How accurate is your Powder Measure?

[ringworm]

messing with an RCBS thrower today and not at all happy w/ accuracy.
I usually measure and then add granual by granual till the scale flips back and forth between weight.
If im loading 41.5 gr. ill throw 41.4 and then add 1 granual ay a time till it clicks up to 41.5.
the thrower tosses 41.3-41.7. not acceptable.
is this normal or do i just need to work with it for a while?

 

[Thirties]

Mine is a Redding 10X measure, but I throw handgun loads. With these I am always within plus or minus one tenth of a grain (up to 8.7 grains).

I'm about to load some .223rem with 24 grains of H335. We'll see how she does . . .

 

[Archie]

It Depends on the Powder

I have a Dillon measure, an old Pacific Pistol Powder Measure with replaceable bushings, a Lee Perfect Measure and a Franklin Arsenal measure with two measure inserts.

The Dillon is accurate to within .1 grain with fine grain powders like Bullseye, 2400 and all the ball or spherical powders. With flake powders like Clays or the various Dot powders, the larger size of the granules make for a slightly larger tolerance. The IMR type 'stick' powders are the hardest to meter reliably, but even so the variation is easily withing .5 grains. With a 45 grain or larger charge, that half a grain really doesn't mean much.

The Pacific measure gives similar results - except it doesn't have big enough bushings to bother with the rifle type powders.

The Lee Measure does well with the IMR powders, but leaks ball powders so badly I never bothered trying after the first time.

The Franklin is much like the Dillon in terms of accuracy, but it has a micrometer type dial making it easier to reproduce an earlier load.

 

[wncchester]

Most of us get charge spreads up to .5 gr with coarse powders.

 

[LHB1]

Accuracy depends on the powder being used, weight of charge, and the measure. Fine/ball powders throw easily/accurately. Coarse/long rifle powders are more difficult. For 1-15 gr charges, I use Redding Comp 10-X Pistol measure. For 15-35 gr charges, I use Redding Comp BR-30. For charges over 35 gr, I use Neil Jones Micro Measure. All work great and very accurate. If your powder hopper doesn't have a powder baffle in it already, add one. That will help to maintain consistent charges due to constant column weight of powder feeding into rotor cavity. Also use a consistent method/force of operating the powder measure handle.

 

[BigJimP]

0.4 is a lot of variation - but it depends on the powder being used like someone else told you.

It also depends on what the minimum load is and the maximum load for the bullet and powder you're using. I don't load a lot of rifle calibers anymore - but in .30-06 most of the loads I've used, in 180 grain, with Hodgdon Varget powder vary about 3.0 grains from min to max / maybe about 140 fps from min to max - so every 0.1 of a grain is around 5 fps in terms of variance in your loads.

In all of my reloads - pistols, rifles and shotguns - I want a powder that performs consistently and cleanly - but I also want it to drop real consistently in my press ( ideally less than 0.1 of a grain ) just so I know what my loads are doing vs my eyes or the gun. 0.4 grain may be safe in terms of the min and max - but its more of a range than I would be comfortable with in a rifle load or a shotgun load despite whether it may be safe or not.

 

[RickB]

I think mine is good to .1. When I'm working-up a load, or testing the measure, I'll throw one charge then weigh it. If it's within .1 of what I'm looking for (eg 5.0), I'll throw and weigh three or four more single charges, and expect a variation of .2 (4.9-5.1). Then I throw ten charges and weigh that, and it's usually is within .1 of my target (49.9-50.1). That's for a fine pistol/shotgun powder. If I'm loading for .30-06 loads, I'd accept .2-.3.

 

[cnjaxx]

I use ball and sperical powders, in my Dillon powder measures. I get extreamly accurate throws. Today I went to Reloader 22, and the throws vary some, 2-3 tenths.

 

[mikenbarb]

The Ohaus powder measure I have is incredibly accurate with all types of powder. My Belding & Mull is great also.

 

[BntBrl]

I have a lyman 55 and using bullseye I normally throw 3.2 for 38 special, its anywhere from 3.0 to 3.4. I dont use it to make max loads. I dont even shoot max loads unless I am only making about 10 rounds to carry with my in the woods. The majority of my shooting is at the range or just plinking stuff so it doesnt make much difference I suppose. I use it for imr4831 for my weatherby 300. I just set it at say 75 grains and drop it in the scale and trickle the other 2 grains in by hand to get it exact for my rifle rounds.

I wish that it was more accurate but thats it.

 

[brickeyee]

Is there a baffle in the powder reservoir?

The weight of the powder above the measuring volume needs to be consistent for repeatable throws.

The baffle unloads the weight and keeps a consistent load on th emetering chamber.

 

[azredhawk44]

My Uniflow is usually off by 0.3 or so with extruded powders.

Ball and flake are usually spot-on, sometimes off by 0.1 but usually right on.

Maybe I'll have to try a Lee PPM again with extruded powder and see how it holds up. Dedicate it to my .308 IMR-4895 loading and see how long it stays accurate. You guys sure rave about them with stick powders.

 

[BntBrl]

mine has a baffle in the res. i try to keep the same amount level in it by adding as i load . mines a lyman 55, unless im missing something. taper it so its funneling down with a adjuster so its filled easily before getting dumped.

 

[Darren007]

All the powder measures Ive owned in the past were decent (Redding and Hornady). But none of them were as consistent as the good ol' $20.00 Lee Perfect Powder Measure I now use.

 

[darkgael]

measure

Minor point: how accurate my powder measure is or seems to be is also a function of how accurate my check scale is and , especially if it's a beam type scale, how well I read it.
Pete

 

[dardascastbullets]

I have used Hollywood, Lyman, RCBS, Dillon, and Neil Jones. All proved to be very precise. All the previous posts have not mentioned the proper technique to make a powder measure a precise instrument. Three light taps prior to releasing the powder column will transform a so-so measure into a very precise measure, whether one is using large granule vs. spherical powders. Also, spherical powders do not in-and-of-itself do not guarantee precision. Each measure has its own attributes and it is paramount that the reloader learn what the measure requires to make it very precise.

Matt

 

[Mike Irwin]

Accurate enough.

I've only blown up 3 handguns, so I'm happy.

 

[BntBrl]

Im fairly new so,

(1) I pour the same level of powder into the hopper and try to keep it topped off to the same level throughout my loading.

(2) After pouring in my powder I tap the hopper a few times to get things even and down in the metal tab where the powder filters down into before being metered.

(3) Before pulling the handle on each charge I drop the weighted anvil a couple times against the frame of the measure.

(4) I pull the handle and move it back to the top.

(5) I repeat the process

I am not an expert like I said. If there are other things I can do to make my lyman 55 more accurate I am more than happy to hear about it.

I calibrate my lyman electronic scale each time I use it and several times throughout its use.