Powder measure consistently inconsistent.

Marshnasty

Marshnasty

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Saskatchewan, The bush not the prairies.
Good morning from Saskatchewan, the Lee powder measure I'm using isn't the greatest piece of equipment, I'm ready to buy a new measure that is going to trickle out the same amount consistently, what are your opinions on some measures. Relatively new to this all.
 
I have quite a bit of Lee gear that I like. I threw away all the powder measures including the one that came with my Loadmaster several years ago. The same with all the priming crap EXCEPT the Auto Prime which continues to serve me very well.
 
I also use a Lee Auto-Drum, and find that with almost all the different powders I use it beats out my Hornady, and my RCBS measures. For something like Varget, the super inexpensive Lee Perfect Powder Measure is fantastic, but not so good with the tiny grains of CFEPistol or CFE223.
 
I have one of the little Lee powder measures. More accurate than my Lyman or RCBS measures.
Most of the time, though, I use my Neil Jones precision benchrest measure.
If I am loading precision rifle loads, I dump them slightly light, then tickle the charges to exact weight, no matter what measure I'm using.
Something like .223 service match, I dump the charges, weigh a few to confirm that the measure is performing.
 
Getting the static out of a new plastic measure makes a big difference. Wiping with a dryer sheet helps or maybe try a graphite spray. Usually settles down after a couple pounds of powder.
 
I've had good results with my RCBS Uniflow powder measure. As mentioned before, getting rid of the static in a newer measure helps. Use a dryer sheet and give it a good wipe down. Also, I've found two things help with consistent throws, one being the addition of a baffle inside the measure to ensure that flow and volume remains consistent. If not using a baffle, try pouring the powder in the hopper, and throw a half dozen or more chargers (and just dump them back in the hopper) but make sure you give the handle a good tap at the top and bottom of the each throw. This will help to settle the powder inside the hopper so that you get the same volume. This will happen anyways, but you can speed up the process and you may notice that your charge weights aren't creeping up as the powder slowly settles.

Also, metering stick powder is never as nice as a ball powder. My uniflow (using the above methods) will usually throw within +/- .2 gr with Varget, but is almost perfect every time with H322. But I weigh and trickle every charge anyways...
 
+/- 0.2 grain is fairly typical for stick powders like 4831 or 4350 and good enough for most purposes, unless you are shooting at fairly long ranges. Charges thrown from a measure are the norm in short-range benchrest; a game that places heavy demands on mechanical accuracy.
 
I have both the Perfect Powder Measure and the Auto Drum. PPM is on a stand and the Auto Drum is on a Classic Turret press. Both are as repeatable as I can measure with my RCBS M500.

Other have mentioned tapping. I tap on the body of the measure rather than on the handle.

Along with the tapping, maybe you need to tune up your PPM.

Take apart the measure and make sure that the soft rubber / elastomer wiper is in place and is not obviously torn or damaged. Lee sells replacements if you need them.

Brush out any obvious cruft that may have accumulated inside the measure.

Reassemble and make sure the screw is tightened so that the drum is not overly loose. The drum should rotate freely but not be wobbly.

Open the micrometer way up and drop loads to run a hopper of powder through the thing. You want to lube up the measure with the graphite residue from the powder.

I'm pretty happy with both Lee measures. I was surprised at the consistency of the Auto Drum on the turret press. I thought I would have a hard time trusting the thing as it rotated and jiggled and bounced on top of the press. But through initial testing before loading and weighing every 10th charge or so while loading, I've found it to be spot on (or again, as spot on as I can measure with an M500 beam scale).
 
Marshnasty said:
Good morning from Saskatchewan, the Lee powder measure I'm using isn't the greatest piece of equipment, I'm ready to buy a new measure that is going to trickle out the same amount consistently, what are your opinions on some measures. Relatively new to this all.
Click to expand...

The answer to this depends on the type of powder, the required accuracy of the measure, and the depth of your pocket. Ball powders meter fairly well volumetrically. A Lee Auto-Drum Powder Measure works well and can keep you within 0.1 - 0.2gr at most. If you are measuring stick powder, the Lee Deluxe Perfect Powder Measure can be used to throw a load under the required charge. Worst I have seen it do in a session with Varget is about -0.4/+0.2gr. Usually it is -0.3/+0.1gr. Manually trickle in the remaining powder using something like a Redding #5 or Lyman E-eze flow into a pan on an electronic or single beam scale to weigh it. This will give about +/-0.1 gr accuracy due to the inherent accuracy/inaccuracy of the scale itself. Bottom line is the scale itself becomes the limiting factor. If you want super accuracy, you have to spend up to $$$$ to buy a good triple beam scale.

Edit -> I forgot to include something like an RCBS Chargemaster or similar. $$$ and it will keep you about +/-0.1gr as well.
 
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