I added a baffle, available from Lyman, to my same vintage 55 and the varaition dropped considerably. Usually less that .1 grain for most powders. It is still my number 1 measure but I actually like the cheap Lee for loading IMR stick powders. It stinks for fine ball powders like H110 though.

I have a old (1960s vintage) Lyman #55 that has been dropping powder for me since I learned to load. The measure still does a pretty good job but I`m wondering if today there are more accurate, easier to adjust, measures out there? I don`t use a measure so much on rifle as pistol loads as I`m always changing or makeing small batches and usually just weigh them. I can toss and tap the last couple granuals with a Lee dipper just about as fast as throwing and trickling so it soesn`t make sense to take the time to set up and play with a measure for 20 / 40 rds of ammo.The old Lyman seems to stay around .2/.3 gr +/- with most of the powders I use but I am hopeing there is one out there that might do better, expecially with stick type powders. I don`t want to spend a arm and leg on a new one, but if there is a reasonably priced one that will do better I might be interested.

Any ideas???

Joe,
For stick powders what you have or an RCBs Uniflow is hard to beat. If you're measuring finely granulated powders or ball powder, A Harrell can't be beat IMO. Your technique is far more important than the brand name on the measure. Jim

there may be powder measures with finer adjustments but they don't work any better.......

My favorite measure is a very very old Herters that's as good as the best available today.

Theres a reason why folks invented the trickler....

I have an old 55 also, and it's a pretty decent piece of equipment. I'll have to try a baffle for it. I also have a fairly new Redding that I haven't tried out yet. I'm considering making a longer handle for it, for shearing stick powders more evenly, as this great article link suggests. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jesse99/handle.html

That same article shows a great idea of using a small piece of very fine Scotch Brite Pad glued to a popsicle stick, for applying cold bluing solution, and blending it in, in place of steel wool. It shows a photo of the long handle he made, and the cold bluing looks really nice. Safe Shooting Friends! -gunsmither

I have seven powder measures...

-Herter's

-Lyman #55

-Redding

-Lee "Perfect"

-Jones BR

-AMT Autoscale

-Dedicated Systems Electronic Dispenser System



I have acquired & used them over about 55 years of handloading and these are my observations:



The Herter measure is about as good as any plain, machined metal measure. It does have the disadvantages of requiring a lot of fiddling to set it to a new weight of charge, and of needing to be screwed to either the bench or to a board which can be held in a bench vise.



The Redding - Exactly the same comments as the Herter above. It was less accurate than the Herter 'til I added a powder baffle in the reservoir (my Herter came with one), but now is fully equal to the Herter.



The Lyman 55 is at least as accurate as any of the five mechanical measures and maybe a hair more so with some powders. I attribute its better accuracy with those powders to the fact that when I got it (used), someone had added a spring loaded "automatic knocker" to it. Each time you work the handle, a spring lifts up and releases the little pendant knocker which they come with. That way I don't forget to use the knocker, nor do I use it with different force from time to time. Adds consistency.



Lee Perfect - Despite only costing slightly over $16, this is the most accurate not after-market modified mechanical measure I have ever seen when using coarse stick powders. Apparently the polymer "wipe" which they say doesn't cut grains, really does work well. Unlike other users, I have found mine to be absolutely sterling when used with ball powders too. I also like being able to rotate the powder reservoir 1/4 turn to lock it closed, then just lift it off the base to pour any remaining powder back in the can



Jones - I use this for benchrest competition. It is as accurate as any other mechanical measure with small grain powders. Like all the "Culver-system" measures, it is much easier to set than most other mechanical measures. When shooting a benchrest match I may need to go up or down one "click" - .08 of one grain of VV-N133 in my Jones - to "tune" the load to the temp, humidity, etc. of the day. With the Jones "click" detents, I can do that exactly, and return to where I started if I want, exactly, every time, without a scale.



AMT Autoscale. I do not particularly care for this automated combo electrical dispenser/beam scale. Through two different "trickler tubes" it pours powders onto a beam type scale which is very subject to breezes, innaccurate levelling of the scale/dispenser body, etc. It is also slow, and not quite as accurate as the mechanical measures. Basically, it is an electronic two-speed trickler which trickles powder into a pan of a beam scale with an automated cut-off switch. Kind of a Rube Goldberg set-up, but is all that was economically possible until miniaturized electronics came along.



Dedicated Systems dispenser system - I use this set-up every time I want to throw maximum charges. It is accurate to about 1/50th grain. It "trains" itself to the weighing characteristics of up to 10 different powders of my choice and retains that info in its memory. It also retains up to 20 different "loads". So, If I want to dispense 35.0 grains of Ball C-(2), I can either hit "7" for powder #7 [which is Ball C-(2) in its memory], then punch in 35.00 and hit Dispense, OR, I can just select load #1, which is 35.0 of Ball C-(2) in its data bank, and hit Dispense.



It uses a "rotating valve" to throw charges onto an electronic scale and does no "dribbling" in the regular sense, at all. The first few throws of a particular charge are large, then it throws a series of small charges, 'til it gets the right total charge weight. It weighs the total charge between each throw; there is never any continuous "trickle" as from a trickler tube. Whole process takes maybe 10 seconds or so per completed full charge. To throw the next charge, just hit "Dispense" again.



If it makes an error and dispenses either half a tenth of a grain (0.05 grain) under, or over, that charge, it will give me the exact reading and an "Error" message. It will not dispense another charge until I have thrown the previous one back and punched the "clear error message" key.



It is a great tool, but will not work accurately out of doors or in any other direct draft.



Guess this says that for all practical purposes, unless you want to spend some serious money on a lab-style electronic scale/dispenser, the $16 Lee Perfect is about as good as you're gonna get, and there ain't nothin' wrong with your Lyman 55.



AC

It sounds like there`s not anything out there that would be much of a improvement. I use mostly Flake and ball powders in my handgun ammo (Titegroup, H110, PowerPistol) and the #55 works well with these. I`d hoped there might have been some inprovement in stick powder measuring. I`ll stay with what I have but I think I`ll look into one of those baffles or try a Lee. If the Lee works as well as I`ve heard, it might be worth the $16 as a back up just for stick powders.
Thanks...Joe