Lee Pro Auto Disk powder weights

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fishbones182

New member
Well heres one for the masses. Ive been loading for a bit and never asked this one but my powder drop on say Unique dosnt seem to drop charges according to the book. Say it calls for 10 grains using 1.09 disk. For me 10 grains according to my two scales balance and electronic is more like the 1.26 hole to get consistent 10 grain charges. Now with other powders some are accurate some are not. When their own book says the 1.09 disk should drop x amount of powder i kind of expect kind of close to that not the difference im seeing. Is this common?
 
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ScottRiqui

New member
Yep - that's normal. I just use the recommended disk volume as a starting point and work upwards to successively-larger holes. When I figure out what works, it gets recorded on the ammo box label along with everything else.
 
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fishbones182

New member
Im glad its not just me. This is something that i have noticed for quite some time. I always weigh my charges to find the start i want although i was kind of shocked when I saw the big difference in what the book says and what is dropped with a coarse flake like unique.
 
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Edward429451

Moderator
That's typical of Lee products. It seems that the only people who can use the Lee products to satisfaction are people who can think outside the box and don't try to use the instructions that come with them.

This is a bad thing for newbie reloaders who depend on step by step instructions to begin loading, and cautiously hesitate to depend on strangers for advice online (rightly so).
 
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dickttx

New member
"This chart is a guide to determine the APPROXIMATE CAPACITY of all popular brands for each cavity. Actual charges may vary due to manufacturing tolerances of the cavities, powder and method of use. These charges are not safe to use for maximum loads without first checking them on a scale. Most of these loads are unusable for many cartridges. However, by not eliminating them at an arbitrary point, no mistaken inference of usable range could be concluded."

The above is copied from the very top of the powder chart that comes with each Pro Auto Disk.

Below is from the RCBS Uniflow instructions:

A dependable powder scale should be used to set the first charges in the powder measure as follows: throw a powder charge directly into the scale pan by raising the bandle and lowering it. Weigh the charge. If it is too heavy, adjust the measuring screw with the handle in the down position to a lower number. If the charge is too light, adjust the measuring screw to a larger number. When you arrive at the exact charge you need note the reading on the measuring screw and you're ready to throw a series of charges. Write down measuring screw setting for the powder and weight being used and you can quickly reset the powder measure the next time this charge is required.

Lee gives you a place to start, RCBS doesn't.

Several years ago I had (still do) an Ohaus Duo-Measure, very expensive and well built measure. The setting instructions for it was a graph.

NO measure gives you the exact settings for each load of the hundreds of powders available.

The all expect you to be able to read and follow instructions.
 
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fishbones182

New member
I agree with you all. When they say approximate it should be close in my way of thinking not 2 or 3 grains off on larger load volumes. I normally use my Lyman 48th edition book for my loads. On 44 mag for example they say to start at 10 grains of unique for 240 lswc. I beleive that the lee book states 6 with a max of 7 wimpy loads but they have their purpose. I always measure what im droping every time i load just because and i always spot check them randomly to be sure everything is running smooth. I use a balance beam and an electronic scale. I love my Lee equipment but you have be able to over come the mechanics of them to work correctly. I think the folks that dont like them cant do just that. I have two turret presses and a load master and love them all. The powder measure was just one thing i was curious about if others seen the same kind of thing.
 
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snuffy

New member
throw the book away...
Lee has made more enemys jus because they supply that silly sheet of paper
Aways use your scale,lee obviously thinks little of its customers by suggesting they underload ammo
Click to expand...

Lee does that for one big reason; some dummy is going to try to load WITHOUT using a scale! Then the undercharged shells won't cause an overcharge/damaged gun.

MEC, the shotgun loader folks, do the same thing with their powder bushings. I have yet to find one that charged what the chart said they should,(always light). Again, it's for those that don't have a scale, or don't bother to check.

As for something as insignificant as having to go to a bigger cavity, making somebody mad, I'd say there's plenty of room in anger management classes!:(:rolleyes:
 
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DJK Frank 16

New member
Just started reloading myself with a Lee Classic Turret with the Lee Auto Disk Measure. Took me a few minutes to figure out was was going on, I had to bump up 2 or 3 holes to get desired grain. I weighed like 15 consecutive charges thinking something was up with my scale before I was confident enough that there was indeed the correct grain before I completed my first bullet.

I see why they do it, but man was it confusing for a few minutes.
 
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snuffy

New member
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DJK Frank 16

New member
One to get at or just below "start charge". I think I added one maybe two more holes to get right in the middle of "start" and "max". I measure after every 5 rounds and it has been consistently dropping the same charge every time. I even weighed it on my manual scale that came with my LCT kit for cross reference.
 
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Idaho Spud

New member
Don't know what lot of Unique was used for the VMD in Lee's load table but I think the Unique info is a mistake. If you figure the VMD of Unique powder as per Lee's instructions you get a VMD# 25 or 30% larger. I know cuz I had the same Q's as the OP and calculated the VMD's from two lots of Unique from two different 8 lb jugs and they came out virtually the same.

Regret that I don't have the figures as I gave my Lee stuff to my son, but my calculated VMD was what I used thereafter and it produced drops that were a lot closer to those expected. The instructions for calculating the VMD's are right in the reloading data pamphlet. Check it out.

edit: thought I'd add that at that time I also calculated the VMD's for 231, 700x, 2400, etc, including a couple of rifle powders and the VMD's came very close to Lee's numbers. Unique info IMO is an error.
 
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ShootingNut

New member
When I first started loading with my Lee equipment, I was using Hodgdon
Titegroup. That called for a light powder load in the 3+ grain area, for my
9mm. I soon found that this flake type powder, did not measure consistent for my 9mm.
If I didn't look at each load before seating, I would very often get a load
of only 1.8 or so, just enough to get a squib and lead stuck in the barrel.
Not a fun situation, especially for rapid fire which could be dangerous.
Since using Accurate #5 for most of my calibers, no problem when dropping a larger powder amount.
One particular load, I had to "modify" the disk hole slightly larger with a twist drill, to get spot on with what I wanted.
Regards,
SN
 
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fishbones182

New member
Idaho Spud has it right. I was doing this unique and the charges are 2 hole sizes larger to get the desired charge from what the book states. I do weigh my charges several times both electronic scale and a balance beam scale they read the same. I have also noticed with tight group i use one hole size larger.
 
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