Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Powder measures

That’s been my experience, as well. I use a JDS QuickMeasure, and charging cases is fairly painless with excellent results.

I have used a Lyman #55 for decades, it's smooth, have a rhythm, double tap the handle twice at the bottom of the dump.
If you don't some grains will stay in the bottom of the drum Shute to the cartridge with any static around, so it's a habit and it works.
I usually weigh to get going, and then start loading, stick, ball, flake it don't matter. Big or small charge, this measure eats it all.
Just make sure to tap the handle against the stop.

A handloader needs to do a little testing to see what works for their measure and their personal throwing style.

I don't tap on either end of the stroke of my Redding BR-30. I don't use my only fingertips on the knob of the charging handle either. I grasp the shank and the knob of the handle and dispense the powder with a slow, high torque motion. I'm firm against the stops on both end of the stroke, but no tap. The motion I use prevents kernels of extruded powder from hanging up the stroke or producing a lot of vibration which would change the "settle" of the powder column. It also slows the movement of the powder from the drum to the funnel section of the measure body so I don't have bridging problems.

This method has worked quite well for me with IMR 4064 and 3031 in loading several thousand rounds of 308 Winchester. I haven't done much testing yet, but the method appears to be doing quite well with IMR 4350 in the 6.5 Creedmoor.

To be clear I'm just reporting what's working for me, I'm not arguing for or against what anyone else is doing

A Prometheus is by far the most accurate that I've used, but what bunch of pieces. I use a Harrels pistol measure for very small loads, a Jerry Hensler modified Bruno measure for 25-35 grains of powder, and a MCRW for the rest. The MRCW is a Lyman 55 clone with a Teflon coated body and the rest is a SS Culver conversion.

I use a Harrels small pistol measure. I use a Chargemaster for rifles. Hasbeen

I have been using an RCBS Uniflow powder measure for 23 years..... and I do not trust it with Blue Dot. If some hangs up, it makes a light charge and the next charge is a heavy one.

I have Lyman with a culver conversion and it works great had it since the mid 80’s

I do as well. Very nice measure. I have RCBS and Lee as well, I find the RCBS OK, The Lee not so much.

WOW, sounds like a cluster Fhquk...!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to show you where the graphite goes on my Auto Disk. The break in period was reduced with some crocus cloth and graphite. I did this in the dim times before electricity and running water.

I completely cleaned the Auto Disk when I got it home. After cleaning, I polished the disks and the metal surface that the disk rides on. I do not remember what grit the crocus cloth was, but it was very fine. I applied the graphite and dumped in some powder to work it through the measure.



You can see where the graphite was applied to the base of the measure. Smoothing this surface, and the disks, then applying the graphite helped immeasurably getting the powder to dispense uniformly from the get go.

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This isn't the greatest picture, but the graphite was applied to both sides of all the disks. Working powder through the measure helped get graphite onto the areas inside the measure. The arrow shows the side of the disk where I did not get any graphite. I only use this measure for handguns and it is over 30 years old. Touch wood, it still works fine.

30 minutes of work after getting it, and occasional touch ups throughout the years.

I apply graphite as a lubricant on the sliding surfaces of my Belding&Mull, by merely rubbing them with a #2 pencil. Doing that once in a blue moon keeps it running smoothly.

It's nice when you can do that with a pencil. I hope to be able to do that, in part at least, when I receive my Auto Drum.

Still have my Uniflow and two different Harrell's; one the Premium and the other Pistol. Haven't used any of them in the last 1-1/2 yrs since buying my Fx120i w/ Version 3 autotrickler. I can't imagine going back to the others but will hang on to them in case the lights go out.

I have a Lyman 55 that my father owned and used , and a Harrel as well that I have owned for about 20 or so years.
For my BPCR rifles and cartridge shotguns I have an MVA , all of them are very accurate when used with a consistent lever throw style .
Cat

I use an old Redding that I bought used in the 90's. Not sure what model it is, but it's old enough that it has the brown crinkle finish instead of the current green.

I use Lee dippers and a RCBS 505 scale and an old brown Redding trickler when working up a load. Once I've decided on a charge I use an old Lyman 55 for handgun and small rifle rounds and a Franklin Arsenal measure for everything else.

I started with a borrowed Lyman 55. It was good with all of the WW spherical powders and Hodgdon spherical rifle powders but Hodgdon's spherical pistol powders seemed to shed too much dust making it sticky and inconsistent. Also did well with 2400. Wasn't worth a [bleep] for cylindrical or flake powders.

When I returned it, I bought a Hornady basic powder measure which I still use. It has pretty much the same likes and dislikes as the Lyman.

All of my flake and cylindrical powder loads get weighed.

For scales ... aside from my dad's old scale that I started on, my first was an RCBS 5-0-5 and it was good. 5-10 years ago it got to be inconsistent so I "upgraded" (I thought) to the 10-10. I don't think it is as accurate as my old 5-0-5 was, not as repeatable. For instance, when I'm weighing charges, if the arm/pointer is descending toward the 0 mark I get a different weight .. by about 0.3 to 0.4 grains .. than I get if the same charge in the pan is rising toward that 0 mark. I reckon one of these times I need to remember to order a new 5-0-5.

Tom

There are 5 Lyman 55's in my shop. One is my Dad's No. 55 Ideal. Three are set up for volume loading 38 Special,.357 Mag. and 22-250.

For load work up I dip with Lee measures, trickle and weigh.

I've had many measures over many years including a Harrell. Got rid of everything some time ago except four Reddings, all of which were bought thirty to forty years ago. These include two Match Grades (one for rifle, one for pistol), a Competition BR-30, and a 3 BR.

I ran a Lyman 55 for pistol. Ball powder, worked fine
Got two of em now, one short tube one long tube. Both used, one has box. Kinda cool.

Actually, have a big ammo can w various powder measures and another of scales. Guy used to collect reloading stuff.

Got some Texan presses too.