RCBS Competition powder measure

[servant403]

Wow disappointed! After cleaning it well I have been working with this measure now for a few days. Really inconsistent. It has the small powder drum on it. It didn't matter what powder either. Unique, Universal, AA9, H110, Imr4895. It was consistently inconsistent when compared to a Uniflow Ive been using with almost any powder.
I tried very hard with H110 because it is a very easy metering powder. And also I mainly shoot handguns and it is a powder Ive used a lot for .full power .357 and .44. My older Uniflow had an extreme spread of .4 for 25 charges. And that was with the large powder drum! And only 1 out of the 25 were .4 all others were within .2. Most were within .1. The new Competition model is only different by having a micrometer. I see no other difference. This thing had a spread of .8 for 15 charges. Dissapointing seeing that H110 is a easy powder to throw accurately. There was also leakage of this fine ball powder at the bottom of the down stroke. I tried a lot of techniques to be consistent. I monkeyed around with it for at least 4-5 hours total. Then I gave up.

I noticed the powder drum edges weren"t that sharp. I actually think the drum was not cut right. My other Uniflow does not leak this powder. Also there was a lot of side to side play with the powder drum with the micrometer as compared to any other Uniflow Ive had with just a screw assembly.
Ive never returned any reloading equipment ever. But this is already on its way back.
I have a lot of RCBS equipment. And this is only the second item Ive had difficulty with. Ive been discussing the other one with RCBS. I was actually pretty disappointed and surprised about this measure. I didnt expect it to be a Harrels . But I expected it to be equal to the other Uniflows Ive owned. Could be just a lemon.
I tested another Uniflow with the small pistol regular screw assembly. It was like night and day A .2 ES with H110 for 15 charges with the small assembly. A .3 ES with Unique for 25 charges . Im sure the average spread would be closer to .2. I just think the side to side play is eliminated with the regular screw assembly because of the large retaining nut.

 

[Billy 30-06]

Send it back and buy a Harrell's.

 

[servant403]

It already went back. Thats the good thing about Amazon. No questions asked. Fill out the return form online. They email a return slip. Drop it off at a return center. Done. Money credited back that day.
I might consider a Harrels. Not sure its necessary for the type of reloading I do. I have seen tests that in that style of powder measure the CH4D 502 measure was as accurate as any. It was compared against a Harrels and Redding. If I was going to spend as much as a Redding costs might as well just get a Harrels. There isn't that much price difference. Im not sure yet.

 

[JFrank]

There is a resale value that Harrell’s seems to hold an sizable edge in.

 

[Billy 30-06]

With ball powder the Harrell's will be within .1 grain if you get into a good rhythm. Working the measure the same way every throw makes a difference. With extruded powder we have electronic powder dispensers. The old Lyman 55 will throw ball powder as good as any but is a bit of trouble dialing in.

 

[servant403]

I have a Lyman 55. And it binds with powders like AA9 and H110. Powder gets between the measure body and the drum.
It is actually pretty good with stuff like Unique if set up properly. But with fine ball powders its useless. I believe the opening for the drum is out of spec allowing fine powders to get trapped in between the measure body and drum. .

 

[servant403]

There is a resale value that Harrell’s seems to hold an sizable edge in.

Good point.

 

[ken158]

What are you proof weighing your powder charges with? Are you confident your scale is accurate? Your said in your post that you “didn't expect it to be a Harrells” and you also said “I might consider a Harrells but not sure its necessary for the type of reloading I do”. Not beating you up here but do you want an accurate powder measure - or what variance in throws is good enough? I have a RCBS and a Harrells and use both depending on what I am reloading. I will say that my Harrells will stay within .1 of a grain.

 

[servant403]

What are you proof weighing your powder charges with? Are you confident your scale is accurate? Your said in your post that you “didn't expect it to be a Harrells” and you also said “I might consider a Harrells but not sure its necessary for the type of reloading I do”. Not beating you up here but do you want an accurate powder measure - or what variance in throws is good enough? I have a RCBS and a Harrells and use both depending on what I am reloading. I will say that my Harrells will stay within .1 of a grain.

Yes . Im very confident in my scales accuracy. I verify it with check weights often. And I usually have both a electronic and a beam scale set up and zeroed every reloading session. This measure had a huge spread with various powders. And I was very surprised because my older Uniflow will usually keep H110 within .2 . I was going to use this for mainly plinking pistol loads. As far as accuracy desires for a measure .2 spread for plinking loads is fine for me.
For my rounds I handgun hunt with I weigh every charge. I do the same for my only rifle. Dropping a charge and then using a trickle to get to my desired charge is my usual method. I also reload a lot of .45acp on a Dillon 550. I was going to use this measure for mainly small runs of certain handgun rounds.