Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Powder measures

An old Bonanza (now Forster) bench rest measure is very consistent and repeatable, especially if you know how to use the vernier scale to set it...and always set it by closing the opening with the measure empty. Ball powders meter within plus or minus 0.1 gr in my experience...stick powder about twice that.

Same Here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

For doing load development it's tough to beat the RCBS chargemaster, once a good load is found I for the most part use my Harrell's premium. it has it's limitations though.........for example my Harrell's will not throw a charge of HS6, for rare exceptions like this I'm glad I didn't throw away the uniflow

An older Ohaus made Dillon Eliminator scale and a pair of the Lee Perfects for me. I use one only for H110 since it is so fine it spills out the baffles and is a pain to completely clear. I store both stuffed with used dryer sheets to stop any static issue.

The key to really consistent charges is to consistently work the lever. Same speed/cadence and the Lee's are dead nutz even with stick powders.

This ^^^^^^^^

Works fine across the board with pistol & rifle powders..................obviously some shearing with the very large & coarse large rifle powders, but great with all others.

MM

Redding benchrest mesure and an ancient Belding & Mull. It’s a shame more folks don’t know about the B&M ……dang accurate measure. My load to load consistency is every bit as good as my Redding. My only problem is I only have the standard drop tube…..I’m out of luck if I’m dropping huge magnum loads. Old Indian trick though is to divide the load in half and drop twice, but it just easier to use the BR measure and be done with it.

"Does anyone have a measure that throws consistently with Unique?"

I've have good luck using my Uniflow for throwing charges of Unique. dunno if it's just a case of good luck or I I just hold the handle the right way. I have three Uniflows ( don't ask) and the other two won't throw Unique worth schidt. Go figure. I use them for handgun loads only with the exception for the .223 Rem. with ball powder..

For rifle cartridges I use the RCBS Chargemaster or Chargemaster Lite. They make resetting for the next charge simple during load work ups. I find them too slow for charging handgun rounds though.
Paul B.

Me three!!

There is a Harrell’s for sale in the classifieds

Unique has always been a problem for me when using a measure. I have an old RCBS Uniflow that's a million years old. It didn't work with some powders despite my efforts to tweak it.

I am going to try a Lee Auto Drum and see if it works. They are $50 CDN.

I have an old Lyman Duo-measure bought in ‘76 that I use sometimes for light handgun plinking loads. I use a scale to check every 5-10 loads. With it having two adjustable cavities, it works well. Normally though, if I’m working up loads I’ll use my Lyman DPS scale/dispenser for more precision.

Started out with an RCBS Uniflow with 2 chambers & still use it with the small chamber for most pistol loading. I got a BR-3 for loading at the range during my foray into benchrest a long time ago. It still sits in the range box with the Wilson dies & Lee Autoprime. Mostly using a BR-30 these days for centerfire rifle.

None of these measures does terribly well with the crunchy old long grained IMR powders. Loading 20 to 50 pieces at a time it's not a big deal to throw c.1/2 gr under desired weight & trickle up.

That is what I do, use a lot of IMR 4350. No big deal

My Redding throws it .3 +- but, the Belding and Mull does much better at .1 grain.

That is what I did as well, until I bought a RCBS Chargemaster. Still do it for small reloading jobs.

My main one...and the one that goes to the range with me...is a tuned-up Redding 3BR. I've got a couple of Belding and Mulls that I've blueprinted and they're also excellent. For handguns, an ancient Herters that I found NIB throws powder like magic.

Good shootin' -Al

Here's an inexpensive trick that might revitalize your powder measure.

1. Take it apart and clean it completely.
2. Use dry graphite lube on the moving surfaces.
3. Reassemble and work powder through it, feeling for any spots where it hangs up. If so, relube.

Often, new measures will have gunk and preservative on them coming from the factory.

I use a Lee Perfect and trickle the last bit onto the scale.

Sample of one maybe-the auto drum works well for me with Unique. The Lee Perfect does +/- .2 grains or so as well, not bad for my Unique loading uses. It's a not full snort revolver powder around my place.

Making sure your new measure s clean and properly adjusted is a good plan, and a bit of dry graphite is too. Running a couple of hoppers of propellant through it also tends to distribute dry graphite through the mechanism, as this is used on the granules of propellant.

Practicing a consistent stroke also helps with consistency: I make one firm stroke down on the handle, without hesitation, hitting the stop firmly at the end of travel, count a beat, and then up. Others may have a different rhythm, but the point is to do it the same way each time. I find it helps in this regard to do a whole batch, charging each case one after the other, before seating bullets. I throw all my charges, and don't throw underweight and trickle up, as I've found by experiment, surprising as it may seem, that if anything I get more consistent velocity that way.

FWIW I've found the Lee Perfect punches well above its weight for consistent results with a wide range of propellant.