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Old December 21, 2005, 04:01 PM   #1
tjhands
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Lee (im)Perfect Powder Measure

Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad I got started with the Lee Anniversary Kit - I wasn't sure that I'd like reloading, so it was completely logical to go with the Lee.
I do, however, question the naming of their powder measure as "Perfect." When it comes to metering W231, it varies by 3/10ths of a grain on any given pull. Sometimes, after turning the measure clockwise (less powder), it will actually put MORE in, and vice versa. I tell ya, nothing gets me hopping mad more than inconsistent powder throws. I already have one RCBS measure and have very few complaints with it, and I may just have to get another one.
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Old December 21, 2005, 04:52 PM   #2
donkee
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For loading pistol ammo, get an auto disk powder measure. The Not So Perfect Powder Measure is better for rifle ammo. The ADPM will fit in the powder through expander and works like a charm. Just my 0.02........
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Old December 21, 2005, 07:34 PM   #3
HSMITH
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The Perfect powder measure is far from perfect. Don't try it with very fine powder, it will leak adding to the frustration.

They do work OK with short cut stick powders and stick powders, but in any case you come up with for the Lee powder measures there is a much better powder measure available.

Skip the disk type too, they leak and you can't get EXACTLY the amount of powder you want with the different disc combinations unless you get lucky with one charge weight of a certain powder.

Go buy yourself a Redding 3BR with large and small meter inserts. Powder measuring woes will be gone forever.
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Old December 21, 2005, 08:45 PM   #4
JDG
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I have no problems with mine. Try taking it apart, and coat the inside with pencil lead or graphite powder. Some powder drops better than others, HS6 is heavy and meters well, clays on the other hand needs a tap or two to get it all out. If you dont use your powder measure on your press, Lee says you can remove the stop so the measure tube will go fully vertical, to get all the powder to drop. Dont give up, mine cant be the only one that works! JDG
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Old December 21, 2005, 09:24 PM   #5
JJB2
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my lee ppm seems to throw accurate powder charges.... i never really took a weight check on a series of throws but when i look into the .38 cases they seem all the same level.. and chronograghed loads are within half of the standard diviation of factory loads.....


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Old December 22, 2005, 12:44 AM   #6
Mike Irwin
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I've dropped MANY thousands of loads of powder with my Lee Auto Disk measure, the one with the round hopper.

With 231 it gave repeatability that was so consistent it was absolutely monotonous. Literally, the loads would not vary by more than .05 gr. up or down.

If you want an EXACT 11.2 grains of powder, you can get one of the adjustable charge bars. I never saw the need to attempt to achieve the exact powder amount in a cartridge as I was just loading for plinking.

I used my Lee Auto Disk so much that I've flat worn it out, and have gone back to my RCBS Uniflow, with takes about 5 times as long to get adjusted properly.
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Old December 22, 2005, 10:46 PM   #7
Oldphart
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I have two PPMs, one for rifle and the other for handguns loads. When I first started out I had a lot of problems but now that I've loaded about eleventeen thousand rounds they both work just fine.
Since handgun loads are a lot smaller, I have to watch them a bit more to keep from throwing a heavy one. When loading rifle rounds though, I can throw a hundred loads and never have any vary by more than .2 grain and usually .1 grain!
In the instructions that came with the PPM, Lee tells us that we have to run a few pounds of powder through it before it will settle down. Mine settled down about three years ago. Yours will too.
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Old December 22, 2005, 11:38 PM   #8
GUNVICE
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Love the Auto-Disk for handgun loads; in my experience it has been very accurate regardless of the powders I use, flake or ball. I have also used the adjustable charge bar, but gave up on it because it's very erratic with flake powders such as Unique.
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Old December 24, 2005, 11:10 PM   #9
elkaholic
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My Dillon RL550B varies by as much as .5 grains using Unique and Blue Dot for .40 S&W and .45 ACP. I don't worry about it because I am well under Max. load, and am only shooting for fun. I measure each rifle load by hand, which takes time, but I want them to be exactly what they should be. I don't let them vary by more than two hundreths of a grain.

I am dissapointed that the Dillon powder measure is as erratic as it is, but damn I can load alot of cartridges in an hour.
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Old December 25, 2005, 12:11 AM   #10
Mike Irwin
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Just about any powder measure is going to be erratic with large flake powders, Elk. It's not a fault of Dillon, it's the nature of the powder.

My RCBS Uniflow and my Lee Auto Disk both have the same problem with Unique and Red Dot.

That's one of the big reasons why I stopped using Unique for handgun loading altogether. I was loading .32 S&W Long, and I was getting upwards 50% weight variations.
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Old December 26, 2005, 07:55 PM   #11
Jason280
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I've had good luck with my Lee, and it has proven to be more consistent than my Lyman No 55 powder measure. It does like stick powders, and I've read that cutting out the "stop" allows the measure to be even more consistent. Of course, this negates its ability to work as a progressive set up.
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