Someone please explain the Lee powder dipper to me

[Texasred]

I'm trying to find a video on Youtube but the words are too common and the same thing goes with searching on here.

The way I see it is that the dipper has a measurement of .5cc, right?
The load for .45acp that I am making is asking for .7cc...
So am I supposed to eyeball this?
I know that this isn't a real high pressure round and that it leaves room for error. But this just seems to lax. The Lee Hand Press says it comes with everything you "need". I guess I can get buy without a scale?
I see people in these videos just dip and pour but they're not explaining anything. I don't have any gun stores near me, so I have to mail order. Does this mean that I'm going to have to wait a week in order to get a scale? It's worth it to save my face. I appreciate the info, but I've got everything laid out in front of me wanting to finish this.

 

[Otto]

Forget the dippers. 99.9% of the reloaders here use a powder measure and a scale.

 

[Grumulkin]

There are multiple sizes of Lee powder dippers. You look up which dipper is recommended for a specific powder for a specific cartridge. You then fill the dipper level with the top and pour the contents in the cartridge. As long as you use the right dipper you should be OK. If you don't have the right dipper, don't try t eyeball it.

I have a whole set of Lee powder dippers which, in probably 15 years of ownership, I've never used. I usually (95% of the time) weigh individual powder charges with a scale.

 

[Texasred]

ok I'll wait for the scale. Thanks guys, any good scale in particular?

 

[Noveldoc]

Lee scale is inexpensive and works fine. I have had good luck with their powder measure, which also is low cost.

Tom

 

[Deflexor]

I use the dippers to load the scale close and then top off with a couple of spins of the trickler.

 

[bullseye308]

I use the dippers to load the scale close and then top off with a couple of spins of the trickler.

+1 That is what I do most of the time and it works great.

 

[sniper5]

+1

I keep the dipper(s) for the appropriate load(s) with my dies and top off with the trickler.

 

[Kernel]

 

[Steve C]

The Lee powder dippers are a very basic method of throwing charges. Kind of like "baby reloading". The die set comes with a single dipper and list of bullet weights along with the powder to use with the bullet weight and dipper in putting together a load. This allows the reloader to load basic ammo right from the start.

The next step is that you can buy a full set of powder dippers. These come with a chart that tells you how many grains of powder is thrown for each type listed. This allows a little more sophistication as you can find loads in a load manual and match the grains of the particular powder to the dipper that will throw a close approximate.


Most reloaders use a scale to determine charge weights but if you are loading pistol ammo you will find its very tedious to weight each charge so an adjustable powder measure/dispenser is used to charge cases. The scale is used to set the measure and for quality control to make sure the carges thrown are consistent. This is usually done by weighing the charge thrown in every 10th case. While Lee makes both scale and measure there are better ones out there but they're usually more expensive.


I'd personally recommend an RCBS 5-0-5 scale and I like the Hornady powder measures but RCBS makes a good one too. I don't particularly trust digital scales, too many things can mess up electronics.

 

[benzy2]

Many of the competitive shooters measure strictly by volume ignoring weight. I have heard that weight is much more variable than volume and that a consistent volume is more important than a consistent weight. I'm not sure how much is behind this or not but going by volume isn't a terrible idea. Having a single dipper is a bit of an issue as you can't adjust any volumes but I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of using dippers. I have been thinking of switching to all volume based measuring and seeing what that does for groups. All of the powder throwers I have seen measure by volume. As long as the powder meters well it may be a better route than to weigh.

 

[Archie]

When I was a boy...

So many of my postings seem to start like that.

Dippers were the only way to reload, once upon a time. People used fired 22 cases, soldered to a bit of wire and trimmer to provide the amount of powder needed. One dipper was good for one load in one cartridge with one type of powder. For bigger cartridges, other empty cases were used. I seem to recall being told a .38 Special case would nicely service .30-30, but I could be mistaken.

Measures are better in many ways, but dippers are still usable. They aren't as 'cool', but they work. Note the Lee dippers are identified by volume, .5cc and so forth. They provide a reference chart, but the listed charges are usually more than what I typically get. So, if one is going to use the dipper set, one should test the particular dipper(s) for a proper charge weight.

They are slow, but they still calibrated until one buys a new can of powder. I've had a set for over twenty years - I don't use them much, but they're still the same volume as when I bought them.

 

[wilkersk]

I'm trying to find a video on Youtube but the words are too common and the same thing goes with searching on here.

The way I see it is that the dipper has a measurement of .5cc, right?
The load for .45acp that I am making is asking for .7cc...
So am I supposed to eyeball this?
I know that this isn't a real high pressure round and that it leaves room for error. But this just seems to lax. The Lee Hand Press says it comes with everything you "need". I guess I can get buy without a scale?
I see people in these videos just dip and pour but they're not explaining anything. I don't have any gun stores near me, so I have to mail order. Does this mean that I'm going to have to wait a week in order to get a scale? It's worth it to save my face. I appreciate the info, but I've got everything laid out in front of me wanting to finish this.

I bought a Lee Classic Loader in .45acp. It came with a dipper. I think the dipper was slightly less than the charge I wanted to load. It was still enough to cycle the action, but it was pretty slow.
I suspect this is what you are refering to.

The Classic Loader is OK to try your hand at it. But beware, once you've fired rounds out of YOUR PISTOL that YOU HANDLOADED, no matter how primitively (I think I spent time on the garage floor with a mallet and a block of wood), you'll be hooked forever. And, a $1,000 worth of reloading equipmen will be an absolute neccessity.

I hope you're on really good terms with your S.O.!

 

[Steve C]

Many of the competitive shooters measure strictly by volume ignoring weight.

I've heard this yet I've never ran across a loading manual that specified loads by volume.

With some powders you can just fill the case up, shake a bit out to allow the bullet to be seated and it will shoot fine. With most other smokeless powder I wouldn't suggest it.

I've seen a S&W L frame with the top 3 chambers blown off and the top strap torn and bent back to a "U" from a guy who took 10 22LR shells and pulled the bullets and dumped the powder into a .357 csse and shoved a 158gr bullet on top because he though it would be a good load. Something he'd heard about 10-22's. FWIW that's between 15 to 20 grains of very fast powder depending if he used hi speed or standard velocity. Moral of the story is you need to know and understand what you are doing with things that go bang.

 

[wilkersk]

I've heard this yet I've never ran across a loading manual that specified loads by volume.

With some powders you can just fill the case up, shake a bit out to allow the bullet to be seated and it will shoot fine. With most other smokeless powder I wouldn't suggest it.

I've seen a S&W L frame with the top 3 chambers blown off and the top strap torn and bent back to a "U" from a guy who took 10 22LR shells and pulled the bullets and dumped the powder into a .357 csse and shoved a 158gr bullet on top because he though it would be a good load. Something he'd heard about 10-22's. FWIW that's between 15 to 20 grains of very fast powder depending if he used hi speed or standard velocity. Moral of the story is you need to know and understand what you are doing with things that go bang.

Volume = volume of the chamber in the powder drop.

I use my scale weigh the charge from my powder drop when I adjust it for different loads. But, once the drop is set where I want it, I pretty much ignore the weight.

I used to weigh every charge. And, the variance in weight (.1gr-.2gr) used to drive me nuts. But, the data from my Chrony shows its just not worth the effort to try and keep the weight exactly constant.

 

[Texasred]

ok guys well thanks for the info and advice