is there another powder meauser/ thrower (hope this is the right terminolgy ) that is more user friendly than the lee? for about the same $$$. some day i will get a RCBS chargemaster but right now being new i cant sink 290.00$+ in to something.
the reason im asking is because last night i started to reload my first test loads and the LEE is light one time then heavy the next time on my lee safety scale which is getting replaced this week with a digital.
granted my math sucks but when i ask my wife to read the direction and do the math to check me she came up with the same #'s and even know im new to this world of reloading i want to do it right and be as close as i can when making loads up.
also is one trickler better than the next.
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one shot one kill
" I've always been crazy but it keeps me from going insane " Waylon Jennings
Go for something like a Redding or RCBS powder thrower good move on the digital scales I have had to do that recently as I found my balance beam scales (which I purchased second hand) are all over the place when weighing powder out. Whatever you do stay away from the smartreloader branded digital scales they are cheap and nasty bits of junk. As for tricklers Go for whatever brand you can afford I have a hornady trickler and that does a good job for topping up when close to the desired load weights
Ya know, I didn't really understand the LEE powder Measure. I followed the directions as I understood them and couldn't get it right...which may mean I was interpreting them wrong, but I did what it said and was not getting the results I needed, so I gave it up. Recently I began to try it again. Instead of following the directions, I simply threw a charge, weighed it and went up or down based on what I needed. Once I got it, I measured every 5 charges just to be sure and it was throwing pretty accurately. I was impressed. That being said, I am not overly impressed with the quality of the thrower. Wobbly and not meant to take a beating--not that I am beating it, but you know what I am saying. I kinda like the scale LEE has. My only issue with it is that I need to have the thing at eye-level to read it properly. Eventually I suppose I will get a digi-scale too. I am pretty new to reloading (about a year)--this is just my opinion about the stuff I got.
Remember, an opinion is worth what you pay for it. Take it for what it is. I love reading what people have to say about stuff though!
I have a digital to check bullet weights and such. I still prefer the Lee balance beam scale - it's fast and easy to get a good reading, once you get used to it. I really like being able to lock it on the exact weight I want then 'trickling' up to that weight exactly. Makes for some very consistent loads!
The Perfect Powder Measure ain't so perfect, and I use it mostly for practice/plinking ammo, that doesn't need exact 'on-the-dot' load weight.
My 'trickler' is dead simple - a Lee dipper tapped with a knife blade to drop a kernal at a time. Takes a steady hand but I am an old scale modeler from way back - not a problem!
I do actually have RCBS's trickler - but it's so klunky I just don't use it.
One thing that will throw the scale into a conniption fit is an overhead ceiling fan! That down draft makes it impossible to get a good reading. Been there, done that! Any air movement is bad!
just got home from bass pro and picked up a MTN dig scale 39.99 and a lyman trickler 15 bucks.
went to the basement and set up the scale on the bench and used the not so perfect powder meauser and even know i did not set it up the way the distructions said to i threw a charge and placed it on the new scale and i was trying to get 55.0gr and i had 55.1 for 5 throws in a row then i placed 3 out 0f 5 om the beam scale and it was just a touch below the the ZERO spot. so yes it was doing its job. but i feel better knowing that they are what i was trying to get.
did not use the trickler yet but i know i will soon.
once again thanks 1,000,000,000.
everyime i ask the people on this site for help or info. i get just that
__________________
one shot one kill
" I've always been crazy but it keeps me from going insane " Waylon Jennings
just got home from bass pro and picked up a MTN dig scale 39.99 and a lyman trickler 15 bucks.
went to the basement and set up the scale on the bench and used the not so perfect powder meauser and even know i did not set it up the way the distructions said to i threw a charge and placed it on the new scale and i was trying to get 55.0gr and i had 55.1 for 5 throws in a row then i placed 3 out 0f 5 om the beam scale and it was just a touch below the the ZERO spot. so yes it was doing its job. but i feel better knowing that they are what i was trying to get.
did not use the trickler yet but i know i will soon.
once again thanks 1,000,000,000.
everyime i ask the people on this site for help or info. i get just that
good to know that the LEE thrower is doing its thing I could never figure out that darn micrometer thing when I tried to use one so I sold it and then realised later I could have just set it up by using scales. So if you are looking for a flat 55.0gr just tweak it unless you are happy with being 0.1gr over your desired load.
gotta say i never followed the directions on my lee powder thrower and it's good to within a couple 10ths for me and i just trickle up but the beam scale went out the window fast, lyman digital for me, i just have to watch the zero on it or it'll change on me with a temp fluctuation and i'll get .5 gr hotter loads.
"My only issue with it is that I need to have the thing at eye-level to read it properly. Eventually I suppose I will get a digi-scale too."
That will work but paying for a good digital scale so you can read it flat on the bench top seems pretty high. Why not do what us old guys do and set the (beam) scale on a shelf at nose (to eye) level so we can see it clearly?
And that powder thingy is a measure, we use it to throw charges!
I just recently got the Lee beam safety powder scale in the kit I got with the Challenger press. I haven't yet been able to get consistent weights with it. I tried zeroing it and getting used to reading it by weighing one casing. I have yet to get the same result twice. I may be new to reloading, but I'm pretty sure that simply taking the case off the scale, then putting it back on won't change the weight of the case. I will be getting a digital scale before I start.
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ninja
i had the same trouble i even locked it like they say to do and weighed arrow heads that i knew the the weight.
sounds stupid but set a level on the table and make 100% sure your table or bench is true thats what i had to do and now i can push the ball bearing to 0 and the slide to 0 and its will balance right.
hope it helps
__________________
one shot one kill
" I've always been crazy but it keeps me from going insane " Waylon Jennings
one thing i bet some of you are missing here. most digital scales are only accurate to +or- two tenths of a grain. that's a four tenths swing. they may be easier to use, but they are not more accurate. having said that, i'll still not go back and try and use the beam that came with my lee kit. LOL!
i use the powder measure to get just under my load and trickle till i get there.
p.s. make sure you use good (not the ones that come with them) batteries. always let it sit for a while where you're going to use it to get to room temp. and let it warm up. that's hard to do with most scales. they all seem to have an auto-shutoff on them now. i weigh bullets before i start with powder weights. oh yeah, use the check weight every once in a while and recalibrate if you even think it might be off.
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one thing i bet some of you are missing here. most digital scales are only accurate to +or- two tenths of a grain. that's a four tenths swing. they may be easier to use, but they are not more accurate.
This is my experience also - I can measure 42.9gn charges and 43.1gn, but forget about 43.0gn, for instance. When I load for competition, I weigh every charge on the beam balance and make sure it's still zeroed every ten rounds or so. If I want twenty or forty rounds to knock around with and go "bang", I'll weigh on the digital because it has a charming little powder dish which is also a case funnel.
That being said, when I am changing to a different powder or a different load for a different projectile, I sometimes put the empty case on the digital scale, zero it, pour the charge, then put it back to make sure I'm in the right ballpark (e.g. 34gn of AR2206H vs. 43gn of AR2209 - a rifle- and face-destroying mistake if I ever made it, because 43gn of 2206 is a gross overload for the bullets I load and 34gn of 2209 such a severe underload that it risks the slow-powder blowup phenomenon).
for throwing a charge for pistol RCBS has the little dandy that uses rotors so its the same charge every time. I got a siilar one in the forster bullseye measure I have about a dozen different rotors for it and it works great for pistol. I have the other RCBS adjustable measure for rifle it takes a few adjustments to get it right and once right, check all of the first 5 and 1 in ten after. as for beam scales I have a dillon and it quit working right (my fault I dinged up the pivot) they sent me a new one no charge. they have a great warranty. they cost like 56.00 I had a lyman d-7 for about 30 years before the dillon and it was a wonderful scale too.
that's a good deal. same scale my brother got. it's as accurate as the rest. only the ones that go for $150 or more are any better and only by a tenth of a grain.
wonder why the price is coming up as $22.02 for me though. i'm signed in and pretty sure they got my c&r?
oops i see. $16.97 is what i save buying it on sale. not what i can get it for.
thanks for the link. i'm gonna order one.
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Last edited by R5CYA; 12-29-2009 at 04:00 PM.
Reason: i was enlightened.
