What Powder Measure?

CDR_Glock said:

I like the Hornady Lock N Load. It’s accurate for me. I have 4 of them. One for each of my loads.


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Nice! Heck I'd be happy with 1 for pistol and 1 for rifle to run on my LnL AP.

For the OP, I find the Hornady drops consistent charges.

RCBS Uniflow is my favorite.

Share your reloading set up so we know what you are looking for.

Not knowing your setup and assuming it's not an auto-dumper since it's 35 years old, I'll also assume you're looking for a stand-alone powder measure. I have a Lee Perfect powder measure and it's been great to me. You can read the same complaints on just about everybody's products (leaking with fine ball powders being the most common) so IMO you really can't go wrong with any of them. If you want it to last another 35 years, Lee makes a Deluxe version of the Perfect powder measure with more metal parts as well.

For stand alone powder throwers, I really like the RCBS Uniflow, but if you were looking for a case-activated press mounted version, the best I've found is the Lee Auto-Drum.

I'll second the RCBS Uniflow. Like your Pacific my RCBS is probably 35 to 40 years old but it still works like a new one.

some years ago when i was doing high power competition, i read a review in one of the benchrest magazines testing a lot of powder measures, including a lot of very high end ones. the results were that the Lee was the equal of the best regardless of price. I used one ever since for many years. only complaint was that the stand felt a bit wiggly so i reinforced it. Common thread to accuracy was YOU! a consistent throw is the secret. I never let the hopper get real low and would start with the measure empty, and counting seconds would:1 fill measure, 2-3-4 wait , 5 dump. nice quick consistent motions, never did any tapping or anything. secret for me was starting empty so i could allow a consistent time for powder to settle into the measure. Only weighed the results for my 600yd loads and that pretty much was only to be anal.

darbo said:

Nice! Heck I'd be happy with 1 for pistol and 1 for rifle to run on my LnL AP.

For the OP, I find the Hornady drops consistent charges.

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Thanks.

These are for 454 Casull, 460 XVR and 500 S&W.


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I have two RCBS Uniflows. I've had no problems with either. I highly recommend the Micrometer adjuster if you get one.

For the OP, and anyone else for that matter, Midsouth Shooter Supply is having a sale on Hornady equipment.

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/

The only criticism I have of the Hornady powder dispenser is it does not handle stick type powers, i.e. Varget, all that well

a lot depends on what powder or powders that you are going to use, and what your technique is in using the powder measure and then of course what you personally like , oh and don't forget what color that you like as well.

terryb said:

some years ago when i was doing high power competition, i read a review in one of the benchrest magazines testing a lot of powder measures, including a lot of very high end ones. the results were that the Lee was the equal of the best regardless of price. I used one ever since for many years. only complaint was that the stand felt a bit wiggly so i reinforced it. Common thread to accuracy was YOU! a consistent throw is the secret. I never let the hopper get real low and would start with the measure empty, and counting seconds would:1 fill measure, 2-3-4 wait , 5 dump. nice quick consistent motions, never did any tapping or anything. secret for me was starting empty so i could allow a consistent time for powder to settle into the measure. Only weighed the results for my 600yd loads and that pretty much was only to be anal.

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I tap (once at the top of the stroke, once at the bottom) and I find it helps set a rhythm, too. Any break in rhythm means that charge goes back in the hopper. Another big thing is keeping the measure at least half full so there's less chance of the powder bridging on you and not throwing a full charge every time.

I tend to get a bit carried away with the set up part, too. I'll dump the 20 charges back into the hopper just to give the powder time to settle before I ever even start weighing charges.

Once the measure it set, I am all about checking it regularly to make sure things haven't shifted, too. If I'm running a single stage, EVERY powder charge gets visually inspected, any that don't look just right get weighed. I weigh every 10th charge no matter what in a batch. I load in batches of 50 when using a single stage, so that's no big deal. I'd rather have to dump 10 or 20 charges back in the hopper at that point than have to disassemble loaded ammo later.

mingaa said:

Is your Pacific a ‘stand alone’ like this?

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Loading:
Pistol? Rifle? On a single stage? Turret??
Flesh out the picture a bit M8!!

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Yes, but mine is blue. You could call it an old Hornady. Loading Rifle. Single Stage. All pistol and small rifle calibers get loaded o a Hornady ProJector with a Dillon Measure.

I had it narrowed down to the Hornady Lock & Load and the RCBS Uniflow when I wrote the OP. I have had my time with Lee, and we are just not compatible. Leaning toward the RCBS because of all the stick powders I have on hand. Color is not a deciding factor. I have Dillon, Hornady, Lyman and Forster on the bench right now.

Has anyone used the Hornady BR powder measure, and is it worth the difference in price? Thanks.

I use a Dillon for most of my loading but when using flake type powder I use a Redding that I find to be very accurate I load out here in my shop all my rifle and flake powder its hard to get anything to throw red dot unique or bullseye without any variation in the load so all loads get weighed. I also weigh all test loads when looking for the best performance after I find what I Want from a round and start using the Dillon and check every ten to twelve loads.