Need recommendation for powder thrower
- Thread starter mattlewis
- Start date
stool
lee perfect...25 bucks or so...
or get a good electronic scale
or get a good electronic scale
stool
define your accuracy requirements...
i load my mil surplus with a lee perfect and a gempro 250...
i load my 300 win mag 1000 yd br rifle with a mx123...plus or minus 0.02.....
the next step up is plus or minus 0.01 and runs 500-600 dollars or so
i load my mil surplus with a lee perfect and a gempro 250...
i load my 300 win mag 1000 yd br rifle with a mx123...plus or minus 0.02.....
the next step up is plus or minus 0.01 and runs 500-600 dollars or so
When I was getting started in reloading I asked the local benchrest folks what they would recommend and every one said Redding BR3 or spring for Harrells. Have been using the BR3 ever since and am extremely happy with it. I too use a lot of Varget (and Reloader everything, ball, stick, you name it) and it is pretty darn consistent. With stick powders I can aim for .2 grain under charge and trickle very little or right on every time. I have heard exactly the same with the premium measures that have been reviewed on this site in the past.
Mike
Mike
Alexander-M
Gold $$ Contributor
The powder measure on my Hornady Lock-N-Load AP is very accurate. It looks very similar to the BR3 mentioned above, and Hornady offers it by itself as the Lock-N-Load powder measure.
Good luck,
Nando
Good luck,
Nando
Y'all will probably laugh, but since I "trickle up" too, I get lots of milage out of my RCBS Little Dandy powder throw. Now I might qualify that a bit: when charges are small, like for a .223 and PPC, it works well. For larger charges in my .308, 280 AI, 300 Win Mag, etc., I use a standard RCBS throw, then trickle up.mattlewis said:
For pistol charges, I use almost nothing but the Little Dandy. It's a dandy...literally.
Gene Pool
Add the baffle and micrometer adjustment to you RCBS. Mine does a great job with these enhancements. You can set for a lot closer than 1/2 grain. Save the money for components! 
MrMajestic said:Add the baffle and micrometer adjustment to you RCBS. Mine does a great job with these enhancements. You can set for a lot closer than 1/2 grain. Save the money for components!
This is what I have done except on my BR stuff I have a Harrels.
its big time money, but we just bought the lyman gen5. absolutely love it, but you'll be looking at probably $250 or $300. and its only got a 3 minute warm up stage...
Raythemanroe
Bullet Whisperer
Harrels
For small capacity cases I use the little Harrell. For bigger, my old RCBS with powder baffle is good. Have a A&D model FX-120i magnetic restoration balance which is the real "breakthrough". There is another post on that subject, and the guys are making off like bandits buying them from an outfit in Canada.
For what it's worth.
The following is a report on a test I conducted about 10 years ago.
POWDER MEASURE SHOOTOUT
Purpose
The purpose of this comparative test of different powder measures is to determine which, if any, of the powder measures that I have in stock really stands out when it comes to measuring coarse (stick) powder. Also, I wanted to know if there were “sweet spots†when throwing charges from a full to empty hopper.
Powder Measures
Lee Perfect – Actually I didn’t have this one in stock but so many of you guys are talking about them I decided to buy one for these tests.
Belding & Mull – My dad had one of these years ago and I don’t know why he got rid of it. I bought this one off of eBay two or three weeks ago and this is the first time I have used it.
Quick Measure – I had just gotten this when I decided to do this test.
Redding BR-30
Harrell’s Premium – It sure is pretty!
Dillon – I took this one off of a Dillon 550 progressive reloader.
Powder
Hodgdon H4831SC – I chose this powder because it is the one we are playing with to work up a load for our 6.5-284 and because that is what I had. It is a coarse granular powder that is difficult to meter.
Scales
Denver Instrument APX-153 – These scales are accurate to 0.02 grains. I bought them initially to check some of the less expensive electronic scales that are being used by reloaders. That’s a different story.
INITIAL TESTS
I filled the hopper full, or when all of my powder was in the hopper, and set the first measure to throw about 70 grains. The procedure was to weigh every charge from full to empty regardless of how they “felt†to find out if there are inaccuracies at either or both ends of the spectrum. The next measure maxed out at about 60 grains so I went with that. My Harrell was already set at 50 grains, so I used that setting. I had already screwed up on the 70 grains and I was too lazy to redo the first set of data so I continued. Interestingly, when the data was graphed, the results showed that the rotary (Lee, Redding, & Harrell) measures where within the extreme spread for every charge. The sliding measures indicated that the accuracy declines near the bottom of the hopper.
The results
FINAL TESTS
After reviewing the initial tests, I decided to do a final test where I would set the measures close to 50 grains to remove the “packing factor†that the extreme spread and percent difference indicated. Then I set up like I do at the range and proceeded to throw 20 charges. Why 20? I ran out of fingers and toes. Actually, I chose 20 because that is normally the number of rounds in a box of rifle ammo. I wasted the first two charges because that is what I have been doing for over 50 years. The above test indicated that this isn’t necessary but I did it anyway. I also returned any charges that didn’t “feel†right just like I do when I reload normally. One other thing, I wasn’t happy with the performance of the Redding in the original test so with the recommendation of Frank M. from this board, I cleaned it with alcohol to remove the anti-rust agent that is applied at Redding. Boy, it was dirty. Even though it is several years old, I had never cleaned it. As you will see, it made a lot of difference. Maybe I need to do this with the other measures.
The Results:
Would you look at that! After cleaning, the Redding beat them all.
WARNING!! On two occasions during this test the Lee threw partial charges with the remaining part clogged in the neck of the measure. I noticed it when I weighed the charge and put the pan back under the measure and tapped it and the rest fell out. If I had really been reloading, I would have had a partial charge in one case and an over charge in the next. Another reason to inspect powder charges before seating bullets.
CONCLUSIONS
You can draw your own conclusions but if you want +/- 0.1 grain accuracy, it looks like you will have to weigh every charge when using powder of this type. As for the measures, it looks like all except the Dillon are pretty close and will do the job for you
If anyone is still reading this and would like a copy of the data, just send me an e-mail and I will send it to you. It is in an Excel workbook.
Thanks,
Marvin
The following is a report on a test I conducted about 10 years ago.
POWDER MEASURE SHOOTOUT
Purpose
The purpose of this comparative test of different powder measures is to determine which, if any, of the powder measures that I have in stock really stands out when it comes to measuring coarse (stick) powder. Also, I wanted to know if there were “sweet spots†when throwing charges from a full to empty hopper.
Powder Measures
Lee Perfect – Actually I didn’t have this one in stock but so many of you guys are talking about them I decided to buy one for these tests.
Belding & Mull – My dad had one of these years ago and I don’t know why he got rid of it. I bought this one off of eBay two or three weeks ago and this is the first time I have used it.
Quick Measure – I had just gotten this when I decided to do this test.
Redding BR-30
Harrell’s Premium – It sure is pretty!
Dillon – I took this one off of a Dillon 550 progressive reloader.
Powder
Hodgdon H4831SC – I chose this powder because it is the one we are playing with to work up a load for our 6.5-284 and because that is what I had. It is a coarse granular powder that is difficult to meter.
Scales
Denver Instrument APX-153 – These scales are accurate to 0.02 grains. I bought them initially to check some of the less expensive electronic scales that are being used by reloaders. That’s a different story.
INITIAL TESTS
I filled the hopper full, or when all of my powder was in the hopper, and set the first measure to throw about 70 grains. The procedure was to weigh every charge from full to empty regardless of how they “felt†to find out if there are inaccuracies at either or both ends of the spectrum. The next measure maxed out at about 60 grains so I went with that. My Harrell was already set at 50 grains, so I used that setting. I had already screwed up on the 70 grains and I was too lazy to redo the first set of data so I continued. Interestingly, when the data was graphed, the results showed that the rotary (Lee, Redding, & Harrell) measures where within the extreme spread for every charge. The sliding measures indicated that the accuracy declines near the bottom of the hopper.
The results
FINAL TESTS
After reviewing the initial tests, I decided to do a final test where I would set the measures close to 50 grains to remove the “packing factor†that the extreme spread and percent difference indicated. Then I set up like I do at the range and proceeded to throw 20 charges. Why 20? I ran out of fingers and toes. Actually, I chose 20 because that is normally the number of rounds in a box of rifle ammo. I wasted the first two charges because that is what I have been doing for over 50 years. The above test indicated that this isn’t necessary but I did it anyway. I also returned any charges that didn’t “feel†right just like I do when I reload normally. One other thing, I wasn’t happy with the performance of the Redding in the original test so with the recommendation of Frank M. from this board, I cleaned it with alcohol to remove the anti-rust agent that is applied at Redding. Boy, it was dirty. Even though it is several years old, I had never cleaned it. As you will see, it made a lot of difference. Maybe I need to do this with the other measures.
The Results:
Would you look at that! After cleaning, the Redding beat them all.
WARNING!! On two occasions during this test the Lee threw partial charges with the remaining part clogged in the neck of the measure. I noticed it when I weighed the charge and put the pan back under the measure and tapped it and the rest fell out. If I had really been reloading, I would have had a partial charge in one case and an over charge in the next. Another reason to inspect powder charges before seating bullets.
CONCLUSIONS
You can draw your own conclusions but if you want +/- 0.1 grain accuracy, it looks like you will have to weigh every charge when using powder of this type. As for the measures, it looks like all except the Dillon are pretty close and will do the job for you
If anyone is still reading this and would like a copy of the data, just send me an e-mail and I will send it to you. It is in an Excel workbook.
Thanks,
Marvin
Raythemanroe
Bullet Whisperer
I use my RCBS for most of my reloading, I set it up so I can trickle up to my charge..I use this method because with my choice of powders I find this to be the most accurate way for me
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.