Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Which Powder Measure?

GettIng into loading metallics; Mostly handgun; maybe some 223. Bot press, primer tools, dies, but stuck on measure decision? Thinking RCBS "small" measure .... Up to 100 gr. should be plenty. Almost $100; willing to spend the $, just want the right minimum problem tool. My new press is the RCBS Summit, so measure will be on its own stand close to e scale I use for shotshells. Thanks

I've got an old RCBS that's junk and have been thinking about getting something else. I've heard great things about the Redding throwers with the micrometer adjustments. Not too high priority as I mostly use Lee dippers when not using the 550.

I use my Grandads old RCBS Uniflow. After all these years, it still throws true.

If I was to buy something new, it would be one of the Redding Benchrest throwers.

Buy once, cry once. Redding 3br with universal and handgun chambers.

I am a fan of RCBS and Redding loading equipment for the most part, for powder measures you still need to trickle with these measures. get a Harrell's Precision ,Vastly superior to the R&R

How does your Harrell's measure work with course stick powders?

I see they have several models. Which one are you using?

I have the premium model, to be honest I have not tried course stick powders in it but have loaded thousands of rounds of 6ppc,223,222 and several pistol chamberings. When I loaded up 50 rounds of 300WM the other day with H1000 I used my chargemaster combo.

Don't be to quick to dump that old RCBS. I've had a love/hate relation with one for 30+ years. I hated it until I added their micro adjustment about ten years ago. Now I love it.



I'd call Harrell's and ask em which model they recommend.
Nicest guys you ever talked to. Listening to their accent is worth the price of admission if nothing else.

I don't own one of their powder measures but if I were in the market I'd look at theirs.
They make some mighty fine BR/PPC die's too.

Redding.





Travis

Toss a baffle and micrometer on the RCBS.....

Or buy a Redding that comes with a baffle and micrometer...




Travis

Buy whatever works for you. I say this because my late father-in-law couldn't get consistent charges from my Lyman 55 so he bought an RCBS. I couldn't make his RCBS work so I kept my Lyman. I think the difference was the vigor we each used to drop the charges.

I forgot about the baffle. It's a must.

I have used an RCBS Uniflow for over 35 years. Put a baffle and a micrometer on it. On real big extruded powders I just set the Uniflow about a half a grain low then put them on the scale and trickle them up. It is always dead on with finer powders and ball powders.

Redding is my first choice , but the most under rated measure out there is the Hornady

Harrell

As I was ordering things from Brownells, the help line "expert" offered to chat and recommended Lyman saying it will require no "extras" to load anything, easy to adjust and use, etc. so I went for it. Appreciate all input above; will let you know what I think after I use it. Thanks again.

Pretty good advice there. If I was in the market for a powder measure I'd go with the Redding.

I still have the RCBS Uniflow I bought when I was 18. It still throws accurately. I did end up with an RCBS Little Dandy and several rotors in a yard sale find many years ago. I've accumulated all the rotors except but four of them. I like it for loading pistol.

I've used several measures including those by Herter's, Lee, RCBS, Harrell, and Redding. The only ones I still have are Redding.

I have three Uniflows, and a Hornady Digital...no issues with any of them.

Hopefully they fire that dumb bastard.



Travis

Didn't John B write an article comparing powder measures a couple years ago, for Handloader? I don't think I have an issue that far back any more, but I was thinking that there wasn't a whole lot of difference, overall, between them. Each had strong and weak points. The Lee Perfect was not included, I don't believe/recall.

Every time I see Lyman reloading stuff for sale in catalogs or stores I always wonder who it is buying their stuff. Not that it's bad or anything. It's just kinda like eating at Olive Garden when visiting Italy.

Well, without even seeing the Lyman, I know I have made worse decisions with a "C-Note".

I've used the hell out of a Lyman 55. To do over, maybe I'd have bought a Redding, but the Lyman will work without any doubt.

Is this the same Lyman 55 that can't measure Unique?



Travis

This times 100!

Scott,

How well does your Harrell's work with stick powders?

For stick powders search this site for Quick Measure. I think the Quick Measure is the best for the log style 4064 style though for the short cut many work.

My own Harrell's maxes out at a nominal 50 grains and of course works just fine but I use it for the easy to measure powders used to reload varmint in the field and such.

I have a Little Dandy with a full set of rotors and an aftermarket weight - otherwise try a roll of quarters - for best results. Works and is convenient.

To that add both Hornady with large and small micrometer setup in a LNL AP and an old Uniflow that was my first measure again with added micrometer.

They all work just fine. Seems to me like the progressive a truly rigid mount helps. That and practice.

Fred Sinclair in his little book on precision handloading suggests the Redding ship properly setup and should be first choice but adds that for folks who already paid for the RCBS/Hornady adding the proper rotor and micrometer adjustment screw will work just fine.

I like the golf bag approach with no single perfect for all jobs measure. Of the lot I'd say the Quick Measure stands out for big bottleneck cases with big sticks of powder. The others are a little better a little worse with different strengths but they all work.

OK, fire up the flame throwers.....

I did a formal Measurement System Analysis comparing the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, the Hornady measure, a Lyman digital scale, and a Hornady balance scale.

The shock was that with ball powders, the Lee Perfect Powder Measure was more consistent than any of the other alternatives. With Varget, the Lee measure and the Hornady scale tied for best.

Do I still want a nifty brass Belding and Mull measure? Sure. It's beautiful. But it's hard to believe that it throws more precise charges than the $20 Lee.

The good news is that any of the alternatives tested will throw sufficiently precise charges for any normal application.

Yeah, the one that helped me get over my anal retentiveness in regards to thrown charges.

Good call on the Lee.



Travis

I just use the Lee Dippers

I'd forgotten that you did that, Denton. I did a less formal comparison with some internet associates several years ago. Lee was best or second-best with all powders tested.

Fugk yeah.

Lee or bust.



Travis

Clarke,

Thank you for your contribution.

The Quick Measure might be what I'm looking for. The Uniflow does great with fine powder. Generally the coarsest powder I use is H4831sc, but I do have one load that uses IMR 5010.

How repeatable was the Lee's adjustment system?

Short stick works great, long stick not real well but plenty good enough unless you are pushing the upper limits. I could set it with a short stick like AA 2015 then throw ten charges and my digital scale would just move decimal point one place.

As an old long time shot gunner who uses a lot of Unique for favored 16ga loads, I might be able to help the "Oracle". You need to keep the hopper close to full & tapped down at all times. Also, take an instant to tap hopper when bushing cavity is open to receive powder. I can drop charges thru std. MEC powder bushings or thru adjustable bar that will usually be on the nose or W/I .2 gr as measured on RCBS e scale.

I have to eat a bit of humble pie on this statement.....this weekend I reloaded several hundred cases of 38 Special ammo....my highly prized Harrell's powder measure for some reason will NOT throw a charge of HS-6 in any charge weight

Switched to my uniflow with micrometer ajustment and it threw 600 charges exactly the same (checked on my 10-10 every 10th charge).

Have no reason for the anomaly.......other than they might be like women, no absolutes !!!!!!!

I cast my vote for Harrell's. I have two one small and one large. Never an issue with either one in years of use. I still have the Ohaus I used to use but it now sets in the cabinet forgotten and forlorn.

boatanchor- I've had the same problem with HS-6 in a couple of measures with very close tolerances. It appears to me it has something to do with the size/thickness of the powder granules. Some of these lodge between the drum and housing assembly and gum up the works, preventing smooth dispensing of powder.

The measure on my Star Universal works fine with HS-6 for the first fifty or so rounds then slows considerably due to a fine buildup between the powder slide bar and housing.

A Redding Match Grade measure with pistol metering insert will dispense HS-6 with surprising uniformity of charge weights, but dispensing is not smooth. A Redding Model 3 with a universal insert throws HS-6 just fine. I suspect the tolerances are not as tight with this measure as they are in Match Grade.

Has anybody mentioned Redding yet?




Travis

These plastic spoons don't cut stick powder very well.