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View Poll Results: Lee Perfect Powder Measure
Junk - Elastomer washer shreds easily and without warning. Loads are dangerous! 6 26.09%
Junk - but I hate all Lee stuff 1 4.35%
Junk - but I hate all plastic stuff 1 4.35%
Okay for some reason I stated below 15 65.22%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

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Old October 9, 2006, 07:36 PM   #1
azredhawk44
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Lee Perfect Powder Measure

I don't think it's too big a secret that I despise these things.

What do you all think of them? I'm curious if I'm alone on this, or if the little buggers have a redeeming quality to them that I currently am unaware of...
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Old October 9, 2006, 07:51 PM   #2
Buckythebrewer
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They do have qualities that you are un-aware of..A measure should be consistent right??I will admit I have not always liked the perfect powder measure(using large extruded powder like imr3031,and small flake/ball powder like h335).But I will put money on my cheap Lee measure being as accurate as any other powder measure using medium extruded powder like h4895 or 2015br.I am not kidding!!!You have to let the measure run through a couple of hoppers of powder you are going to be using(for me its strictly h4895).I don't know how consistent It would be switching between powders but using h4895 it reads exact when I check it on the scales from loading 50 rnds starting with a full hopper checking the 1st few rnds and then checking the last few rnds..I use these loads in my ar15 and shoot 5 shot groups under M.O.A. accuracy @ 625yrds..Bucky's believe it or not .I think its one of the best deals in the world of handloading.Im sure it has faults but not for what Im using it for.Give it a chance and run a hopper or 2 through before you check its consistency..I will also add my measure is many years old,,maybe they are not made the same now???I don't know
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Old October 9, 2006, 08:03 PM   #3
Mike Irwin
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I think the terms you used in your poll (who designed it, the Democrats?) tell us more about you than they ever will about Lee products.

I won't vote in your poll, but I will cut & paste what I wrote in the other thread where you chimed in...

""Or... you could get rid of that Lee POS powder measure and get one made of metal that won't react to gunpowder the way wood reacts to sandpaper."

Something along the lines of 25,000 loads of WW 231, WW 296, AA 7, Red Dot, Unique, Trail Boss, and a couple others through my POS Lee Pro Disk with nary a problem.

One day for grins and giggles I decided to see how accurate it was over the long haul.

4.9 grains of 231.

I quit after 75 drops because not a single charge I threw using that POS Lee varied by more that 0.02 grains on electronic scale I was using.

My RCBS Uniflow?

It matched the POS Lee's accuracy, but at something along the lines of 4 times the price...

Last year I forgot to empty the powder hopper and left it full of 296. Over a month later I finally got back to loading again. No reaction at all from that POS Lee measure..."

Oh yeah, I'm still on my original elastomeric wiper. And I've had the measure since... I was working for American Rifleman at the time, so it would have been 1992?
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Old October 9, 2006, 08:10 PM   #4
donkee
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I use mine with Varget and IMR4064 and have had good and consistant results. The auto disc powder measure I have for pistol calibers is flat out fantastic. No complaints here........
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Old October 9, 2006, 08:35 PM   #5
JJB2
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i have the lee perfect measure how do i know if the elastomer stuff is shreaded??
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Old October 9, 2006, 08:47 PM   #6
Buckythebrewer
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Mike irwin,,,All I can say is 15,000+ posts?!!! .Damn! you've been busy over the years.

Some people have things set in there mind ONE way and thats it.I am guilty from time to time but when it comes to Lee products(I have used for many years without replacement and spent very little $$$) I give there products MUCH respect and am willing to use them and have an open mind when something doesn't go my way..It is always usually something I am missing when the results I want don't come easy..hint,hint, azredhawk 44
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Old October 9, 2006, 09:02 PM   #7
BigJakeJ1s
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Works great for me, using trail boss.

Andy
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Old October 9, 2006, 10:48 PM   #8
rem33
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Mine has worked thousands of times measuring powder perfect.
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Old October 9, 2006, 11:12 PM   #9
neal bloom
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Never had a problem with mine. For the reloading I do it has always worked.
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Old October 10, 2006, 12:31 AM   #10
Alakar
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I just started reloading, and got a PPM as part of the Anniversery Kit from Lee. My experience has only been with TiteGroup powder. That said, the Lee has been very inaccurate for me. Trying to throw 3.9gr, after the first 100 rounds the Lee began varing .3 to .5 high and low. I ended up loading my next 100 rounds with the scale for each one. I haven't had the leaking problem that allot of people have reported, but I checked the wipe, and found it embedded with powder. I bought a RCBS Uniflow and it has worked great. No more then .1 variation on my throws.

I've read that people have had great experiences with the PPM with medium sized powder, but long extruded or small ball or flake, don't meter well in it. I'm going to be trying some IMR 3031 reloading .35 Remington. Maybe the PPM will work better with that.
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Old October 10, 2006, 02:13 AM   #11
Crosshair
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I own one and don't like it. I use the RCBS measure for large loads. However I use and LOVE the Auto Disk measure. Used it to load 300 9mm rounds tonight.
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Old October 10, 2006, 08:05 AM   #12
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I like mine, I was going to buy another brand, (mine came with the kit) but after 600 rounds of 22-250, It's pretty dang consistant. My suggestion is next time you make a pole, don't be so freakin biased. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, which is the PURPOSE of a pole. But when you offer no choices but your own, you defeat the purpose.:barf:
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Old October 10, 2006, 08:47 AM   #13
HSMITH
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With some powders they work pretty well, with some others it is hopeless. For $20 it is a great powder measure, but I am willing to kick in another $100 or more for a Redding B or BR measure that works great with anything you want to put in it. No muss, no fuss.

I voted for POS, because I think it is a POS, but it does represent a darn good value for the dollar spent.
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:04 AM   #14
Mike Irwin
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I see 4 votes for elastomeric shreds without warning, loads are dangerous, and yet I've seen NOTHING about that in any of the write ups.

I'd really like to know how a volumetric measure can throw "dangerous" loads even if the elastomer wiper shreds?

The wiper is there to level off the top of the powder column, and does so without cutting powder granules. Even if the wiper is gone, the body of the measure itself will level the powder column (simply not to the same level as if the wiper did it).

Given the design of either the PPM or the Auto Disk measures, I find it exceptionally hard to believe (as in, I don't believe it at all, folks) that a "dangerous" charge could get out of the measure and into your case.

Yes, I could see the charge being slightly overweight, but certainly not dangerously so.

But, if someone is working so close to maximum that a bit of extra powder might mean the difference between a gun and a grenade, where's your powder scale?

I'm calling Bravo Sierra with a Bullet on this one.
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:09 AM   #15
Mike Irwin
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"With some powders they work pretty well, with some others it is hopeless."

Examples?

The only powder that ever gave me pause when trying to run it through my Lee measure was Unique. Red Dot was less of a concern, but also exhibited some variability.

But, that said, Unique never worked all that well through my Uniflow, either.

Luckily, that was a powder that really didn't have any clear advantage for me, so I dropped it.
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:25 AM   #16
Mike Irwin
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"Trying to throw 3.9gr, after the first 100 rounds the Lee began varing .3 to .5 high and low."

Were you keeping the powder level in the hopper topped up?

Many volumetric measures work best with a consistent level of powder in the hopper.

Conversely, a powder baffle in the hopper will allow accurate measuring down to the last few grains of power.

The baffle supports the majority of the weight of the powder column promotes even powder measuring throughout the entire hopperload.
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:29 AM   #17
mtnbkr
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No problems in 8 years and several thousand rounds with the Autodisk measures and no problems in 3 years and close to 1000 rounds with the PPM. That said, my method of using the PPM is for it to get me within a grain under my intended charge and trickle the balance into a scale (this for my rifle where I'm not shooting as many rounds). However, I've noticed it being quite consistent and certainly not overcharging randomly.

Chris
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:32 AM   #18
Mike Irwin
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But Chris, if that elastomeric shreds you'll load an entire pound of powder into one case and end up taking out the entire Northern Virginia area!

I'm not going to have you endager me (and thousands of others, but who cares about them?) with your irresponsible use of shredded elastomeric!
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:36 AM   #19
mjrodney
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The only danger I see with any powder dispenser is the squib load.

Having a round stuck in the barrel because of a squib, only to be followed by the next good round can be hazardous, to say the least.

Normally, you can hear a squib, unless the shooter next to you touches one off at the same time.
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Old October 10, 2006, 09:48 AM   #20
Ranger61
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I've had a difficult time getting useful loads out of it. It is hopeless for H110 or HS 7. It has been erratic with bullseye and 231, and it doesn't work well with the larger flake powders like Blue Dot or 800X. I haven't tried it with the meduim extruded powders so maybe I'll give it a try, but honestly I use my Lyman more often and its not even close to the ease of use as my old SAECO. Its not a POS but its along way from being "perfect"
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Old October 10, 2006, 10:53 AM   #21
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I have never used the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, so I will not comment or vote on it. I do truly like Lee’s Pro Auto-Disk Powder Dispenser and its very consistent results.
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Old October 10, 2006, 11:14 AM   #22
azredhawk44
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Quote:
Something along the lines of 25,000 loads of WW 231, WW 296, AA 7, Red Dot, Unique, Trail Boss, and a couple others through my POS Lee Pro Disk with nary a problem.
No complaints here with the lee Pro Disk... I was product specific. We're talking about the Lee perfect powder measure.

And for the record, I own several Lee products. I have .308 dies, .30-30 dies, 44mag dies from both Lee and RCBS: I prefer the Lee dies. I have a Lee powder scale and an RCBS digital scale: I prefer the RCBS, but I certainly double-checked my loads with the Lee to begin with (and on occasion still do) to verify accuracy of the digital scale. I have a lee autoprime that I love.

I've just seen my powder charges with Reloder15 vary from 27-31 grains, and when I disected the powder throw to find out why, I found a torn wiper with little micro-abrasions all over it and pieces of either 296 or H110 inside of the little tears in the wiper. The extruded Reloder15 was just the straw that broke that particular camel's back.

I probably got about 2000-2500 loads out of mine. I borrowed an old Pacific measure from a friend for a couple of months and then got an RCBS Uniflow when money allowed. I now have at least 10K rounds through the uniflow.

So, mike: Have you used the Lee Perfect Powder Measure for 2000+ rounds?
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Old October 10, 2006, 12:00 PM   #23
Mike Irwin
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Yes, I keep getting the measures mixed up. I've done that for years, unfortunately.

But, the point remains that they both use the same elastomeric wiper design, and in the nearly 20 years the designs have been on the market I've never heard of the elastomeric wiper "shredding," nor have I heard of such a failure causing "dangerous" loads to be thrown.


"torn wiper with little micro-abrasions"

That's a much different thing from "shredding."

I'm sure that were I to examine mine I'd find micro-abrasions, as well. Why? Because powder is granular, it's hard, and it can cause wear on parts.

"So, mike: Have you used the Lee Perfect Powder Measure for 2000+ rounds?"

As I noted, I keep getting the two mixed up with , but once again both use the same elastomeric wiper design.

But, tell you what, there's a gun show coming up here in a couple of weeks. If I don't find a Perfect Powder Measure at the show, I'll mail order one from Midway and really put it through the wringer. I'll even force a tear in the wiper to test that part of the theory, and, just for grins and giggles, I'll also completely remove the wiper just to see what happens were it to truly disintegrate and cease functioning entirely.

I still contend, though, that the claim that the elastomeric wiper system is dangerous is BS.
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Old October 10, 2006, 12:10 PM   #24
Scorch
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I have owned and still use my Lee Perfect Powder Measure for about 5 years(?). I noticed at first it didn't like IMR powders, so I switched to ball powders (my RCBS didn't throw IMR powders well either). I noticed flake powder (Unique) would build up around the drum, so I switched to different powder (Blue Dot). All in all, it throws powder better than my RCBS, in fact I cannot remember the last time I used my RCBS powder measure. The Lee is faster to set up and adjust, and it works fine. When it wears out, I'll just buy another one. If I can still see well enough to see my load scale by then.
And yes, the Lee Pro Disk is also a good measure. Use it on handgun and rifle loads up to about 50 gr.
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Old October 10, 2006, 01:07 PM   #25
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I've been using one for a few months now, and for the most part it has been not perfect, but at least usable for what I want it to do with the powders I've been using it with. Yes, it leaks a little powder (and feels "gritty") when using ball powders like HP-38, but it also seems to throw really consistent charges of those same powders. Yes, it is cheap. Yes, I will eventually replace it with something "better". But, with "appropriate" powders, it isn't a bad entry level measure, especially for the budget minded like myself.
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