New to reloading & having powder measure questions

Riven

Riven

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Burks Falls Ontario
So i got a Lee 50th anniversary kit for Christmas & im concerned about the powder measure vs scale results.
Im loading .40S&W with 165gr with 6.3 gr of Unique.
My concern is the CC conversion is .687 but to get 6.3grns on the scale im up to .9cc on the measure.
Im not happy with the scale quality but i guess i have to trust it over the measure.

Did i mess up my conversion or am i putting too much faith in the measure???
 
go with what the scale says over what the conversion should be. i would look at getting a better scale as well but that's just me and a few others.
 
Go by the weight, Lee's book is the only thing that goes by CCs. I found it useful to get in the correct range, but fine tune it by weight.
Write down the CC setting, along with the powder in your reloading notes. It will make it pretty easy to replicate a load.
Lee's scale may be a bit of a pain to use, but they are pretty accurate.
I'd warn you against buying a cheap digital, though. Good for finding the weight of something, but not for trickling up powder to a specific weight.
A good balance scale will last forever, and not be susceptible to low batteries or flourescent lights.
 
i also just got the lee 50th kit and found that the measure is good for ball parking but with my stick powders (varget/imr4895) i can get up to 2gr variances in throws...i now throw into a scale pan and weigh each charge anyway...i suppose a ball or flake powder might be more consistent.
 
I am one of Lee Precision's biggest fans, but the "Perfect Powder Measure" is a piece of junk. The scale, while one of the most accurate on the market, would frustrate Mother Theresa enough that she would throw it against the wall.

Right now, OP, find someone who can fill the base of your scale with lead. I had a friend do this and his scale works GREAT! Wish I had known this before I threw mine into the wood stove. Use the measure to throw short loads and trickle them up on the scale.

I used a second-hand Lyman 500 scale graduated in GRAMS for years before I could afford a digital. I bought an RCBS Rangemaster 750 5 yrs ago and haven't looked back.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I am one of Lee Precision's biggest fans, but the "Perfect Powder Measure" is a piece of junk. The scale, while one of the most accurate on the market, would frustrate Mother Theresa enough that she would throw it against the wall.

Right now, OP, find someone who can fill the base of your scale with lead. I had a friend do this and his scale works GREAT! Wish I had known this before I threw mine into the wood stove. Use the measure to throw short loads and trickle them up on the scale.

I used a second-hand Lyman 500 scale graduated in GRAMS for years before I could afford a digital. I bought an RCBS Rangemaster 750 5 yrs ago and haven't looked back.
Click to expand...

Why does the lead help?
 
Converting powder volume to weight can never be a simple cut and dry affair. There are too many variables that affect the conversion. Use Lee's info as a guide to get you close then fine tune, disregarding the volume required to get the weight you need. My auto disk is the same way. I find Lee's charts help but they are never accurate. And X2 on the Lee scale. It is accurate but it is also the most frustrating tool I've ever used. I replaced it with an RCBS 5-0-5 and haven't been happier. You will be amazed how much faster and easier a decent beam scale is compared to the Lee.
 
Ok so i will suffer with the lee scale for now and save up for a better one. I might see about mounting it solid at a better height so im not crouching in front of my bench all the time.

Thanks everyone.
 
I found the perfect powder measure fine for my use. I set it up using the scale and pay no attention to the cc markings. I check the odd charge and make sure nothing is out of whack
 
I have used the Lee scale, which was ok but by far not my favourite. I have used digital scales also and find they can be finicky and frustrating at times. My experience is that they don't stand up to much if they get bumped or jarred, so while they are great to use, make sure you treat them with extra care. For what I want and need, a good solid well built beam scale wins out every time.
 
Hey Riven, I use a Hornady digital scale like this one, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/438260/hornady-gs-1500-electronic-powder-scale-1500-grain-capacity and it works great, I use the CC conversion table to get close, then start swapping out the Lee Auto Disks until I get a correct and consistent powder weight.

Also, when I got into reloading a couple friends told me that although Unique is a good powder, it doesnt meter very well so I only use Win 231 for 4 different pistol calibers with good success. I keep 1 other powder on hand because I plan to reload .223 if I ever get out and test my test loads.
 
Had a lee scale and powder measure a long time ago, both are no longer owned by me, and good riddens. Save up and get a quality scale and powder measure.

On a seperate note, if you ever get into rifle shooting where precision is the goal, I found that high quality beam scales can not be beatby any electronic scale.
 
Riven said:
So i got a Lee 50th anniversary kit for Christmas & im concerned about the powder measure vs scale results.
Im loading .40S&W with 165gr with 6.3 gr of Unique.
My concern is the CC conversion is .687 but to get 6.3grns on the scale im up to .9cc on the measure.
Im not happy with the scale quality but i guess i have to trust it over the measure.

Did i mess up my conversion or am i putting too much faith in the measure???
Click to expand...

The CC chart is a guideline. Different powders have different densities. Reload enough with that powder measure and you won't be using the chart anymore. You'll eventually know the rough scale marking to get you close to your weight then just fine tune after. That powder measure works well for most powders, as cheaply built as it is. If only it was a little slicker to operate. I do like the fact that you can just twist and remove the hopper to dump the excess powder out when you're done reloading.

I've never been crazy about balance beam scales and ended up picking up a cheapie Hornady LNL electronic scale. Which reminds me, I have to send m scale in for warranty 'cause of some issues with it. The Lee scale works if you know how to deal with the nuances of it. Get an electronic scale with some check weights and use the Lee scale as backup if your electronic ones goes south on you. :)
 
Kevin M. said:
On a seperate note, if you ever get into rifle shooting where precision is the goal, I found that high quality beam scales can not be beatby any electronic scale.
Click to expand...

Sorry to say it this way but this is a stupid thing to say.

How could you possibly know if the digital is "beating" the beam scale? Just because the digital shows weight down to several decimal places doesn't mean it is measuring correctly. It could be out by a long way and you'd never know it. Digitals suffer from several problems that beam scales don't. Digitals can be affected by air currents and electrical noise as well as by temperature and it is well known that the digitals drift with use. Beam scales suffer none of those problems.
 
Better reread what Kevin M wrote.....

Something else to consider - without a set of check weights to test a scale, there is no way to know to a certainty that it is measuring in an accurate and consistant manner.
 
"...the CC conversion..." Forget about cc's, period. They are not a standard unit of measure for reloading. Use the scale only.
Why Lee keeps using cc's in those useless scoops and their other kit is a mystery. (Said scoops can vary the powder charge plus or minus a full grain.)
Lee does no load testing either, so you're best to use Alliant's web site until you can get a proper manual(Lyman).
Your 6.3 grains of Unique is 2/10's under minimum. The loads on Alliant's site are max loads. You reduce 'em by 10% to get the starting load of 6.5. Relax, you're not going to blow up your pistol.
 
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