Pistol measure

[javelinablanco]

Hello to all!
I have been loading some 38 special/357 mag as of late and have come to the conclusion that I need another powder measure. I also reload for 30-30 and starting to get into 22-250 as well. Currently I am using a Hornady LNL powder measure with large rifle metering insert. I really like this measure and throws consistent charges when I am metering for rifle.

However when I switch to loading pistol, it becomes a pain to readjust the insert for pistol, it does an OK job but dialing in is difficult as turns on the meter are suited for rifle and large capacity loads. I know that there are a few options for this measure, there are separate drums for pistol loading, however you have to disassemble the measure for each switch. A separate insert would work however that does not cure the issue of dialing on a rifle insert.

It would seem easier to have a dedicated measure for loading pistol. I did a little research and came across some discontinued models, Pacific (I like Hornady/Pacific products) use to make a pistol measure that used powder bushings. Lyman had a similar product (hard to find) and the only modern equivalent is made by RCBS in the dandy powder measure. Of course there is the lee auto disk which seems like a good concept, however it is meant to be used on a lee powder thru expanding die, and I would prefer a standalone product. I could try to modify it for bench mounting. I have also read that the Lyman 55 does well with small charges, but have never used one.


At any rate input from the community would help in making my decision.

Thanks to all!

JB

 

[Walkalong]

Hornady also made a pistol measure that uses bushings. I set mine up to drop automatically on my old Projector press. These days I use a Redding 10X for pistol. The Hornady worked well, but you find your self needing a different size bushing. I modded some and made some to get charge weights I wanted, but eventually bought the 10X with the adjustable insert and really like it.

 

[javelinablanco]

Hornady also made a pistol measure that uses bushings. I set mine up to drop automatically on my old Projector press. These days I use a Redding 10X for pistol. The Hornady worked well, but you find your self needing a different size bushing. I modded some and made some to get charge weights I wanted, but eventually bought the 10X with the adjustable insert and really like it.

Yes I have seen the Hornady pistol powder measure, it appears to be a rebranded pacific when they acquired/consolidated the company. This worked on a sliding bar principle. They appear to discontinued now. I have seen a similar offering by Lyman although not very often with bushings based on a rotary action.

I have an old MEC press that does not get used as often now since pistol/shotshell powder had become scarce in my area. Thought about possibly making small bushings for the powder throw. However i think the depth of the bar would mean smaller than desirable holes leading to inaccurate measures. Also having to actuate the handle would be a pain

Not much experience with the 10x. I will have to look into that

 

[cfullgraf]

The Hornady L-N-L powder measure, assuming it is the same that comes with their progressive press, has two drums available for it. The large cavity drum is for large charges and the smaller cavity drum is for handgun and other small powder charges.

Also, they have inserts for the metering cavity that allows you to have one set for each cartridge that you load.

They also have a a metering insert with a micrometer head on it. It does not make the powder measure more accurate, but it makes returning to a particular setting or making adjustments quick and easy.

I also like the Redding 10-X for handgun. I like it so much, I modified one to work on my progressive presses.

The fixed cavity powder measures such as the RCBS Little Dandy are nice. I used a Little Dandy for decades but I kept running into situations where the powder charge I wanted was between cavities. I could have modified the cavities but that would require buying extra rotors. Recently, there is a fellow that makes/made an adjustable rotor. I am not sure if it is still available.

Any way, this was the reason I bought the Redding 10-X

Other fixed cavity powder measures would have similar limitations. Lots of folks use them and like them so it depends on the user.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I've had the Redding 10X for 6 or 7 years. Very happy I bought it. The micrometer head really speeds setup. Very consistent with most pistol powders.

 

[javelinablanco]

So stared looking at the Redding 10x. Everyone had good things to say about them. I would give it a try but at around $200 it's a bit out of my budget. It certainly looks sharp

 

[Walkalong]

It was just under $100 when I bought mine. $200 is indeed pricy.

 

[TexasDon]

When I use powder measures I find it easier to use two or more of them.
Myself I find the drum type better like Hornady,RCBS, Redding etc...
With or without the micrometer adjustment.
Some of the PM's I mentioned have both a large drum (large powder drops) or small drum ( Small drops).

I find that most of the above ones are fine for most shooters if you have the right drum or insert.

Now dayZ, if I'm loading with single stage set-up, I use my Chargemaster...a few button pushes and it's ready and accurate.
No adjustments or things to change.

The Redding 10x is a very nice PM. But expensive.
A nice Uniflow with the right drum works just fine. It's what I use a lot.
I did get one of the micro-adjust inserts, but I'm not impressed for the price.
I can adjust a stock one almost as fast for no extra cost. ( Count turns w/notes )
THEN..you must check on a good scale which should be done several times with any PM.

Whatever works for you.
My 3¢

TxD

 

[rcmodel]

Look at the RCBS Little Dandy pistol measure too.

It does get expensive if you need a lot of powder rotors for different charges though.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/545386/rcbs-little-dandy-handgun-powder-measure


I'm a Lyman #55 guy myself.

I have three of them!!

rc

 

[Joatmon]

If you are really looking for a bushing type measure check the CH pushbutton pistol measure from the CH4D company. This is similar to the old pacific pistol measure with the bushings on a slide mechanism. Many inserts are available for different powder charges. I have one and it is kind of nice for pistol work. If you want to go rotary the possibilities are great. Hard to go wrong with a Redding with the small rotor and Mic screw.

 

[moxie]

I like the RCBS Uniflow. About the same price as the Lyman #55. In the ~$80 range.

It takes some patient fiddling to get the desired weight just right, but once you tighten it down it stays good, consistent and reliable. I have lusted over the available micrometer stem for it, but have never been able to justify it at nearly $50.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I have the Uniflow with the large rotor and micrometer. Works great loading for handguns from 380 to 45 Colt. And medium caliber rifle. A baffle is a must, it should come with the measure. The only drawback I have is that when the rotor is removed I have to redo my chart for charges.

 

[joem1945]

I have a Hornady drop and two Reddings that I use. Like them all.

 

[TexasDon]

moxie

I like the RCBS Uniflow. About the same price as the Lyman #55. In the ~$80 range.

It takes some patient fiddling to get the desired weight just right, but once you tighten it down it stays good, consistent and reliable. I have lusted over the available micrometer stem for it, but have never been able to justify it at nearly $50.

I bought one a while back for the same reasons.
It was cool at first, but really didn't do much for me for that price.
I can almost adjust the stock stem about as fast once you have used it for a while .
It's in one of my Uniflows, it's going to stay there but for $42 plus shipping it just wasn't worth it for ME. ( YMMV )

I found that if I fill the hopper to at least half way and tap the cast iron drum area with the plastic butt of a screwdriver to settle the powder then start with setting the insert, I get a quicker constant powder drop.
I also use the powder baffle.

Tapping the top and bottom of the lever travel did nothing to change the powder drop that I could measure. Tried not tapping, or tapping once at top or bottom and other combos that really did not change anything.
Settling the powder down at first made the most difference in my little unofficial test.

My thoughts are, if you pour in powder and set it to drop the amount you want, as you use the PM the powder eventually settles (especially on a progressive press with all the motion ) and may change your drop amount.

I'm NO expert, I just examine these ideas to help me understand more about whats happening. ( sometimes I get it right )


TxD

 

[MajorMagnetic]

Hello...I assume you're using the Hornady LnL case activated powder measure? Hornady came out with a smaller drum for pistols a while ago that is supposed to be more accurate. Also, you can be another mechanism for about $20 so you avoid the setup time between different calibers. I use a different mechanism for .40 and 9mm. Just swap out mechanisms and you're ready to go. Saves a ton of time.
Also, you might find powders measure differently. W231 and Titegroup measure much better than Universal Clays and 800x. Not much you can do about that.

HTH..................MM

 

[javelinablanco]

Lots of votes for the uniflow. I think it would be worth looking into. Green might stick out like a sore thumb on my all red (hornady) bench lol.

 

[javelinablanco]

Hello...I assume you're using the Hornady LnL case activated powder measure? Hornady came out with a smaller drum for pistols a while ago that is supposed to be more accurate. Also, you can be another mechanism for about $20 so you avoid the setup time between different calibers. I use a different mechanism for .40 and 9mm. Just swap out mechanisms and you're ready to go. Saves a ton of time.

Also, you might find powders measure differently. W231 and Titegroup measure much better than Universal Clays and 800x. Not much you can do about that.



HTH..................MM

I am using the Hornady LNL mounted to a shelf above my bench. Works good. I actually bought the precision pistol insert not knowing I needed a separate drum. So I was back to square one, but then the idea of having to switch out drums did not appeal to me. Would rather have a separate measure.

 

[cfullgraf]

So I was back to square one, but then the idea of having to switch out drums did not appeal to me. Would rather have a separate measure.

I agree, I have several powder measures set up for different ranges of charges. The Redding 10-X for handgun, an RCBS Uniflow for small rifle and a Midway Indispensable for large rifle.

It makes it easy to go between the various charge level needs.

Changing the drum on a Hornady L-N-L is pretty quick and easy particularly since you do not have it hooked to a progressive.

Then, with a drum change, you would have a good measure for smaller charges while you search Flea-bay for a used,low price, L-N-L powder measure.

 

[ARJJ]

OP, ask yourself how often you'll realistically be changing from rifle to pistol. My Hornady PM maybe takes two minutes to change from rifle to pistol drum.

 

[MajorMagnetic]

Switching drums is easy...just push a button and it's out. Switching the mechanism is easy, too.
If you don't have a Hornady case activated powder measure I suggest you look into one. Or modifying a Redding 10X to fit your LnL AP like someone else here did.

MM

 

[Artofgolf]

..... but eventually bought the 10X with the adjustable insert and really like it.

Do you use it on the LNL or bench-top mount?

 

[BinRat]

Lots of votes for the uniflow. I think it would be worth looking into. Green might stick out like a sore thumb on my all red (hornady) bench lol.

That's true, but it'll be festive and in season come December.

I've been using the RCBS Uniflow for 40 years and find it works great for handgun loads. I've also sort of lusted after the micrometer version, but after reading some of the comments, not so much anymore.

Once I work up to the perfect powder drop, I use my caliper to measure the length of the adjustment rod that's sticking out and record it in my log. Then when I need to return to the setting for that specific load, I use the caliper to get the adjustment rod back into that area and fine tune it using the scale. It works pretty well for me and is quicker than just guestimating the area and fine tuning.

 

[lauderdale]

I use the Redding 10x and the 3br and do like them a bunch! But I would like to put the Uniflow up against the two. Been wanting to try one?

 

[Walkalong]

Do you use it on the LNL or bench-top mount?

I use it on the LNL. I set it up to drop automatically, but it will also work with the Hornady or RCBS linkage set up as well.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=439181

 

[Artofgolf]

So the drop isn't case-activated. Nice job with the home-made actuator - very creative.
Thanks for the link to the pix