OT - Best powder measure?

[shooter]

I know we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of some powder measures over others, and the differences and likes and dislikes of powder measures vs. Lee dippers.

I am not opposed to the Lee dippers, but I would like to know which powder measure y'all find the best all around. I used my Lee Perfect Powder measure last night, and I don't know if I'm convinced about the "perfect" part. It wasn't too bad, but I don't think the charges were as uniform as I'd like. I only have a Lee safety powder scale, which I'm not too thrilled about, but it's all I've got for now. I'm getting an RCBS 505 soon.

[Buck Elliott]

A really good scale is a MUST...

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I LOVE my Lyman 55 measures. All 5 of 'em...

Also have a set of Lee dippers, that I use for quick & dirty load development.

[Terry Murbach]

THERE IS NO "BEST". THERE IS THAT WHICH YOU HAVE LEARNED TO USE CORRECTLY AND CAN OPERATE FLAWLESSLY. IT DOES HELP THAT THE UNIT IS PRECISELY MADE WITH TIGHTLY FIT MOVING SURFACES.
FOR ME THAT WOULD INCLUDE TWO REDDING-HUNTER MASTER MEASURES, AND THREE RCBS UNIFLOW MEASURES.
BUCK IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY ABOUT THE LYMAN 55 BEING A SUPERB UNIT FROM TIMES PAST AND STILL WORKING WELL THESE DAYS.
FOR LARGE RIFLE CHARGES THE BELDING&MULL MEASURE IS UNEXCELLED.
I ALSO HAVE A LYMAN MEASURE THAT USES THE BUSHING SYSTEM , AND DOES SO VERY WELL INDEED , BUT RIGHT OFF HAND I CANNOT REMEMBER IT'S NAME WITHOUT GOING DOWNSTAIRS TO LOOK.

[piller]

Good advice above me on both counts. Get to know your scale and try it multiple times with something you can use as a check weight so that you know it is consistent. If it is accurate only some of the time, then you might get an overpressure load the other times. I use a stainless steel nut and I know what weight it is supposed to be at, and every time I am loading, I verify that the scale is exactly the same as it was before with the same check weight. I keep it in a clean empty prescription bottle, and the check weight should never change as long as I don't touch it and get skin oils on it. This may be a little bit over the top, but it makes me feel a little safer.

[Griff]

Aye, any measure that you can use to throw consistent charges is "BEST." I have confidence in my two RCBS Uni-Flows. This is one of those cases where as you learn a technique with a specific unit and stick to that unit until you perfect your technique, will give you consistent charges.

Any of the units Buck or Terry mentioned are capable, it becomes a matter of technique as to how consistent your dropped charges will be.

When I'm loading regular .30-30 ammo with RE-7, I practice weigh every charge until I get 5 charges in a row that weigh within a 1/10 of a grain of each other. Then I only weigh each tenth charge for as many rounds as I'm loading. When I wanna be exact; I set my measure for 2 tenths of a grain under my intended load and trickle in the last few tenths on the scale. I still try to keep my technique the same, it's easier to add to bring the charge up than to disrupt the scale to remove a few tenths!

[brno602]

I only use a powder measure for pistols and my .222. I use a RCBS little dandy. Works great for me as I use it wile the cases are in the loading block. You can mod the rotors to throw the exact charge you want. But their number 18 is perfect for my .45 colt with 9.5 gr of Unique.I still check every 10 or so rds with a scale.
I have used a lee perfect powder measure and must say it worked great with stick powder but binded with ball powder.

[rimrock]

I like my Lee Perfect Powder Measure, but for shear ease of use I mainly use Lee Dippers. I switched from a Lee balance scale to a Lyman 1010 balance beam scale mainly because the Lee couldn't weigh bullets any heavier than 110 grains.

Rimrock

[Don McDowell]

The Lee perfect measure I've been using for the last 15 or more years, is really dependable for all weights of charges with all types of powder. Something I can't say for my RCBS uniflow.
The lee does do about as good maybe better job with blackpowder than the Lyman 55, but with the long droptube the 55 is the one I reserve strictly for bp use.
Several folks I know are pretty happy with the Lyman dispenser system, and an equal number say the RCBS system is better.

The only one that can hang the title "best" on something is the person using it at the time, that title may not apply to somewhere else.

[stretch]

What Buck, Terry, and Griff said.

I like my Lyman 55, too. But whatever you get,
you'll have to use it a bit to get used to it's
quirks. The biggest inconsistency is the operator.

Do everything the EXACT same way every time to
get the most consistent results. (THAT sounds
familiar, now doesn't it? )

I have a Lee PRO 1000 press to load 45 ACP on, and
that is also a superb measure, at least for WW231.

I like the one on my Dillon Square Deal the least, although
I generally like Dillon stuff.

-Stretch

[brno602]

What Buck, Terry, and Griff said.

I like my Lyman 55, too. But whatever you get,
you'll have to use it a bit to get used to it's
quirks. The biggest inconsistency is the operator.

Do everything the EXACT same way every time to
get the most consistent results. (THAT sounds
familiar, now doesn't it? )

I have a Lee PRO 1000 press to load 45 ACP on, and
that is also a superb measure, at least for WW231.

I like the one on my Dillon Square Deal the least, although
I generally like Dillon stuff.

-Stretch

What you say is true,that's why we end up with so much stuff from different makers, just go with what works for you. I still have and use some of the lee loaders and they are so old they are in the black and red cardboad box.

[KirkD]

I have a Hornady powder measure, and it requires a bit of force on the lever when I'm working with coarse powders like IMR 3031. It is nice and consistent with finer powders like 2400 (plus or minus 0.2 grains, usually 0.1 grains). With IMR 3031, which I'm loading tonight in my 30-30 cartridges, it is more like plus or minus 0.3 grains).

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have RCBS and Redding measures. They are very good after the learning curve others spoke about. Any measure requires that learning to get the most out of it.
That said, The Redding #3 is the one I use most.

[Dewight]

I have a Lyman that I use exclusively for my blackpowder cartridges. I also have an RCBS that I used for 20 years, but haven't used since I bought a Harrell's measure. I now have 2 Harrell's, one for pistol and one for rifle. If you plan on reloading for the rest of your life they are well worth the price.

I know several reloaders that swear by the electronic powder scale/measures by Lyman and RCBS

[Shasta]

Here's a link to a thread from this forum posted last August that addresses this very subject:

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=19885

I still like the RCBS Uniflow best, and recently aquired another one designed for black powder.

BEST REGARDS,

SHASTA

[COSteve]

As was already mentioned, 'Best' is relative. I stick to ball type powders mostly (I've been known to throw Varget once in a while) so my Dillon powder measures work great for me holding an easy better than .01 grn accuracy with ball powders over long runs (500 - 1,000 rds).

Yes, I know that they have a rep as not being consistent with powders like Varget but I took Dillon Tech Supt's advice and polished up the inside of my powder funnel (the caliber specific part that's in the powder die) and find that's all I needed to do to approach .01 grn accuracy with Varget.

[Noah Zark]

. . . FOR LARGE RIFLE CHARGES THE BELDING & MULL MEASURE IS UNEXCELlED . . .

+1. The Belding & Mull Visible Powder Measure is the "gold standard" in powder measures in terms of accuracy and repeatability, IMO and going on 40 years of experience with them. I currently own three, and several drop tubes for each.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page in this link:

http://www.gswagner.com/bigreloading/di ... other.html

Noah

[FF1063]

For handgun and small rifle I think my Redding 10X is about as good as it gets. No static issues, repeatable micrometer settings, smooth. Works well with every powder I've tried.
I will never go back to weighing and trickling.