RCBS Uniflow Accuracy Upgrade For Pistol Loading

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peeplwtchr

peeplwtchr

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Hi All-

I am posting to raise awareness, because there isnt a ton of info. out on the net about this upgrade. I learned about it last week, from an old closed thread here.

I recently got the powder measure, and was getting big enough variations in the drops to not trust it for 9mm practice ammo reloading. Same technique, baffle, etc.. I am using Unique flake powder.

The upgrade I am referring to is the
Measure Cylinder Assembly
Item No. 16-9004 small drop cylinder.

I just installed and tested, and got the results below. My goal for the drop was 4.7gr:
4.77
4.75
4.71
4.72
4.75
4.71
4.71
4.71
4.69
4.71
4.65
4.74

I lubed the cylinder with graphite, some of the flakes are still kind of big.

Probably not digital dispenser accuracy, but it is compared to the large measure cylinder assembly it came with. As directed here, I tossed every drop which I felt any tension due to cutting a flake. For practice ammo, I think I'll take these results all day long. Just wanted to share, for those that got the large measure cylinder, and want to go below 6 grains.

As a disclaimer, I noticed many flakes on the floor after I was done, I think a few at a time bounced out of the scale pan I was measuring into.
 

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I don't know why the RCBS Quick Change powder measure isn't more popular than the Uniflow.

The Quick Change is basically the Uniflow but comes with small and large measuring inserts and a much bigger hopper.

It also has a drain tube which allows emptying without removing the measure from the stand.

Mine has been great and throws very consistent charges.

It's $5 more than the Uniflow.
 
I’m glad the pistol metering insert works well.
I cannot shoot the difference between 4.6 and 4.8, let alone 4.71 to 4.75...

What were some of the variation swings you got with the rifle insert?
Did you try weighing the “cut powder drops”?

Hornady also has a few different inserts for their powder measure as well.

A small price to pay for peace of mind!:thumbup:
 
Demi-human said:
I’m glad the pistol metering insert works well.
I cannot shoot the difference between 4.6 and 4.8, let alone 4.71 to 4.75...

What were some of the variation swings you got with the rifle insert?
*.1-.2
Did you try weighing the “cut powder drops”?
*Yes, they were generally much higher
Hornady also has a few different inserts for their powder measure as well.

A small price to pay for peace of mind!:thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
mrawesome22-250 said:
I don't know why the RCBS Quick Change powder measure isn't more popular than the Uniflow.

The Quick Change is basically the Uniflow but comes with small and large measuring inserts and a much bigger hopper

It also has a drain tube

It's $5 more than the Uniflow.
Click to expand...

I think if you consider both the large and small cylinders on a Uniflow, the Quick Change is less expensive... just on memory.

I got the QC because of the dual insert feature. Personally, I never got the drain tube to work without spilling powder all over the place.... I find my small insert doing 4.8 or 5.2 or 6.9 grains of Tightgroup or 231 etc... very evenly.

The spring on my QC was very tight, but a click pen spring replaced it and its great now, easy to change inserts (but not the drain!).
 
mrawesome22-250 said:
I don't know why the RCBS Quick Change powder measure isn't more popular than the Uniflow.

The Quick Change is basically the Uniflow but comes with small and large measuring inserts and a much bigger hopper.

It also has a drain tube which allows emptying without removing the measure from the stand.

Mine has been great and throws very consistent charges.

It's $5 more than the Uniflow.
Click to expand...
*I've never heard of it. Sounds like a better deal, but my wife bought me a kit which included this. Not gonna argue with free.
 
You may be overthinking this process, peeplwtchr.

How did you measure hundredths of a grain? :eek:
[Edit: hundredths, not hundreds]


Cutting stick powder yes, cutting flake powder, never heard of it.
peeplwtchr said:
I tossed every drop which I felt any tension due to cutting a flake.
Click to expand...


Heck, your data is good enough for competition!
peeplwtchr said:
For practice ammo, I think I'll take these results all day long
Click to expand...
 
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Project355 said:
I think if you consider both the large and small cylinders on a Uniflow, the Quick Change is less expensive... just on memory.

I got the QC because of the dual insert feature. Personally, I never got the drain tube to work without spilling powder all over the place.... I find my small insert doing 4.8 or 5.2 or 6.9 grains of Tightgroup or 231 etc... very evenly.

The spring on my QC was very tight, but a click pen spring replaced it and its great now, easy to change inserts (but not the drain!).
Click to expand...
I've never spilled any powder at all.

If you completely remove the detent assembly and look in there to line things up it is much easier than trying to pull on that knob.
 
sparkyv said:
Cutting stick powder yes, cutting flake powder, never heard of it.
Click to expand...
Mind you, I'm a pretty new reloader, not quite 3 years total experience...but this is what lead me to the Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper. I had unimaginable challenges with Universal...it absolutely refused to drop from my Hornady dropper, whether I used the pistol rotor or the rifle rotor. I thought the issue was related to clumping powder, but now that I'm dispensing through the FA Intellidropper I can see the individual flakes spin out without any issue. From my Hornady, I was getting anywhere from .2 to .8 gr discrepancies. Maybe 1 out of 7 drops were clean...the others felt like I was cutting rubber.

My experience with stick powder is limited, but I could tell when the Hornady rotor was cutting, as I'd have a brief resistance then a clean snap. But with Universal the rotor would just gum up. Hard to explain but it didn't "cut" the flakes. Rather, the rotor suddenly felt like it was pulling a rubber flake apart. The effort just wasn't worth it, and the drop was always far off target. It only took 3 or 4 sessions hand dipping each charge before I found the FA Intellidropper on a stupid cheap sale, and I caved and bought it. And I love it...that baby changed my loading life. It only works for me because I'm on a single stage. I'd have to give up on Universal if I ever get a progressive press.
 
I had problems using the large rotor for small amounts of powder for pistol loads, including powder bridging leading to empty cases and double drops.

The hole in the large rotor was so shallow with small charges it was a!most extruding "pancake pellets" instead of throwing loose powder.
 
I'm assuming this cylinder assembly will not work for their new Uniflow Powder Measure 3 (UPM-3 Model: 9016)? Is that correct?
 
Not sure which one I have. You may want to call RCBS.
 

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peeplwtchr said:
Hi All-
I am posting to raise awareness, because there isnt a ton of info. out on the net about this upgrade. I learned about it last week, from an old closed thread here.
Click to expand...

?? This powder assembly has been sold on Amazon for over 15 years and has over 50 reviews...Midway has 61 reviews on it too.
 
mrawesome22-250 said:
I don't know why the RCBS Quick Change powder measure isn't more popular than the Uniflow.

The Quick Change is basically the Uniflow but comes with small and large measuring inserts and a much bigger hopper.

It also has a drain tube which allows emptying without removing the measure from the stand.

Mine has been great and throws very consistent charges.

It's $5 more than the Uniflow.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I was largely unaware of this. I bought my Uniflow in 1979 and haven't really spent a lot of time looking at powder measures since.
 
To measure hundredths, I use a Grizzly digital. I paid arond $50 for it, and works really well. I use it to double check my beam when I adjust the throw weight, and every 5th throw, or on a throw where I feel any tension in the handle. Those are generally heavy, or in rarer cases very light
 
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