Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Powder Measure Technique?

Is there a technique that gives less variation in charge weight? The instructions for my measures mention using a consistent technique but not much else. I don't tap. I pause when the chamber is filling and then try to have a consistent rate return to get the charge to dump.

Did someone figure this out before there were electronic devices? Any advice or articles on how to decrease the variation in thrown charges?

I get the best results with my Redding BR-30 when:

1. It is securely mounted on the bench or in one of the die ports of my T7 press.

2. I keep it filled above the baffle in the powder reservoir

3. I operate the lever assertively with an extra little tap at the bottom of the stroke

4. I return it to “refill” position with a dead stop( not to hard and no extra little tap.)

Spherical or short stick powders contribute greatly to consistency

Figure out which powders throw the most consistently in your particular powder measure. You don't specify which one you have. After that, it's just about applying the same force each time. I run mine pretty hard, and find I get very consistent drops with ball powder and short kernel powder. Also, make sure you have it mounted on a solid bench.

I use more stick powder than anything else and It's way more efficient and reliable for me to drop a slightly lighter charge from my RCBS measure, and place that on my digital scale, then dribble up.

In the long run it's faster, and tons more accurate than hoping a volume drop is correct.

Don’t shoot loads were it matters. If you develop a forgiving load, the exact throw isn’t that big of a deal. The only thing that varies for me is when I have a case I am trying to stuff with powder I let the handle down slow rather than a quick dump.

Details...

20+ year old Lee Perfect Powder measure and 10+ year old Redding BR-30. Lee gets the most use and is attached to a repurposed scrap of shelving. I typically do not have it clamped to a bench or table and whole set up tends to move when I cycle the measure. The BR-30 was initially attached to a self but the ergo's were bad. So it is similarly set up as the Lee on shelving scrap.

I drop under weight and manually trickle up. Sometimes it's a little and some times it's alot of trickling.

I am not loading for Bench Rest (obviously!) but would like to control whatever variables I can control.

Some data.

Around 10 years ago, compared 10 shot groups using a 7x57, 44 gr H4350 and 175 gr NP load. Lee powder dropped at target weight vs dropped under weight and trickled up. The dropped only charges were not weighed. I was focusing on group dispersion not powder weight. Unfortunately, the "rifle system" probably wasn't the right tool for measuring small differences in dispersion since both groups had ES of 2.5 MOA and mean radius of 0.95 MOA.

Muzzle loader season and most recently throwing BH209. The Lee VMD did not seem correct for my situation so I started weighing. Used a GemPro scale that was warmed up and calibrated.

Set to 4.02 cc which should give a 40 gr drop with the Lee VMD of 0.1006. 5 initial drops were not weighed. 40 drops, all were returned to the hopper to keep constant powder volume in the hopper.

Average weight was 37.5 gr with an ES of 1.8 gr (36.3 to 38.1)

I can't find my BR-30 data right now. Recall a lower ES but still close to 1 gr.

I do get better results with X-terminator and similar results with H4350. However, the better results with the ball powder are not close to the 0.3-0.5 ES reported by some on the web.

Thanks for the help!

I set mine to throw just under then trickle to weight on scale. Slow but I am not loading for fast results.

I used to do the drop light and trickle up thing. Concluded it was, for my purposes, a waste of time.

I’ve also found that, when loading lots of 50 rounds in a loading block, a quick visual scan will identify any charges very far outside the acceptable range with close to case capacity charges. I’ve taken the time to confirm this with.223’s and .308’s.

As I’ve aged time has become more important to me. I’m not shooting benchrest. I’m very reluctant to spend time chasing .1 or .2 inches off the groups a hunting rifle will shoot when that rifle won’t be used for anything more demanding than shooting deer and such, usually well within 200 yards.

As a couple of people have hinted, dribbling up to the exact charge weight may or may not make any difference in group size.

I have several measures, including an old Lyman with the Culver conversion that many short-range benchrest shooters have used, a generous gift from Ken Oehler. Also three Reddings of different sizes, as they have found it helps to use a measure appropriate to the charge--which has proven true with my three. It also can definitely help to try positioning the baffle at different heights.

As other people have mentioned it helps to set the measure up solidly, and use the same technique for each throw.

I have been using Lee measures for 20 years. My, how time goes by. I use IMR 4350 and 4064 some. Like you I put the Perfect on a piece of plywood, but the Cast came with HD stand. I will check the weight of the first 10 or so ,trickling and gradually adjusting the measure until I hit the weight.I hesitate at the bottom of the stroke to give the powder a chance to fill . When I get the weight with measure only, I check the next few. About 10 all told. I'm careful using the same wrist action.

If I'm going to the trouble to weigh charges that I've thrown I don't throw low and dribble up. That's a guarantee for having to adjust every thrown charge.

I set the measure so any charges that aren't as close to dead on as I'd like mostly fall on the heavy side. I'm so accustomed to my old 10-10 scale that with the powders I commonly use I can quickly adjust a slightly heavy charge by tapping a few kernels out of the pan. Light charges, and those very few heavy ones I don't adjust go straight back into the hopper.

i try to use ball powers if you can and volume load its easier in my Redding 30 BR powder measure, stick powers can be hard to be consistent with for me. ammo companies always volume load but they also use size/kind of powders sometimes we as hand loaders can never have or buy. good luck,Pete53

With the Redding measures, they drop on the upstroke and fill in the down position. I picked up some consistency with my 3BR by adding a spring loaded ball and detent to the drum that keeps it in the 'dump' (up) position rather than having it come back down. Has helped several other 3BR's and BR30's that I've done this to.

As far as measures, this is the best I've ever owned. After a little tweaking they are really good.

With stick powder, I throw light and trickle up. With ball powder I set the weight where I want it then check weight every five or six rounds. With flake powder I set the weight and forget it. Have tried bumping the measure before dropping the charge with stick powder and found even then weight can vary. I suspect I do that because I learned to throw same weight's every time and maybe it's not as important as I'd been taught. But my way has always worked for me so I'll keep on doing it!

As others have said it depends a lot more on the powder than your technique. Long grain powders like 4831 are hard to be consistent with but OTOH they usually are loaded in cartridges where a tenth of a grain is not going to make a measurable difference.
To the OP's point RCBS did a study where they had employees from experienced reloaders to novice office staff throw charges on a Uniflow. The results were that technique didn't matter as much as consistency.

Yes indeedy. I like the Belding&Mull so much that I own three of them (two being backups for the one I've been using since around 1980 - just want to guarantee I'll never be without one). I've gone so far as to turn and bore non-adjustable brass measures for my most commonly used pistol charges.

For use at the range I rely on a Harrell's for its precision and utter repeatability/predictability when adjusting. As for technique , the Harrell's is so smooth with its ball bearings and such good flow that I've fallen into a simple one-two count when flipping the handle - no banging, tapping, etc.

In the process of setting up an RCBS measure with drop tube for metering black powder.

As noted solid really solid like an isolated pillar to bedrock to avoid vibration from foot traffic or fan or camming over a press on the same bench seating bullets alternately with charging cases is better.

Different measures for different powders and different loads. I have a mild preference for a load that is midrange in the measure for most loads as in the Redding line. Harrell's has offered different sizes over the years. I have a 50 grain variation for varmint cartridges. I have an aftermarket weight replacing a role of quarters in a Little Dandy. I haven't tried one but I hear the LEE is good for pistol loads with flake powders. A Quick Measure lives up to its reputation for large drops of extruded powders.

I suspect but don't know that consistency counts more than double tap or single tap or other variations - to go along with no single best way is universal.

Thanks to all those who replied, plenty of great info.

A great first step for me would be to C-clamp the thing down so it doesn’t move.

So with the current state of technology, if you had the need for another dispenser, would you purchase mechanical or electronic? What would swing you one way or the other?

Thanks

I don't think I do have a need since I have to stop and think how many measures I have now with pistol and rifle with micrometer screws from RCBS and Hornady for progressive loaders. But if I did I would tend to mechanical. I have at least three of the Ohaus 10-10 pattern scale variously sold by Lyman and RCBS and I would go drop and trickle as being as fast and accurate as electrical dispensers. Now if I could afford a pair used alternately to keep the speed up then I'd go electronic

I'm not yet convinced that powder weight consistency produces more accurate ammo than powder volume consistency. In other words, it seems that rounds loaded by simply throwing powder charges from the powder measure are at least as accurate and consistent as loads trickled up to a common weight. I need to do a LOT more shooting to prove this out for sure though.