How accurate is your powder measurers?

specializedcc

specializedcc

New member
Ive been reloading with my dads ancient powder measurer and it can be off the mark by 1, 2, even 3 tenths pretty consistantly. I dont know what brand it is, it doesnt say. I am using benchmark wich, from what ive heard, is supposed to measure like a dream! Just wondering if it is common to be off by these amounts. Thanks, Nick.
 
the scale that holds the little tin pan in it. What Im talking about is the grains are off in consistency charge to charge.
 
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My RCBS runs from right on to 2 grains either way and since I am not a precision shooter thats fine for me.Some powders meter better than others 4064 for example is hard to meter well
 
My RCBS Measure is pretty consistant to 1/10 Grain,unless the hopper is over half empty then it gets funky so I never let it go below half full with out refilling.
 
i weigh each load on my digital scale and the on my lyman counter balance scale it takes longer but i shoot a cheaper gun and every little bit makes a difference also i dont go out to the range and shot 1 2 or even 300 rds i shoot 10-20 rds so i dont mind the extra 10 seconds per round on reloading just my opinion also i have never used the powder measurers
 
I have a lee powder dump and have found it to be 1 or 2 tenths either way a lot. It bugs the crap out of me and am planning on buying an RCBS as soon as I move in a couple of weeks. I have been hand measuring and trickling every round to insure repeatable accuracy. I don't shoot more than 100 rounds usually when I go out so the little extra time is not too big of deal.

But I was hoping to get a better dump in the RCBS but it sounds like even with ball powders people are having the same result with the RCBS dump so maybe buying one would be a waste.

Has anyone used both that can give me a review on how they both compare?
 
I've got both on my bench along with a Hornedy. All can do the same thing, but I've found the Lee the most accurate of the three. I also have RCBS's Electronic dispenser scale and It also can vary .1 grain and that's within RCBS's specs.

My chronograph says the electronic dispenser/scale delivers the closest deviations of all the powder dispensers I've used.

If you want the most expensive dispenser check out Harrels.
 
For 300 yards and under charges do not have to be very accurate. Even several tenths difference will never be measurable on target. At long ranges it is more important but only at real long ranges where extreme deviation matters.

Jack
 
I have a Redding, Pacific, C&H, and Midway micrometer adjustables plus 2 Lyman 55's, a Hereters slide adjustable and an old unamed one that has a screw inside the drum for adjustments. They are all just about same as far as accuracy goes some are alot easier to adjust.

As someone said how you operate it will vary the accuracy. If I leave the handle in the up position too long the charge will be heavy, pull it down too soon and the load will be light. Suprisingly my Lyman with a baffle seems to vary more than the one with out especially if the hoppers are full.

Other than my light pistol target loads I weigh everything and just use the measure to get close and trickle the rest.

I have one or two measures behind each press and keep them set for the group of cartridges that I load on that press.

AWS
 
The little Lee Perfect Powder Measure, for around 20 to 25 dollars, will outperform any other powder measure this side of 150 dollars.

This thing has been independently tested over and over, by different groups through the years (not Lee Precision testing their own stuff) and it always comes out right on top.

The Lee PPM must be adjusted and properly used, however. And it must be "broken in" by cycling a couple pounds of powder through it. Then of course it must be used correctly. If these prerequisites aren't met, you'll of course get the stories...

"I had me wunner dem Lee pieces of $#!* and hit werunt worth a @!#&!"

The unassuming Lee Perfect Powder Measure really is hard to beat. Don't let the price fool you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Dan
 
I purposely throw my charges from the dispenser to the pan about a grain short and trickle the last grain with the pan on the scale. I've found that every round will be dead on same weight instead of hoping the dispenser is accurate. I still weigh with a 5-0-5 balance beam also. I tried digital, too flaky for me. Sure it takes a long time to load 50 rounds my way, but they are all exactly the same without question.
 


Jack you are so right about that. Go to a real Benchrest match, and you will be hard pressed to find a scale. Every body throws from their measure. I have two Harrels by the way.
 
I have the Lee PPM and measure it against two balance beam scales and a digital. I'll pull every 3rd or 4th case out of rotation and measure it and it's always on the money.

I have another Lee PPM on order. I do like the Harrell's but that $180 will be spent on bullets and powder for now.

Another Lee product that suprised me was their scale. I have an older Lyman 500 and they are both very accurate.
 
I have the Lee PPM and it works very well for me. Like Dan said it got better as I broke it in. With the small ball powders it measures like a dream. It's accurate enough that I only measure every 10 rounds and it's usually always on the money. With the larger "stick" powders it doesn't seem to be quite as accurate but it's still pretty close. I usually use the trickler with the "stick" powders.
 
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