45LC lee loader dipper size?

Elhurron

Elhurron

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Hi All

I ordered a lee loader for 45lc and have never reloaded, i'm reading through the instructions and it keeps mentioning a dipper size of 0.7cc, my kit came with one that says 3.4cc on it. Am i correct in thinking that they packed it wrong?

Cheers
 
Hello,
I am not sure I know what you are asking.The dipper size is determined by using the card that comes in the box(its a long card almost the size of the box). It has a table that shows dipper size, powder type, and charge weight. You need to determine the charge weight for the powder you are using first(check a reloading manual).

On a side note I strongly recommend against relying on a dipper for measurement. I would recommend that you pour every charge onto a scale. I have used the Lee dippers to measure out powder charges for 9mm. Even after 1000+ rounds of practice I am still un able to reliably measure out powder without a scale. Its very easy to have charges varying from below min to above max.
 
Whoah, that sounds totally wrong!
I use a 3.4cc(mL) dipper for ~40gr of Bluedot (I don't have my exact numbers handy) for shotgun slugs and certain bulky powders in rifle cases like .303 British and 8x57mm. I think that is almost double the total case volume of a .45 Colt.

I would buy the Lee dipper set. It's quite inexpensive and I tend to use mine a lot even with a scale and bench mounted reloading setup. For pistol ammo (.44 special and mag for me), cast bullet shooting with poor iron sights (milsurp rifles), and a lot of my shotshell reloading it's much faster and easier than measuring each charge and works with fine flake powders that tend to jam up my powder thrower (H110 mostly). They aren't perfectly accurate but with a good technique (get a scale and try different methods until you get a small deviation) they can get you into a fairly small range.

The instructions Lee provides to use their dippers will give you really poor accuracy. You actually need to do what it tells you not to do. I dip, tap the dipper with my finger until the powder settles, top it off, tap it again until it levels, and pour into the case. When I first tried this method I measured several dozen consecutive charges this way and found it's the only way to get close to what the chart actually tells you each dipper is supposed to drop and also greatly improves precision. You will of course need a scale to check what each dipper gives you with each lot of powder (density varies) but once you have it figured out for a certain lot of powder you can write it down. I use the chart to figure out roughly which dipper to use, weigh at least 10 consecutive dips using my double-dipping method with tapping, and write down the lot, dipper volume, and resultant weight in my reloading notebook. I can usually get to within +/- 1.5-2% this way (+/- 0.5gr on a 37gr charge). Still lets me shoot 1.5" @ 50yds with my P14's old iron sights which is good enough for me.

If that's too much work just buy an adjustable powder thrower. All the major brands make them and they are used for pistol, shotgun, and non-precision rifle ammo all the time.
 
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Thanks for the replies, i'll invest in a powder measure. It would seem that they packed the wrong size dipper in with the loader,

jeeeeez hopefully everyone checks before using the supplied dipper, otherwise boooooooom
 
It would be really hard to mix it up in that case. A .45 Colt case has a volume of 2.7mL to the mouth so a 3.4cc (mL = cc) dipper will overflow it easily.
 
Get yourself a good scale and a reloading manual.
Use them diligently.
We really don't want to hear any more KABOOM stories or see the pictures.
Other than that, welcome to reloading.
You'll find it rewarding and it's a great cost saver.
 
Throw away the dipper, get a good scale and do your charges by weight and not volume.
Before I bought my RCBS Chargemaster combo I used a volumetric powder dispenser and measured slightly light into the scale pan then trickled the remainder before dumping it into the case.
If you're going to start reloading you're going to need the equipment to go with it.
 
cr5 said:
Throw away the dipper, get a good scale and do your charges by weight and not volume.
Before I bought my RCBS Chargemaster combo I used a volumetric powder dispenser and measured slightly light into the scale pan then trickled the remainder before dumping it into the case.
If you're going to start reloading you're going to need the equipment to go with it.
Click to expand...
Many thousands of rounds are fired in Canada each year that where loaded purely by volume. Pretty much anyone using a progressive press loads based on a volumetric powder thrower, not weight. If you are loading for accuracy, yes, you should measure each charge. But if you are bulk loading for something that doesn't need MoA accuracy (pistol, plinking, etc.) then volumetric is just fine so long as you readjust when switching lots of powder in case of density changes.

To use the Lee scoops you just need to find a technique that gives you consistent results and measure what the sized scoop you are using actually throws; don't rely on the chart provided by Lee. You are limited in the increments you can go up or down by so it is in no way a good way to measure to find optimum accuracy or velocity but it will work and make ammo that safely goes bang if you use them right.
 
A very quick search shows that the Lee .45 Colt die set should come with a .7 cc dipper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loading with the dipper, as long as you follow the Lee instructions as to powder and bullet weight. The recommendations are generally on the mild side, but they will work OK.
I have loaded 1000's of rounds using the Lee dippers, without any problems.
If you want to expand your loading horizons, you do need a powder measure.
 
Dipping technique is extremely impt. Filling the dipper and striking it off gets me consistent charges that vary up to .75 grain. I do similar to lutnit. Dip, tap, dip, strike off level. That keeps it within .2 gn and is good enough for iron sight accuracy and distances I hunt with iron sights (not far with these eyes).
 
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