Whats your favorite powder measure
- Thread starter sako_75
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Sako_75,
The Redding Competition Model 10-X Pistol PM is the best I have found for pistol charges in 1-15 gr range. For charges in 15-30 gr range, I use the Redding Competition Model BR-30. Over 30 gr, I use Neil Jones Micro Measure (similar to the Harrell). These days I use only sperical powders but the M10-X worked fine for me with Unique (flake) before I switched over to all spericals. Both the Reddings and the Jones measure are fitted tightly and I get no powder leakage. I DO get uniform powder weights from all three measures.
Good shooting and be safe.
LB
The Redding Competition Model 10-X Pistol PM is the best I have found for pistol charges in 1-15 gr range. For charges in 15-30 gr range, I use the Redding Competition Model BR-30. Over 30 gr, I use Neil Jones Micro Measure (similar to the Harrell). These days I use only sperical powders but the M10-X worked fine for me with Unique (flake) before I switched over to all spericals. Both the Reddings and the Jones measure are fitted tightly and I get no powder leakage. I DO get uniform powder weights from all three measures.
Good shooting and be safe.
LB
db_tanker
Member
Lyman 55.
Has no problem breaking sticks, throwing balls and sliding flakes.
And, in my oppinion, its alot easier to set up than others...'cept mebbe that new Lyman electronic toy...throw measure and trickle...makes it almost....too easy. lol
D
Has no problem breaking sticks, throwing balls and sliding flakes.
And, in my oppinion, its alot easier to set up than others...'cept mebbe that new Lyman electronic toy...throw measure and trickle...makes it almost....too easy.
lolD
I haven`t tried it with flake but it drops stick powder just as advertised. The measure is a bit pricey, but makes my Lyman 55 obsolete IMO.
http://www.quick-measure.com/
http://www.quick-measure.com/
Peter M. Eick
Member
I have good luck with my RCBS uniflow, and I use the microsmall adjustment screw, a baffle, full powder measure (keep it full) and use it a lot. It definately needed to wear in over the first 20 or 30 thousand throws.
If you had asked me this 6 months ago
Harrell undoubtedly makes the finest powder measures going. Probably the most expensive but also the best. BUT... For some reason I was using one recently and weighing the charges. Don't remember why I was doing this but I was. Every once in a great while I'd get a REALLY light charge followed by a REALLY large one. That surprised and frightened me.
Now I used the newest generation of RCBS powder dispensing system.
Harrell undoubtedly makes the finest powder measures going. Probably the most expensive but also the best. BUT... For some reason I was using one recently and weighing the charges. Don't remember why I was doing this but I was. Every once in a great while I'd get a REALLY light charge followed by a REALLY large one. That surprised and frightened me.
Now I used the newest generation of RCBS powder dispensing system.
has anyone tried the harrell pistol measure? I have the full size harrell and love it for my rifle and magnum handgun loads. I just wonder how the pistol measure with the smaller chamber will handle 3-10 grains of flake powders. I just don't want to spend $200 to find out it won't do the job.
Automac
Member
RCBS Uniflow....
The one I got from Midway is called a competition model or something like that, about $99. It came with the baffle and the fine micrometer for handguns. I got the stand and put it on a board about 1x4x11 so I could empty it easily.
It did pretty good with Unique, which is a large flake. I have since gone to W231 though.
It is so accurate with that, that I am tempted to just dial in the weight I want from notes and forget the scale. But dont worry, Im more careful than that.
The one I got from Midway is called a competition model or something like that, about $99. It came with the baffle and the fine micrometer for handguns. I got the stand and put it on a board about 1x4x11 so I could empty it easily.
It did pretty good with Unique, which is a large flake. I have since gone to W231 though.
It is so accurate with that, that I am tempted to just dial in the weight I want from notes and forget the scale. But dont worry, Im more careful than that.
bogie
Member
I use a Harrell - I wish I had a Neil Jones.
oldfart
Member
Actually, no powder measure is going to be perfect. As klw said, even the most expensive one throws a bad charge once in awhile. The fact that it only happens occasioanlly is the really scary part, 'cause you never really know what to expect.
I've been using a Lee Perfect Powder Measure ever since I started loading. It threw some really wild charges when I first got it, but after a break-in period, it now throws charge after charge withing 0.1 grain. The type of powder has something to do with it too, since coarse stick powder tends to get cut more than ball or flake powder, but I think that would be the case with any measure except dippers.
In the end, the real "quantity control mechanism" isn't the measure, it's the measurer!
I've been using a Lee Perfect Powder Measure ever since I started loading. It threw some really wild charges when I first got it, but after a break-in period, it now throws charge after charge withing 0.1 grain. The type of powder has something to do with it too, since coarse stick powder tends to get cut more than ball or flake powder, but I think that would be the case with any measure except dippers.
In the end, the real "quantity control mechanism" isn't the measure, it's the measurer!
Chuck R.
Member
I'm a Harrell's fan. I own two of them, one for smokeless and the other for black powder for my BPCRs. IMHO, they make a very good measure, I love the repeatability, but you've got to be on your toes to throw consistent charges.
Chuck
Chuck
The Bushmaster
Member
"On your toes"....But that's with any powder measure. If you don't stay "on your toes" you will eventually get no powder or a double charge. 
Chuck R. What Harrell do you have? I have a harrell's Premium and I love it. It just won't throw light charges of flake powder. I would like to get a Harrell's Schuetzen / Pistol Measure but would like to here from someone who has one before I spend the $200 it takes to get one.
i also use the harrels premium culver, but i only throw extruded rifle powders through it. never tried flake or ball. i run mostly ball through my dillon. i have a hornady that i'd throw out the window, but it's not worth unscrewing from teh bench
if you do spring for the harrell pistol, definitely let us know what you think.
just think of it as donating your wallet to science!
if you do spring for the harrell pistol, definitely let us know what you think.
just think of it as donating your wallet to science!
Chuck R.
Member
sako_75,
Sorry, I'm not the one to ask about the Shuetzen model. I've got two "Classics". One is the older non-bearing model, and the other is the newer green anodized one. You’re right, the big Harrell’s will not work with real small charges, but I use my Dillion 550B for handgun loading, so I’ve never worried about it. I probably should have kept my Uniflow with micrometer just in case.
Both of my Harrell’s will throw consistently within + or - .5 grains, and that's if I get sloppy. For my BPCR Silhouette loads I like to stay within + or - .2 grains, just for peace of mind. I weigh every charge before dumping in the drop tube. I usually get about 75-80% of my thrown charges within that tolerance. Smokeless loads, I throw checking every 10 or so. I’ve chronographed a bunch of loads both “trickle weighed” and “thrown” for comparison and haven’t seen any difference in accuracy or chrono stats between the two. My club range is predominately a benchrest club and from what I’ve seen, all of the shooters are throwing charges, and a good number are using Harrell’s.
Chuck
Sorry, I'm not the one to ask about the Shuetzen model. I've got two "Classics". One is the older non-bearing model, and the other is the newer green anodized one. You’re right, the big Harrell’s will not work with real small charges, but I use my Dillion 550B for handgun loading, so I’ve never worried about it. I probably should have kept my Uniflow with micrometer just in case.
Both of my Harrell’s will throw consistently within + or - .5 grains, and that's if I get sloppy. For my BPCR Silhouette loads I like to stay within + or - .2 grains, just for peace of mind. I weigh every charge before dumping in the drop tube. I usually get about 75-80% of my thrown charges within that tolerance. Smokeless loads, I throw checking every 10 or so. I’ve chronographed a bunch of loads both “trickle weighed” and “thrown” for comparison and haven’t seen any difference in accuracy or chrono stats between the two. My club range is predominately a benchrest club and from what I’ve seen, all of the shooters are throwing charges, and a good number are using Harrell’s.
Chuck
fecmech
Member
I use Redding measures (I have 2) and they are mounted on Lyman Spar T turrets and I load each shell to completion turning the turret. When using the pistol chamber with flake powders and light charges there is no variation , and the same holds true with the large chamber when you get up over 8-10 grs. Ball powders are obviously no problem. I believe the vibration from turning the turret settles the powder the same each time. If I were using a measure on a stand and wanting exact charges each time I would rig up some type of vibrator and mount it on the measure. Maybe a small battery operated model motor with an unbalanced shaft or maybe Radio Shack would have some type of device that vibrates. Good luck Nick
308win
Member
Ditto on the Uniflo
Matthew748
Member
I like the Lyman 55 measure too. Unlike some other measures, the Lyman is made to clamp to a table or bench so you do not have to buy a stand for it.
Deavis
Member
Operator error is different that powder measure "mistakes". That is sort of like blaming a motorcycle for flipping or a car for running out of gas. In both cases, operator error is almost always the issue unless the device suffers from a catastrophic failure. How did Keith Code put it? 'If it weren't for the rider, a motorcycle would never crash!'
I'm curious, has anyone ever had a powder measure throw twice the dialed in charge when they were properly operating the press in a consistent and safe manner? I've used an RCBS rotary and the Dillon. Both throw within .2 gr using large flakes and 0.1gr using ball over a 100 charge measurements.
BluesBear
member
Consistent operation of the handle is also important.
I put 50 primed cases in a loading block (5x10) and charge them one right after the other by rows of ten. I then weigh all five in the row on the far end.
For target ammo I charge them by rows of five and then weight all ten on one row.
You'l be surprised how much closer they will all be if you work that lever the same way every time.
Also it's easy to hold the block under a good lamp and visually check every powder charge to make sure there's one and only one in each case.
I put 50 primed cases in a loading block (5x10) and charge them one right after the other by rows of ten. I then weigh all five in the row on the far end.
For target ammo I charge them by rows of five and then weight all ten on one row.
You'l be surprised how much closer they will all be if you work that lever the same way every time.
Also it's easy to hold the block under a good lamp and visually check every powder charge to make sure there's one and only one in each case.
The Bushmaster
Member
Deavis...If it is made by man it is prone to make a mistake all on its own. Even though I use and like my Lee Auto Disc II it sometimes when using some flake powders will stick and if I don't catch it I would get a short or no charge. So far I haven't shorted a case because I weigh every load. It is NOT always human error at the bench. That's why we are supposed to inspect each and every case for the proper charge of powder. When GOD manufacturers my equipment then and only then will I not check it.
Deavis
Member
No offense Bushmaster, but it sounds like you aren't maintaining your equipment in the most studious manner possible. If your powder measure fails to dispense a charge, under any circumstance, it should be replaced or repaired because it is defective. It is an error to keep using a device which you know to be defective under certain circumstances and trying to blame it for your lack of will to repair or replace it. If your tools, which you make a living with, are don't work 100% of the time, you replace them, right? Why would your powder measure be any different?
As I said, unless the device has a catastrophic failure, i.e. it does not dispense a charge, then only the operator can be blamed and when the operator knows the device is defective and continues to use it, he is doubly to blame. That is like saying, "Well the aircraft engine normally works but sometimes it just craps out but I'm just going to check it more often rather than fix it." The right thing to do is fix the root cause or replace that engine. Inanimate objects don't make mistakes, people operating/maintaining them do.
I agree that checking to make sure a load is dropped everytime is a good thing to do, that is how you catch a problem with your equipment. I never said that devices don't fail, they do. However, blaming the powder measure for not dispensing a charge is shifting the blame from where it belongs. I stand behind my original assertation that an inanimate object like a powder measure, excepting failures, cannot be blamed for no charge/ double charges.
As I said, unless the device has a catastrophic failure, i.e. it does not dispense a charge, then only the operator can be blamed and when the operator knows the device is defective and continues to use it, he is doubly to blame. That is like saying, "Well the aircraft engine normally works but sometimes it just craps out but I'm just going to check it more often rather than fix it." The right thing to do is fix the root cause or replace that engine. Inanimate objects don't make mistakes, people operating/maintaining them do.
I agree that checking to make sure a load is dropped everytime is a good thing to do, that is how you catch a problem with your equipment. I never said that devices don't fail, they do. However, blaming the powder measure for not dispensing a charge is shifting the blame from where it belongs. I stand behind my original assertation that an inanimate object like a powder measure, excepting failures, cannot be blamed for no charge/ double charges.
BluesBear
member
What Deavis said +1
Chuck R.
Member
Operator "consistency" is what I mean by “staying on my toes”. That’s why I weigh every one of my silhouette loads. It keeps me working the lever consistently. All my thrown rifle loads are visually inspected prior to bullet seating.
I don’t think there’s any way to get a double charge with any measure that’s set up properly, UNLESS the operator throws two charges in the same case. And then it would only be with some fast burning pistol/shotgun powder.
As for a “no charge” that’s also difficult to do unless the powder “bridges” somewhere in the measure, or you’ve run out of powder. Either one can and should be prevented by an observant operator.
There is something to be said for using quality well maintained equipment. I don’t know how many thousands of rounds I’ve loaded on my Dillon 550B for example, and I’ve never had problem.
Chuck
I don’t think there’s any way to get a double charge with any measure that’s set up properly, UNLESS the operator throws two charges in the same case. And then it would only be with some fast burning pistol/shotgun powder.
As for a “no charge” that’s also difficult to do unless the powder “bridges” somewhere in the measure, or you’ve run out of powder. Either one can and should be prevented by an observant operator.
There is something to be said for using quality well maintained equipment. I don’t know how many thousands of rounds I’ve loaded on my Dillon 550B for example, and I’ve never had problem.
Chuck
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