The name pretty much say it all.
Im looking for a quick, accurate, consistent powder measure for H110 and Unique that wont break the bank.
Thanks !

Many measures on the market. Most are more than adequate for your needs. Comes down to how much are you budgeting and are you using this only for pistol type powders and loads?

For pistol it's hard to beat the Lee disc measure with the powder through expander die.

For a multipuropose measure anything from the Lee Perfect at about $30 to the Harrel at over $200 will suffice.

Jerry Liles

Accuracy is not an option. I have read of many measures that won't meter this that and the other various powders. My old Belding & Mull is ugly and possibly the slowest measure out there--BUT it is accurate and measures any type powder I've tried. You may have to go to EBAY to find one.

Lyman 55

When my Pacific Measure (bought used many years ago) ascted up I bought a Lee out of
curiosity. It looks cheap but I can't fault it.

I've had a Forster Benchrest measure for over 20 years now and it has been foolproof so far. Very consistent, handles large grain powders accurately and super simple to operate.

I've had others but none that measure better or operate easier.

What's wrong with a set of Lee Ladles? You dreg the proper ladle thru a bowl of powder, strike it off even with the top of the ladle with a credit card, and dump it in the case. You can't get much quicker or cheaper than that. Up until a few years ago when small, portable scales became available, most bench shooters used a version of the Lee Ladle to measure their charges.

I'm still using my very old Pacific that uses the bushings. I have customized bushings to exactly fit the powders and loads I use and can't seem to find anything better. Ease of use and accuracy are without equal. Don't really understand why someone isn't making an equivalent.

I would pay the $250 for a Harrell. Best I have used.

www.harrellsprec.com

BigB

Check out the seconds/overruns on the RCBS site, good deals there.

Another vote for Harrels. But for pistol which I assume you are doing based on the powder the RCBS little dandy measure is great. Very fast accurate and easy to repeat your loads in the future. Only draw back is you need to buy different rotors for different charge weights. I use mine a lot so I have the complete set and have no trouble getting within a tenth or so of the load I am after.

It depends on what your personal budget is. I would hazard a statement that most every powder measure can be extremely accurate provided the "proper technique" is used. Now that technique may vary with the measure so whatever you get just play around with it for 15-20 minutes.

Now if you already have a pet load, you can't get much cheaper than cutting down a cartridge case bit by bit until it can scoop your desired charge. Then you can solder a coathanger handle on it and write or engrave the powder and charge weight on it and not have to fiddle with it again. I use a technique similar to wasbeeman, put the powder in a dish and scoop it up then give the measure a slight sideways shake to level it. I have a loading for my 30-30 that I use a pistol powder and 110 grain bullets and this way it makes it easy to load up without changing much.

+1 for Harrel's.

IMHO -- No such thing as a "cheap" accurate, and consistant measure for all powders, Harrell makes the current version of the Culver design, well worth every penny. May be others out there too. The original Culvers were conversions of the Lyman 55, Mine is 35 years old and still accurate within 1/10 grain or less with any powder I have ever used. The variance I get comes from different lots of the same powder. Always maintain a good scale to check weights.

Good Shooting

Tetonka
DRSS

H110 measures well in Lyman 55s, RCBS measures, and Dillon measures.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
What's wrong with a set of Lee Ladles? You dreg the proper ladle thru a bowl of powder, strike it off even with the top of the ladle with a credit card, and dump it in the case. You can't get much quicker or cheaper than that. Up until a few years ago when small, portable scales became available, most bench shooters used a version of the Lee Ladle to measure their charges.

In my opinion, nothing but bad press and the suspicion that simple and cheap is automatically not the best solution.

But I recognize they have two drawbacks. Speed and the requirement for operator care (intolerance for sloppy work).

I have found the Lee ladles (dippers, Lee calls them, Scoops, many others) to be accurate, but fast? No way. They also require care to match the accuracy of most mechanical measures.

The Gold Standard, of course, for weight-based charges is to dip a lighter-than-desired charge into a scale's pan and then trickle up to the desired weight. This is like the method RCBS's Chargemaster uses (I have a friend with one and have seen it work - it trickles very fast to make an approximate charge, then slows to a slow trickle to make the desired weight. Other machines probably use the same technique, the the Chargemaster is the only one I have personally seen.)

On the other hand, the Lee Auto-Disk is the fastest, most convenient way to deliver a powder charge to a cartridge case I have ever seen, but only in combination with the Lee powder-through case-mouth belling die. It adds ZERO processing time to reloading since it operates in the same stroke as the (already necessary-for handgun cartridges) case-mouth belling stroke.

So, wasbeeman has a point. The Lee dippers are an often overlooked, perfectly valid alternative to more expensive powder measures.

A handloader interested in production of accurate ammunition would be well advised to remember it.

While there are faster alternatives that may be as, or more, accurate, the cost effectiveness continues to ensure dippers a valid niche for the thinking handloader.

Lost Sheep

Can someone explain the difference to me between the Harrell's "Premium Powder Measure" and Harrell's "Classic Culver Measure"? Why might I want to pay the $55 extra for the Culver Classic?

Just got it yesterday!

quote:

Originally posted by BlueDevil:
Just got it yesterday!

BlueDevil,

Why did you choose the Harrell's "Classic Culver Measure" over the less expensive Harrell's "Premium Powder Measure"? What makes the "Classic Culver" "better" or worth more?

The classic is a little higher end on the finish end of things. Anodizing parts that don't need to be anodized and nickle plating parts that don't need to be nickle plated.The premium is slightly different construction and requires less manufacturing cost. Honestly after using the premium I doubt anything "better" would be noticeable. The premium is so smooth and accurate I don't see how it can be improved.

The classic I think is for those that need to have the shiniest toy.

http://www.hornady.com/store/L...N-Load-Quick-Trickle

Couple this with an inexpensive electronic scale and it is as good as it gets.

I've got a couple Harrells. There are fine but a powder trickler with a scale is better.

Harrels are definitely nice. I used one to load some rifle ammo for my 243.
I use a #55 for light loads 3gr to 20grs,
The trick with the #55 is to keep the powder hopper filled above 1/2 to 3/4 if you keep the powder in that area and refill regularly you can be very consistent.
If I use it to load stick powders I set it a little low and trickle the balance.
you can pick up a #55 pretty cheap.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LYMAN-...&hash=item4160c9f41a

Oky doky. Is that spelled right? So...hardly a true scientific study, but I think I,ve learned a couple things tonight.. One, I,m down to about a fifth of a jug of H110. Two,..can,t remember what two is. Oh well.
Anyhoo, had,nt used 110 in a while, mostly stickin to Accurate#9 for .44 mag loads with 310 grain lead bullets, HS-6 for puppy dog loads with 240 grain XTPs.
Saw the post, got curious, thought I,d see how my measure did with 110 before I ran my mouth..
Redding 3BR, with the universal metering chamber,5 to 100 grains. Middle of the road kinda powder measure.. Been mostly H4831 SC, Varget, Big Game goin through it lately, stick powder, bout 65-70 % of the time, on the money. Grain under or over for the most part, most of the time. Ball powder, like Big Game or H380, probly dead on about 92 % of the time.
Once I got it dialed in, only charging 25 cases to see how it would do, 24 grains of H110 in 44 mag..except for one where I kinda flubbed the throw a bit, and two where the scale looked a little undecided, then settled at 24 grains, 24 out of 25 were right at the target weight of 24 grains. The one that got flubbed, 23.8 grains.
Again, not a conclusive study in any shape form or fashion, but the results I typically see when I have consistent throw, and keep the powder level fairly close to the top..
Time to see if I can talk Ma Bear into makin some chocolate chip cookies while I put 25 rounds together...

Back in my youth, powder was measured by volume, with weight just being for reference.
Since 1910, extremely accurate load of Unique have been made and the powder still only meters to +/-0.2gn--yet it is accurate.
There is too much "faith" in the need for exact powder weight, while only a case as small as a .25Auto might see a difference of +/-0.15gn.
For rifles, a ladder test will indict where the most accuracy will be found for a given bullet and powder. Yet, that system shows you the +/-0.5gn just doesn't matter. Yet, after SEEING this, too many still believe that they must have an exact weight to be accurate.
Then, of course, for rifles, a statistically valid number of shots are never fired to prove is 42.5 is ACTUALLY, at even an 90% confidence interval, more accurate than 42.0gn or 43.0gn.
Don't let your mind tell you what you need. Let your gun and targets tell you what they need.
I would consider my RCBS ChargeMaster as being an excellent powder measure for the OP. You can re-program the balance to dispense a specific load very quickly and very accurately. Of course, this will cause much light or much heavier loads to be dispensed less quickly or with the occasion 0.1gn over-shoot.
I use it with my progressive while developing loads and it keeps up quite well.
Again, don't ASSUME, even if it makes perfect sense to you.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
I've had a Forster Benchrest measure for over 20 years now and it has been foolproof so far. Very consistent, handles large grain powders accurately and super simple to operate.

I've had others but none that measure better or operate easier.

I have been using Lyman and RCBS powder measures for rifle reloading for many years, but use them along with a scale to double check. Usually you need to tickle the powder up with a few granules. Recently I bought a second hand Foster Bonanza Benchrest Powder Measure and yes I agree with you - once adjusted for a specific load, you do not need any further tickling up of the load. It is consistent with most powders I have been using and it cuts the powder granuales easily. For presicion reloading I now use the Foster.

I've been using a Redding BR for about 10 years and it has been flawless with H-110 and unique on the various handgun rounds I've loaded with it. I'm sure the Harrels is even better, but the Redding hasn't seem to hold me back for my uses.

The Lyman 55 has worked well for me.