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View Poll Results: How do you mete powder?
Dippers only 4 6.67%
Dipper, then scale and trickle up 12 20.00%
Powder Measure only (not mounted on press) 14 23.33%
Powder Measure, then scale and trickle up 13 21.67%
Powder measure Measure (mounted on press) 20 33.33%
Scale or scale and trickler only 3 5.00%
Electronic Dispenser 11 18.33%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 60. You may not vote on this poll

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Old March 14, 2012, 11:01 PM   #1
Lost Sheep
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How do you mete powder?

How do you mete powder?

Dipper only
Dipper, then scale and trickle up to weight
Measure only (not mounted on press)
Measure, then scale and trickle up to weight
Measure mounted on press
Scale or scale and trickler only
Electronic Dispenser

If you please, would you estimate how many rounds a year you load with each method?

Using a scale to check a sampling of the other method does not count as using a scale.

Of those who use dippers, who would be interested in an easy way to dip or scoop directly from the original powder bottle/jug without transferring to an intermediate bowl?

Of those who use a powder measure to dispense powder charges off-press, would you be interested in being able to dispense directly from the original powder bottle/jug instead of having to fill (and subsequently empty) the dispenser reservoir?

Would the ability to go direct from the original bottle or jug influence your decision of how to handle powder?

I have been toying with a couple of ideas of how to simplify the charging of my cases by getting rid of the intermediate container between the powder jug and the cartridge cases. One enables dipping directly from the jug/bottle and the other attaches to the jug/bottle and allows dipping or dispensing direct into a funnel.

Thanks for your help

Lost Sheep

Last edited by Lost Sheep; March 14, 2012 at 11:07 PM.
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Old March 14, 2012, 11:17 PM   #2
Romeo 33 Delta
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I have a Pact dispenser and use 2 scales ... one into which the dispenser pours the powder and I then immediately redump that pan into the second scale, replace the pan and hit "dispense". The second scale is the one into which I add or remove 1/10th as required. With this setup I can run 50 rounds of rifle cases (avg. 35-45gr powder) through and seat the bullets in about 35-40 minutes.
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Old March 14, 2012, 11:24 PM   #3
dacaur
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I use several of those methods depending on what I am doing....

Loading pistol rounds, its mounted to the press, lee auto disk.

Loading rifle rounds most times its mounted to the table (actualy a board clamped to the table) lee perfect powder measure.

When developing new loads or loading hunting ammo that I want perfect drops, I drop the charge from the powder measure, then dump it onto a scale and dip from the powder hopper to get it perfect.....

Honestly I wouldn't want to do it right from the powder container..... I like to open it up, dump some out and get it closed as quick as possible, to have it exposed to the air for the smallest time possible, especialy with single base powders.... Plus, if there is a spill, i'm not losing the entire 1 lb container...

Hoping to move up to an electronic dispenser some day....

Of course, I guess I wouldn't be your "target market" since I dont load all that much, maybe average 100 pistol rounds and 50 rifle rounds a month, sometimes more depending on finances.... My "goal" would be 500 pistol and 200 rifle a month if things weren't always popping up to take my money from shooting.....
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Old March 14, 2012, 11:31 PM   #4
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I only have one powder measure since the early 80s from Hornady. Has worked well and is still working, and will continue to do the job. Same scale and press too. Has paid for itself many times over.
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Old March 14, 2012, 11:35 PM   #5
Jammer Six
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I only load pistol rounds, .45 Auto and .38 Super, on a Square Deal B.

I use the powder dispenser built into the machine.
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Old March 14, 2012, 11:51 PM   #6
Sport45
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I typically use one of my powder measures and check every 5th (rifle) or 20th (handgun) with a scale.

I weigh every charge during load development or if loading maximum for any cartridge.
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Old March 15, 2012, 12:39 AM   #7
Kayser
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I use a Chargemaster for both rifle and pistol. Every 30 rounds or so I check against a balance beam scale.
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Old March 15, 2012, 12:50 AM   #8
Jerry45
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When loading with my Dillon 550 I use the Dillon power thrower and check weight every 25 to 50 rounds on a Dillon Electronic scale. When precision rifle loading on my RCBS single stage I use a CRBS Chargemaster and hand charge each round.
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Old March 15, 2012, 01:53 AM   #9
abelacres
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I use the Lee Auto Disk on my Classic Turrent press. I typically weigh every 5th charge.
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Old March 15, 2012, 03:58 AM   #10
chris in va
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I find the proper charge using my scale, then fabricate a dipper using spent shells. Thousands loaded like this. Don't trust powder measures or dispensers, at least dippers are consistent. Same goes for a beam scale.
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Old March 15, 2012, 04:54 AM   #11
hounddawg
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depends on the powder. W231 is all I shoot in pistols and meter well from the powder throw either on the LnL. Tac goes in my 223's and meters great. Match 223 ammo is done single stage and is individually metered on a Lee powder throw mounted on the bench then weighed and if the weight is off I trickle or take a tad out. Varget, 4350, and RL10 get dipped and finished off on the scale with a trickler because they don't meter worth a darn.
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Old March 15, 2012, 05:15 AM   #12
Salmoneye
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I Dip/Weigh/Trickle

I use the Lee Dipper closest to my desired charge with that powder, and trickle up...Immediately dump into a primed case, and then seat a bullet...

No doubles, no squibs...

Not sure I'd be interested in removing the intermediate container I dip from, from the equation...I like being able to see the powder for consistency, clumping, etc....
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Old March 15, 2012, 06:43 AM   #13
tlm225
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Since most of the ammo I load is for mid-range handgun rounds, I set my RCBS powder measure and load. For rifle rounds I set it slightly below my desired charge weight and use a manual trickler to bring it up to the full level on my old Bonanza beam scale.
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Old March 15, 2012, 09:48 AM   #14
Hammerhead
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I have my Redding 10X mounted on my turret press in it's own station. (not a powder through expander) That covers 95% of my loading.
Occasionally I use dippers with Unique for oddball loads.
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Old March 15, 2012, 10:02 AM   #15
AllenJ
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For pistol: Practice rounds are done with RCBS powder measure with every 50th or so round weighed. I do a few thousand a year like this. For HD or max loads powder is dispensed through my RCBS Chargemaster. I do less than a few hundred a year like this.

For rifle: All my rifles are bolt action sporters and are used primarily for hunting and fun target shooting. Each reload is made on a single stage press and every powder charge is weighed, either with the Chargemaster or beam scale. When using the beam scale I'll use the powder measure and then trickle. I reload about 500-1000 rounds a year for rifle.
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Old March 15, 2012, 01:20 PM   #16
frumious
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I usually mete up with them at the gun range or sometimes the LGS. You don't see too many in bars. "Hi, nice to mete you. What's your (burn) rate?"

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Also, I already know "mete" is being used correctly in the OP. But I'll bet its the last time this month you'll see that word

-cls
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Old March 15, 2012, 02:40 PM   #17
bamiller
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I use the Dillon powder measure mounted on my Dillon RL550B. Before every reloading session I check the 1st three shell fills will an electronic scale to make sure its filling consistently and nothing has changed from my previous session. After that I load until the end of my session looking at each filled shell in station 2 just to keep an eye on the amount each shell is filled.
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Old March 15, 2012, 02:56 PM   #18
m&p45acp10+1
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For most pistol rounds I use powders that meter well in my measure, and will drop to withing 0.1 grains ever single time. I will weigh quite a few charges when setting up the measure. Then I weigh maybe ever 20th or so.

For rifle rounds, and pistol powder that meters poorly I use a digiatal powder dispenser.
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Old March 15, 2012, 03:25 PM   #19
Strafer Gott
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I use perfect powder measure, safety scale and dipper set, all by Lee.
The only problem I ever had was with really light charges of Unique for hollow base wadcutters. I started using BBWC those double ended 148. They actually need a little kick to upset them so around 5 gr. Unique. Powder measure behaves much better, definitely no squibs.
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Old March 15, 2012, 06:19 PM   #20
RobertInIowa
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I use dippers to get my weight close on an electronic Mettler-Toledo scale and then trickle the final amount. I use a lot of scales in my work and I like the extreme precision you get with a high quality scale.
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Old March 15, 2012, 07:37 PM   #21
Crankylove
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Depends on what cartridge I am reloading for.

For pistol rounds (and my .22 Hornet), I get the powder measure dialed in and check the first 8-10 rounds with the scale. After that, I check a round here and there untill I am done.

For rifles cartridges, I pour my chosen powder in to a small glass cup (tea cup size) and use a baby spoon and my scale for every round. Its a little slower than using the powder measure, but most of my rifles aren't real high volume shooters like the pistols and Hornet.
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Old March 15, 2012, 07:53 PM   #22
slugoo
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I use lee dippers or homade dippers from empty shells. I don't know how many rounds I loaded last year but I did fill up a little more than 1 milk gallon jug with the spent primers and I consider dippers visually seeing that the volume of the charge has no bridging or lumping or air pockets is more consistant than using my powder measure. I load 380, 9mm, 38, 357, 41mag, 40, 45acp, and 45colt using 23 diffrent powders. The wheather here in colorado is arid so having the powder out of the container dosen't matter too much.
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Old March 15, 2012, 09:54 PM   #23
Axelwik
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Depends on what I'm loading.

For most handgun practice loads (light loads) I use a Lyman 55, look down into the cases to make sure they look the same (to prevent double-charging when I use fast powders), then check a few at random with the scale. They're usually within 0.1 grains, which is good enough for target practice.

For rifle, near maximum handgun loads, or something that needs to be very consistent I use a dipper with a scale, then trickle up.
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