affordable powder measures

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Dudedog said:
OK, Using H4831 (not H4831SC)
Lee PPM
H4831
63.5
62.9
63.4
63
63.6
63.4
63
63.3
62.9
63.1
63.5
63.3
63.1
63.5
63.2
63
63.4
63.2
63.5
63.1
Max 63.6
Min 62.9
Swing 0.7
Average 63.245
SD 0.223548

So nope, not really good enough to load with but not bad given small logs.
When Using H4831 I throw low and trickle up. (I don't shoot that much 7mm Rem Mag so I don't mind trickling)
H4831 is small logs, not known for it's metering qualities. (but it shoots well:))
about 1mmX2mm

http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=71

Ramshot TAC (which does meter well)
54
54.1
54.1
54
54.1
53.9
54
53.9
54
53.9
MAX 54.1
MIN 53.9
Swing 0.2
Average 54
SD 0.08165
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=95
Not perfect but I could tolerate a .2gr swing if I was not loading at the MAX

So is the Lee PPM perfect no, but not bad.
Click to expand...
thanks for the info
 
Autodrum is nice if you have Lee dies because it is case activated.
If not you can get the Lee powder drop dies for about $12 ea.
It is usually within + or - .1 on most pistol powders.

I have a Hornady LNL measure and like it as well but it is more $$ than the Lee measures.
 
Last edited:
I just don't know how to ask RCBS about them replacing stuff, do you just ask if it could be replaced, I don't know.
Click to expand...
Troy,
When I bent mine I called them and told them I bent my stems and want to buy some new ones. I tell them I love their dies (and I do). They have never let me pay for anything yet.
Butter them up, they love to hear it. I have actually argued with them to let me pay for a bent seating stem because I hit a burden primed case with it and they just would not have it.
They said there will be a new one in the mail tomorrow and we are put a couple packages of punch pins in there also.

I think some people expect them to just hand them what ever they want but their products are not lifetime guaranteed. They just have a really good replacement policy and want to keep their customers happy. Just treat them with respect and courtesy.
 
Dudedog said:
OK, Using H4831 (not H4831SC)
Lee PPM
H4831
63.5
62.9
63.4
63
63.6
63.4
63
63.3
62.9
63.1
63.5
63.3
63.1
63.5
63.2
63
63.4
63.2
63.5
63.1
Max 63.6
Min 62.9
Swing 0.7
Average 63.245
SD 0.223548

So nope, not really good enough to load with but not bad given small logs.
When Using H4831 I throw low and trickle up. (I don't shoot that much 7mm Rem Mag so I don't mind trickling)
H4831 is small logs, not known for it's metering qualities. (but it shoots well:))
about 1mmX2mm

http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=71

Ramshot TAC (which does meter well)
54
54.1
54.1
54
54.1
53.9
54
53.9
54
53.9
MAX 54.1
MIN 53.9
Swing 0.2
Average 54
SD 0.08165
http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=95
Not perfect but I could tolerate a .2gr swing if I was not loading at the MAX

So is the Lee PPM perfect no, but not bad.
Click to expand...


Do you have results from doing this "test" with other powder measures? How much more accurate are the other powder measures?
Have you done the test more than once under different environmental conditions, temp,humidity, altitudes etc?
What are the end results of velocity with a .7 grain variance?
 
No only tested H4831 with the Lee PPM, I would need to change the rotor in my Hornady measure to try to throw 63.5gr H4831.
Don't think I would be close in the Autodisk even with the double disk kit I have.
I could try it with the Autodrum when I have a chance, since that is an easy drum swap.
I mostly load pistol then .223.
The Double disk kit for my Auto Disk will throw the size charges I need for .223 and works well enough to load with (no trickling, no need to weigh every charge) when using TAC, BLC(2), H335 or 8208XBR.
H4831 is probably a almost if not a worse case test since it is very large grains.
I haven't chronoed 7mm Rem Mag to see what velocity change the charge swing would cause.
I tend to load it close to the MAX so I wouldn't want to be .7gr heavy.
Also since I don't shoot very much of it at a time it is not a lot of trouble to trickle 20 charges to be exact.
For .223 blasting ammo for my AR or Mini14 the double disk kit is fine.
I doubt I could tell the difference shooting standing using a sling with a .2 or .3 swing, maybe I could with a rest or prone, maybe not.

Troy,
when I have a chance I will throw some H110 charges with different measures and post the results for you.
Do you have a powder you plan on using in .44 mag?
I have various pistol powders, but as far as mag handgun powders I only have H110.
H110 is not flexible but it does make nice FP .357 loads, I would imagine it would work real well for FP .44 loads also.
If you have a handgun powder in mind let me know what flavor and if I have it I can throw some charges with it and report what I get.
 
Most of my reloading is pistol. And all but 9mm have been reloaded on a Lee Classic Turret using lee Auto Drum dispensers with the Lee powder thru die. I load 9mm on a Hornady LnL progressive with the Hornady powder measure. Both the Hornady and the various lee (I have one auto drum for each caliber) powder measures are very good for pistol. Rifle reloads I use a Lee PPM, it works well enough for my use, I drop under the target weight and trickle up. If RCBS customer service doesn't workout, the Lee PPM has been adequate for me. I'm curious how well the Lee Deluxe version works for two times the price.
 
Another "factor" involved in determining how accurate or consistent a powder measure is, is the actual scale used to measure multiple throws. If is a crummy scale then the numbers are all skewed
To me a accurate scale and check weights is probably the most important tool in reloading. You can have the best measure in the world but without a accurate scale who know?
You can use Lee Dippers or homemade ,they are accurate as long as one can weigh the actual amounts
 
Lots of posters mentioning the attributes micrometer stems, you can get the same feature without buying micrometer stems or dies, using the back of a dial caliper.
Something I've been doing with a caliper I already had, so no additional cost, but I did square off/flatten some stems to get a more repeatable reference reading.
I've posted these pics before and apologize for the re-post
index.php

Seating Die
index.php

:D
 
Tilos said:
Something I've been doing with a caliper
Click to expand...

Use of the caliper is much too simple and effective. In order to really work the are certain things that must be in place. Basics include the full moon and voodoo chants plus some equipment that has not been marketed since the Korean War. All this must be topped by ground up newt dust. Using the calipers is much too simple. Also going by the numbers on the stem should be avoided at all cost due to simplicity and repeatability.:)
 
Dudedog said:
No only tested H4831 with the Lee PPM, I would need to change the rotor in my Hornady measure to try to throw 63.5gr H4831.
Don't think I would be close in the Autodisk even with the double disk kit I have.
I could try it with the Autodrum when I have a chance, since that is an easy drum swap.
I mostly load pistol then .223.
The Double disk kit for my Auto Disk will throw the size charges I need for .223 and works well enough to load with (no trickling, no need to weigh every charge) when using TAC, BLC(2), H335 or 8208XBR.
H4831 is probably a almost if not a worse case test since it is very large grains.
I haven't chronoed 7mm Rem Mag to see what velocity change the charge swing would cause.
I tend to load it close to the MAX so I wouldn't want to be .7gr heavy.
Also since I don't shoot very much of it at a time it is not a lot of trouble to trickle 20 charges to be exact.
For .223 blasting ammo for my AR or Mini14 the double disk kit is fine.
I doubt I could tell the difference shooting standing using a sling with a .2 or .3 swing, maybe I could with a rest or prone, maybe not.

Troy,
when I have a chance I will throw some H110 charges with different measures and post the results for you.
Do you have a powder you plan on using in .44 mag?
I have various pistol powders, but as far as mag handgun powders I only have H110.
H110 is not flexible but it does make nice FP .357 loads, I would imagine it would work real well for FP .44 loads also.
If you have a handgun powder in mind let me know what flavor and if I have it I can throw some charges with it and report what I get.
Click to expand...
thanks i really appreciate it i use A2400
 
Sorry no 2400 to test.
It looks like short stick so it should meter decent.
Closest things I have to that shape are Sport Pistol and N330, both meter fine thru the Auto Drum and my Hornady measure.
(Don't use the PPM for pistol using a turret and proressive so want case activated drops for pistol).
Case activated might be nice on a single stage as well, but never done it that way.
 
glc24 said:
Is there something wrong with the Frankford Arsenal Platinum powder measure? Odd that it didn't get a mention.
Click to expand...

From the pictures, the Frankfort Arsenal Platinum powder measure looks alot like the Midway Indispensable powder measure that I bought in the 1990s and was subsequently discontinued. Mine came with two metering inserts where it looks like the Frankfort only comes with one.

I use mine primarily for loading 30-06 cartridges.

It is a good powder measure.

I guess Frankfort did not want the casting patterns to go to waste.
 
Frankfort Arsenal Platinum Power Measure: Look people this powder measures by all appearances to be a made in China Uniflow knockoff. The basic design of the Uniflow is also used by several other makers. I have been using the Uniflow since the 1970's. Also used a B&L and Lyman 55's. I started with the Uniflow before Lee was offering loading dies-you had to use a hammer. Lee equipment is good. We are recommending the Uniflow because it among the best. Both 7mm-08 and 308 were loaded here using two different powders. The Uniflow is equal to any legitimate accuracy reported here. The typical difference between powder types in minimal. This is the way it was last night. I do not load firecracker rifle ammo and do weight every load.
 
I have the Frankford!:) I bought it last year. I use it to meter Benchmark for 5.56 loads. I also weigh each one. I bought a Lee 4 hole to do my 5.56 on. I guess maybe I took a chance on the Frankford, but so far, it's working pretty good.
 
OP's Uniflow possibly can be fixed with parts under warranty. The Uniflow is a $100.00 most places. Let's see how we he does with RCBS on what he needs. In the meantime, I hope he has found some time to take the Uniflow apart for a good cleaning. It will also give him time to figure out what he needs. It's like a rainbow on my loading bench. There's red, glue, green and orange equipment on there was we speak. This is not unusual.
 
Mowgli Terry said:
OP's Uniflow possibly can be fixed with parts under warranty. The Uniflow is a $100.00 most places. Let's see how we he does with RCBS on what he needs. In the meantime, I hope he has found some time to take the Uniflow apart for a good cleaning. It will also give him time to figure out what he needs. It's like a rainbow on my loading bench. There's red, glue, green and orange equipment on there was we speak. This is not unusual.
Click to expand...
the uniflow is at my dads upsate, i told him to give it a good cleaning. there was little oxidation but he said it cleaned u good. do i need a part number to tell rcbs or any thing like that. i think i remember different size powder hoppers, this one is the stander size if that makes any difference on the hopper diameter.
 
OK, I have never had to replace the hopper on a Uniflow. I'd have to ask if needed to be sent in for replacement.

Goggle RCBS parts list. There's parts for most everything RCBS ever made. One tough thing is that you do not have the Uniflow in hand. You may need to make two calls. Could you get your dad to look at the parts breakdown? Hopefully, he could tell what else is gone-if anything.
 
Mowgli Terry said:
OK, I have never had to replace the hopper on a Uniflow. I'd have to ask if needed to be sent in for replacement.

Goggle RCBS parts list. There's parts for most everything RCBS ever made. One tough thing is that you do not have the Uniflow in hand. You may need to make two calls. Could you get your dad to look at the parts breakdown? Hopefully, he could tell what else is gone-if anything.
Click to expand...
he said it's all there it just needs the hopper. i will ask him if there are any numbers if i may need them.
 
I have a RCBS Uniflo over 45 years old----all original parts
works like new, I had some Lee that came with the turret press ( one of my sons has them now) leaked a little but worked ok.
I have the ones that came with Dillon 450 & 550---they work fine.
 
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