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Old April 7, 2011, 06:02 PM   #6
FrankenMauser
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Join Date: August 25, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,424
Quote:
On a limited budget, the Perfect Powder measure is good. It is drastically better than not having any measure at all.
Having used a Perfect Powder Measure....

I have to say I'd rather throw all the charges by hand, than use a PPM again. Between powder leakage, galling of the rotor and body from plastic-on-plastic wear, powder getting stuck between the body and rotor, and the stiff throw, I find it to be a waste of money. It's more of an exercise in frustration, than time savings.

Powder measures should not be made of plastic.


Quote:
I assume charge consistancy could be influenced by the granular size but are they reasonably consistant and is one brand better than the other? I don't bench shoot other than sighting in or finding a good load, so I'm not wanting to cough up a small fortune for my limited amount of reloading.
Granule shape and size do have an effect on consistency and ease of use - for most powder measures. Since you're not a competition shooter, and don't want to cough up the extra cash for any of the specialty measures; the discussion is pretty much limited to piston-and-rotor type measures. Though the Lee Auto-Disk and Double disk are options, I don't like them; since you're stuck with fixed cavity sizes.

The RCBS Uniflow is generally considered to be the "entry level" metal powder measure. Mine does fine with most powders (+/- 0.1 gr). With the standard metering assembly (large, non-micrometer), I can adjust down to: 1.8 gr Unique. 2.0 gr HP-38/W231. And about 2.5 gr Titegroup. (I mention those powders, since you're reloading for .380.) At that low charge weight, accuracy is +/- 0.2 gr or better. With the small micrometer metering assembly, it is said to be much more accurate.

Long-granule extruded powders get cut, or cause resistance quite often. But, even with inconsistent lever throws, those charges are still generally within +/-0.2 gr (with anomalies of -0.3 gr).

Ball powders are always easier to meter in a powder measure, but short-granule extruded powders are pretty friendly, as well. Flake powders are hit-and-miss. I can meter Unique perfectly well with my Dillon measure (sliding-bar, adjustable cavity type), but my Uniflow chokes on it and sees a lot of deviation in the 3.0-7.0 gr charge range (even though 1.8-2.5 gr is consistent). Yet, many other reloaders here say that their Uniflows meter Unique perfectly well, but have issues with powders that do fine for me.

Usability with different powders can depend on the charge weight, type of measure, density of the powder (hardness), and the guy that happened to polish the parts when it was made.

From good, to better, I would rank the common measures as follows:
RCBS Uniflow
Hornady Lock-N-Load
Redding Model 3
Lyman 55
Redding Match/Competition

You need to consider mounting methods, while shopping for a powder measure, though. Each company has their own type of mounts/stands, and expects you to use the measure a certain way. Some offer different types of powder measure stands or mounts, but it usually requires a separate purchase. Most of the common powder measures use the standard reloading press/die thread pattern of 7/8"x14, which means most of their mounts and stands can be used with any other brand of measure (or screwed into a reloading press).

For example:
I have been considering getting a Redding 3-BR powder measure.
My personal preference for stands/mounts, is the RCBS "Advanced Powder Measure Stand" (a stand they created for use with their Uniflow trickler system). So, I would be using the RCBS stand with a Redding measure. But it's not a problem, since the threaded portion of the Redding measure is long enough to go through the RCBS stand, and they're both designed for 7/8"x14 threads.
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