what powder measure would you guys recommend?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have little tolerance for tools/equipment that under-perform. No time for acquiring multi- this or that in a circuitous search for 'good enough'. Happy to pay the freight for supra-adequacy and move onto more important things. Redding 3BR with the two different chambers (pistol, rifle)...movin' on.
 
I’ve been assuming that you want a dispensing measure?

I’m sure the Redding is as good as the rest of their products, which is mighty fine indeed. But, personally, nothing coming out even the finest powder drop is going to be good enough - not if you’re running powder and seating depth ladders. I’d just as soon use dippers tell the truth. Extruded powders go crunch, crunch - nope, not me.
 
I’m a bit disappointed with my Redding, the hopper is small, the drop tube doesn’t work well with .224 case necks, ball powder leaks and the plastic drop tube is non removable. For $10 and shipping I can buy an adapter piece that fits over the standard drop tube to fix that problem. For what they cost a ten-cent piece of plastic ought to come with it. My Pacific has both a large and small threaded aluminum drop tube with it. My old Ohaus measure has two of them also. The drum binds if I snug up the adjustment locking screw. If I leave it loose enough to not bind the adjustment many times changes on me. Communication with Redding was pointless. It’s “tolerable” but I’d never buy another one. I rarely use my cheapo plastic Lee but it is an “in the neighborhood” with 4831 and 7828 so I can drop in my scale pan and trickle pretty quickly with it. I actually use my Lee dippers more than you might think too. If I’m just loading a few or a test group I just put a dipper full in the scale pan and trickle up from there rather than mess with a measure.
 
NMexJim said:
I’ve been assuming that you want a dispensing measure?

I’m sure the Redding is as good as the rest of their products, which is mighty fine indeed. But, personally, nothing coming out even the finest powder drop is going to be good enough - not if you’re running powder and seating depth ladders. I’d just as soon use dippers tell the truth. Extruded powders go crunch, crunch - nope, not me.
Click to expand...
agree, I think multi powder drops is a must.

When I 1st started, I was loading Super Magnum cartridges like 7STW. I forget the powder but... my Uniflow.... CRUNCH CRUNCH CHRUCH. I’m getting back
into rifle. And, I think that Chargemaster Lite will work because it won’t crunch the powder
 
.38 Special said:
I have all sorts of leftovers from a misspent youth. Some of them continue to be amusing. (I shoot it with my eyes closed, but still blame it for my misses).
Click to expand...
I know what you mean, the bigger the better. But, my back is starting to hurt. I better get all the big bore while I still can. I really want a .458 Lott and a 45/120!
 
The RCBS Chargemaster is great for loading extruded powders for rifle loads but has a hard time dropping small loads for pistol using spherical powders. It's good but slow on pistol loads. I switch back to my Lee perfect powder measure for loading pistol rounds.
 
I have an old Pacific (now Hornaday) and an Ideal 55 (now Lyman). They are both old (like me:p) and as I am not shooting bench rest they have worked with excellent results for 40+ years. I also have the old black Lee dippers. When I settle on a load I will invest some time and make a custom dipper from a brass casing and wire. After enough practice I can load faster and more accurately with a dipper than using either measure. I find electronic gadgets have "issues" and avoid them for reloading tasks. YMMV
 
I try to mostly stay with ball powders now if at all possible. And this will be for all rifle loads. I don't need exact. +/- a grain on a 45 grain load is not a big deal to me. I'd like to stay with a manual meter in the $80-130 range.
 
FYI I find that I can make more consistant drops with the 55 as the multiple adjustable slides can be fine tuned for different types of propellant. Dont know if the Lyman 55 fits in your price range or not but i think you might look at it.
 
I have a couple of Reddings that do different volumes - they work very well.
I also have a RCBS Chargemaster (not the lite) also works well but is too slow to load up any quantity of ammo.
 
I am not the biggest fan of extruded powders and measures but if I am not dropping, then trickling or using a dispenser, I prefer the Lyman 55, with the 3 slides I can alter the area of powder contact more than others.

The Lee PPM hopper itself has a tiny orifice for some of the longer cut extruded powders.
 
I use an old rcbs powder master (not made anymore), the lee perfect measure as cheap as it is works great, I have one set up for my 9mm loads and another for the garand using stick powder. I adjust the screw on the side and it worked with stick powder better.
 
I had a Lyman 55 measure back in the '70s but soon.replaced it with a Saeco measure which I still use today. I also use a Uniflo measure but it isn't as good as the Saeco.

I don't think Saeco measures are available these days so if I was in the market for a measure, I would consider Uniflo or a Redding measure.
 
Belding and Mull for extruded rifle, Hornady for everything else.
 
I use a scoop and trickle method for rifle powders and weigh each load. I don't load thousands at a time, so this method has never really bothered me. For ball powder I use a PPM for the drop, and weigh every load to be sure. For 9mm and 223 I am ok with +or- 0.1, if it is more than that, dump it back in and drop again. Again, I dont load high volumes at a sitting, so, this may not work for you if you do.

d
 
greyling22 said:
I try to mostly stay with ball powders now if at all possible. And this will be for all rifle loads. I don't need exact. +/- a grain on a 45 grain load is not a big deal to me. I'd like to stay with a manual meter in the $80-130 range.
Click to expand...

Get Lee Dippers and you won't have to worry about what form your powder is in and whether it will meter or not.
 
Perhaps, but for accuracy vs. speed return, I think they do the job quite well. The key is finding the dipper that is just below the volume you need, dump a full dipperful, scoop up a second, and 'salt' it into the pan until your pointer is at the '0' line. It gets fast with practice. Add in the fact you don't have to worry about metering, and they don't seem so bad.
 
greyling22 said:
I started life with a lee perfect powder measure. works well, still use it, but it struggles with stick powders.
Then I inherited an old unlflow. It's nicer in every way, but honestly, no more accurate.
I'm in the market for a 3rd measure now. I've been eyeballing the rcbs quick change and the hornady lock-n-load measures. does anybody here have any strong recommendations or suggestions or preferences?
Click to expand...


How are you measuring the charges thrown? (with what instrument).

Did you install a baffle in the Uniflow?
 
I have no problems with the uniflow. Like I said, it's mechanically nicer than the cheap lee, and both work equally well, especially with ball powder.

I'm just wondering at this point if the new rcbs is any better than the Hornady, or the frankford, or the fancy lee.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
  • Locked
Recommend a new powder measure
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
Demi-human
Demi-human
Curator
  • Locked
Powder measure for really small charges.
Replies
23
Views
5K
RealGun
RealGun
Scott S
  • Locked
Want to upgrade my powder measure
Replies
11
Views
731
hardheart
H
3
  • Locked
Recommendations on powder measure for turret
Replies
7
Views
542
32_d3gr33s
3
W
  • Locked
Best powder measure for pistol reloading?
Replies
11
Views
4K
LHB1
L
Back
Top