best powder measure method

DeerSlayer86 · May 19, 2012, 11:27 PM

For those of you out there looking for ridiculous precision, whats the most accurate powder measure available? Right now Im using the Hornady Auto Charge. Its okay but I'm not in love with it. Is it more accurate to do it with a manual scale opposed to an electric? I don't care if it takes longer as long as its more accurate...

Mac Sidewinder · May 19, 2012, 11:28 PM

Hand measures and a trickler on a beam scale.

Mac

steve4102 · May 19, 2012, 11:42 PM

Here ya go.

http://www.harrellsprec.com/

Hammerhead · May 19, 2012, 11:46 PM

Hand trickling with a good scale. I like a good beam scale. A stable base is critical. Fluorescent lights need to be far away from an electronic scale.

Chances are ridiculous precision is not needed unless you are shooting precision rifle at great distances.
+/- .1 grain accuracy can be achieved with a mechanical measure.

farmerboy · May 19, 2012, 11:46 PM

I also use Rcbs dispenser and load slightly under and trickle up to. Very accurate and rediculosly close on a chrony even though I don't own one my friend does and I have shot through them to check for spreads.

RobertInIowa · May 20, 2012, 05:22 AM

I hand weigh every charge with a Mettler Toledo scale. The precision is out to +/- .02. A good lab scale is a bit expensive but I think the results are worth it. Good luck choosing. Happy handloading.

TheNatureBoy · May 20, 2012, 06:22 AM

I use a spoon, beam scale, and a trickler. Too anal (when it comes to handloading) to trust anything else.

Jimro · May 20, 2012, 08:40 AM

Accurate charge weight does not always equal accurate ammo. Nor does accurate charge weight always equal accurate charge mass.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...er-burn-rates/

Jimro

Brian Pfleuger · May 20, 2012, 11:44 AM

RCBS Chargemaster Combo:

Hornady AutoCharge:

jcwit · May 20, 2012, 11:53 AM

IMO

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140751811313...84.m1436.l2649

hagar · May 20, 2012, 10:44 PM

The cheap Lee powder measure will probably beat most all of the expensive ones. I once did a test, loaded some 75 Amax's for 600 yard shooting. Used LC brass, RL15 and Rem 7.5 primers. Half of them I just loaded randomly with the Lee powder measure. The other half I trimmed and prepped the brass, weighted every case to less than a garin or 2 variance, and weighted my charges. Guess which shot the better score?

marklyftogt · May 21, 2012, 12:24 AM

I use the RCBS Chargemaster combo. I weigh charges every so often against my hand scale and they are right on. Much faster as well. Why not have speed and accuracy?

edward5759 · May 21, 2012, 02:22 AM

Their all good measures.
I have several Redding back in the 1960s were my first,
and do own two of the Culver's as well.
Always do five or sex dumps after setting the powder drop to allow the powder to settle down.
Once your load is dialed in then put 10 times the load into a pan and weigh it. any amount of inconsistency will become apparent. Its like looking at your load with a 10 power microscope. that will get you the consistent load using a powder dump measure.

Dave P · May 21, 2012, 05:18 AM

I am with Jimro "Accurate charge weight does not always equal accurate ammo".

If you have an accurate load, verified with something like the OCW method, you can almost ignore the charge-to-charge differences in weight of powder.

I got to the point of not weighing most of my loads for 600 yards - still shot 2-3 MOA with a service rifle (M14).

And Edward, don't let your wife catch you doing "sex dumps" when she thinks you are reloading - she will never trust you again!

Bart B. · May 21, 2012, 07:01 AM

Most folks don't realize there's typically more spread in the flame output from the most uniform primers made than the flame output from metered powder charge weights. For decades, competitive shooters have got better accuracy from metered (thrown) charges of extruded powder than exact charge weights of ball powder.

Consider the following where powder charges are thrown direct from meters and not weighed to exact amounts. . . . . .

* Benchresters shooting up through 300 yards.

* Sierra Bullets testing their stuff for accuracy at 200 yards.

* Commercial .308 Win. match ammo that shoots 2/3 MOA at 600 yards.

* Arsenal loaded 7.62 NATO match ammo that shoots 1 MOA at 600.

All of the above will shoot no worse than 1/4 to 1/3 MOA at 100 yards in a properly built and shot rifle. If you're not shooting your rifle and ammo that well, you're wasting your time weighing powder charges. Stop weighing and just dump charges direct from your powder measure then do proper testing shooting at least 15 shots per group.

wncchester · May 21, 2012, 07:59 AM

Bart is correct. I get amused by those agonzing over scales that "only" weigh to .1 grain; some guys spend hundreds for super scales to get "better" accuracy! It's clear they haven't considered that uncontrollable/undetectable differences in cases, primers, powder lots, which way the ducks are flying, etc, have as much or more impact on accuracy than .1 gr. of powder in a well developed and assembled reload.

The value and speed of digital powder dumpsters is directly determined by how good or poor our skills and work methods are; the worse we are, the better the auto-gadgets become.

May 19, 2012, 11:27 PM	#1
DeerSlayer86 Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2011 Location: Tx Posts: 117	best powder measure method For those of you out there looking for ridiculous precision, whats the most accurate powder measure available? Right now Im using the Hornady Auto Charge. Its okay but I'm not in love with it. Is it more accurate to do it with a manual scale opposed to an electric? I don't care if it takes longer as long as its more accurate...

May 20, 2012, 05:22 AM	#6
RobertInIowa Senior Member Join Date: March 4, 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 149	I hand weigh every charge with a Mettler Toledo scale. The precision is out to +/- .02. A good lab scale is a bit expensive but I think the results are worth it. Good luck choosing. Happy handloading. __________________ Guns don't kill people, fathers with pretty daughters do. Two wrongs don't make a right, but three comes pretty close. Proud NRA member

May 20, 2012, 08:40 AM	#8
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	Accurate charge weight does not always equal accurate ammo. Nor does accurate charge weight always equal accurate charge mass. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...er-burn-rates/ Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

May 20, 2012, 11:44 AM	#9
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	RCBS Chargemaster Combo: Hornady AutoCharge: __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

May 20, 2012, 10:44 PM	#11
hagar Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2000 Location: Colombia, SC Posts: 745	The cheap Lee powder measure will probably beat most all of the expensive ones. I once did a test, loaded some 75 Amax's for 600 yard shooting. Used LC brass, RL15 and Rem 7.5 primers. Half of them I just loaded randomly with the Lee powder measure. The other half I trimmed and prepped the brass, weighted every case to less than a garin or 2 variance, and weighted my charges. Guess which shot the better score? __________________ I don't have time for busy people

May 19, 2012, 11:28 PM	#2
Mac Sidewinder Member Join Date: March 2, 2012 Posts: 84	Hand measures and a trickler on a beam scale. Mac

May 19, 2012, 11:42 PM	#3
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,952	Here ya go. http://www.harrellsprec.com/

May 19, 2012, 11:46 PM	#4
Hammerhead Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,432	Hand trickling with a good scale. I like a good beam scale. A stable base is critical. Fluorescent lights need to be far away from an electronic scale. Chances are ridiculous precision is not needed unless you are shooting precision rifle at great distances. +/- .1 grain accuracy can be achieved with a mechanical measure.

May 19, 2012, 11:46 PM	#5
farmerboy Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 1,343	I also use Rcbs dispenser and load slightly under and trickle up to. Very accurate and rediculosly close on a chrony even though I don't own one my friend does and I have shot through them to check for spreads.

May 20, 2012, 06:22 AM	#7
TheNatureBoy Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2007 Posts: 1,204	I use a spoon, beam scale, and a trickler. Too anal (when it comes to handloading) to trust anything else.

May 20, 2012, 11:53 AM	#10
jcwit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2007 Location: Upper Indiana Posts: 609	IMO http://www.ebay.com/itm/140751811313...84.m1436.l2649

May 21, 2012, 12:24 AM	#12
marklyftogt Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2012 Location: Salinas, CA Posts: 138	I use the RCBS Chargemaster combo. I weigh charges every so often against my hand scale and they are right on. Much faster as well. Why not have speed and accuracy? Last edited by marklyftogt; May 21, 2012 at 12:53 AM.

May 21, 2012, 02:22 AM	#13
edward5759 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ. 30 miles from water, two feet from Hell. Posts: 355	Their all good measures. I have several Redding back in the 1960s were my first, and do own two of the Culver's as well. Always do five or sex dumps after setting the powder drop to allow the powder to settle down. Once your load is dialed in then put 10 times the load into a pan and weigh it. any amount of inconsistency will become apparent. Its like looking at your load with a 10 power microscope. that will get you the consistent load using a powder dump measure. __________________ Failure is part of success! This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!" -Adolf Hitler,1935"

May 21, 2012, 05:18 AM	#14
Dave P Senior Member Join Date: August 16, 1999 Location: North Florida Posts: 1,346	I am with Jimro "Accurate charge weight does not always equal accurate ammo". If you have an accurate load, verified with something like the OCW method, you can almost ignore the charge-to-charge differences in weight of powder. I got to the point of not weighing most of my loads for 600 yards - still shot 2-3 MOA with a service rifle (M14). And Edward, don't let your wife catch you doing "sex dumps" when she thinks you are reloading - she will never trust you again! __________________ I think this country is screwed.

May 21, 2012, 07:01 AM	#15
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	Most folks don't realize there's typically more spread in the flame output from the most uniform primers made than the flame output from metered powder charge weights. For decades, competitive shooters have got better accuracy from metered (thrown) charges of extruded powder than exact charge weights of ball powder. Consider the following where powder charges are thrown direct from meters and not weighed to exact amounts. . . . . . * Benchresters shooting up through 300 yards. * Sierra Bullets testing their stuff for accuracy at 200 yards. * Commercial .308 Win. match ammo that shoots 2/3 MOA at 600 yards. * Arsenal loaded 7.62 NATO match ammo that shoots 1 MOA at 600. All of the above will shoot no worse than 1/4 to 1/3 MOA at 100 yards in a properly built and shot rifle. If you're not shooting your rifle and ammo that well, you're wasting your time weighing powder charges. Stop weighing and just dump charges direct from your powder measure then do proper testing shooting at least 15 shots per group.

May 21, 2012, 07:59 AM	#16
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	Bart is correct. I get amused by those agonzing over scales that "only" weigh to .1 grain; some guys spend hundreds for super scales to get "better" accuracy! It's clear they haven't considered that uncontrollable/undetectable differences in cases, primers, powder lots, which way the ducks are flying, etc, have as much or more impact on accuracy than .1 gr. of powder in a well developed and assembled reload. The value and speed of digital powder dumpsters is directly determined by how good or poor our skills and work methods are; the worse we are, the better the auto-gadgets become.