[sdonegan]

I'm interested in what powder measures folks use - I'm kind of stuck between using the RCBS little dandy when it's close enough for loads, and weighing every charge where it isn't. Is there a repeatable to +- .1 grain measure that can handle a wide range of powder types and charge weights out there?

My loads are for handgun (9mm, 40, 44 Mag, 45 ACP) and rifle (30-30, 300 Win Mag and soon 338 Lapua).

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[mcassill]

I use the Dillon powder measure, which I find to be accurate to +/-.1 grain with most pistol powders, +/- .2 with the coarser rifle powders I have tried.  Can you put together accurate loads with it?  .308 loads I have assembled with mine will shoot sub-.5moa at 200 yards out of my M700.  
Good shooting
Mark

 

[sdonegan]

Thank you for the feedback - do you have perhaps a pointer to a website for the measure (will google for it myself - but an exact model number would be great).

My 300 WM loads are about .5 moa now, holes overlap at 100 yards, have yet to try further as I'm still sighting in the new rifle/scope - Winchester model 70, BSA 6-24x40, Harris Bipod from a bench.

 

[MikeG]

For Dillon, go to www.dillonprecision.com

I believe that their powder measures are designed for their progressive presses.  Not exactly sure how to modify one for use by itself.

For what it's worth, I suspect that having a powder baffle is probably the single biggest influence on getting consistent charges, after considering powder geometry (ball vs. flake vs. stick).  I get great results out of my Dillon but also my RCBS works very well on ball powders, pretty good on flake and short stick powders, and crappy on long-stick powder (ie IMR 4064).

 

[Mike Casali]

There are a variety of powder measures that may suit your needs.  If you want to go first class, get a culver type measure that has a brass or bronze metering drum.  With ball powders or small grain rifle powders, you can drop your powder charges without having to weigh them.  They are not cheap but can save a lot of aggravation and time.

Go to http://benchrest.com (Benchrest Central) and click on "Reloading" on the left menu.  There are several vendors who sell powder measures.  Try Sinclair International first, they sell Harrell's powder measures, which are the culver type I mentioned.  They also sell Redding and RCBS.  Harrell's also has an online store in Benchrest Central where you can view their measures.

What is most important about using any measure is the technique of the user.  I have found that the speed of the recovery stroke, where the powder fills the drum, affects the weight of the powder charge.  Spend some time to practicing with your new measure and a powder scale to establish a consistent technique.

I would still weigh the long grained powders since they don't meter as consistently.

 

[sdonegan]

Well, after lots of looking, tire-kicking, etc I settled on an RCBS powder measure - it was fairly inexpensive -vs- the really high-end measures
Mine was 69$ at the local reloading store -vs- ~250-300$ for the high-end stuff. I've been playing with it in the garage and it is very consistent .1 grain seems do-able for all my powders. So, for all the mass-production stuff I'll use the Little Dandy measure if the rotors are where I want the load, or I'll set up the higher-end measure. The mass-production stuff is all 9mm/40cal/45ACP/44Magnum - and the optimal charge for all of those isn't a rotor charge. SO for blasting ammo I'll use the rotor and for other ammo I'll use the new measure. For high-end rifle charges I'll still weigh every charge.

Thanks to all who responded with advise on this question.

 

[Alk8944]

Sdonegan

Just to make you feel better.  If you had fully researched this matter you would have found that Sinclair, in their catalog, refers to the RCBS measure as the best of the production measures!    This from the company renowned for its benchrest products.

Just thought you would like to know.

 

[MikeG]

The RCBS is good, but the addition of the micrometer-type adjustment makes it a whole lot handier.

I also have both the large and small metering drums (I believe that it is sold with the large drum).  The small drum will go up to 60-65gr. so that's what stays in it all the time.

A powder baffle is a good idea too, although with ball powders I get 0.1 gr. accuracy without it.