?anyone use powder dippers?

O

osborne

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Can anyone here give me some tips on using powder dippers to measure out powder. I'm making a move for work and will not have any room for my reloading equipment:mad:. So I'm purchasing a lee hand press since I wont have a dedicated re-loading bench. That also means I wont have anywhere to mount my powder dispenser and am considering purchasing some lee powder dippers. Are powder dipers worth my time or is there a better way of measuring powder that doesn't require a mount?? I'll be loading from .38 super up to .30-.378 weatherby. I think the larger rifle cases that I shoot will be more of a pain but it is better than not having a way to shoot at all!!!!!!!!!

thanks

osborne
 
Depends on what you want to do, do you want to plink, hunt or punch paper? Take an empty 38 case and use it as a dipper and measure each dip on a scale to see what you get. This will show you how accurate a dip is and go from there.
 
osborne. I use dippers with very good consistancy. I pour my powder into the lid of a lee die box, and dip my dipper in and fill it to a heaping amount. I then take an old credit card and slide it across the top to level. Doing this, I have wieghed loads and found that the dippers, done this way are almost 100% cinsistant. There might be a 1 to 2 grain difference sometimes, so that is why I dip, then wiegh on a digital scale...........just anal I guess, but once agian, I was amazed to see how consistant these dippers can be.
 
The dippers aren't consistent enough. They can vary the charge plus or minus a full grain. They are ok for getting close on a scale then finishing with a trickler or for ammo you're not too concerned with being consistent.
 
For consistant rifle loads I dip with the dipper that comes the closest to my needed weight, place it on my scale then tickle in the rest to make the exact amount. Then place it in a case and go on to the next load. Using a powder measure and tickling in the last grains would be faster.
 
I use them to get close (under) and then trickle up to the weight I want when developing new loads. I don't rely on them for actual loading.
 
I'm with Recce, Bearman and Sunray, if you just want to send lead down range the dippers are good, if your trying to get a consistant target/hunting load dip then tickle!!!
 
For consistant rifle loads I dip with the dipper that comes the closest to my needed weight, place it on my scale then tickle in the rest to make the exact amount. Then place it in a case and go on to the next load. Using a powder measure and tickling in the last grains would be faster.

That sounds like a good Idea if you don't have a powder thrower


otherwise they suck...
 
Dippers certainly have their place. I load a fair number of trial/experiment type loads and find that dipping and trickling is the fastest way to measure powder when you are doing small numbers of rounds with different charges. If you are loading any quantity of rounds that have the same charge (the cut off point for me is usually over twenty rounds) I would switch to a mechanical powder measure.

Dippers can produce charges that can be either very consistent or inconsistent, depending on the type of powder and technique that are used. Generally speaking it will be easier to get consistent charges with ball powders and short grained extruded powders. Flake and long grain-extruded powders are more difficult to accurately measure with dippers. These same powders are usually more difficult to accurately dispense with mechanical measures as well.

The most consistent method I have found is to push the dipper into the powder and let the powder fall into the dipper. When it is full I lift it up and give it a light sideways shake to level it off, then I transfer to the scale pan to be weighed. If you “scoop” the powder you will invariably make longer or shorter sweeps thru the powder and thereby vary the amount compressed into the cavity – this variance is most noticeable with bulky/fluffy powders.

I have both the new Lee dipper set (yellow, marked in cubic centimetres) and the old Lee dipper set (these may be black or red in colour). These sets are calibrated differently so that having both sets makes it easier to select a dipper that gets closer to the required charge.

Just because you won't have a dedicated reloading area don't exclude a mechanical powder measure, as many can be hand held and operated. The RCBS "Little Dandy" powder measure comes to mind, Hornady and Lyman make (or did make) similar units. I have the RCBS unit and it is great for loading just a box or two of pistol ammo.
 
I have "dippered" many, many rifle loads, but I am not trying for "maximum" pressure without blowing my face off. I have dipped, trickled, weighed to check actual weight of powder charge. 99% of my reloading is not in the "super-duper" pressure and/or velocity category. There are pro's and con's to this method, but used sensibly, it will work fine.
 
I bet you will lose interest before the second 100rounds of 38super......

Seriously, buy a Black and Decker workmate or fashion some kind of bench that folds up or into a wall. Dipping/ hand pressing any amount of handgun ammo will not be much fun.
 
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