Clovishound

I am currently using a small hand press my buddy loaned me. I plan on getting one of the Lee classic turret presses sometime in the next year. I have been using a dipper to measure powder. I am going to get a powder measure soon, and am uncertain which one to get.

My LGS has the Lee Perfect powder measure for less than I can get it on the internet with shipping. I have used my buddy's, and like it. I also like buying locally, when I can. I am tempted to get one of the auto-disk models, since you can fill the case with powder at the same time you are flaring the cases. Price is about the same, although I will need a $10 riser to get it to fit on the turret press.

I doubt I will be a high volume reloader. Thought I would ask for advice here before I buy.

gfw1985

Things may have changed, but never was satisfied with depending on a measure or disk for all powders. Using a measure, I'd throw them light and weigh every charge, bringing up with a trickler. Pistol powders not so much of a problem. I'd check every five. Rifle powders a little different. I figured if I took to time to reload, I wanted them exact. I'm just picky.

CoastiesDad

I have the Lee Anniversary Edition. With Unique powder the measure was not the most accurate. Made my own dipper. Weight every tenth case. Retired the measure. Been a happy reloader since. I do about a 100 bullets at a time.

Clovishound

I'm not real happy with using a dipper. For one thing, I would have to make several inserts to cover the range between start and max load for the powder I am using. I made an insert with a piece of brass tube to get a mid weight load. With the powder measure, you can dial in what you want, double check the weight with your scale, and go. The other thing is that it seems rather tedious compared to the measure I have used.

I may have to check a handful of measures that my buddy's measure throws and see how accurate it is.

shootist

Will cost you a bit more money but my advise is to go with the Lyman powder measure, it's has slide adjustments and is very accurate, built to last your great grand kids will be handing it down to theirs

ratgunner

I just use the Hornady Quick Trickle right on to the scale weighing each charge. But I'm only got a single stage and just starting out in reloading.

Darkker

Buy the Lee Perfect Powder Measure.
Then if you DON'T have it already, Buy the Lee Manual, Modern Reloading, Second Edition. READ ALL PAGES RELATING TO VOLUME DISPENSING. Starts around Page 87-97

What most folks DON'T understand, and we have already been given that example here; is HOW volume works, OR WHY.
The PPM(or another VOLUME device measuring cc's) DOES NOT dispense WEIGHT, it dispenses VOLUME!!
People who double check the WEIGHT of a volume, do not know what they are doing.

Smokeless powder has a very specific Bulk Density-to-Burning Rate relationship.
IF the bulk density is on the heavy side of the spec, then the burning rate is on the slow side of the spec. And Vice Verse.
If your specific lot of powder has a heavy BD: by weight, the VOLUME you dispense is heavy; but due to its slower burning rate your pressures are right where you want them. If going BY weight with that example, you have far less powder in the case. The load is still safe, but pressures will be quite low. Ergo your loads will be LESS consistent.

You need to Learn what your VMD factor for YOUR powder is. Once you know that, Even though most books use grains, you can figure your VOLUME in cc's to load.
Quick example: If your VMD for A powder is .1235 and your book shows a start load of 30 grains:
.1235 * 30 = 3.705cc's on your PPM.
Here are some starting places:
http://leeprecision.net/support/inde...md-explanation
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data...uct/AP1704.pdf
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data...VMD%20List.pdf

ONLY the private reloader(which is who reloading manuals are for) use WEIGHT to charge cases. 99.999999% of ALL factory & military ammo ON THE EARTH loads by VOLUME.
There are only 5 Government entities or Defense contractors, in the world that make smokeless powder that will reach our reloading market. The bulk of that is blended to "canister-grade"(meaning a narrower RANGE because most use weight) but is surplus.

Remember Hodgdon? They never have made an OUNCE of smokeless powder. "Their" brand-new CFE 223, is a General Dynamics powder that has existed for(according to press releases) AT LEAST 10 years. They call it SMP-842.

Dale53

I have a pair of Dillon 550B reloading presses. In addition, I have a Lee Classic Turret press that I use for small runs (you can change calibers in seconds for a short run).

If you are planning to get the Lee Classic Turret press, then by all means, get the Lee PRO (NOT the standard, but PRO) Auto Disc measure. I have a couple of them and they work just fine. After you learn to use the Lee Classic Turret press, you can easily do 150-200 loads per hour and they will be match grade if you do your job.

Dale53

Darkker

Good man Dale,
Those Dillon machines(not positive they are the 550B) are what the Nosler factory loads with. ALL charging by volume.

forty5

If you are reloading for handguns I would definetly get the Lee Pro Auto Disc. With most powders it is very accurate and consistant. It may not throw the exact charge you are looking for, but it is usually pretty close. If you need an exact charge you can always use the Micro Adjustable disc.

Buffalo11

IMO the very best thing you can buy for your reloading.. I have been using it since day 1 that they introduced them. Very accurate and constant You can get it as a unit including all of the system for a bit over $100 from Midway..My advice is Buy a turret for each set of dies..Set them up and you are ready to go to different sizes by a click.. Enjoy reloading

wPm

tglazie

I have had nothing but excellent success with my LCT using the Lee Auto-Disk Pro powder measure. Stick with good metering powders and you will be able to hold .1grain spreads all day long.

Note that when you first get it you will have to run a good number of loads through it before it is consistent. Once it is broken in and has a nice layer of graphite on the internals it works like a dream.

Using the microdisk I am able to drop charges as low as 2.7grains for my .380 loads with ease. The only thing I cant tell you about is how well it works for rifle charges. I use a funnel on top of a rifle charging die as the 2nd station in the turret instead of using the auto-disk when I load for rifle, which is rare.

tglazie

or ream/drill out a disk until you get the charge you want, then mark it. The disks are dirt cheap.

the adjustable charge bar is great, but not for charges below 4 grains.

mikld

Hmmm, for me and my guns, I'll stick to determining loads by weight. Besides, I have yet to see a reloading manual, or any powder manufacturer or bullet manufacturer give any load data for their products by volume...

P.S. reloading by weight for 30+ years and I ain't never blowed up any guns and I got some pretty akkerate shootin' done. Seems to me "industry standard" applies here.

tglazie

Factory loads are dropped by volume. It is a simple conversion to get from powder weight to powder volume. I load about 1000 rounds a month for my handguns- weighing each charge is not feasible, or desirable, for my application. The ragged holes down range cant tell if I dropped my charges by weight or volume.