Hi,
I'm just getting started reloading and it didn't take long to realize that the measures that came with my Lee dies are pretty limiting. I would welcome suggestions for a powder measure, please keep in mind that I am new at this and simplicity of use is pretty important, as is budget. I also need to get a scale, and would welcome suggestions there. I would rather pay a little more for something that would keep me happy for a long time, instead of buying a cheaper item that I will "grow out of."
I have only loaded handgun ammo up to this point and only 100 rounds so far. I do plan on loading .223 soon and eventually 30-30 and 30-06. I am not a competative shooter, but would like to be able to assemble quality ammo. I have read the tech notes thoroughly here and also been lurking/posting on the board here and elsewhere for a while, as well as reading (a lot)
thank you
Andy

RCBS offers good quality at reasonable pricing,(my area), I've been using a modle 505 scale, but prefer my friends 1010 for the ability to set measurements. Also the larger capacity makes it nice for weighing bullets. There Uniflow powder measure is pretty straight forward, and mine seems to hold the settings for ever. I started with IMR powders in the calibers you mentioned, but have switched to Hogdon, as the extruded granuals are finer and flow much better. You're going to have a lot of fun finding out just what loads work best in your rifles. Don't get in a hurry, stay safe and Good Shooting.

Basic choices: the Lyman 55 (About $62-$67), the RCBS Uniflow (about the same)...can add in another $18-20 for stand for either. OF the two, find that the Lyman makes small adjustments eaier than the RCBS...unless you spend the $ for the micrometer adjusting stem for the RCBS unit.

Redding makes nice measures...but when getting the BR units, can spend a good bit more $.

Basic scales would be either the RCBS 502 ($55-$58) or 505 ($70-$65), the Lyman 500 (about $40) and Lyman 1000 (about $50). Haven't any complaints about either of them. Are few times when you'd want to weigh things in the 1000gr. range, so if considering scales, that's a feature you'd use very seldom.

The electroinc scales start at about $90...I still prefer the traditional type balance scales.

Are others...but these are the ones I've had experience with (at least the ones I've had experience wiuth that are still being produced), and none of them are bad choices. Kind of lean to the basic tried-and-true Lyman #55 as the best for the money in measures...the scales listed all work about the same way, and there isn't a lot to choose between them.

I'm partial to Lee's Powder measures, but they have to be used with Lee dies, which is the only kind I'll buy, so that's not a problem for me.
As for scales, spend a little more and get a good one, plus a set of check weights, to verify your settings. I have an el cheapo scale, which works for me, but I'm not convinced its repeatability is all it could be.
Since I do a lot of rapid fire practice, the scoops work fine for me for most applications. But I'm testing loads for a new AR Match gun, and the scale is getting a workout again!
PJ

I’ve used a Lyman #55 for over 10 years and its still dead on. I’ve always wanted a Redding 3BR ($120) but the Lyman has been too faithful to abandon. For powder scales, the 505’s are very reliable and can be had on Ebay for around $30. I don’t recommend electronic scales because they offer no clear advantage over beam scales.

Andy
I use an old lyman-ohaus that packs up into itself with a plastic cover. Very handy for limited space. 505 is the model if I remember correctly (it's packed up right now). Lots of scales available for $20-30 on Ebay. Right now there's a new Hornady scvale for $16.50 ending in 3 hours and a little used redding scale going for 15.50 ending tonight.....

I use scoops for my plinking type loads. Marshall has a tech note on making your own custom sizes for your powder/charge.

Eric

I'm just getting started reloading and it didn't take long to realize that the measures that came with my Lee dies are pretty limiting. I would welcome suggestions for a powder measure...

Andy,

I use the Lee Safety Scale. I recently bought a set of Lyman check weights and worked through the test specificed in the kit and the Lee Safety Scale was right on the money through it's entire range. Through Bose's (http://www.bosesguns.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=912), the scale is $17.99.

I also use the Lee Perfect Powder Measure and have the Auto-Disk on each of my pistol shell plates. I share the Pro Auto-Disk with my rifle shell plates through the rifle charging die.

I also use the simple Powder Measure Kit with it's dippers. The one dipper supplied with your dies is limiting but great for starting load development. If you use Lee's Modern Loading, second edition, the individual powder starting loads are always based on a dipper. This way you can knock these out as a safe starting point and comparing how well your pistol or rifle likes the various powders for the selected bullet. It's a great way of finding the perfect load combination!

I thank you all for your remarks, I like this forum, always gives you alot to think about. I have the Lee Second edition manual, and most starting loads use a dipper size, of course with my luck, not 44 spl, HP-38, and 240 gr. bullets. I have read that the Lee scale is not as easy to use as some, but have no exirience to back that up.
Andy

"...I have read that the Lee scale is not as easy to use as some, but have no exirience to back that up."

Andy...

I've heard that before but don't quite understand it. When I see those comments I like asking about it because I just can't figure out what is so hard about using a balance beam scale. I have figured out three areas that seem to arise...

1. "The 1/10th's poise is not accurate"... Actually it is the most accurate I've found. The user is not bracketing the index marks on each side of the desired 1/10th-grain as the instructions indicate.

2. "The 1/10th-grain poise doesn't not stay in position, it slides to0 easily"... It's supposed to slide easily so that you can measure an unknown dropped charge. It slides very precisely with little pressure and the tip of a pencil or similar object. It also has a very positive lock that a hammer couldn't move once engaged. One fellow didn't realize it had a lock because he hadn't read the instructions.

3. "It's not very accurate"... Baseing this assumption on the movement of the balance beam at the pointy end vs. the other balance beam scales. On the Lee Safety Scale, a 1/10th or 1-grain is reflected in a lot of movement in the beam because it is a true powder scale vs. the bullet/powder scales of the competion. The Lee's scale range is only through 110-grains vs. 300 to 500-grains of others.

Somewhere on this forum are some pictures of powder charges I made with a Lee dipper and weighed on a Safety Scale (couldn't find the thread). I've marked the scale body with 1-grain deviations from zero for the test. These one grain deviations are almost a full scale deflection of the beam.

Here is a link to a post I started on the Lee Safety Scale (http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=9283). Using a check weight set, I found that the Safety Scale is accurate at every grain weight. My Redding isn't. In fact, it has some pretty good errors in it and I will adjust it accordingly in the future. Those errors are manifested in the low and high ends of it's weight range. I only use this scale for weighing my cast bullets now.

A lot of the questions about the scale are answered by simply reading the instructions (http://www.leeprecision.com/instruct/data/SA2056.pdf) that come with it. I once read a quote by Richard Lee that caused me to really chuckle. He said something to the effect that on a daily bases most of questions they field are from experienced reloaders simply because the don't bother to read the instructions. The new reloaders read everthing and have few problems.

Good luck with your choice of equipment!

Michael

Got to agree...an accurate scale is all you need...proove it to be accurate and repeatable, and that's all you can ask a scale to be. Some are easier to operate than others, but some of the more difficult to set scales are aslo the least likely to be miss-set.

Started with the old oil dampening scales...and you quickly learned how to read them "on the swing". After a few bugs crawled into the oil and dies, or you forget to clean it once in awhile and the opil kind of thickens up, you learn to like the magnetic dampening scales.

Get a check weight...or make one. IF you have access to a local university or community college, they'll probably have a good scale in the chem. lab (one of those old glass covered balances, covered to keep air currents out). You'll have to convert it to grains, but it will be accurate. Get the exact weight of a couple of common items...paper clip, coat button, stainless bolt...write the wieght down, drop them in a plastic box with some silica gel packs, and keep them arround.

For Cheap and Easy listen to the Ranch Dog. Lee is very simple you just need to purchase some test weights. I've got a simple Lee scale and loooove it.

Want to spend a little more? RCBS or Dillon are nice.

Any of the scales will work fine if you take your time and periodically check with some test weights.

Lee is a little slower if you are doing single loads, if you're progressive loading stick to the brand name of your turret. They seem to work best when paired up with their brethren.

Good luck,
Killian

I'm just getting started reloading and it didn't take long to realize that the measures that came with my Lee dies are pretty limiting. I would welcome suggestions for a powder measure, please keep in mind that I am new at this and simplicity of use is pretty important, as is budget. I also need to get a scale, and would welcome suggestions there. I would rather pay a little more for something that would keep me happy for a long time, instead of buying a cheaper item that I will "grow out of."

Well, I am a devoted advocate of GOOD electronic scales, and the Dillon/CED is a good one that seems remarkably free of the problems with other electronic scales. Accurate readings when trickling powder for example...

Some people say there is no advantage over conventional scales. Perhaps - but then again, for example, try sorting a bunch of cast bullets by weight for quality control purposes and see which type of scale you prefer... How about sorting cases by weight in pursuit of accuracy, try that with a conventional scale compared to a digital scale.

For me, there is a huge advantage to an electrical scale over a conventional scale.

It is also much harder to have a screwup with a large digital readout than when setting beam scales.

Powder measures... I have a Redding that sits unused these days, thanks to the electronic scale. Once I have a load, I simply make a measure for that load using a cut off case with handle epoxied on - file the mouth down until it throws the exact charge you are looking for. Or, make it to throw a grain or two light and then trickle to the correct weight using your electronic scale. No more adjusting powder measures from load to load, throw charge, weigh, adjust, weigh again, etc.

The measures don't look as cool as the expensive Redding, but they throw charges that are just as accurate to the intended weight.

You will pay a little more for the scale - and you will save a pile on the powder measures. The digital scale and fine tuned dipper measures are simplicity itself.