June 23, 2011, 09:38 PM | #1 |
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Need a new powder measure
I've finally gotten sick of the powder measurer that came with my Lee single stage press anniversary kit. It's never had a smooth action (no matter how much I tweak it) and leaks powder like it's nobody's business. So it looks like I'm in the market for a new powder measurer. The biggest round I will be reloading is .300 Win mag so I'd prefer one that can throw a single charge in one pull. Any recommendations?
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June 23, 2011, 09:39 PM | #2 |
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I have two rcbs uniflow myself.
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June 23, 2011, 09:52 PM | #3 |
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Looking at Lee presses on Midway.com, I think you got the Perfect Powder Measure. Is that right?
Question: Before using it the first time, did you read and follow the instructions, which tell you to fill the hopper with powder and cycle the full hopper through (into a cup)? This is to coat the innards with graphite coating from the (any) powder. I bought one of those as a separate purchase. Mine is smooth and does not leak. You twist the hopper (like a hose faucet, clockwise is closed) to close a valve in the base, then cycle out the small amount of powder left inside. The hopper can then be pulled off with the powder in it. I use two: Lyman 55 - the Gold Standard. It mounts onto their turret press. Lee Perfect Powder Measure, which now gets more use. A STEAL at $20, including a bracket to attach it to your bench. The Lyman bracket alone costs more. I am entirely pleased with this Lee product for rifle loads (223 & 308). It has a LOT more capacity than those require. I also own a Lee powder disc gizmo that I will through away.
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June 23, 2011, 11:03 PM | #4 | |
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Marco Califo
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June 24, 2011, 09:07 AM | #5 |
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The Hornady powder measure is more or less a copy of the RCBS Uniflo at a lower price. Well made and worth considering.
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June 24, 2011, 09:14 AM | #6 |
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I use a Lyman 55. It's the only one I've ever used for 30ish years of reloading. If it would ever break, I'd probably get one of those fancy expensive ones in the Sinclair catalog. Hopefully, one of the knowledgable competition shooters on this forum will tell you (and me) which is the best, though I'll probably just stay with what I've got. It meters the fine ball powder extremely well, but not quite as well with the longer extruded powders.
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June 24, 2011, 09:37 AM | #7 |
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If money is no object and you want heirloom quality:
http://harrellsprec.com/index.php?cr...on=show_detail |
June 24, 2011, 10:00 AM | #8 |
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If your not looking for speed, then get a B & M you will have to look for then on the net. I've seen many on ebay. Most accurate measure made.
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June 24, 2011, 10:41 AM | #9 |
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Actually, the Lee "Perfect" measure is perhaps the best available for coarse (tubular) powders but it is tricky to adjust correctly for ball powders.
You can be certain that all of the current iron bodied measrures from RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Lyman, etc, are quite good and perform virtually identically. They all do quite well with ball powders, none do so good with flake powders and none are sufficently consistant with tubular powders that you can expect great precision with them without weighting each charge. But then few of us would be reloading enough volumes of .300 mag for that to be of much concern. Lyman's excellant 55 has a unique three way adjustable powder cavity that allows us to achieve about as good consistancy as is possible with a measure but there is a learning curve to adjusting it that some can't seem to get over. All of the others require seperate chambers for large and small charges so that can run the final cost up a bit. Last I looked, only Redding still has a nicely calibrated 'micrometer' adjustment head without buying an overly costly add-on. Few, if any, of the current (highly expensive) "BR type" measures drop sufficently large charges for even medium sized hunting rifle cartridges, never mind any real magnums. Last edited by wncchester; June 24, 2011 at 10:48 AM. |
June 24, 2011, 10:47 AM | #10 |
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I have a Uniflow that I've used for one session that I would like to sell. PM if you want it, but I'd like to sell it for $55 shipped. LMK
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June 24, 2011, 10:51 AM | #11 | |
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+1 Jim
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June 24, 2011, 11:07 AM | #12 |
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I never liked the Lee, with that said it worked great and never leaked. For the money you can't find a better bargain.
But for hard use I like the heavier built ones such as RCBS etc. One thing I can say the Lee plastic unit gave precise measurements for me. |
June 24, 2011, 11:43 AM | #13 |
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I've got two powder measures. A Lee Perfect, which is set up right now to throw Bullseye powder for .45 ACP. Yeah, it's cheap and flimsy, but I've been using it for 15 years with nary a problem. Some time ago I lost the lid to the hopper, but as I never leave powder in it, that's not a problem.
The other powder measure is a Lyman 55, which I use for everything else. If I have any criticism of the Lyman 55 at all, it's that the powder hopper seems a little small. When I'm loading large bottlenecked cases, the powder runs out fairly regularly. I've simply got to pay attention to keep powder in the measure. I guess I could get the 7000 grain reservoir, but that seems like overkill. |
June 24, 2011, 11:51 AM | #14 |
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oo0juice0oo,
I have two of the Lee's and one works consistently better than the other, so you might try returning your's to Lee to see if they find something they can fix? That said, if stick powder is what you are throwing, the single best measure I've tried that, for me, is consistent within 0.2 grains every time, is the JDS Quick Measure. It's design completely prevents grain cutting. It's a little less convenient to set up initially, but the removable charge tubes let you keep separate ones for each charge weight you use frequently if you want to skip the setup. Tubes are available large and small. It's my go-to stick powder measure. There's a review here, in which the person doing the comparing didn't get results as good as I do, but which still finds it beats the popular Redding 3-BR. I'm not sure why I'm getting better results than the reviewer did, but so does writer Rocky Raab, so I'm not alone. For spherical propellants I've had good service from the Redding drum measures. I use the BR-30, but it won't get you to magnum single-throws, so the 3-BR might be your option there. Other's drum measures probably do pretty close to equally well. It's hard to throw sphericals really wrong as long as the measure doesn't leak.
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June 24, 2011, 01:41 PM | #15 |
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Thanks for all of your recommendations, seems as though I've got a little research to do on these powder measures ya'll suggested. Unclenick, I'll give Lee a holler and see if there is something they can do for me, but even if they do replace it I'd still like a new powder measure. I'm a firm believer in things that are heavy built (this cheap plastic thing just feels like it's going to fall apart every time I use it). Again, thanks for the info fellas.
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June 24, 2011, 02:59 PM | #16 | |
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June 24, 2011, 03:02 PM | #17 | |
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June 24, 2011, 04:47 PM | #18 |
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I have 3 different measures. The Lee Auto disk works great on my turret press for pistol loading. I also have a Lee Perfect powder measure and a Lyman 55 for loading rifle cartridges. Through trial and error I have figured out that the Lee works best for some applications, the Lyman works better for others. For instance, I can use the Lyman and throw nearly perfect charges with Varget or RL-15 all day long. Never more than +/- 0.1 gr each time. But for some powders like IMR-7828 or H-1000 or Retumbo, those powders bridge badly in the drop tube of the Lyman. I have to give it 3 or 4 whacks to get the charge to drop into the pan. The Lee doesn't have that problem. It's good to have options.
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June 24, 2011, 07:28 PM | #19 |
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Lee Powder dippers. Period.
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June 27, 2011, 04:36 AM | #20 |
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I mostly use the Lee disk measures on my progressive press, but for single stage loading I bought a Redding 3BR years ago and have never had a complaint with it. I know it was fairly expensive with both large and small micrometer bars, but I haven't thought about the cost in all the years it has given me perfect service.
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June 27, 2011, 09:30 AM | #21 |
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June 28, 2011, 12:07 AM | #22 | |
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I upgraded to the RCBS Uniflow, having compared the Hornady my dad has, and the RCBS of my brother. It was a bit more money, but well worth it.
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