Does anyone have experience with the Harrell powder measures/dispensers? Does the larger model throw accurate charges in the higher charge ranges i.e. (90-100gr)???

In light of mixed feelings regarding the electronic versions on my other thread,..I figured I would ask about this type of set-up for saving me load time.

Research,..research,..research.....

Thanks

JustC
A good friend of mine has one and i have used and lusted after it for years as it is truly repeatable and nice just to look at.
I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger on $300.00US when my old RCBS works as well as it does.
His is a Premium and will throw a large load but I have never seen it used with more than 60 grains.
I imagine it would retain the same accuracy with larger loads.
The old RCBS is nearly as accurate with good technique but takes about 10 times longer to set up.
A Lee perfect measure will measure coarse powder almost as well until it breaks.
If you've got the money, I don't think you will be disappointed.
If you really want speed ,get a Prometheus if you don't mind a second mortgage on your house
Covey16

The review at realguns is consistant with covey16's post:
http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar63.htm

I have two Harrels--one with the roller bearings and one without. I have a couple of Lymans--two for smokeless powder and one for black powder. I have one Redding with all of the various metering chambers. I have used them all many times.

There is no significant difference in precision, as defined as throw-to-throw variation, from one to the other. The Harrels are not better than the Redding, nor the Lymans. Over the long haul, the Redding is the least amount of trouble, considering that you only need to change chambers to get decent accuracy over a wide range. You can have two complete Reddings for what one Harrell will cost you. They all fall down with big stick powders.

The Harrels are incredible pieces of machine work and are beautiful. They are worth every cent of the price, but only because of their beauty, no because of performance, as above. I love mine, especially the roller bearing model; the only thing as smooth and as slick is my wife's vaseline.

Hope that helps. Geo.

I've got the larger Harrell. Like all powder measures except the cheap ol' Lee, it does occasionally chop the large stick powder like IMR4831, but on most all the rest it is quite precise. The only one of the lesser priced ones I think can be as good with some modification, is the Lyman, but it sure isn't as pretty and precise!

Ok guys,..I load for quite a few magnums,..and so far,.. I have found out from asking all you fine gents that BOTH the manual powder throwers AND the digital (infrared) programable throwers have issues with the super slow large extruded powders. Does this mean that I am just better off to throw charges on my digital scale with a power trickler or with my hand trickler and skip the whole expense?

Thanks

I've got a Bruno which is like the Harrell and with the long extruded power I still have to weight each load and use a trickler. I normally get within a grain or so using the bruno and about the same with the RCBS. Is it worth it? I try and load at the range so for me yes but if I was just loading at home I'd stay with what have. Just my .02 worth. Tom

I really like my Harrells. It is just a joy to use and look at. That in itself may be enough of a reason to get one. Other than that though, if I didn�t shoot BR, there probably wouldn�t be a really good reason to have one. The reason BR shooters like the Harrells type is because of the easy and repeatable adjustment. It�s very easy to go up or down a few clicks, and know right where you are when loading at a match. No scale necessary to confirm. But, these types of measures are not necessarily any better at throwing consistent charges. That depends more on the user�s technique. Long stick powders are tough with any measure. The thing with large magnum hunting rounds is you probably aren�t loading enough of them at a time to worry about the little bit of extra work trickleing up anyway. So to answer your question, for this task I would probably just use any decent powder measure, and trickle up for the 20 or so rounds you can stand to shoot at one time. On my hunting rounds, I do use my Harrells, but it could just as well be any other measure. I still trickle up with the long stick powders. �ol blue

JustC:
The Harrell measures are very accurate. even at the 90 to 100 grain charge range. In fact at this weight the +/- .1gr is inconsequential. Remember the Benchrest crowd throws charges to +/- .1gr with a total charge of some where in the low to mid 30s the variance as a percentage of total charge is 3x what it is for the range you are intested in.
More important is working on a repeatable stroke for what ever measure you choose to use. Some people have a knack for this sort of thing. The rest of us must practice practice practice.
muck

I have not used a digital YET but can attest to some difficulty throwing repeated accurate loads with the 'sticks'. I have used a Harrels (brand new) and an older Culver...exactly the same. If trying to throw 5 times into the scale pan I usually get +/- .15 grains. I would like to see that tightened up. I use exactly the same throw everytime....Have tried slower, holding at top & tapping etc. My new Harrels does best with just a smooth, fairly quick stroke.

I ordered a roller bearing from Harrel about 18months ago. The factory response was amazing and the quality of the product superb. Accuracy was great for my 222 but so so with larger cases and larger kernels. Better built than the RCBS thrower but doesn't seem any more accurate.