Recommend me a powder measure for loading pistol.

I've been using a Lyman 55 for 40 yrs for all my reloading. More than a few lbs of Unique have been through it. Never more than 0.1 grs of variation up or down. If the 55 has a "dark" side it is long stick powders (like my favourite 4064) Sometimes cuts a stick which can cause variations.
 
I also use the little dandy for pistol. One downside is that the individual rotors are expensive and can add up, but for a dedicated caliber, it can't be beat.
 
coyoteking said:
I’ve been using my RCBS uniflow to load light charges in 45acp and it will throw some charges 0.3 grains in either direction. On a load with 4.2 gr of Titegroup, a 0.6 gr variance is quite large.

Should I get a second uniflow with the smaller cylinder or is there a better thrower I should try? I’d like to keep it under $150.00 if possible.
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Powder measures are sensitive to the technique of the user. I do my best to ensure that each throw is made uniformly and I keep the powder column topped up. If the powder measure is jarred between throws, it may cause the powder to settle, affecting it's loading density in the hopper, thus changing the amount of powder measured on a subsequent throw.

The type of powder you attempt to throw plays a role in the uniformity of each throw. Ball powders typically produce the best uniformity of thrown charges, so you should be in good shape with Titegroup. Short extruded powders are next best in uniformity, then extruded. Flake powders are the worst to use in a powder measure since each flake is so light, they are the most likely to hang up, often under-loading one charge, then overloading the next. When flake powders are used, a cheap set of Lee spoons provides better uniformity than a powder measure.
 
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LUTNIT said:
I use the Lee automatic powder measure with adjustable charge bar and it works great with light loads. It generally throws +0 / -0.1 grain of what I have it set for so it's operating in a 0.1gr window. Most digital scales are +/- 0.1gr so it's within the reading error anyway.

To be honest though, the very light-charge nature of Titegroup caused me to move away from it. I was getting significantly larger extreme spreads for velocity than with any other powder I've tried because it uses so little. The same variation in charge weight compared to other pistol powders causes a much larger swing in velocity. It's the cheapest powder to use because you can use so little but personally I don't care if I'm getting 20% less rounds out of a pound if it means more consistent ammo. The difference in price of other more user-friendly powders is insignificant compared to all the other components. I've had excellent experiences with dense, hard-grained powders as they tend to flow better anyway. Powders like HS-6, Longshot, and CFE Pistol.
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For reloading pistol calibers I recently got a Lee 4 station turret press, c/w Lee Auto Drum to meter H110, TrailBoss and CFE Pistol powders. With the Turret Press and attached Auto Drum, each powder drop get a good shaking as the press rotates thru the 4 stations. Once set up and checked, I've been quite happy with the repeatable powder drop accuracy.

I also like to see a higher '% of case fill' for my rifles. I'll look for a compressed max. load and work up, I'm usually able to find a repeatable 'accuracy node' close to 100% case capacity.
It also helps with my paranoia of dropping a double charge.
 
Boomer said:
Powder measures are sensitive to the technique of the user. I do my best to ensure that each throw is made uniformly and I keep the powder column topped up. If the powder measure is jarred between throws, it may cause the powder to settle, affecting it's loading density in the hopper, thus changing the amount of powder measured on a subsequent throw.

The type of powder you attempt to throw plays a role in the uniformity of each throw. Ball powders typically produce the best uniformity of thrown charges, so you should be in good shape with Titegroup. Short extruded powders are next best in uniformity, then extruded. Flake powders are the worst to use in a powder measure since each flake is so light, they are the most likely to hang up, often under-loading one charge, then overloading the next. When flake powders are used, a cheap set of Lee spoons provides better uniformity than a powder measure.
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I have 3 powder measures and my Lyman #55 is the only one accurate with flake powders like 700X.
 
Just went through this with my uniflow, put on a micrometer adjustment as well as put in a powder baffle. Got me within .1 grns. Just make sure you don't try and throw pistol loads with a large cylinder. It works but the accuracy is poor.

Corey
 
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