never had to replace. The Lee disk measures are the most consistent/ accurate but leak fine powder, they benefit from lapping. Good with larger flake shotgun powders. I have modified two to work on a Dillon 550B. The Dillon are excellent and consistent with about +- 0.2 grain variance which is fine for Pistol. I turn out hundreds of 45ACP, 9mm, 44-40 etc without ever resetting once the charge set has settled. I use my RCBS occasionally for rifle stick powders only and trickle up. It is not accurate enough for range competition loads to just drop and I like to weigh all hunting loads regardless. It's nice to use tho. Hope this helps. Only been reloading since 2005 so others experience might tell you more.