What powder drop for LCT

[Whiterook808]

I mostly load with W231 for pistol cartridges, so your mileage may vary. I find that the Lee Pro-Disk is just as accurate as my Dillon PMs with powders like 231. That makes sense, since they are essentially the same design. The Dillon has a much sturdier build and I don't expect the Lee to last as long. There is a reason the Dillon costs more. I also have a Lee Perfect and I really don't think very much of it. I use a Lyman 55 instead.

 

[Tilos]

I mostly load with W231 for pistol cartridges, so your mileage may vary. I find that the Lee Pro-Disk is just as accurate as my Dillon PMs with powders like 231. That makes sense, since they are essentially the same design. The Dillon has a much sturdier build and I don't expect the Lee to last as long. There is a reason the Dillon costs more. I also have a Lee Perfect and I really don't think very much of it. I use a Lyman 55 instead.

All that, and know that Dillon pays a royalty to LEE for their powder measure design...
just sayin'

 

[D Rock]

All that, and know that Dillon pays a royalty to LEE for their powder measure design...
just sayin'

That's interesting. I knew about Dillon bullet feeders but not about the Lee connection to powder measure design.

Just for the record on this thread, I have been using a Lee Auto Drum with WIN 231 for a couple of years and like the combo very much.

Dave

 

[uofaengr]

I think it's pretty clear from reading different opinions that YMMV when using the Lee Auto Drum. It has the potential to be a great and very consistent measure, but there's a couple things holding it back. Keep in mind, I've only ever ran HP-38/W231 through mine.

Unless you're paying attention, it's difficult to get the exact same tightness on the drum every single time meaning your charge can be off. Also, there's an extremely fine line between getting a decent amount of drum return travel and no leaking. I've read several threads where people say they're getting full travel of the drum and no leaking and not sure how it's possible.

The last time I messed with the drum (I've spent the total of days messing with this thing), I found a magical tightness where I get very little leaking over several hundred throws and just enough return travel that the charges are consistent enough. I still feel like I have to check 3 charges in a row every 40-50 rounds or so though. It's frustrating enough that I don't see the point in swapping out drums when I've found an acceptable sweet spot. As it is, it's accurate to +/- 0.1gr. If the drum was more consistent in returning to the same place every time (while not leaking) I think +/- 0.05gr consistently wouldn't be out of the question. I check a lot of charges, and with my current sweet spot, it's rarely outside of +/- 0.06gr so it's hard to complain.

One upgrade I do feel is worthy is the baffle from Titan Reloading (or one of your choosing). In my testing, my average charge varied with hopper level, as expected. The baffle ended that. I can have just enough powder covering the baffle and still get the same charge as a 3/4 full hopper.

 

[D Rock]

uofaengr, I'm getting about the same consistency of powder drop as you with my Auto Drum and Win 231, but with very minimal leaking. Just a few flakes of powder after 200 loads. I let the freedom of travel of the drum determine the tightness of the screw. I do agree they can vary greatly from one owner to the next.

I also use the Titan baffle, although some say it's not needed. I like it and will stick with it.




Dave

 

[uofaengr]

Double post

 

[uofaengr]

uofaengr, I'm getting about the same consistency of powder drop as you with my Auto Drum and Win 231, but with very minimal leaking. Just a few flakes of powder after 200 loads. I let the freedom of travel of the drum determine the tightness of the screw. I do agree they can vary greatly from one owner to the next.

I also use the Titan baffle, although some say it's not needed. I like it and will stick with it.
View attachment 837259

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Dave

Dave, I have tried letting drum travel dictate the tightness, but I can set up the drum two different days at the same tightness and will have a lot of leaking one day and almost none on the other day. I've tried graphite, a new wiper, and both drums that came with the measure (graphite actually made things worse). I don't really want to spend more trying other drums, and chalk it up to just getting lucky.

If Lee could design a way to at least captively manage leaking, allowing you to reuse your powder and keep it from spilling all over the turret, that'd be a win right there. My way used to be putting masking tape over the crack between the black plastic and the housing and underneath the arm.

 

[D Rock]

Dave, I have tried letting drum travel dictate the tightness, but I can set up the drum two different days at the same tightness and will have a lot of leaking one day and almost none on the other day. I've tried graphite, a new wiper, and both drums that came with the measure (graphite actually made things worse). I don't really want to spend more trying other drums, and chalk it up to just getting lucky.

If Lee could design a way to at least captively manage leaking, allowing you to reuse your powder and keep it from spilling all over the turret, that'd be a win right there. My way used to be putting masking tape over the crack between the black plastic and the housing and underneath the arm.

I wish I had an answer for you. I did use tape on my first drum and that took care of things pretty well, but I don't like that as a permanent fix. Mine finally resolved itself when I got extra drums for .380 and .45. Leaking was almost completely eliminated. But, you shouldn't have to buy a new part to fix things. It just worked out that way for me.

If you're having enough leaking that you could retrieve the powder for re-use, I think you should consider contacting Lee. I've read of other members getting a free drum sent to them. I would'n send the whole unit in, just see if you can get a drum sent to you.

Dave

 

[uofaengr]

I wish I had an answer for you. I did use tape on my first drum and that took care of things pretty well, but I don't like that as a permanent fix. Mine finally resolved itself when I got extra drums for .380 and .45. Leaking was almost completely eliminated. But, you shouldn't have to buy a new part to fix things. It just worked out that way for me.

If you're having enough leaking that you could retrieve the powder for re-use, I think you should consider contacting Lee. I've read of other members getting a free drum sent to them. I would'n send the whole unit in, just see if you can get a drum sent to you.

Dave

I did contact them several weeks ago about the issues I was having, and their response was to send a new wiper. I might try my luck with requesting a drum.

 

[kmw1954]

I did contact them several weeks ago about the issues I was having, and their response was to send a new wiper. I might try my luck with requesting a drum.

If the mating surface doesn't look machined and is still shiny tell them as they made a change to the drums. When I received the updated one it made a huge difference.

 

[jhansman]

Am using the Lee Auto Drum with the LCT and while it took a bit to get it not to leak fine powders, I have it have it perfectly adjusted now and rely on it with satisfaction; it's a great accessory. It was a big step to go from single stage to their Classic Turret, but once I fully understood its workings and adjustments, I had no issues. I do, however, recommend using an LED light source (like the Hornady light strip or one from Inline Fabrication) with a powder measure; you must have visual verification that your case has been properly charged before seating the bullet. I learned this the hard way with squibs that jammed my .45 auto twice.

 

[tcoz]

Lyman Brass Smith is the only powder measure I’ll use from now on.

 

[uofaengr]

If the mating surface doesn't look machined and is still shiny tell them as they made a change to the drums. When I received the updated one it made a huge difference.

Mine have the machined look except for near the corner where the cutout is. Don't know if that's normal or not. I emailed Lee about the drums and they're sending me a replacement drum to try.

I have no experience with it, but am considering trying the Pro Auto Disk instead. My drum has never traveled all the way up as it is, but I'd found a little sweet spot for awhile where I actually didn't have much leaking and had fairly consistent charges. Well last night I was loading and while I was checking charges I noticed I was getting nearly every charge as high as 5.8 and as low as 5.3ish at a normal charge of 5.6 while the first 200 I'd loaded were all consistent. So I ended up weighing every single charge and trickling for a few dozen rounds until I was finished because if I touched the drum adjustment the weight would swing wildly the other way where it became this frustrating back and forth exercise.

Drained the unit when I was finished and looked into the top and either the drum tightened itself over time or something was restricting the travel because only a sliver of the drum cup was exposed beyond the wiper which explains the light charges. Also why this measure makes me just enough nervous that even when it's going good I need to constantly check it. It seems the only surefire way to get consistent is to manually rotate the drum counterclockwise to its full return after every throw which is a pain.

Others will have to attest to the accuracy of the Pro Auto Disk, but at least the cavity is "set" which I'd think would reduce the variability of the whole drum travel thing. If the replacement drum doesn't help, I might try something else.

 

[thomas15]

The early prototype of the Auto-Drum, code named The Manual-Drum, was first proposed in the year 1842. A working model was shown to an obscure university professor named Samuel Morse who upon seeing the contraption in operation shouted "What hath God wrought!"

And the rest is as they say...history!

 

[D Rock]

Others will have to attest to the accuracy of the Pro Auto Disk, but at least the cavity is "set" which I'd think would reduce the variability of the whole drum travel thing. If the replacement drum doesn't help, I might try something else.

I think you'll find that the Auto Disk has the ability to be very accurate and consistent as long as you're consistent in your operating of the ram. Most don't leak if you have a good wiper, occasionally some still leak.

Dave

 

[kmw1954]

I have 3 Auto Disk measures, one is a Pro, one has the Micro adjustable bar and the 3rd I don't use. With ball type powders they are quite accurate and leak very little. I have found a load with Ramshot Silhouette, AA#5 and HP-38 that works very well with the Disk measure.